|
Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 18, 2014 21:19:55 GMT -5
Good comments all around. A few additional thoughts: 1. Stover and CJ have their best years ahead of them - they have "apprenticed" so to speak with CJ having a Redshirt season and now have the experience and a better knowledge of their own games to contribute using their strengths. 2. Let's keep Gabe and Evan in any case. 3. Mornar, despite his length, might not be able to bulk up enough to be a really strong presence inside. So far, he has been pushed around quite a bit and can lose rebounds that start in his hands due to lack of strength against big foes. 4. Deji will be a solid, if not spectacular, 4th year player somewhere - why not here? 5. Godwin is defense but is undersized at 6'8" as a center. A few more pounds would help but can his metabolism put on some weight? 6. Not much to get excited about re the remainder of the roster unless Patson has developed his skills beyond what we have seen so far in limited exposure. His natural athleticism, strength and height have some rating him high but this has yet to be demonstrated in my mind. 7. slb - you are correct about the quality of past recruits (with a few exceptions) - they are very good by recent LMU standards but compared to the top teams in the WCC, perhaps not so strong. In any case, like Winter, I too am interested to see what rabbits Dunlap pulls out of his hat recruiting wise including his local HS talent and JC assistants named so far.
|
|
|
Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 18, 2014 21:25:27 GMT -5
If Gabe is a double-digit rebounder, per Dunlap own comments in his interview, he will start in the new system even if he doesn't score much. But he will score and I'm not convinced he needs a 3-point shot - I'll settle for 15 ft jumpers reliably from a key inside player. Knight did not even shoot 3-pointers and was a great PF.
|
|
|
Post by uncurselmu on Mar 18, 2014 21:31:06 GMT -5
I think our overall recruits have been up there near the top of the WCC but we've had very few bigmen come through the pipeline, and a couple of those who did bolted after a couple years.
As far as mornar goes I like his skillset. I think he could be a successful small forward if he continues to work on his 3pt shot. He would be extremely disruptive with his length. But I agree he got bullied inside this year as a PF and needs to either strengthen up or slide over to SF.
CJ has been the most bipolar player on this roster. He started with flashes of brilliance and was up and down this year. I agree that a new offense will help him.
Stover could breakthrough soon. In my opinion he was our best defensive player this year, and he's got a crafty game that should carry him through. Both he and CJ have been very streaky from outside and stover even looked timid to pull up so he needs to step up and play with some confidence if he's going to turn into what we were expecting.
|
|
|
Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 18, 2014 21:53:22 GMT -5
I like Mornar's skillset also but on offense he doesn't take many shots in experience to date. He averaged 2.8 ppg. He makes FTs routinely and can shoot but hasn't excersized this talent. The same might be said about Nick - did somewhat coach them to reign in their offense? I agree about Stover and CJ. By the way, Mornar was our leading scorer percentage-wise for LMU - shooting 58% from the field but only 22% from three.
