bajaden
Hall of Famer
Our current roster:
Cousins: C/PF
Thompson: PF/C
Hickson: PF
Whiteside: PF/C
Greene: SF/PF
Garcia: SF/SG
Honeycutt: SF
Salmons: SF/SG
Evans: PG/SG/SF
Thornton: SG
Fredette: PG/SG
Thomas: PG
Thats 12 players! All we need, right? No, of course not. I'm sure there will be a few changes once freeagency starts. So the question is, where is our biggest area of need, and who would best fit that need, thats available?
But first lets go through the current players one by one, and try to make sense of where were really at in comparison to the rest of the league. I'm going to keep the analysis simple without going into true shooting percentages, or what each players 36 per stats would be. Not that those things aren't important, but for the sake of brevity, I'll pass. I'm also sure that some of you will disagree with me on some of my opinions. If so, fine! Explain why. As opposed to just saying I don't know what I'm talking about.
The stats I'm using are last seasons stats and not career stats, which I may mention along with the players prior years stats if revelant. In the case of the rookies, I'll give their final year of college stats. If nothing else, but to show potential.
Cousins: 1 yr - 6'11", C/PF. 28.40 MPG - 14.1 PPG - 8.6 RPG - 2.5 APG - 1.1 SPG.
While he did average just under 1 block a game, I didn't think it revelant enough to list. His stats are pretty good for a first year center. The biggest blemish being his 43.0% FGP. Thats a poor shooting percentage for a center, and one has to think it can only go up with better overall team play, improved post play, and better decisions on his part. His 2.5 assists per game is excellent for a first year center. And anyone that watched him play can see the enormous potential there. Although I have him listed as C/PF, in a perfect world, I see him as a ture center that can fill the PF position on occasion.
He showed the potential to be one of the top rebounders in the league, especially if he can improve his offensive rebounding. He pulled down defensive rebounds at a two to one ratio over offensive rebounds. If he continues to work hard, makes the necessary improvements, he could become an all star, and one of the top centers in the league.
Thompson: 3 yr's - 6'11" - PF/C- 23.18 MPG - 8.8 PPG - 6.1 RPG - 1.2 APG.
I think we've reached a point where we can safely say that Thompson won't ever be a star in the league. His overall stats last season were down from his prior season, but strangely enough, I thought his overall season was better. I speak from a point of consistency. In a season where he was jerked around as much as any player on the roster, he didn't go into a funk, and continued to bust his butt. While his PPG and RPG were down from the prior season, so were his minutes. However, his FGP went up to 50.8%. The best of his career.
Given the minutes, and in a consistent lineup, J.T. will give you around 12 PPG and 8 RPG. He's also an underrated defender. Senergy.com has him ranked as one of the better isolation defenders in the league. His pick and roll defense has greatly improved as has his post defense. He's certainly no Dalembert, and will never block a lot of shots, but he's not a detriment on defense either. He also brought his fouls per game down to 2.8 per game. With a little more improvement, he's a solid player as a starter and a 4th option, or as a role player off the bench. Every team needs a Jason Thompson energy guy..
Hickson: 3 yr's - 6'9" - PF - 28.11 MPG - 13.8 PPG - 8.7 RPG.
Obviously, on a personal level I know less about Hickson than I do the other players. I did see him play on occasion and I was always impressed with his athletic ability. He made a nice improvement last season, and one has to hope its only a hint of whats to come. The only downside is the drop in his FGP. It dropped from 55.4% to 45.8%. Thats a 10% drop. Part of the reason is new found love for the jumpshot. Now 45.8% isn't terrible, and I have to think that it will improve with time and more balance between the post and the perimiter.
Hickson showed flashes of being a good defender, but, by all reports, was inconsistent. So we'll see. He's certainly athletic enough to play good defense, and he's still young, just entering his 3rd year in the league. At the moment, on paper at least, he looks like a good addition to the team, and with a bright future.
Whiteside: 1 yr - 6'11" - PF/C - 00 PPG - 00 RPG - 00 APG.
That was just for fun! There's not much to write about Whiteside, other than he still has the potential he had a year ago. He showed some of that potential in the first 3 games of summer league last year. After that, just about everything else is a wash. Not having a summer league this year probably hurts him more than anyone else. He needed a platform to jump off of to jumpstart this coming season. Hopefully he's working hard on his game. Essentially, this is his rookie season. So our expectations shouldn't be any higher for him than any other rookie. Hopefully, he'll prove himself worthy of making the active roster.
