Precisely. Watching the few highlight videos we have, he is going to be special for NU.
Grad Transfer update per the twitterverse...
- Thread starter Max_Power
- Start date
starting 5 with mooney
mooney
taylor
law
nance/turner/gaines
pardon
mooney
taylor
law
nance/turner/gaines
pardon
Ok. Who keeps up with the opposing PG? What happens in the press? Do we have more turnovers or assists as a team by the start of conference?
I like all the players above, a lot, but real world is not a video game. You couldn’t put 5 MJs on the floor. No rebounding, no real ball handling, too much ball needing, etc. There are pivotal roles and ball handler / distributer as well as guy to check opposing ball handler / distributer is one.
I can see a combo of ‘the wings’ spelling the LG role for 5 minutes a game. But longer than that without a distributor, a guy to get the ball moving...I would expect a lot of one on five and chucks from the outside, when not turned over.
Basically, Ash is comparable to Sobo. They are ok if forced for back up minutes, but you probably would want to have better depth in front of them if you could.
Ah yes absolutely I forgot him, put Kopp in the group w Turner Gaines // Nance Falzon. It’s possible that 8 guys play 20+ mpg next year. That said, based on past experience, it might be more likely that due to injuries, or some players asserting themselves more than others, that we settle on a core rotation of ~7.
I would take 5 MJ’s and take my chances.
Not me, he kinda old and hasn't played for a while. But then again, I imagine the guys at your Y are pretty old too...
I get the feeling that MJ could still roll out there and put up numbers, though not for a full season.
I recall Ted Williams being asked at the time he was a manager if he thought he could hit .300 against the current crop of big league pitchers. Williams responded that "of course I could. But you have to remember, I am 66 years old!"
I wouldn't bet much against Michael Jeffrey Jordan...
Wasn't this whole experiment explored thanks to the Washington Wizards. In fact, rumor has it Hamilton got traded because he kicked some Jordan arse for $$$ playing one-on-one before practice one day. And Hamilton would never be my first pick in any kind of fantasy draft. And that was, like, ten years ago. I suppose if we are talking about games at the Y, I would 5 MJs all day, any day. Against a Michigan, MSU or other high level D1 team, well, not so sure. Against any NBA squad, I don't think so - not a set of current MJs. But offer a set of MJs in his prime and I would probably wager on them...
The original point, though, was related to the importance of roles in team basketball. And the PG (or LG) cannot be overlooked on offense or defense. While you might be able to get by with someone else at the position against the other team's reserve, I believe that much more often than not, you will be burned trying to play a non-PG against a D1, P5, B1G PG. I think Lathon can probably handle the role from Day 1 - but I am concerned about expecting him to handle it for about 35 mpg for the full course of a season. We caught lightening in a bottle with an older, mature BMac and even he wore down quite noticeably by mid-B1G season.
I am not sure where I stand. Mooney is a valuable player but not a LG, at least not beyond covering the other team's reserve. Assuming a healthy Law, part of me would rather see a PGish player better than Ash. That's the bar, better than Ash. But I can understand the notion that Mooney increases talent level and might be able to cover LG for spurts.
In that case, pray for Lathon to receive the protection of the Gods against injury and maybe ask for their stamina too, cuz if anything happens to Lathon (including a mid-B1G freshman meltdown) and the season is over, Mooney and Taylor be damned.
There are four scenarios that could play out with regards to Mooney. I'd argue each outcome is strictly better having Mooney than not.
1) Get Mooney. He is a better LG option than Lathon, and so he starts.
2) Get Mooney. Lathon outplays him, or your concerns appear and Lathon starts instead.
3) Don't get Mooney, get a lesser LG prospect. That player is better than Lathon, and so he starts.
4) Don't get Mooney, get a lesser LG prospect. Lathon outplays him.
If you assume that there is no better LG available to NU than Mooney (which I do), then outcome 1 is by definition better than 3, and 2 better than 4.
Get Mooney.
If there is no better LG, then I agree too. But there are a variety of options out there...
Agreed.
As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I've watched Matt Mooney play twice at South Dakota (admittedly not a good sample size) and while I understand the concerns some like Bob have, I'm not buying the premise that he would be a liability at lead guard.
Mooney may not be as athletic as Lathon, but I feel like he's not really a downgrade from BMac, defensively (FWIW, Mooney averages 1.7 steals game; BMac 0.6). Matt has similar size as Bryant and is a better career shooter (45% field; 3PT 36%)...Collins would have killed to have someone like this to take the pressure off Bryant last year. The big difference between the two is distribution, but if the 'Cats get better at off ball movement, something they need improve regardless of the Mooney's recruitment, I think that drop off can be somewhat mitigated.
I suppose if one were to assume Lathon would be a significant upgrade over BMac then maybe I could question Mooney's potential role, but as Haywood pointed out, Jordan is not a recruit that screams lottery pick. Quite frankly, even the thought of mentioning Lathon as a potential "one and done" (at least at this time) is pretty ridiculous. Like all freshman, it's fair to expect an adjustment period and or wall...and that's where Mooney comes in.
There is zero downside to having a player like Matt around. At the very least, he would help ease Lathon's transition to high major play if Jordan were to ball out from day one. In this scenario, Mooney could still play off the ball in a rotation with Law-Taylor-Turner-Gaines as well as manning LG when Lathon needs a blow. That would be quite the luxury...one NU has never really had before. It would also significantly increase the 'Cats depth, not to mention their odds to return to the dance in 2019.
So yes, GET MOONEY.
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