This was a glimpse of what talented depth looks like

[2330859]

When was the last time we had three (3) who could play the 5? Williams, Wheeler and Curry each contributed last night without a huge drop. Last time we had five (5) kids who could play the 3 and 4 positions? Williamson, Faulkner, Davis, Withers and Cross can each rebound and score in and out. Last time we had three (3) who could play the 1 or 2? West, Locke and Ellis are quite capable of playing either position. Add a healthy Gabe and some resemblance of what we saw from JJ last year, and it means there are literally 13 kids on this team who could have the ability to get meaningful minutes at this level of college basketball.

There was a point in the game where we were up by 28 points, and yet Locke, Ellis, Cross and West combined for just 3 of 24. I get it, just one game cannot be used as any definitive prediction for the rest of this season. With that said, I have watched UL basketball since John Turner and Bud Olsen era and there have been some unbelievable talented rosters at UL, some with exceptional depth; however, this roster is by far the deepest in terms of both experienced talent that I have witnessed.

 

[shadow force]

I am heavily relieved that we have so many more big bodies at the 5. Last year that hurt the team when Malik went down. And I admittedly worry for Malik whenever he's out there.

Also our abundance at the back court is huge as last season it was just Carlik and DJ. This roster is great for pressing type defense with so many fresh legs available.

 

[nccardfan]

I do believe we have a deep, talented roster. Our NC teams were deep especially 86. On those teams though, we knew who were the guys worthy of being on the all-American team. Maybe we don’t need that type of guy but at times I want to see more of Cross than 3 shots, I want to see Faulkner get more minutes, I want Withers to be more aggressive, I want Rose/Curry to get more minutes. I know it’s early and there is a lot of optimism as this team grows.

 

[Guardman]

Streak shooters. Bad and Good.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

They played good D 1st half. Wish there was a shot blocker but they don't have one

The O will be up and down because the front line while good players, don't play above the rim so they need 3s.

They need to clean up the bad turnovers maybe they improve gradually on that. The bad turnovers scream run out for other team.

Hoping they found an identity with the D. They kind of punked MIss St without blocking shots.

 

[2330859]

It’s difficult to block interior shots when being coached to position for defensive rebounding. Good defensive positioning without leaving your feet is what this staff is teaching Withers, Williams, Curry and Wheeler.

I thought our ability to defend the MSU bigs so effectively inside, negated their primary interior strength. Williams had 5 rebounds in the first 8 minutes of the game by not leaving his feet until he was positioned to rebound the missed shot.