|
|
|
Post by slblions08 on Mar 22, 2014 12:02:54 GMT -5
I like Mornar's skillset also but on offense he doesn't take many shots in experience to date. He averaged 2.8 ppg. He makes FTs routinely and can shoot but hasn't excersized this talent. The same might be said about Nick - did somewhat coach them to reign in their offense? I agree about Stover and CJ. By the way, Mornar was our leading scorer percentage-wise for LMU - shooting 58% from the field but only 22% from three. When Mornar was recruited, wasn't he known as "Money" Mornar because of his ability to hit the outside shot? In fact I thought he was a Drew Viney replacement. Not to fill his place, obviously, but his spot on the floor on offense. I have to give it to Marin for actually finding a new way to get minutes by being a shotblocker, but that was not why he came to LMU. At least not by the press release. Chalk him up to another ruined recruit. Currently since we're talking about next year, I guess we have this wrong and rough depth chart thus far. 1. PG NEW RECRUIT 2. G C. Flint 3. G E. Payne 4. G A. Rifkind 5. G A. Egbeyemi 6. G/F N. Stover 7. G/F E. Stewart 8. F C. Blackwell 9. F G. Levin 10. F. M. Mornar 11. F. M. Godfrey 12. F/C B. Dickinson 13. F/C D. Wyatt 14. C P. Siame 15. C G. Okonji That's 15 guys, but Rifkind is a walk-on. (That's if he's still coming). 14 scholarships since we're probably still looking for a PG for next year. So somebody isn't coming. Either Godfrey will be for next year, Wyatt will not come, Dickinson is not returning, Patson will leave or Okonji can't come back or it's Stewart leaving. Personally, my dream rotation would be something like this PG NEW RECRUIT G Payne - Stewart - Egbeyemi SF Stover - Blackwell PF Levin - Dickinson C Siame - Okonji Comfortable on the Bench: Mornar, Flint, Wyatt, Rifkind Under good offensive sets by Dunlap, he could negate the need for one true PG on the floor at all times. With teaching and discipline, Payne could become a second (PG) because of his ball-handling skills. In this case Stewart would have big minutes as the back-up/6th man. Payne further develops his game better than Breckenridge. Win-Win. Egbeyemi will still get good minutes to match-up defensively against teams that go with three small guards and could even be on the floor if Payne and the new PG need a breather if Dunlap goes through some type of motion offense or goes full court press. Stover and Blackwell will split the SF based on who has the hot hand or the match-ups. Levin will have the starting spot all to his own and his size will be balanced by Siame to start games. Ben's attitude adjustment would mean he'd have to deal with a back-up role but under Dunlap maybe he gets to post up and dominate against back-up players with less athleticism (his weakness). At the Center position we'd be traditional. Siame would be there for shot-blocking, rebounding and size. Payne looks like he want's an alley-oop partner and he'll try to make it happen. I'd imagine Siame will get tired or into foul trouble. Plenty of opportunity for Godwin to get minutes as a 5th year senior ala Osborne. Mornar would serve as a nice PF/C back-up when foul trouble or injuries hit to the big guys. He'll get opportunities. Flint would have to work harder to get time but he could try to beat out the Freshman or JUCO recruit for minutes if he focuses on playing defense, and holding on to the ball. Wyatt the freshman would be sitting of course, but he's a freshman so deal with it. Godfrey can stay in Prep School and take Godwin's minutes next year. Rifkind can sit and be happy his bought him a DI uniform. Anyhow, that's how I would sell it to the recruits and the current guys. 10 plays will get to play big minutes and the reserves would likely see opportunities. Besides, we have a track record of injuries. And I think Dunlap's offense will mean that more people will get to touch the ball, and therefore it will have the psychological effect that more people will feel involved. When you have just two guys (guards) having the ball in their hands at all times and just dribbling most of the clock, guys get no rhythm and they feel left out which leads to poor confidence and attitude, and lack of interested on defense.
|
|
|
Post by ALioninWinter on Mar 22, 2014 14:07:23 GMT -5
I thought there were two things that happened during last week's Dunlap press conference that were important.
First of all, most (all?) of the players showed up. If they didn't support the coaching change, they would not have been there. I took that as a strong (not fool-proof, but strong) indicator that we won't see much (if any) roster turmoil. that's a really good thing since we do have some talent and potential on the roster.
I don't have any inside scoop, but I don't expect Ben back. Was he at the press conference? Is he even still on campus?
Secondly, Dunlap made the comment that he had one more scholarship to fill. Nothing is "for sure" with our current crop of recruits until they are enrolled on campus, but that statement tells me he is fairly confident that he has them tied up.
slb - I pretty much agree with your rotation. For now, we can only assume we have the known roster to worth with.
PG - I don't know if Cartwright was a potential star but his de-commit creates the biggest hole on the roster. I'm comfortable enough with Chase as a back-up PG but he's not the answer at this all-important position. The role of a strong PG may be a little diminished with Dunlap's approach but it's still a very key position. I've seen several reports of offers or at least "interest" to SoCal PGs over the past month or so. None of them seem great; but, as I mentioned in another post, we don't need great. I'd settle for another Alex Wintering or Jeremy Major. Evan might work in a pinch for some very limited minutes as a point guard but I don't see him as even a good back-up in this position. he does not have eyes for teammates when he is dribbling. Most of the assists he did get were lucky bail-out passes. Even if Dunlap scores a good PG recruit, we are going to be very thin at this position. Sure hope we don't get an injury.
