Thoughts on team

cmjh10

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Dec 5, 2012
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Niang- I think the first half is what he should expect until Ejim comes back. They seemed to attack him and get him in foul trouble. Second half, is what I expect him to look like when Ejim comes back. Need him to have a huge year.

Hogue- Great defender and rebounder. Probably not going to lead the team offensively, but he will be our Babb this year.

Long- What can we say, huge game. I was skeptical of all the talk surrounding him this offseason, but he sure has improved. Obviously he wont put up 26 points a night, but if he can be our spark, that would be great.

Thomas- Looked like a freshman most of the game, but got more relaxed as the game went on. I think he will be huge once conference play rolls around. His athleticism surprised me a little as well.

Kane- Obviously the leader of the group. Man amongst boys tonight. Reminded of a smaller Royce. Does everything. He will need to be huge this year.

Morris- Simlar to Thomas. Young, but has a lot of potential and talent. Will be fun to watch him mature as the years come.

Edozie- Actually really surprised by him. Looked very athletic and strong. I think he needs to be the first big off the bench, much better than Percy IMO. Will be a post presence, at least on defense.

Gibson- Still needs to pass. Other than that, not too bad. Shouldnt get but a handful of minutes this year.

Dorsey-Walker- Very quiet today. Thought he was going to be a baller. Not disappointed, just seemed to take what was given to him. Cant wait for him to have his coming out party.

Bluford- Dont know what to think of him. Thought he was going to be better, but its a long season, and he will get better as the season goes on.

Ellerman- Didnt make a shot, cut him. Seriously though, it was fun when he came in, got what was left of the crowd back into the game.

Should be fun season, once Ejim comes back, I feel this team can really go places, just gotta survive until he comes back.
 
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J-Diggy

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Nov 30, 2007
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Monte is the real deal. When he and Kane are in at the same time it frees Kane up to play off the ball, post up, etc.

Monte is definitely a true point, a luxury we haven't had for some time (even Diante was more of a scoring guard). Really excited about his future.
 

CyFan61

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Oct 25, 2010
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Ejim, Niang, Hogue, and Edozie will be solid bigs. Thomas and Long will make it rain. Morris will become a good PG throughout the season. Kane looks like the leader of this team and can fit in at almost any position.

Jury's out on SDW, Bluford, and Gibson for me. Wasn't impressed today but it was one game, after all. I suppose the same could be said for the rest of the team too (like Long), but I'm an optimist.

When Ejim returns, having him, Niang, Hogue, and Kane in the starting lineup (along with Thomas/Long if he stays hot) will allow us to keep up on the boards with bigger teams. Those guys definitely outrebound their size.

I think by the time conference play rolls around, we'll be starting a lineup more like this:

Morris
Thomas
Kane
Ejim
Niang

with Hogue and Long as the first guys off the bench.
 

Dingus

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May 23, 2013
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I think by the time conference play rolls around, we'll be starting a lineup more like this:

Morris
Thomas
Kane
Ejim
Niang

with Hogue and Long as the first guys off the bench.

Not sure if we'll start games like that (maybe/maybe not) but we'll for sure see that lineup an awful lot. If that's not the starting lineup I could see Morris being the first guy off the bench for Hogue or whatever big gets an early foul.
 

CYKOFAN

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Mar 27, 2006
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Ejim, Niang, Hogue, and Edozie will be solid bigs. Thomas and Long will make it rain. Morris will become a good PG throughout the season. Kane looks like the leader of this team and can fit in at almost any position.

Jury's out on SDW, Bluford, and Gibson for me. Wasn't impressed today but it was one game, after all. I suppose the same could be said for the rest of the team too (like Long), but I'm an optimist.

When Ejim returns, having him, Niang, Hogue, and Kane in the starting lineup (along with Thomas/Long if he stays hot) will allow us to keep up on the boards with bigger teams. Those guys definitely outrebound their size.

I think by the time conference play rolls around, we'll be starting a lineup more like this:

Morris
Thomas
Kane
Ejim
Niang

with Hogue and Long as the first guys off the bench.

