Cajuns MBB Sign Portland Transfer!

[RaginDave]

I do not see how Smith could be an odd man out. He's a rim protector, good defender and high energy guy who fills a critical role that not many on the team do. Wesley I kind of look at the same. He's a PG. We have few true point guards on the team and he's tough as nails and plays D. I just can't see him not playing unless a couple of these guys can cross over into other spots in the backcourt.

What I meant, is Smith might be the odd man out not by his decision, but by the fact that he might not be here (not on scholarship).

With Wesley, I am a fan, it is different. Wilson is our starting PG, it appears at times Marlin likes to use Russell there, depending on the incoming crop and their ball handling skills, Wesley's minutes could be limited, he had more minutes this year due to injuries and the fact that we were so shorthanded. I hope I am wrong and Wesley gets plenty of playing time and I actually hope I am wrong and Smith comes back to play for us. I was just saying that you have potentially 12 players that could contribute, if that is the case, someone is going to lose minutes.

I don't count Spenkuch because, I just don't think he is going to be a contributor in 2020/21 even if Smith is not on the roster.

[zephyr]

What I meant, is Smith might be the odd man out not by his decision, but by the fact that he might not be here (not on scholarship).

With Wesley, I am a fan, it is different. Wilson is our starting PG, it appears at times Marlin likes to use Russell there, depending on the incoming crop and their ball handling skills, Wesley's minutes could be limited, he had more minutes this year due to injuries and the fact that we were so shorthanded. I hope I am wrong and Wesley gets plenty of playing time and I actually hope I am wrong and Smith comes back to play for us. I was just saying that you have potentially 12 players that could contribute, if that is the case, someone is going to lose minutes.

I don't count Spenkuch because, I just don't think he is going to be a contributor in 2020/21 even if Smith is not on the roster.

If Marlin continues to want Russell to run the PG for significant chunks of time, that's on him. I think everyone can agree that he is just not a very good PG. Wesley is the one true PG on the team and a team captain. There's just going to be a need for him to play. His minutes went up last year when we had the injuries, true but he was one of them. If healthy, I see him playing 12+ minutes a game this season. I don't know the 2 guard transfers coming in but I think there's a decent chance that one of them may have trouble adapting and find it hard to contribute significantly this season. Gueye is also another guy that needs to improve or he could possibly see his time go down when Smith comes back. A lot of that depends on Akwuba but he has to be more efficient offensively.

[CajunEXPRESS]

If Marlin continues to want Russell to run the PG for significant chunks of time, that's on him. I think everyone can agree that he is just not a very good PG. Wesley is the one true PG on the team and a team captain. There's just going to be a need for him to play. His minutes went up last year when we had the injuries, true but he was one of them. If healthy, I see him playing 12+ minutes a game this season. I don't know the 2 guard transfers coming in but I think there's a decent chance that one of them may have trouble adapting and find it hard to contribute significantly this season. Gueye is also another guy that needs to improve or he could possibly see his time go down when Smith comes back. A lot of that depends on Akwuba but he has to be more efficient offensively.

I’m just going to disagree about Wesley. That’s as far as I’m going to go on a Cajun player.

[zephyr]

I’m just going to disagree about Wesley. That’s as far as I’m going to go on a Cajun player.

You're going to disagree that he's a true PG? Or the captain part? By position he's a PG. ALL of our other guards on this team are either a combo guard or straight up SG.

[zephyr]

Depending on the status of Tirus Smith, there will not be enough minutes for the players on the team. My assumption is that we have 10 - 12 potential contributors.

Obviously we all think that the starting lineup (depending on injuries) will look like this:

PG -- Wilson
SG -- Russell
F --- Johnson
F--- Julien
C/F-- Gueye

Contributing Bench Players:
G -- Au
G -- Betts
C -- Akwuba
G -- Wesley
F -- Smith
G -- Cadwell
G -- Lowery

My assumption is that Smith/Lowery and Wesley could be the odd men out trying to get minutes. Now obviously injuries and other issues could change that. Smith is not going to be eligible until later if he comes back, Lowery is a question mark as he only played in 1 game, Cadwell is coming off of injury as is Kobe Julien. Wesley (who I really like as a spark and his defensive mentality) I would hope could be a lift off the bench, but depending on Au and Betts, he might not see the minutes he did in 2019/2020.

I do think that if everyone is healthy and back and available, this team has a really good chance to compete at the top of the SBC.

To me, the key is Julien, we know exactly what we get from Wilson/Russell, Johnson and Gueye. The missing component most of the year was Kobe, when he was in the lineup he was really good. Kobe only played in 8 games, but averaged 30 minutes a game, shot 43% from the field and 75% from the FT line. He averaged 12.8 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game and shot a respectable 33.3% from 3 point range for a bigger guy. Julien only had 2 poor performances, vs TCU scored 4 points and vs Detroit scored 5 points. Ironically those were the only 2 games that he played less than 30 minutes.

Now with Jalen Johnson transferring and Smith out, we are all of a sudden really thin on the front line. Amazing.

[CajunEXPRESS]

You're going to disagree that he's a true PG? Or the captain part? By position he's a PG. ALL of our other guards on this team are either a combo guard or straight up SG.

I'm just going to say that a diminutive player is rarely as good as a bigger one at any position. I guess I should simply let people express how they view a particular player regardless of how I might. Unfortunately this case it was at the expense of another.