SG - Evan, Deji and Stewart makes this a strong position. Deji and Stewart both have nice size for 2-guards. We lost a lot of battles this last year to bigger, stronger guards. That shouldn't happen next year if we have these guys. If Stewart can make the D-1 transition quickly, he can start in a 3-guard formation. If not, he and Deji will both come off the bench. Also, we may need Deji's senior experience at times. The team is going to be young. Rushkin is billed as a shooter. I have no idea. Never seen the guy. But if he can shoot, he deserves some rotation time. A few timely 3-pointers off the bench could really help us.
SF - I think CJ has more offensive potential and Nick is the better defensive alternative. Both should be part of the rotation. Stewart also fits in here. He's small for a SF but this SF position will work in conjunction with the SG position, so I think we will see various rotations, and this area should be the team's strength.
PF - We have a number of players here, but not sure about our quality level behind Gabe. Gabe should blossom if Patson can take over the middle. Don't know how Wyatt and Godfrey will transition to the D-1 game. Both are redshirt candidates probably, with one staying active but not getting much playing time and the other redshirting. You're dead on about Money. Billed as a 3-point shooter and in two years I don't think I ever saw a play designed to give him that 3-point shot. He took a few with little success, but its not fair to judge his ability on those limited results. It will be interesting to see how Dunlap opts to use him.
C - If Patson plays to some of the hype we've heard, we are in good shape. If he doesn't, we're back to last season's inside weakness. Let's hope Patson can do the job, and then I am comfortable with Godwin playing significant minutes as his back-up. Next year's recruiting class desperately needs some size.
I also see a 10-man rotation with lots of passing that involves the whole team. Things are certainly going to be different................Is it November yet?
|
|
|
Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 22, 2014 21:27:02 GMT -5
slb, winter - I assumed that Dickinson is a goner otherwise the math doesn't work. slb - Rifkind was not in my equation; do you expect him to contribute next season? I understand he is a walk on. Finally, 6'8" Godfrey (I like his size) has committed verbally but is not signed. From what I know, I'd like to see him here in LA but perhaps this is not a done deal yet. Like Winter, I agree there is excitement again in LMU basketball! I think Ironlion will come around when we post a winning season next year. In retrospect, Tension made a nice go of it with Agger's players and now Alford is doing the same with Howland's recruits. We should know by now that life is not always fair. I'm willing to give Max due credit for any achievements of next season's team. Go Lions!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2014 22:29:40 GMT -5
Godfrey isn't coming
|
|
|
Post by greendoberman on Mar 22, 2014 22:44:23 GMT -5
Tried to dig for research on Godfrey. Unfortunately I read his Twitter. Painful read, I must be getting old. Not exactly gutted.