You could be right, but I think Long's size and defense gives him the edge over Morris, and he's a good enough ball handler to help Kane. He had a great outside shot in the cap city league and apparently in practice, and it was great to see him get it on the court today. If Fred wants to go small and perimeter I see Kane, Long, Thomas, Niang and Ejim and if he wants to go a little bigger- Kane, Thomas/Long, Hogue, Ejim and Niang. Morris is a good one, I just think he may need to get stronger to hold his own against Big 12 guards consistently, especially on D. I don't think SDW has the strength and speed to play much at this level, hope I'm wrong. I agree on Gibson, the jury is still out. Edoze is raw but so much quicker. On a free throw today Edozie actually came from his side of the lane to rebound the ball that came off the rim on Gibson's side before Gibson could get it. Bluford gets elevation and extension for a great looking jumper from mid-range out, and I think he'll get more pt as the season progresses. By the big 12 season I think we'll be real solid going 8 deep with Percy and SDW able to help out when there's foul trouble.
 

cycfan1

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Nov 27, 2006
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Ejim, Niang, Hogue, and Edozie will be solid bigs. Thomas and Long will make it rain. Morris will become a good PG throughout the season. Kane looks like the leader of this team and can fit in at almost any position.

Jury's out on SDW, Bluford, and Gibson for me. Wasn't impressed today but it was one game, after all. I suppose the same could be said for the rest of the team too (like Long), but I'm an optimist.

When Ejim returns, having him, Niang, Hogue, and Kane in the starting lineup (along with Thomas/Long if he stays hot) will allow us to keep up on the boards with bigger teams. Those guys definitely outrebound their size.

I think by the time conference play rolls around, we'll be starting a lineup more like this:

Morris
Thomas
Kane
Ejim
Niang

with Hogue and Long as the first guys off the bench.

Edozie is far from a solid big. Very very very raw.

Will be three to four guards for most of year and going to be in big trouble if Ejim and or Niang get in foul trouble. This team will not match up with big teams on defense, but then again they will have a tough time guarding us.

Will be a typical Hoiberg team. Fun to watch but will struggle to close out good teams just due to the style of play.
 

NorthCyd

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Edozie is far from a solid big. Very very very raw.

Will be three to four guards for most of year and going to be in big trouble if Ejim and or Niang get in foul trouble. This team will not match up with big teams on defense, but then again they will have a tough time guarding us.

Will be a typical Hoiberg team. Fun to watch but will struggle to close out good teams just due to the style of play.

Considering our starting lineup once Ejim returns will be a 2 guard lineup, I'm not sure where this is coming from.
 

cycfan1

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Considering our starting lineup once Ejim returns will be a 2 guard lineup, I'm not sure where this is coming from.

Ejim and Niang can't play the whole game. And I believe Houge goes to bench with Ejim back. They are the same player.
 

CyFan61

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Oct 25, 2010
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Considering our starting lineup once Ejim returns will be a 2 guard lineup, I'm not sure where this is coming from.

Ejim and Niang can't play the whole game. And I believe Houge goes to bench with Ejim back. They are the same player.

You're going to start Kane, Ejim, and Niang no matter what. Presumably Thomas, too. So the question becomes, do you want Morris, Long, or Hogue on the floor with those four guys? Like I said, when we hit conference play, I think it's Morris at the point to free up Kane to play his game which is kind of a utility man.
 

acgclone

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Feb 21, 2007
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We have 7 main players in rotation come B12 play, plus between Edozie and Percy, hopefully they can be serviceable when needed in the paint to eat up minutes when we're in foul trouble.

Then you have SDW/Bluford for the occasions when we can't get anything going offensively.

That's not great depth ala Louisville or Mich State, but it's enough IMO.
 

Cyientist

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I love that we have legit arguments for 7 guys in the starting lineup, with a few guys behind that should be serviceable. It could be a real bonus to the team if Naz plays his way to stay in the lineup and we could afford to have Hogue come off of the bench, it is almost guaranteed that one of our bigs will be in foul trouble.

Just for fun, I would love to see Kane, Long, Hogue, Ejim, and Edozie on the court at the same time.
 

iowast8fan

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Aug 3, 2006
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We needed 7 points in the final 5 minutes to make 100. Is that too much to expect even from scrubs? Disappointed. I hope the new foul rules don't ever force us into the lineup rotation we had in the final 5 minutes. Other than that, I thought they looked great. I could see Long being a starter over Thomas when Ejim is back.
 

Doc

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Aug 6, 2006
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We needed 7 points in the final 5 minutes to make 100. Is that too much to expect even from scrubs? Disappointed. I hope the new foul rules don't ever force us into the lineup rotation we had in the final 5 minutes. Other than that, I thought they looked great. I could see Long being a starter over Thomas when Ejim is back.

I think we have the worst fans in the entire conference. I'm not kidding.
 

mj4cy

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I'd like to see Morris run the 1, then have Thomas, Kane, Ejim, Niang


Let Long be a Tyrus type guy. and then let Hogue be the x-factor.