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This is the Lineup

LXWildcat

Sophomore
Nov 25, 2023
1,456
4,692
113
Reed
Dillingham
Reeves
Edwards
Big Z/Bradshaw

Now this is the lineup should play until the team is healthy again. Edwards is a college 4 and last night did pretty good at that position. To go along with that you have 3 guards and a big man who can knock down outside shots consistently.
 
When healthy, Mitchell HAS to start. Veteran big who can shoot in or outside and rebound. I would put Mitchell in over Edwards, he has ben solid every game until his injury. Edwards showed promise, but he hasn't convinced me he can do it night in and night out, especially when better teams are up. I loved what I saw from him, kid played hard, but the ZERO rebounds in 20 minutes can't happen.
 
I like edwards at the 4. Not expected to do much. Can take his man off the dribble and create open shots for others.
 
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I like what I saw from Edwards last night but I’d rather see more of Burks and Thiero. Edwards has had ample opportunity to prove himself this year and up until last night and little spurts here and there, has been disappointing. Maybe last night was a turning point
 
Posted this a week or two ago and it still applies.

  1. Three of these four have to be on the floor at all times.
    1. DJ
    2. Shep
    3. Reeves
    4. Rob
  2. 4/5 rules and patterns...Mitchell, Z, Ugo, Bradshaw, Edwards, Adou
    1. Only two of them on the floor unless it's ABSOLUTELY needed
    2. Edwards and Thiero can play with group 1 but ONLY OUT OF NECESSITY (injury, fouls)
    3. Edwards and Adou can't play together...even if one is a "3" and the other is a "4". If either is in for the "3", the "4/5" must be Mitchell and Z.
    4. Ugo and Bradshaw can't play together under any circumstance EVER.
    5. Mitchell can play with anyone in this group
    6. Z can play with anyone in this group
Basically this is a way to maximize the offense on the court at all times. There are a TON of lineup combinations with these rules. The metrics actually support this.
 
Edwards scored last night. And little else. If he is playing the 4 or starting at the 4 then a minimum of 6 rebounds should be in his pocket each game. He will not (on most occasions, rebound or mix it up down low). He will take his man off the dribble but he will not battle (like a 4 has to battle).
 
The game last night showed that we have a lot of players that can contribute. We have guys that can be good at a couple of positions. The problem is the guy that has to put this puzzle together, to get the right pieces for each situation that occurs.
 
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Posted this a week or two ago and it still applies.

  1. Three of these four have to be on the floor at all times.
    1. DJ
    2. Shep
    3. Reeves
    4. Rob
  2. 4/5 rules and patterns...Mitchell, Z, Ugo, Bradshaw, Edwards, Adou
    1. Only two of them on the floor unless it's ABSOLUTELY needed
    2. Edwards and Thiero can play with group 1 but ONLY OUT OF NECESSITY (injury, fouls)
    3. Edwards and Adou can't play together...even if one is a "3" and the other is a "4". If either is in for the "3", the "4/5" must be Mitchell and Z.
    4. Ugo and Bradshaw can't play together under any circumstance EVER.
    5. Mitchell can play with anyone in this group
    6. Z can play with anyone in this group
Basically this is a way to maximize the offense on the court at all times. There are a TON of lineup combinations with these rules. The metrics actually support this.
Before Z became eligible cal was falling in love with having ugo and Bradshaw together on the floor as each game for about a 5 game stretch their time on the court together increased each time. I thought Z and Bradshaw played well together last night and would not mind seeing them get a little run each game. Z has made Bradshaw up his intensity on the court as he has been playing more aggressive since Z became eligible. Would also like to see more of Burks as opposed to Edwards, good defender/rebounder and all around hustle.
 
I wish I could take Cal at his word. If I could, then I'd be confident that now we can count on Burks, Z, and Thiero to come in and provide a lift if Edwards/Mitchell/Bradshaw/Ugo aren't playing well. He says he will play the guys who are playing well. Let's hope so. If Edwards continues laying eggs in 25 minutes we'll know Cal is full of crap.
 
Rotate Sheppard, Dillingham, and Wagner at 1-2. Minutes should be pretty even.

Reeves should get most of the minutes at the 3. Give Edwards a few minutes, just to give him a breather.

Mitchell and Thiero split time at the 4. Mitchell needs his minutes limited (for his health).

Onyenso, Bradshaw, and Ivisic rotate at the 5. In the second half go with whoever is playing best.

Maybe a few minutes of Mitchell at the 5, just for a change of pace. It was effective earlier in the year.
 
Reed Wagner reeves & dilly should be locks for mins
Adou should be a lock
Burks & Ivisic should see upticks in mins
Ugo should see a downward trend
Mitchell should see a downward trend
Edwards and Bradshaw should be time and place
 
Posted this a week or two ago and it still applies.

  1. Three of these four have to be on the floor at all times.
    1. DJ
    2. Shep
    3. Reeves
    4. Rob
  2. 4/5 rules and patterns...Mitchell, Z, Ugo, Bradshaw, Edwards, Adou
    1. Only two of them on the floor unless it's ABSOLUTELY needed
    2. Edwards and Thiero can play with group 1 but ONLY OUT OF NECESSITY (injury, fouls)
    3. Edwards and Adou can't play together...even if one is a "3" and the other is a "4". If either is in for the "3", the "4/5" must be Mitchell and Z.
    4. Ugo and Bradshaw can't play together under any circumstance EVER.
    5. Mitchell can play with anyone in this group
    6. Z can play with anyone in this group
Basically this is a way to maximize the offense on the court at all times. There are a TON of lineup combinations with these rules. The metrics actually support this.
Exactly right
 
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When healthy, Mitchell HAS to start. Veteran big who can shoot in or outside and rebound. I would put Mitchell in over Edwards, he has ben solid every game until his injury. Edwards showed promise, but he hasn't convinced me he can do it night in and night out, especially when better teams are up. I loved what I saw from him, kid played hard, but the ZERO rebounds in 20 minutes can't happen.
Mitchell can't defend pick and roll offense.

