Not even sure what everyone is fighting about but my two cents are that Shep is a bit ahead of the other freshmen and right now, is probably the best player on the team. That doesn't mean that Wagner and Dilly don't have more upside though, and hence more room to improve. They all will get better. I like the speed of Wagner and Dilly. Both shoot the ball well, but not great. Shep is a heady bball player and I think that's what has him ahead of the others at the moment. Like Reeves, he fades away a little when left to create his own shot against a better, faster defender. Not many faster than Wagner and Dilly though...and I think they will be the ones that can be counted on to break their guy down when we need a basket. Don't get me wrong about Shep though..he's not slow at all but is a step behind the other two. He typically looks best when he's better than the guy guarding him but there will be and have been times where the other guy is just a step faster than Reed. If the other two continue to develop, that really puts a ton of pressure on the other team to keep up with two or all three of them when they need a stop. Again, I think that right now, Shep is the best player on the team but later, I think that will be Wagner or Dilly. Hopefully Edwards breaks out but to me, he seems like a guy that is still figuring out the game and thinking too much, at this point. Just not there yet at this level but might have the highest ceiling, especially at his position. Listed as a guard but is a natural 3 or 4. I'd like to see him get more time and just play ball but he has hurt us at times. They're all different players and all at different stages of growing their games.
I hope we win easily tomorrow and Edwards logs a lot of minutes. When he breaks out, look out. He's the missing piece. The other guys are just ahead of him at the moment. He'll be crucial in conference play.
I don't care who starts. We have the good problem of it being hard to just say, these are my best 5 and this is who starts. On any given night, our best five can look very different, and as always, it has a lot to do with matchups the other team presents. The best 5 on a given night need to log the most minutes. Not complicated in that regard. Shep is a shooter and I like the idea of a shooter starting, even if he sits early, just to get him in the flow and his rhythm going early rather than coming off the bench, then needing to get going. Who knows? What we're doing ain't broke though. Faster legs off the bench might put more pressure on the other team at times, to keep up too. Just rambling but we're winning while growing, at the moment. We'll be growing all season long too. Just because I'd start Shep atm, doesn't mean the coach is wrong, but that I'd try Shep in the starting lineup more and see how it goes. I don't make $10 million/year though. I'd start Shep and get him a good look at the basket at least once before subbing him out. If the shots fall, great to get out front early and stepping up the pace even more with subs like Wag/Dilly are what I'd do. Doesn't mean I'm right. Defense needs to be the focus first and foremost. The O will come and transition points will come with D and pts off turnovers. As defensive intensity hopefully picks up, keeping shooters' legs fresh is where I'd concentrate substitution patterns around. Our depth is scary for opponents.