|
|
|
Post by greendoberman on Mar 23, 2014 11:55:46 GMT -5
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2014 13:25:03 GMT -5
Looks like we play USC and Arizona St. on the road next year
|
|
|
Post by slblions08 on Mar 27, 2014 17:18:06 GMT -5
I like Mornar's skillset also but on offense he doesn't take many shots in experience to date. He averaged 2.8 ppg. He makes FTs routinely and can shoot but hasn't excersized this talent. The same might be said about Nick - did somewhat coach them to reign in their offense? I agree about Stover and CJ. By the way, Mornar was our leading scorer percentage-wise for LMU - shooting 58% from the field but only 22% from three. When Mornar was recruited, wasn't he known as "Money" Mornar because of his ability to hit the outside shot? In fact I thought he was a Drew Viney replacement. Not to fill his place, obviously, but his spot on the floor on offense. I have to give it to Marin for actually finding a new way to get minutes by being a shotblocker, but that was not why he came to LMU. At least not by the press release. Chalk him up to another ruined recruit. Currently since we're talking about next year, I guess we have this wrong and rough depth chart thus far. 1. PG NEW RECRUIT 2. G C. Flint 3. G E. Payne 4. G A. Rifkind 5. G A. Egbeyemi 6. G/F N. Stover 7. G/F E. Stewart 8. F C. Blackwell 9. F G. Levin 10. F. M. Mornar 11. F. M. Godfrey 12. F/C B. Dickinson 13. F/C D. Wyatt 14. C P. Siame 15. C G. Okonji That's 15 guys, but Rifkind is a walk-on. (That's if he's still coming). 14 scholarships since we're probably still looking for a PG for next year. So somebody isn't coming. Either Godfrey will be for next year, Wyatt will not come, Dickinson is not returning, Patson will leave or Okonji can't come back or it's Stewart leaving. Personally, my dream rotation would be something like this PG NEW RECRUIT G Payne - Stewart - Egbeyemi SF Stover - Blackwell PF Levin - Dickinson C Siame - Okonji Comfortable on the Bench: Mornar, Flint, Wyatt, Rifkind So cross of a bunch of guys PG NEW RECRUIT (Davis?) G Payne - Egbeyemi SF Blackwell - Stover PF Levin - Mornar - Wyatt C Siame - Okonji Bench Guys: Flint, Godfrey (?), Rifkind (walk-on) So obviously we've got a little dilemma in terms of scoring the ball. I kind of was relying on Stewart on being that spark plug off the bench. This means Payne will play a larger role in the scoring load, but either CJ or Levin will need to be a secondary scorer. It's all going to be predicated on getting open looks or drives to the basket, and winning the possession battles via rebounding. I'd really like the idea of having a 5th year senior to help kind of like Brendan Lane did at Pepperdine. If we can't find that, then maybe a JUCO transfer. I'd just like to have another guy on the floor who can light it up either driving to the lane or a shooter. It's just very late in the game so who is out there?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2014 17:47:56 GMT -5
"Money" got his name in high school in Detroit because his classmates could not pronounce his name. I think there was a interview on LMULIONS once where he told the story. Money really needs a red shirt year or to become a Mormon and go a mission.
Godfrey and Rifkind are not coming but there are gonna be a lot of transfers out there starting now.
|
|
|
Post by LIONS90045 on Mar 27, 2014 20:47:00 GMT -5
Iron - I assume "transfers" means onto the Lions? Hopefully, we are not losing any of our current team other than those already accounted for. I'm hoping our coach from the JC ranks can identify a few guys who can impact the program now and our man from HS in San Diego knows a few "sleepers" who can also help over the longer term.
Regarding scoring next season, I think Stover will come into form with his experience and (hopefully) confidence gained from his two-years experience. The coaches need to help Levin find the best shots for his game as he has the talent and scored well before the teams scouted his game. Deji will be our second leading scorer in my opinion and will make lots of boards with his strength and athleticism. Some sound coaching will help his game. And maybe Okonji can develop an inside the paint hook shot like Osborne displayed in his senior season. CJ also has the talent but needs more consistency - he can be a double digit man if he earns the minutes and plays to his ability. PS Who was this "Rifkind" fellow anyway - I missed him entirely?
|
|
|
Post by ALioninWinter on Mar 27, 2014 22:39:51 GMT -5
Alex Rifkind - a shooting guard out of Boca Raton, Florida. Said he was coming to LMU as an invited walk-on. His dad is a big shot in the music business so LMU tuition was no hurdle. Word was he could shoot. Sort of a novel concept around Gersten...........unless you're on an opposing team. Ironlion or someone said he is not coming now. I don't know.
No stars and unrecruited, but scouts and coaches miss all kinds of opportunities to pick up shooters. A few years ago, an unknown shooter by the name of Dale Curry had a hard time finding a college that would take him! I'm not saying Rifkind is anything even on the same planet as Curry. I'm just saying I don't believe the star system has much validity when it comes to shooters. Everyone is too enamored with the guys who have torsion springs in their legs.............even if they can't hit a lay-up.
|
|