35 days...

[commadore]

until basketball. I don't know what we will have, but it HAS to be better than the train wreck of a football team.

Excuse me, not a train wreck, a dumpster fire burning bovine feces.

[Vandyproud]

I can't wait to see Ezra and Lawrence. Ezra is my favorite player since Shan Foster.

[GoheenFan88]

until basketball. I don't know what we will have, but it HAS to be better than the train wreck of a football team.

That’s the truth.

[Versus75]

Still hopeful that Football will turn it around, but excited about our basketball prospects ( Men AND Women) as well.

[vandamnit]

I hope everyone finds their way back to Vandymania. I enjoy (most of) the discussion, especially the unbridled optimism of rooting for an undefeated team in September!

Hope this is a special year for the Black and Gold. Certainly, the team has special players, both established and incoming.

[Nashmann]

I think the team will surprise some folks and how we play in the SEC. Hard to speculate too much until we see the new guys play. On paper, they look good but only time will tell.

[Charlestonalum]

What kind of post play can we exoect? I think that will be critical to making the tournament which we all hope to finally see.

[Jason94]

What kind of post play can we exoect? I think that will be critical to making the tournament which we all hope to finally see.

That is the million dollar question. Lubin should be a good player - strong rebounder who is an explosive athlete. But he is probably not a true 5, though we will likely try to play him there at times. Dort is the player who has the size and height to be a good center, but was very raw last season and his injuries hindered his development a bit. If he makes a big jump we could be very, very good. Kamateros has good size, but is not particularly tall or athletic. He does have a reliable outside shot that can draw post players away from the paint, but it will be interesting to see how he fares against the athletes in the SEC, especially on defense. Lang seems a lot like a slightly taller and younger version or Kamateros - I really like his skill level but he will be challenged athletically and hasn't played college basketball yet.

At PF Smith would seem to be in line to get starters' minutes, as Roberts should play some as well. Smith would seem to be the player who could take a really large jump in production, but didn't really show any post skills as a freshman, and his rebounding will have to improve. He was more of a stretch 4 than a true PF. Roberts would be in a similar boat, a wing forward who has the height to defend the post, but probably isn't a back the basket type of player. Lubin would do quite well at PF, but he is likely needed at Center.

We have a number of options at the 4/5 this season, and most of them are very talented. However, all have some pretty large question marks related to where we intend to play them or overall inexperience. But if we compare this season to 2022, where our starting frontcourt was largely Stute and QMB, and some Robbins at the end of the season, I'd say our talent this season compares very favorably to those players plus reserves like Terren Frank and Jermaine Mann. None of those 2022 post players could shoot, while we have Kamateros and Smith who have shot the ball well from three, and that was a largely unathletic bunch, with only an undersized Mann being a good athlete. This season I'm comfortable saying that Lubin and Dort are far more athletic than any of those players. That front line was also a very poor rebounding group - where as Lubin and Kamateros did rebound the ball pretty well last season, albeit at a lower level for Kamateros.

If we can get what we got from Lawrence and Manjon at the end of last year all this season and good rebounding and defense from our post players, we should have a tournament team. Anything beyond that from the post group and we could end up with a single digit seed and a top 25 team. I would be surprised if our post play is so bad that it keeps us out of the tournament.

[alathIN]

Regarding reserves, my pet theory is that it isn't always about the best players you can put on the floor, but just as much about the worst players you have to put on the floor.
Whoever starts, you are going to be looking at the bench and saying "I hope we get to see ___ tonight because he's such a good ____" instead of "I hope we don't have to play ___ tonight because the other team is going to exploit his ____."

To me one of the biggest if's is if Lawrence and Manjon can play a whole season like they played at the end of last season. You'd like to think something clicked and it will stay with them.

[Jason94]

Regarding reserves, my pet theory is that it isn't always about the best players you can put on the floor, but just as much about the worst players you have to put on the floor.
Whoever starts, you are going to be looking at the bench and saying "I hope we get to see ___ tonight because he's such a good ____" instead of "I hope we don't have to play ___ tonight because the other team is going to exploit his ____."

To me one of the biggest if's is if Lawrence and Manjon can play a whole season like they played at the end of last season. You'd like to think something clicked and it will stay with them.

That is a really good way of looking at it. A really large reason why I think we'll be better despite losing Robbins is because we also have to replace Thomas' production from somewhere, and that player will almost certainly shoot the ball better, and be 6" taller without any loss of quickness. Similarly with Stute who's entire production rested on his ability to hit the three at a high percentage, and without it we were using a player who had no ability to score inside the arc despite standing 6'-7", and who turned the ball over a ton despite being a 4th option on offense.

Of the five players likely to get the most minutes (Manjon, Lawrence, Taylor, Smith and Lubin), maybe Smith is the 5th option, or perhaps Lubin, and that is pretty good. Of the players likely to come off the bench first who have experience (Lewis, Dort, Kamateros), each is pretty talented in their own right. And it wouldn't surprise me if a player like West or Rivera-Torres has more success than the freshmen did last season.