Boswell and Ament both limited in practice

#4
#4
Franklin_Vol09 said:
I know our starting 5 isn’t really set yet.

I honestly think our 5 should be:
Berg
Gillespie
Ament
Okpara
Estrella.

I dont think Boswell is a starter.

Philips and Carey will be a bruising 4/5 combo off the bench.
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Interesting timing on this post. Boswell has never shown the ability to be a starter before. However, last game he absolutely played well enough to be a starter.
 
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#6
#6
therickbol said:
Interesting timing on this post. Boswell has never shown the ability to be a starter before. However, last game he absolutely played well enough to be a starter.
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And with Abram being a non-factor and Burg being okay, but not spectacular, I don’t think there’s much argument to play anyone over him right now.

Boswell is great defender, is a great rebounder for a guard, and has knocked down open shots in the few opportunities he’s had. Right now, he’s a starter and should be.
 
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#7
#7
NighthawkVol said:
And with Abram being a non-factor and Burg being okay, but not spectacular, I don’t think there’s much argument to play anyone over him right now.

Boswell is great defender, is a great rebounder for a guard, and has knocked down open shots in the few opportunities he’s had. Right now, he’s a starter and should be.
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I think the 2 spot is Boswell's to lose. As long as he plays like the past 2 games, I'm pretty sure he will be the starter, if healthy. As for the big guys, I think they all play double digit minutes, although Estrella probably gets the most minutes.

OK, Ament goes without saying. He's a big guy, but I don't count him with the bigs. He will play all he can handle.
 
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#8
#8
therickbol said:
Interesting timing on this post. Boswell has never shown the ability to be a starter before. However, last game he absolutely played well enough to be a starter.
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I think the key to this proposed lineup is the offensive idea of Burg and Gillespie in together, allowing JG to operate more as a scorer by having two interchangeable combo guards on the floor. They are probably our two best shooters and our two best ball-handlers. So, maybe not the proposed starting lineup, but the preferred finishing lineup.
 
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#9
#9
cncchris33 said:
I think the key to this proposed lineup is the offensive idea of Burg and Gillespie in together, allowing JG to operate more as a scorer by having two interchangeable combo guards on the floor. They are probably our two best shooters and our two best ball-handlers. So, maybe not the proposed starting lineup, but the preferred finishing lineup.
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This is accurate.
 
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#11
#11
cncchris33 said:
I think the key to this proposed lineup is the offensive idea of Burg and Gillespie in together, allowing JG to operate more as a scorer by having two interchangeable combo guards on the floor. They are probably our two best shooters and our two best ball-handlers. So, maybe not the proposed starting lineup, but the preferred finishing lineup.
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That makes sense. But to this point, Burg has been coming in to spell Gillespie. I'd be interested to know how many minutes they've actually played together at this point.
 
#12
#12
NighthawkVol said:
That makes sense. But to this point, Burg has been coming in to spell Gillespie. I'd be interested to know how many minutes they've actually played together at this point.
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I don't know that I would draw many (perhaps any) conclusions on lineup combinations we've seen thus far. We've not really needed to close out any games to this point.

If I had to be picky about an area of improvement or disappointment, it would have to be Gillespie's carelessness as a PG. And in fairness to him, he comes on the heels of one of the most successful true PGs in Tennessee history. Gillespie looks like a shooting guard in a PG's body being asked to replace a legend at the position. Perhaps his added scoring punch is the trade-off you receive with his score-first mentality and sometimes questionable decision-making.
 
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#13
#13
What's with Okpara? He doesn't look right to me. Doesn't APPEAR to have the lift on blocks and rebounds like normal. And that missed pt blank dunk? He just looks slower and less athletic to me. Anyone else see it this way? I hope it's my old eyes.

But that threat from the arc is there. 😊
 
#14
#14
livefaith said:
What's with Okpara? He doesn't look right to me. Doesn't APPEAR to have the lift on blocks and rebounds like normal. And that missed pt blank dunk? He just looks slower and less athletic to me. Anyone else see it this way? I hope it's my old eyes.

But that threat from the arc is there. 😊
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I've not noticed a drop-off in athleticism, which doesn't mean it hasn't happened. I have noticed that he has been maybe slightly frustrated with the rotation with all the depth. He's averaging 17 mpg, down from 26, last year. The Mercer game can be attributed to foul trouble (4 PFs), but he only played 20 minutes against NKU, and had 0 PFs.

In the Mercer game, he was visibly upset with Troy Henderson, I believe, on a missed defensive assignment that led to Okpara picking up his second foul about 30 seconds after his first, and a long 10-minute stint on the bench for the rest of the 1st half.
 
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#15
#15
cncchris33 said:
I don't know that I would draw many (perhaps any) conclusions on lineup combinations we've seen thus far. We've not really needed to close out any games to this point.

If I had to be picky about an area of improvement or disappointment, it would have to be Gillespie's carelessness as a PG. And in fairness to him, he comes on the heels of one of the most successful true PGs in Tennessee history. Gillespie looks like a shooting guard in a PG's body being asked to replace a legend at the position. Perhaps his added scoring punch is the trade-off you receive with his score-first mentality and sometimes questionable decision-making.
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Carey has been my biggest disappointment so far (would be real nice to have someone other than Estrella who can score in the post) but this is a close 2nd (still early). I also worry about our speed in the backcourt esp for our perimeter D against SEC competition.
 
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#16
#16
MinisterofDef#92 said:
Carey has been my biggest disappointment so far (would be real nice to have someone other than Estrella who can score in the post) but this is a close 2nd (still early). I also worry about our speed in the backcourt esp for our perimeter D against SEC competition.
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To put a nice little bow on the disappointment discussion that ties the two players together, I need Gillespie and Carey to find a new pair of shoes like I need my next breath. The all-black Sketchers slip-on look has gotta go. It's disgusting. 😄
 
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#17
#17
MinisterofDef#92 said:
Carey has been my biggest disappointment so far (would be real nice to have someone other than Estrella who can score in the post) but this is a close 2nd (still early). I also worry about our speed in the backcourt esp for our perimeter D against SEC competition.
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Carey certainly isn’t providing the same production playing for us that he did playing against us.
 
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#19
#19
therickbol said:
Interesting timing on this post. Boswell has never shown the ability to be a starter before. However, last game he absolutely played well enough to be a starter.
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I'm curious to see how Boswell matches up against better competition. Can he defend against elite guard play, can he generate key buckets if Gillespie is having an off night? The sampling so far for me says its still to early to tell. But I'm glad Coach Barnes is getting him the PT.
 
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#22
#22
If we have an injury filled year like the football team has had, we'll need every able body on the bench.

Did I say "if"? Pfft.... I've seen this movie before.
 
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