He needs to keep playing the 5. Keep Thiero, Edwards and Bradshaw at the 4.
 
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When healthy, Mitchell HAS to start. Veteran big who can shoot in or outside and rebound. I would put Mitchell in over Edwards, he has ben solid every game until his injury. Edwards showed promise, but he hasn't convinced me he can do it night in and night out, especially when better teams are up. I loved what I saw from him, kid played hard, but the ZERO rebounds in 20 minutes can't happen.
Look at Mitchell’s career … he’s been solid !!
 
Reed
Dillingham
Reeves
Edwards
Big Z/Bradshaw

Now this is the lineup should play until the team is healthy again. Edwards is a college 4 and last night did pretty good at that position. To go along with that you have 3 guards and a big man who can knock down outside shots consistently.
It's not that simple. You need to give your best players a rest. Not to mention Dillingham has had 4+ fouls in almost 40% of his games always in <28min. So, with no Wagner, say you rest Reed and Reeves for 5 each, and that Rob is able to play 30, that is 15 minutes that Reeves plays at the 2, so he can only play 20 min at the 3, leaving 20 min at the 3 for the forwards.

Also, I like Rob coming off the bench, and it has worked for him. "Energizer bunny" just when the other team is starting to get a little winded they have to chase the fastest guard in college coming in fresh.

As for Edwards at the 4. No. Theiro helps the team much more. Theiro is the better defender, the much better rebounder, is more physical, is as much a threat from 3, is much better finishing around the rim, is much better at getting to the FT line, blocks way more shots. Also Onyenso is our 2nd best rebounder (after Z), is by FAR our best shot blocker, and overall is a better defender.

Lastly, I think Wagner is expected back Saturday. Giving us our 4 guards. Now I don't care who starts. Minutes matter more. Assuming the 4 guards are healthy, what I would like to see is Reed and Reeves for 30min, Wagner and Dillingham for 25 (I would play him more but due to fouls often he can't). That would leave just 10min at the 3 for the forwards.
 
I could care less about a certain lineup anymore. Just put the ball in Dillingham's hands and let him take this team as far as he can take them!
 
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Reed
Dillingham
Reeves
Edwards
Big Z/Bradshaw

Now this is the lineup should play until the team is healthy again. Edwards is a college 4 and last night did pretty good at that position. To go along with that you have 3 guards and a big man who can knock down outside shots consistently.
For me,

Reed
Dilly
Reeves
Tre
Z

With DJ. Theiro playing big mins too.
Bradshaw and Edwards 12 mins or so. So really a 7 man rotation, 9 playing. Z has the biggest upside out of any bigs and gas only had 2 college games to really get a chance and it's been exciting. He can shoot, pass, rebound and I think the D will come if he can just get solid mins.
 
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For me,

Reed
Dilly
Reeves
Tre
Z

With DJ. Theiro playing big mins too.
Bradshaw and Edwards 12 mins or so. So really a 7 man rotation, 9 playing. Z has the biggest upside out of any bigs and gas only had 2 college games to really get a chance and it's been exciting. He can shoot, pass, rebound and I think the D will come if he can just get solid mins.
Uhh…you forgot our best rim protector and 2nd best rebounder (behind Z), especially important when our defense is so bad.
 
Starting isn't important, but this team seems to have different squads that tend to play better together. Not quite platoons, but guys that complement each other differently.

Reed, DJ, and Reeves need to be out there as much as possible other than games here and there.

Tre, Z, Adou, and Burks need to be out there as much as possible in the same way.

Everone else are situational subs imo. Edwards looks like he's starting to "get it" so that could change. Right now a healthy Adou or Burks>Edwards.

Think Tre (when healthy) and Z together, especially with Reed is an incredibly strong ball movement lineup. Can just plug scorers and lob threats in other spots and go. Let DJ and Rob push the pace. I like Reed as a secondary ball handler/ facilitator / catch and shoot guy.
 
Shouldn’t the guy making $10M/year and having an assistant coach per player be telling us who our best lineup is?

The best example that Cal can’t tell us who should be out there is when he yanked our only offense (Rob) out of the lineup in the first half of the Tenn game. The boos matter and could be heard clearly here in ATL.
 
We all know he won't. But Edwards should return and be the starting 4 next year.
Now I have no idea who UK has even signed how many stars they have by their names or what position they play.
Sorry I don't ever follow hyped up high school players.
I wait to see how good they are when they play a college game. But in most cases. I'd say a sophomore Edwards would out play a Freshmen.
Edwards is exactly the type of player that UNC or Kansas keeps for 3 or 4 years. Right there is what's wrong with the UK program.
 
Rotate Sheppard, Dillingham, and Wagner at 1-2. Minutes should be pretty even.

Reeves should get most of the minutes at the 3. Give Edwards a few minutes, just to give him a breather.

Mitchell and Thiero split time at the 4. Mitchell needs his minutes limited (for his health).

Onyenso, Bradshaw, and Ivisic rotate at the 5. In the second half go with whoever is playing best.

Maybe a few minutes of Mitchell at the 5, just for a change of pace. It was effective earlier in the year.
Burks needs to play in that scenario. He actually plays defense.
 
Uhh…you forgot our best rim protector and 2nd best rebounder (behind Z), especially important when our defense is so bad.
Stone hands? No thanks. Guy can't handle passes and constantly drops rebounds. A few games back one went through his hands off his chest and the TN player grabbed it and put it back in. The guy had 1 good game and a lot of opportunities.
 
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