Next Year’s Men’s Basketball Team Discussion

#1

vegasvolfan

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#1
I guess this is stating the obvious to a degree, but it seems we could be really good next year or not so good.

The way our team looks now, if Williams goes pro, we will be in some trouble next year. Heck if Bone keeps playing at the level he is playing he could go. We would lose Alexander, Schofield, Bone and Williams. Yikes!

If we keep Williams and Bone, we look pretty darn good with Bowden, Bone, Turner and Williams all returning and the infusion of our 5 star guard James. That will add another dimension to our game if he lives up to the hype.

Still, we need Yves Pons to improve drastically to make up for the loss of Schofield. Like Schofield, there he has started with some raw talent and athletic ability. At some point this year he has to break free from simply being that that and become a force.
Then we have to replace Alexander. Can Fulkerson, Walker, Kent, Jancek, Burns, Pember & Gaines collectively fill that void?

Surely, one of those players breaks out. That is EIGHT forwards when you include Pons. Who will it be?

What are your predictions for next year’s basketball team and what will you be looking at this year as you root potentially one of the best teams in UT history along?
 
#2
#2
Williams isn't going anywhere.
Fulk and BIGBOYBurns will carry us at the 5. Walker some.
Williams -Walker will play the 4. Pons some. Kent??????
Wings and guards return without Admiral. Probably better depth if Turner returns full strength and James is up to snuff.
Gaines redshirts. Don't know what Pember will offer.
 
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#4
#4
Williams isn't going anywhere.
Fulk and BIGBOYBurns will carry us at the 5. Walker some.
Williams -Walker will play the 4. Pons some. Kent??????
Wings and guards return without Admiral. Probably better depth if Turner returns full strength and James is up to snuff.
Gaines redshirts. Don't know what Pember will offer.

Good post.

If Bone, & Williams leave I'll be elated. Why? Because that means we made a FF and maybe won it all. I predict both stay tho unless they just light up the tourney. Bone to polish up and work on his 3. Williams to ball handle, improve his dribble drive game, and keep adding the 3 ball.

Doesn't James come in? With Bone starting, plus Turner and James relieving him, plus getting some of Bowden & Johnson's minutes, we could be elite in the back court. If James can defend as needed that is.
Then a front court of Williams, Burns, Fulk, Walker, Pons, Kent and we'll be looking good there as a well. Plenty of groupings to mix with that depth and Barnes will be able to work his magic.

If this comes to pass, I'll be pumped about 19-20' as well.
 
#8
#8
This is all dependant on Williams imo. If he stays, Williams continues to be the go to, but he needs a running mate. James or Burns will be his side kick imo. If Williams leaves, it gets murky. Burns and James would be the top of my list as the go to players. But any one of, Pons, Walker, or Bone, Kent, or Johnson could step up as go to's / leaders of this team.

I personally just love Burns' size and the fact that he is getting a full year under his belt learning from Barnes. This guy could be a Grant Williams type player for us next year. That's my hope anyway. Top programs wanted James so I'm also hoping that he can come in as a freshman and be a leader/go to player on this team. If not, we have a number of others that could go Schofield and make huge leaps in their game and become a backbone player for us.
 
#9
#9
The only thing I’d like to see more of this year that will impact next year are more minutes for Walker
 
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#13
#13
This is all dependant on Williams imo. If he stays, Williams continues to be the go to, but he needs a running mate. James or Burns will be his side kick imo. If Williams leaves, it gets murky. Burns and James would be the top of my list as the go to players. But any one of, Pons, Walker, or Bone, Kent, or Johnson could step up as go to's / leaders of this team.

I personally just love Burns' size and the fact that he is getting a full year under his belt learning from Barnes. This guy could be a Grant Williams type player for us next year. That's my hope anyway. Top programs wanted James so I'm also hoping that he can come in as a freshman and be a leader/go to player on this team. If not, we have a number of others that could go Schofield and make huge leaps in their game and become a backbone player for us.
Agree with everything except anyone being a "Grant Williams type" for us next year...so hope projections of him staying are accurate. His play and leadership intangibles are not measurable. Kinda like how Villanova lost 4 to NBA last year, but chiefly, though they have talent this year, they don't have a guy like Brunson (or Williams in our case) who can put the team on his back...and Nova is struggling mightily this year, at least early on.
 
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#14
#14
C'mon guys. You can think @ next year while enjoying this year. Multitask a little will ya?

I'm putting together my 19-20' pre-season Top-25 and AA team as we speak. :-D
 
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#15
#15
I guess this is stating the obvious to a degree, but it seems we could be really good next year or not so good.

The way our team looks now, if Williams goes pro, we will be in some trouble next year. Heck if Bone keeps playing at the level he is playing he could go. We would lose Alexander, Schofield, Bone and Williams. Yikes!

If we keep Williams and Bone, we look pretty darn good with Bowden, Bone, Turner and Williams all returning and the infusion of our 5 star guard James. That will add another dimension to our game if he lives up to the hype.

