Shayok for sure. I still feel like Wigginton and Lard could’ve made us even better if they were used more. We did go 9-9 in Big 12 and made an early exit in the tournament so we had room to improve and I think that would’ve been more likely to happen with Wigginton and Lard than Tyrese and Jacobson. Those two guys playing more last year will be beneficial for this year though.
I agree with you that Wigginton and Lard were definitely a cut above Talley.
Shayok and Wigginton were both high-volume "chuckers" -- Shayok was just a better one (Shayok was a slightly better shooter from the field, but much better from the line, which added up over time). You only need so many of those guys out on the floor at a time.
Haliburton was marvelous. He moved the ball, spaced the floor, did not demand a high usage, rarely turned the ball over, and was probably our best defender and attitude guy. Replacing him with another high-volume guy like Wigginton who played suspect defense was probably not going to be a net improvement. You need guys who can contribute without the ball in their hands, and that describes Tyrese but does not really describe Lindell very well.
I can see a case that there should have been more Wigginton and less Horton-Tucker, though, but LW did play more minutes than THT in the Big 12 and far more minutes than him in the postseason tournaments. Shayok was a better chucker than Wigginton, but Wigginton was a better chucker than Horton-Tucker. You can have two out there, not three.
Lard was so maddeningly inconsistent. At his best, he was the best big man in the conference. There were other times where he fouled out in just a few minutes. The best version was far better than Jacobson, but I am not sure the median version was better than the relatively steady play that you could expect from Jacobson on any given night.
So yes, we improved in no small part because we replaced either less efficient or less consistent players with better ones, especially Shayok and Haliburton.