Breaking down the Arizona basketball 2018 recruiting class. The Wildcats 3 man class come in ranked at #22 in the nation. The article below takes a look at what all three players can bring to the table right away.
https://bustingbrackets.com/2018/09/04/arizona-basketball-breaking-2018-recruiting-class/
Didn't realize that B-Will shot less than 30% from beyond the arc during his Senior Year. Hopefully, he shares the ball and attacks the basket often.
I think Devonaire will be the best 4-year player in the class as he will continue to improve on the offensive end every season.
Thielemans will be a nice surprise. I envision him eventually starting at the SF position because of his versatility (he seems more "D-1 ready" than Akot).
Looking forward to seeing them on the court in one month!
Quote from: KansasCityCats on September 14, 2018, 12:33:26 PM
Didn't realize that B-Will shot less than 30% from beyond the arc during his Senior Year. Hopefully, he shares the ball and attacks the basket often.
I think Devonaire will be the best 4-year player in the class as he will continue to improve on the offensive end every season.
Thielemans will be a nice surprise. I envision him eventually starting at the SF position because of his versatility (he seems more "D-1 ready" than Akot).
Looking forward to seeing them on the court in one month!
I could see a line up where we have Thielemans and Akot in at the same time with either Jeter or Luther in the middle. After all we only have a couple bigs and they have to rest at some point. Then there is foul trouble as well. Our only other "big" that plays that way inside is Lee and that will drive us to the smaller line up often.
Quote from: KansasCityCats on September 14, 2018, 12:33:26 PM
Didn't realize that B-Will shot less than 30% from beyond the arc during his Senior Year. Hopefully, he shares the ball and attacks the basket often.
I think Devonaire will be the best 4-year player in the class as he will continue to improve on the offensive end every season.
Thielemans will be a nice surprise. I envision him eventually starting at the SF position because of his versatility (he seems more "D-1 ready" than Akot).
Looking forward to seeing them on the court in one month!
Technically Akot is listed as a G on our roster.
With Miller all but forced to run a three-guard lineup this season, like George said, we could see both Akot/Thielemans on the floor at the same time.
I appear to be much higher on Thielemans than most of us here, but I also know that he is not going to start from the beginning with Williams/Barcello/Coleman/Smith/Randolph/Akot all in front of him (for now).
I HOPE that Thielemans get a lot of minutes this season because we are definitely going to need him during the PAC-12 this season and for him to make a huge leap next season with so many bodies projected to be gone.
Doutrive is going to be the type of "bridge" player that we needed PJC to be.
He may or may not ever start, but he is going to play and have an impact in our rotation because of his size and length to be able to play and guard multiple positions.
How fast his defense is able to catch up to his offense is going to dictate how fast and how much time he gets.
Williams is the prized recruit and we all know how much leash Miller gives his "prized" recruits, even in there their debut seasons.
This one I am not too worried about because I know he is going to have plenty of opportunities to showcase his talents.
I wouldn't be surprised if he entered (and stayed) in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Quote from: mvpreed2 on September 17, 2018, 10:38:36 AM
Quote from: KansasCityCats on September 14, 2018, 12:33:26 PM
Didn't realize that B-Will shot less than 30% from beyond the arc during his Senior Year. Hopefully, he shares the ball and attacks the basket often.
I think Devonaire will be the best 4-year player in the class as he will continue to improve on the offensive end every season.
Thielemans will be a nice surprise. I envision him eventually starting at the SF position because of his versatility (he seems more "D-1 ready" than Akot).
Looking forward to seeing them on the court in one month!
Technically Akot is listed as a G on our roster.
With Miller all but forced to run a three-guard lineup this season, like George said, we could see both Akot/Thielemans on the floor at the same time.
I appear to be much higher on Thielemans than most of us here, but I also know that he is not going to start from the beginning with Williams/Barcello/Coleman/Smith/Randolph/Akot all in front of him (for now).
I HOPE that Thielemans get a lot of minutes this season because we are definitely going to need him during the PAC-12 this season and for him to make a huge leap next season with so many bodies projected to be gone.
Doutrive is going to be the type of "bridge" player that we needed PJC to be.
He may or may not ever start, but he is going to play and have an impact in our rotation because of his size and length to be able to play and guard multiple positions.
How fast his defense is able to catch up to his offense is going to dictate how fast and how much time he gets.
Williams is the prized recruit and we all know how much leash Miller gives his "prized" recruits, even in there their debut seasons.
This one I am not too worried about because I know he is going to have plenty of opportunities to showcase his talents.
I wouldn't be surprised if he entered (and stayed) in the 2019 NBA Draft.
I think Doutrive is a better defender than anyone gives him credit for and that may get him on the court faster as he is a real high energy guy that does play D! Thielemans and Lee are the only ones that really fit the mold of being able to play the inside game behind our two big transfers. I see lots of rotation this year with high energy, but SM really pushes the D. I think that Akot can be that stretch 4 in situations, but it does mean our other guys will have to make rebounding a priority. Back to the basics of boxing out and contesting everything.
