21 Comments
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AKBear's avatar

Like the length of the new Bears. Now we need to work on length of time in the program.

Bhec's avatar

If you leave him open its $$$.

Jimmy Chitwood's avatar

He also showed the ability to put it on the deck and get into the paint…same with Cooper, and also seemingly a strength of RS FR Ruff.

AKBear's avatar

What does the Bears depth chart look like now?

Finn's avatar

yeah would be nice to see a current roster

Jimmy Chitwood's avatar

Hmmm so far looks like:

G - TT Carr, Michael Cooper

Wing - Ruff (RS FR), Indrusaitis, Bakare (FR), Wilkins

Big - Dort, Yeanay, Kocanas, Dut, Mitrovic (FR)

AKBear's avatar

What would be the starting 5 from this not yet complete group?

Jimmy Chitwood's avatar

Just one fan’s opinion, but from that list, in April, I’d hazard a completely speculative guess:

PG: Carr

SG: Cooper

SF: Indrusaitis

PF: Yeanay

C: Dort

With Ruff, Wilkins, Kocanas, and the 2 FR worked into the rotation.

Some early questions heading into offseason:

1. What do you get on the wing out of guys who have never played D1 hoops (Ruff, Bakare)?

2. Is Mitrovic ready to contribute as a FR big man in the ACC?

3. Can the returners (Carr, Yeanay, Kocanas) take a step forward and show tangible offensive progress? Can Dort take another step forward?

4. What does Wilkins give you and where does he play - 6’9” with length, but thin and struggles with shooting?

5. Is Cooper your backup PG?

6. Can Dut be any kind of an X-factor as a legit 7-footer?

If you get the FR to SO bump from TT, particularly in his outside shooting to something approaching average for the position, and some level of improvement from Sammie (healthy offseason) and Kocanas (work on footwork and adjust to speed of the game), they should be at least competetive.

Think Cooper and Indrusaitis fill the Pippen/Dai Dai roles….but you’re missing 2 big shooters in Camden and Bell, with no sure fire replacements…so they’re gonna have to rely on other ways to win than this past year, like defense and rebounding.

AKBear's avatar

Dort was recognized on Senior day. Is he back?

Jimmy Chitwood's avatar

Saw it on the Twitter earlier this month.

sacman701's avatar

One Lithuanian, same as last year.

Clifford Fewel's avatar

And I remember when the press went nuts after Lew Alcindor changed his name. The LA Times headline even read, “Basket by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!” Nowadays the sports world is so world-wise and accepting of all nations and cultures. It’s great.

KetamineCal's avatar

Need those shooters!

Jimmy Chitwood's avatar

The stroke from the charity stripe is a concern.

Write For California Staff's avatar

Context for the FT number matters. 1.6 FTA per game. Made 33/52. 19 misses over 33 games. 15 games didn’t attempt a single FT. Had a season high 7/7 against FSU in early March.

Ultimately to say not a concern.

Jimmy Chitwood's avatar

Wwwweeeellllllll, going back to FR year in Ames, he’s a career 61% FT shooter. While sure, not a huge sample size, it’s probably fair to say “hopefully” it’s not a concern. ;-)

KetamineCal's avatar

Definitely expect better from a guard. Doesn't take too many FTs, though.

Jimmy Chitwood's avatar

82% (14-17) last 7 games, which included 6 double-figure scoring efforts (14 ppg).

Along with Cooper, your next MM career-elevation projects.

Jimmy Chitwood's avatar

Nice pick up. Much needed scoring on the wing.

doncal's avatar

So far it seems we have lost more through the portal and graduation than we have gained back. Need to get a proven scorer on the front line...Any chance we could land Paulius Murauskas??? Or is that just $$$ out of the question?

Finn's avatar

Šarūnas Marčiulionis would be proud! ;-)