Still, we need Yves Pons to improve drastically to make up for the loss of Schofield. Like Schofield, there he has started with some raw talent and athletic ability. At some point this year he has to break free from simply being that that and become a force.
Then we have to replace Alexander. Can Fulkerson, Walker, Kent, Jancek, Burns, Pember & Gaines collectively fill that void?

Surely, one of those players breaks out. That is EIGHT forwards when you include Pons. Who will it be?

What are your predictions for next year’s basketball team and what will you be looking at this year as you root potentially one of the best teams in UT history along?

Enjoy this year and relax about next. Williams ain't leaving early. He's note even mentioned on NBADraft.net or CBS sports mock drafts. They have a name for 6'7 forwards in the NBA - undrafted free agents. He'll struggle to make a squad at the next level as every team has multiple players as big or bigger, quicker, and more skilled.
 
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#16
#16
Just enjoy this year. We arent a program that will have this kind of success annually like the blue bloods.
 
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#17
#17
Williams will be a solid pro, he's more athletic than we give him credit, mostly because we just see him in the post. But, his vision as a passer, his strength in the post of both ends, the ability to shoot from range now, heck even him bringing up the ball now shows how versatile he is. Consistently defending on the perimeter will determine how high he can go. He's like Draymond Green with more offense and less defense most likely. He does average 1.7 blocks per game, just under Alexander 1.8 who we all know is an elite rim protector.
 
#18
#18
For next year, if Williams doesn't go, I think we are a top 10 team again. Losing Admiral and Alexander hurts, but you can hopefully replace them with Burns, Pons, and James. I expect Bone starts at PG, James at SG, Pons at SF, Grant at PF, and Burns at C. A bench of Turner, Bowden, Johnson, Walker, and Fulkerson is still very good. That's at least a couple of fringe starters off the bench. I'd love to see Zach Kent give us something. You can teach length and he has it at 6-11, and he shoots the 3. It would be nice if he could push to be a starter.
 
#20
#20
Just enjoy this year. We arent a program that will have this kind of success annually like the blue bloods.
Haha I had a feeling I would have someone telling me to focus on this year. Who says I am not enjoying this year? I am loving it!!! 😉
 
#22
#22
Enjoy this year and relax about next. Williams ain't leaving early. He's note even mentioned on NBADraft.net or CBS sports mock drafts. They have a name for 6'7 forwards in the NBA - undrafted free agents. He'll struggle to make a squad at the next level as every team has multiple players as big or bigger, quicker, and more skilled.
PJ Tucker was a draft pick 12 years as a PF, and is still in the league. He is 6’5/6’6, and Barnes has directly compared Grant Williams to PJ Tucker a couple of times (as he coached both)
 
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#23
#23
10 of 12 returning (but 2 of them are mysteriously not participating) and 3 newcomers added to the mix. DJ, Walker, maybe even Kent and Fulk can alleviate much of the loss of Alexander. Pons, Johnson, and Gaines will fill minutes with the subtraction of AS. Losing Grant is the key as to whether there's a chance of having similar success as what's expected this year. Adding James will help if Turner never gets his mojo back. We really don't know what we have with Kent. Can Fulk and Gaines (and JJ) bulk up? Will Walker step up his offense like Alexander did about a year ago (and will his defense improve?). Assuming that Williams returns things look very good next year. If he leaves, then lots of leadership needs to be replaced as well as scoring. Bone should be a leader. Turner and Bowden will have seniority, but may not be respected leaders. Fulk could go either way... I have a feeling that he'd be a leader, but he'd only be a junior.

We really need a great 2020 recruiting class with Bone, Turner, Bowden, and Williams exiting before the 2020-21 season. That's a lot of experience coming off of the roster.
 
#24
#24
10 of 12 returning (but 2 of them are mysteriously not participating) and 3 newcomers added to the mix. DJ, Walker, maybe even Kent and Fulk can alleviate much of the loss of Alexander. Pons, Johnson, and Gaines will fill minutes with the subtraction of AS. Losing Grant is the key as to whether there's a chance of having similar success as what's expected this year. Adding James will help if Turner never gets his mojo back. We really don't know what we have with Kent. Can Fulk and Gaines (and JJ) bulk up? Will Walker step up his offense like Alexander did about a year ago (and will his defense improve?). Assuming that Williams returns things look very good next year. If he leaves, then lots of leadership needs to be replaced as well as scoring. Bone should be a leader. Turner and Bowden will have seniority, but may not be respected leaders. Fulk could go either way... I have a feeling that he'd be a leader, but he'd only be a junior.

We really need a great 2020 recruiting class with Bone, Turner, Bowden, and Williams exiting before the 2020-21 season. That's a lot of experience coming off of the roster.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. All good points IMO!
 
#25
#25
PJ Tucker was a draft pick 12 years as a PF, and is still in the league. He is 6’5/6’6, and Barnes has directly compared Grant Williams to PJ Tucker a couple of times (as he coached both)
I agree with you, Williams is always adding to his arsenal and is successful in his efforts. He stood out as a Freshman and has ever since. Imagine what he will do playing along side a star and in a league where they don’t call flopping lol.
 
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