I am excited for this class. I am not sure if DD will have a huge impact this year but I think BWill and OT will. Call me crazy but a lineup of BWill, Randolph, OT, Akot, and Jeter could really push the pace and switch everything on defense. I love hiw OT's shot is lookin plus he looks big for a frosh.
We could also have a lineup with 4 newcomers and Jeter so it would be Coleman, BWill, OT, Luther, and Jeter. Another interesting combo would be Coleman, BWill, Smith, Lee, and Luther. 3 guards and 2 bigs with some girth. The combo of lineups seems endless lol
Quote from: Little George on September 17, 2018, 10:58:12 AM
Quote from: mvpreed2 on September 17, 2018, 10:38:36 AM
Quote from: KansasCityCats on September 14, 2018, 12:33:26 PM
Didn't realize that B-Will shot less than 30% from beyond the arc during his Senior Year. Hopefully, he shares the ball and attacks the basket often.
I think Devonaire will be the best 4-year player in the class as he will continue to improve on the offensive end every season.
Thielemans will be a nice surprise. I envision him eventually starting at the SF position because of his versatility (he seems more "D-1 ready" than Akot).
Looking forward to seeing them on the court in one month!
Technically Akot is listed as a G on our roster.
With Miller all but forced to run a three-guard lineup this season, like George said, we could see both Akot/Thielemans on the floor at the same time.
I appear to be much higher on Thielemans than most of us here, but I also know that he is not going to start from the beginning with Williams/Barcello/Coleman/Smith/Randolph/Akot all in front of him (for now).
I HOPE that Thielemans get a lot of minutes this season because we are definitely going to need him during the PAC-12 this season and for him to make a huge leap next season with so many bodies projected to be gone.
Doutrive is going to be the type of "bridge" player that we needed PJC to be.
He may or may not ever start, but he is going to play and have an impact in our rotation because of his size and length to be able to play and guard multiple positions.
How fast his defense is able to catch up to his offense is going to dictate how fast and how much time he gets.
Williams is the prized recruit and we all know how much leash Miller gives his "prized" recruits, even in there their debut seasons.
This one I am not too worried about because I know he is going to have plenty of opportunities to showcase his talents.
I wouldn't be surprised if he entered (and stayed) in the 2019 NBA Draft.
I think Doutrive is a better defender than anyone gives him credit for and that may get him on the court faster as he is a real high energy guy that does play D! Thielemans and Lee are the only ones that really fit the mold of being able to play the inside game behind our two big transfers. I see lots of rotation this year with high energy, but SM really pushes the D. I think that Akot can be that stretch 4 in situations, but it does mean our other guys will have to make rebounding a priority. Back to the basics of boxing out and contesting everything.
1. I do believe that (ability to defend) will be the deciding factor for those that may be fighting for minutes.
We don't have the talent to simply outplay you this season, so we will need to find roles for guys and try to put a puzzle together that would emulate as complete of a unit as we could get.
2. The fact that Thielemans is the only other player that we have over 6'6 coming in, makes me believe he is going to get some minutes this season at SF/PF.
His ability to rebound and push the ball in transition, even from the PF spot, would make him a nightmare in transition.
His ability to translate his game into the American game, primarily the physicality, is going to be whether he is able to jump Lee as that 3rd big on the depth chart.
Whoever that is will get a lot of minutes should Jeter/Luther get in foul trouble, injured or Miller choose to go small-ball.
3. I want to believe that this is going to be one of the most fundamentally sound teams we have ever seen under Miller.
The little things are going to go a long way; rebounding, A/TO ratio, FT shooting, offensive efficiency, will all factor even more so to whether or not we win this season.
Our 2018-19 season is really going to test Miller and see how much he is able to squeeze out of his players..
I think Doutrive will be similar to Parrom (in terms of productivity). He won't earn 20 minutes per game, but his defense and effort will get him on the court.
As a result of our frontcourt depth, I envision Akot playing a lot of SF/PF in smaller lineups because we only have 3 big men that can realistically contribute.
This year will likely be a rollercoaster. I'm hoping that we get off to a hot start and shock everybody in Maui.
Agee that this could be a much more fundamentally sound team with Miller showing his chops as a coach. Have to laugh at myself for hoping this team will mimic what I appreciate in the women's game.
Quote from: ollieboy5150 on September 18, 2018, 07:10:51 AM
Agee that this could be a much more fundamentally sound team with Miller showing his chops as a coach. Have to laugh at myself for hoping this team will mimic what I appreciate in the women's game.
Yeah you have to laugh.
Fundamentals are something that won't be reached in the men's game because of our masculine need to show our opponent that we are more athletic than they are.