His assist turnover ratio isn’t good

https://ragincajuns.com/sports/mens-...stats/2019/pdf

Also an observation that too many of his shots are blocked, and he has troubles defending bigger players from driving on him.

I’m always glad when he gets to the charity line because he’s very outstanding there.
I've always agreed that Marlin is not creating the best opportunities for Russell when he uses him at point.

[Cajunsmike]

Now with Jalen Johnson transferring and Smith out, we are all of a sudden really thin on the front line. Amazing.

They are still recruiting and they were even before Johnson made his decision. Another big is a priority at this time. Don't be surprised if another transfer is looked at. People are putting their name in the portal every day and it is occurring all over the nation. It is also occurring at every type school there is. If the NCAA grants automatic eligibility on May 24, a flood could open up. As far as Smith is concerned, yes he is likely out the first few games but he should be back much before the conference games begin.

[Cajunsmike]

I'm just going to say that a diminutive player is rarely as good as a bigger one at any position. I guess I should simply let people express how they view a particular player regardless of how I might. Unfortunately this case it was at the expense of another.

His assist turnover ratio isn’t good

https://ragincajuns.com/sports/mens-...stats/2019/pdf

Also an observation that too many of his shots are blocked, and he has troubles defending bigger players from driving on him.

I’m always glad when he gets to the charity line because he’s very outstanding there.
I've always agreed that Marlin is not creating the best opportunities for Russell when he uses him at point.

25 assists and 62 turnovers is not a good ratio and those are Johnson's numbers. His three point percentage was only 29 which was a big disappointment. He was probably close to 50 from there when playing with the scout team in his redshirt transfer year. Not sure why that did not transfer to game competition. He also struggled defensively at times. Every player has shortcomings and it is easy to focus on those when a guy moves on. Despite all those issues, he still put up 15 ppg and 6 rpg. Those will be hard to replace and I would prefer he were still on the squad. Could luck to him wherever he ends up.

[CajunEXPRESS]

25 assists and 62 turnovers is not a good ratio and those are Johnson's numbers. His three point percentage was only 29 which was a big disappointment. He was probably close to 50 from there when playing with the scout team in his redshirt transfer year. Not sure why that did not transfer to game competition. He also struggled defensively at times. Every player has shortcomings and it is easy to focus on those when a guy moves on. Despite all those issues, he still put up 15 ppg and 6 rpg. Those will be hard to replace and I would prefer he were still on the squad. Could luck to him wherever he ends up.

That’s a lot, but he’s not a point guard.

[zephyr]

I'm just going to say that a diminutive player is rarely as good as a bigger one at any position. I guess I should simply let people express how they view a particular player regardless of how I might. Unfortunately this case it was at the expense of another.

His assist turnover ratio isn’t good

https://ragincajuns.com/sports/mens-...stats/2019/pdf

Also an observation that too many of his shots are blocked, and he has troubles defending bigger players from driving on him.

I’m always glad when he gets to the charity line because he’s very outstanding there.
I've always agreed that Marlin is not creating the best opportunities for Russell when he uses him at point.

Please review those stats again. His Assist to Turnover ratio is the best on the team. To put it into context, Wilson whom I'm assuming is a guy you want to play PG over Wesley had an assist to turnover ratio of 1.03 last year. He basically averaged a turnover for every assist. Wesley, in limited playing time, was tied for 2nd on the team in assists. His ratio was 1.8.

The thing about being too small to defend bigger offensive players is hogwash. He was one of the few players who was able to stay in front of his man and help cut off drives and I'd bet he led the team in charges taken as he was always in the right place on help defense. Sorry, don't agree. This is SBC basketball, not the ACC. I'd take his smaller stature with a bulldog mentality anyday.

[cajuns80]

Please review those stats again. His Assist to Turnover ratio is the best on the team. To put it into context, Wilson whom I'm assuming is a guy you want to play PG over Wesley had an assist to turnover ratio of 1.03 last year. He basically averaged a turnover for every assist. Wesley, in limited playing time, was tied for 2nd on the team in assists. His ratio was 1.8.

The thing about being too small to defend bigger offensive players is hogwash. He was one of the few players who was able to stay in front of his man and help cut off drives and I'd bet he led the team in charges taken as he was always in the right place on help defense. Sorry, don't agree. This is SBC basketball, not the ACC. I'd take his smaller stature with a bulldog mentality anyday.

Yeah I disagree with this assessment. Wilson is, and should always be our lead guy. His turnovers were just part of his maturation process and will happen. Wesley is good for what he is, a 10-15 min energy guard off the bench that can light a fire under some guys when needed. He's not afraid to speak up and get on guys. But he should not, and will not, be a starter on this basketball team.

[zephyr]

Yeah I disagree with this assessment. Wilson is, and should always be our lead guy. His turnovers were just part of his maturation process and will happen. Wesley is good for what he is, a 10-15 min energy guard off the bench that can light a fire under some guys when needed. He's not afraid to speak up and get on guys. But he should not, and will not, be a starter on this basketball team.

First off, I didn't suggest he was a starter. If you look earlier in this thread, I had Wilson at the starting PG spot. Express argued that he didn't think Wesley was good enough to play any minutes and I've shown him why I think that's false. I suggest he play 12+ minutes a game as he's one of our only true PG's on the team.