UW Lineup Scenarios

Given the amount of respect most of us have for Romar’s talent for player development, I am hesitant to pencil in Terrence Ross (or any newcomer to a crowded position) as a starter until he proves he belongs. I know he looks great, but Suggs and Wilcox won’t be easy to beat for playing time. The battle for PT among the guards will be intense. I won’t be surprised if the top shooter among that group forces himself onto the court. Suggs has proven he can do it, Wilcox is rumored to be even better, and Ross is highly rated as a shooter…To me that is the biggest battle. PG will be the same as last year unless something drastic happens with Overton or Gaddy. MBA, IT and Holiday will start. That last spot will be interesting. Matchups, needs and game time strategy will determine a lot, but part of me hopes that someone steps up so much that the last starter spot is never in doubt. I personally hope it is Terrence Ross. He has a lot of hype and expectation surrounding him. If he can step in a prove he should start right away it could make his time here at UW easier than it has been for Gaddy so far.

I agree with playing big against UCLA except for the fact that big man Josh Smith is too fat and out of shape and won’t be able to run if we’re small. I am excited to see big Aziz at work but I think running Gant in there won’t be bad either. I am using this comment to call out Josh Smith since he is going to eat himself out of college and not to take anything away from your lineup Craig.

Greg

the one unmentioned line-up i like includes Breshers with MBA upfront, Holiday, IT and Gaddy at guards. I think Breshers has better all-around skills than Gant (especially if Breshers gets in shape), plus i think he provides necessary heft inside to keep us strong down low. other line-up combos are interesting, but i think Breshers may be able to solidify final spot and force TRoss, Aziz and crew to come off the bench.

Antoine Hosley will be walking on to the UW team. Scout was the first to report it: http://washington.scout.com/2/981719.html

If you can remember, Antoine Hosley played alongside Terrence Jones at Jefferson. I have seen his highlights and he does remind me of a Will Conroy type player. He is ready work to earn his spot, but this could be a great pick up for the Dub: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1i540pqANo

These line ups need more Overton!!!! He will be a senior and will destroy Gaddy, even though he might not start he will play way more minutes!

Good question about Ross and Wilcox. Ryan Appleby said on “Talkin’ Hoops last Monday that his “Educated guess” is that Ross will back up IT, while Wilcox and Suggs will back up Holiday at the three, depending on who has the hot hand and defends better.

This Monday night we’ll be talking Tacoma hoops with Jason McCleary and NoCal hoops with AW Prince. Prince knows all of the guys on the Drew Gooden Soldiers very well, having seen most of them play since middle school.

That AAU squad includes UW 2011 recruits Jabari Brown, Kyle Wiltjer, Kiwi Gardner, 2012 recruits Dominic Artis, Brandon Ashley and a number of other potential Pac-10 kids.

My take on Ross and Wilcox is that Ross has the better overall game, but that Wilcox is the best stand alone shooter. C.J. needs to work on shooting on the run, but is the top catch and shoot guy on the team. Suggs is also worth mentioning because of his experience.

Nothing is set though, as practice will decide these rotations and anyone (hopefully including Abdul Gaddy) can work on their game enough to change any perceptions that the staff may have at this point.

I’m not saying that Wilcox couldn’t blow up and start this year, but the good news is that Ross is really good and that there should be quite a battle for minutes between those three, which ultimately benefits the UW team and everyone’s work ethic.

Thanks Jim.

Probably because CJ has been rumored to be the second quickest defender to close out his man (second to Holiday). In reality… the 2/3 positions are interchangeable. They essentially will both be wing spots.

Folks,
First I was quoting Appleby. Please re-read my post. Second, that is more than a rumor about C.J. ability to close on shooters. Romar said that he was second quickest after Holiday. That said, in my opinion a line-up of Isaiah, Ross and Justin at the guard spots could be really good too.

The lineup Venoying suggests makes more sense to me. It is balanced, experienced and mature. There will be plenty of talent sitting on the bench, regardless of who plays. It is nice to look over and think “Oh well, I’ll get my chance next year”. This lineup proves it.

I also like this one, for going small: Overton, IT, Gaddy, Holiday, and MBA. I know that is crazy small, but it isn’t that different than Conroy, Robinson, Roy, Jones and Jensen. That team destroyed people. I also like Jim’s suggestion: Overton, IT, Holiday, MBA and Aziz would be really fun to watch. I remember watching the Huskies destroy the Ducks so badly that the fans were routing for the Ducks to score, just so that we could sit down at the beginning of the game. I this lineup could do that to a team.

Hopefully though, we will get a big enough lead on teams to experiment with bigger lineups. I think it won’t be needed against many of our opponents, but we’ll need to go big when the tournament starts.