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The one constant Ray is (not baseball) it is defense.....the best defensive team will start. That is Porters Way. The win against Drake the other night was another defensive win in which we caused 20 some turnovers and 22 some point off of turnovers. The performance Ugauk put on TJ Green/UNI was phenomenal and we have had a couple games where the offense has been sooo bad we couldnt overcome a couple atrocious offensive outings like Indiana St. So my first thought on who plays next year....is who is the best defensive team? and there is some stuff I dont know yet...
like.
1. How good is Norris defensively. ? He looked very small in the scrimmage.
2. Is Wojik going to be able to develop physically ?
3. How will Welch develop as a post player.
4. Was the major issue with Pipkens defensively this year?

We have 4 players in the top 10 in steals in the Conference (Hall, Williamson , Krutwig and Kennedy)...this has helped a rather bad shooting team lead the Valley in Field Goal %
In summary dont think zebras change their stripes ...as long as Porter is here He will be looking for kids that play D...The other factor is ball protection. we had on one in the top 10 in assists to turnovers....I could see a change there....

I think Quise is too good not to be a starter. I get he is a great 'spark' off the bench, but he is the type of talent I think we want on the court as much as possible. That being said, I am not sure whose spot he would take over in the starting lineup as Porter seems to really value Uguak's defense, Krut is Krut, Lucas will be a senior leader and is great on defense, Hall is our second best player and we need a true PG like Clemons on the court (as evidenced by the early part of the season without him).

Ultimately, I think Uguak ends up out of the starting lineup (assuming he sticks around next year, which I think he will). He is too much of an offensive liability.

So I think we go:
Clemons, Kennedy, Lucas, Hall, Krut

Minutes will vary game-to-game based on match-ups, but the amount of talent on the roster next year is unreal. We will be by far the deepest team in the Valley. Bench players like Norris and Kaifes and Frank would be starting on almost any other Valley team. Full court press after baskets is a great idea--we have the horses to do that.

Well, depth is good.

We play so hard on defense that we do have trouble sustaining the defensive intensity. The guys we have coming in should allow for us to hopefully avoid some of the droughts we go through when need to sub to rest guys. Right now we really drop off offensively when we go to the bench except for Marquise.

I would love for us to play like Arkansas did back in the day when Nolan Richardson was coaching. It was intense 40 minute basketball, "40 Minutes of Hell". They defended you everywhere on the floor and ran subs in and out to keep everyone fresh.

Porter loves the old Majerus line "Starting's for high school" so I ultimately think it doesn't matter which 5 start. There will be a lot of opportunities to use different lineups over the course of the game.

Again, I can’t emphasize enough how bad I think our schedule is going to be next year. The depth and talent alone is impressive, and when ADs and coaches look at this years 20+ win record and our roster that only had Skokna listed as a senior, good luck getting anyone to cut a deal with us! MAYBE we get one paid game at a power 5 but I’m doubting it. Hopefully we have a good season tourney, but I don’t think I’ve head anything. If we make the NCAA this year that will all but deal next year’s scheduling fate. UNI is gonna be in the same boat.

Porter is really going to have to work to build a non-con schedule and I bet it looks horrific (through no fault of his own). The only good news is I think playing crap teams is going to give us an opportunity to test our lineups without the fear of losing, and we may be able to try and implement some new things (ie, a full court press). I really think the depth and speed we have give us an opportunity to try it and create a ton of turnovers. The schedule might suck but we should rack up a ton of wins.

We've got Myrtle Beach next year. Should hopefully get a few good games out of that and will also have return game at Davidson.

We will get another crack a good Furman team, too.

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That was more than just a home and home?

We bought them the first time. Brutality. H/H started this year.

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