Greene: 3 yr's - 6'11" - SF/PF - 16.18 MPG - 5.8 PPG - 2.1 RPG - 0.3 BPG - 0.5 SPG.
Here's a player that I'm sure I'll get some rebuttal on. I was very high on Greene when we first aquired him. I had no illusions about him. I had watched him play at Syracuse. He was nothing more than an undiciplined perimiter chucker of the basketball. But you could see all the potential there, and thats what excited me. In the past three years, I won't say that I've seen no improvement. Because I have, but not enough. His reputation as a great defender is highly overrated. He does, on occasion play very good defense. But like the rest of his entire game, he's inconsistent.
What you have is a very athletic, 6'11" player, that doesn't shoot the ball consistently, 40.4% FGP and 29.2% 3PP, doesn't block shots, doesn't steal the ball with any regularity, doesn't rebound the ball, is an average ballhandler, and doesn't get you any assists. Sorry folks, the magic is gone for me. I'm pure out of excitement. I'm not saying we dump him, but I'am saying he needs to step up this year and give the team a reason to want him. Because by comparison, he makes JT look like an all star. Unless Greene really brings something to the table his year, he'll be sitting on the bench behind Honeycutt. That said, I'm still rooting for him to put it together.
Garcia: 6 yr's - 6'7" - SF/SG - 23.53 MPG - 9.7 PPG - 2.3 RPG - 0.8 BPG - 0.9 SPG.
If you take a look at Garcia's entire career, you'll see that his numbers have been fairly consistent. Nothing great, but you know exactly what your going to get everytime he's on the floor. I've never thought that Cisco is starting material, but I do see him as a solid role player, whose also very confortable in that role. Cisco is a willing, and for the most part, a good defender. He's only limited by his athletic abilitys. He's a dependable 3 pt shooter when spotting up. But he'll never dazzle you with his abiltiy to create his own shot. He's also a willing passer, but is prone to forcing a pass that isn't there on occasion.
Aside from suffering through a bad stretch of injuries, he is what he is. A solid role player that will help you more than hurt you. I didn't look up his plus/minus, but I suspect its on the plus side. I'm not a big fan of that stat anyway. Too many variables. In my opinion, Cisco is a keeper. He's the elder statesman and mentor to several of the players. Things that can't be measured.
Continued:
Cousins: C/PF
Thompson: PF/C
Hickson: PF
Whiteside: PF/C
Greene: SF/PF
Garcia: SF/SG
Honeycutt: SF
Salmons: SF/SG
Evans: PG/SG/SF
Thornton: SG
Fredette: PG/SG
Thomas: PG
Thats 12 players! All we need, right? No, of course not. I'm sure there will be a few changes once freeagency starts. So the question is, where is our biggest area of need, and who would best fit that need, thats available?
But first lets go through the current players one by one, and try to make sense of where were really at in comparison to the rest of the league. I'm going to keep the analysis simple without going into true shooting percentages, or what each players 36 per stats would be. Not that those things aren't important, but for the sake of brevity, I'll pass. I'm also sure that some of you will disagree with me on some of my opinions. If so, fine! Explain why. As opposed to just saying I don't know what I'm talking about.
The stats I'm using are last seasons stats and not career stats, which I may mention along with the players prior years stats if revelant. In the case of the rookies, I'll give their final year of college stats. If nothing else, but to show potential.
Cousins: 1 yr - 6'11", C/PF. 28.40 MPG - 14.1 PPG - 8.6 RPG - 2.5 APG - 1.1 SPG.
While he did average just under 1 block a game, I didn't think it revelant enough to list. His stats are pretty good for a first year center. The biggest blemish being his 43.0% FGP. Thats a poor shooting percentage for a center, and one has to think it can only go up with better overall team play, improved post play, and better decisions on his part. His 2.5 assists per game is excellent for a first year center. And anyone that watched him play can see the enormous potential there. Although I have him listed as C/PF, in a perfect world, I see him as a ture center that can fill the PF position on occasion.
He showed the potential to be one of the top rebounders in the league, especially if he can improve his offensive rebounding. He pulled down defensive rebounds at a two to one ratio over offensive rebounds. If he continues to work hard, makes the necessary improvements, he could become an all star, and one of the top centers in the league.
Thompson: 3 yr's - 6'11" - PF/C- 23.18 MPG - 8.8 PPG - 6.1 RPG - 1.2 APG.
I think we've reached a point where we can safely say that Thompson won't ever be a star in the league. His overall stats last season were down from his prior season, but strangely enough, I thought his overall season was better. I speak from a point of consistency. In a season where he was jerked around as much as any player on the roster, he didn't go into a funk, and continued to bust his butt. While his PPG and RPG were down from the prior season, so were his minutes. However, his FGP went up to 50.8%. The best of his career.
Given the minutes, and in a consistent lineup, J.T. will give you around 12 PPG and 8 RPG. He's also an underrated defender. Senergy.com has him ranked as one of the better isolation defenders in the league. His pick and roll defense has greatly improved as has his post defense. He's certainly no Dalembert, and will never block a lot of shots, but he's not a detriment on defense either. He also brought his fouls per game down to 2.8 per game. With a little more improvement, he's a solid player as a starter and a 4th option, or as a role player off the bench. Every team needs a Jason Thompson energy guy..
Hickson: 3 yr's - 6'9" - PF - 28.11 MPG - 13.8 PPG - 8.7 RPG.
Obviously, on a personal level I know less about Hickson than I do the other players. I did see him play on occasion and I was always impressed with his athletic ability. He made a nice improvement last season, and one has to hope its only a hint of whats to come. The only downside is the drop in his FGP. It dropped from 55.4% to 45.8%. Thats a 10% drop. Part of the reason is new found love for the jumpshot. Now 45.8% isn't terrible, and I have to think that it will improve with time and more balance between the post and the perimiter.
Hickson showed flashes of being a good defender, but, by all reports, was inconsistent. So we'll see. He's certainly athletic enough to play good defense, and he's still young, just entering his 3rd year in the league. At the moment, on paper at least, he looks like a good addition to the team, and with a bright future.
Whiteside: 1 yr - 6'11" - PF/C - 00 PPG - 00 RPG - 00 APG.
That was just for fun! There's not much to write about Whiteside, other than he still has the potential he had a year ago. He showed some of that potential in the first 3 games of summer league last year. After that, just about everything else is a wash. Not having a summer league this year probably hurts him more than anyone else. He needed a platform to jump off of to jumpstart this coming season. Hopefully he's working hard on his game. Essentially, this is his rookie season. So our expectations shouldn't be any higher for him than any other rookie. Hopefully, he'll prove himself worthy of making the active roster.
Greene: 3 yr's - 6'11" - SF/PF - 16.18 MPG - 5.8 PPG - 2.1 RPG - 0.3 BPG - 0.5 SPG.
Here's a player that I'm sure I'll get some rebuttal on. I was very high on Greene when we first aquired him. I had no illusions about him. I had watched him play at Syracuse. He was nothing more than an undiciplined perimiter chucker of the basketball. But you could see all the potential there, and thats what excited me. In the past three years, I won't say that I've seen no improvement. Because I have, but not enough. His reputation as a great defender is highly overrated. He does, on occasion play very good defense. But like the rest of his entire game, he's inconsistent.
What you have is a very athletic, 6'11" player, that doesn't shoot the ball consistently, 40.4% FGP and 29.2% 3PP, doesn't block shots, doesn't steal the ball with any regularity, doesn't rebound the ball, is an average ballhandler, and doesn't get you any assists. Sorry folks, the magic is gone for me. I'm pure out of excitement. I'm not saying we dump him, but I'am saying he needs to step up this year and give the team a reason to want him. Because by comparison, he makes JT look like an all star. Unless Greene really brings something to the table his year, he'll be sitting on the bench behind Honeycutt. That said, I'm still rooting for him to put it together.
Garcia: 6 yr's - 6'7" - SF/SG - 23.53 MPG - 9.7 PPG - 2.3 RPG - 0.8 BPG - 0.9 SPG.
If you take a look at Garcia's entire career, you'll see that his numbers have been fairly consistent. Nothing great, but you know exactly what your going to get everytime he's on the floor. I've never thought that Cisco is starting material, but I do see him as a solid role player, whose also very confortable in that role. Cisco is a willing, and for the most part, a good defender. He's only limited by his athletic abilitys. He's a dependable 3 pt shooter when spotting up. But he'll never dazzle you with his abiltiy to create his own shot. He's also a willing passer, but is prone to forcing a pass that isn't there on occasion.
Aside from suffering through a bad stretch of injuries, he is what he is. A solid role player that will help you more than hurt you. I didn't look up his plus/minus, but I suspect its on the plus side. I'm not a big fan of that stat anyway. Too many variables. In my opinion, Cisco is a keeper. He's the elder statesman and mentor to several of the players. Things that can't be measured.
Continued:
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