He looks like a lighter skinned Jose Reyes

1/5/2007 1:01:07 AM

Quote :

"aristotle you are a fucking idiot... depth does NOT hurt a team"

See, theres this thing in basketball called chemistry. Its not quite the same as football where the key to greatness is to stockpile as much talent as possible at each position. I never said depth hurt a team but TOO MUCH depth can easily hurt a team and it was in response to a guy saying if we have Atsur next year 3 pg will make us much more likely to be a great team. That is just not true. Look at all the sucessfull teams and depth is not that common. Looking back Kentucky's title and Duke in 99 are the best really deep teams i can think of right off but when I think of shallow teams teams like UNC 05 come to mind and those kind of teams seem to be at the top much more often than deep one. Teams with solid starting lineups always tend to be better than really deep teams with interchangable parts

1/5/2007 3:48:21 AM

Ok, you have named the UNC 05 team, which didn't have great depth (but wasn't shallow either) but won the title with overwhelming talent.

Now give us an example of a really deep team with "interchangeable parts" that sucks. Because I can't think of any.

1/5/2007 12:13:36 PM

Is that why Duke can't make it past the third round of the NCAA tourney every year?

1/5/2007 12:13:55 PM

Either way, we're clearly undermanned at PG, even with the addition of Degand next year, and a solid PG like Johnson would be huge.

Here's something to consider:

C - Hickson(6-8)
PF - McCauley(6-9), Smith (6-7)
SF - Costner (6-8), Thomas(6-5)
SG - Grant (6-7), Horner(6-7), Fells (6-5), Ferguson (6-5)
PG - Johnson(6-5), Degand (6-3)

If we play like that, it's a huge team. Overall, we'd like have size on everyone except at center.


At least to start, it'd likely be:

C - Hickson(6-8)
PF - McCauley(6-9)
SF - Costner (6-8)
SG - Grant (6-7)
PG - Johnson(6-5)

Undersized at Center, but man those are some big 1-3's.

Want to go big? Throw in Bart. Haha. We'd be the biggest team in the country. We're definitely stockpiling some size and good big men though.

1/5/2007 12:18:12 PM

Ok, and Aristotle is a moron. Bad chemistry is always something a coach has to watch for. And having too many studs can make the chemistry worse.

But saying that having a deep bench is bad is dumb. I'll take as much talent as you give me, thanks.

1/5/2007 12:20:01 PM

Aristotle is a mix between socrates and hcngay. He got the Duke fan arrogance of the former and the mental impairment of the latter.

Too much star depth COULD be a problem in rare cases. If you have 10 Top 50 recruits on your team they'll all want all the playing time and it can be a problem. However, that doesn't happen.

Nutsmackr made a good point though. Throughout the Redick/Shelden years the Duke starters played like 35-40 minutes a night with little to no depth. They always had fantastic regular seasons but completely burned out come the NCAA tourney. You can tell they always had tired legs.

It's pretty obvious that coaches would rather have 8 guys they comfortably can use throughout the year rather than 5 or 6.

1/5/2007 12:45:28 PM

^you still missed the point. Alot of you guys have the reading comprehension skills of a second grader. The reason this came up was only to refute what one dude said. He was saying it would be a better idea to just redshirt atsur so we can have enough depth to be great last year. Having Atsur would help us much more this year than it could next year any way you look at it.

Tired legs are not an issue in the NCAA tourney because Duke lost in 3 sweet 16s and one semifinal. None of those games were even the two day rest games (which is decent rest anyway) but it was always the games with 5 days rest that Duke lost in the tourney so your argument just doesn't hold much weight at all. JJ just wasn't making his shots in the games Duke lost and legs had nothing to do with it. They won 3/4 acc tournaments and that is the time when leg stamina really comes into play so maybe thats why they lost to Maryland (that maryland team was deep and won all 3 2nd halves by about 20) but don't sit here and tell me a team lost games 5 days of rest because they were tired. Thats just dumb.

Quote :

"It's pretty obvious that coaches would rather have 8 guys they comfortably can use throughout the year rather than 5 or 6."

Exactly, and I rather have 8 guys over 11 or 12. Quality over quantity and since our guys are playing every minute this year they might not be too happy if they have to sit more than 1/4th of a game next year. I'm sure Hickson is coming in expecting to start and get most of the minutes as well. This guy is a great add at pg but now we're at the point where we don't really need anyone else. Theres a fine line between nice depth and too much depth. Also, Redshirting Atsur would pretty much abort this season.

1/5/2007 12:58:42 PM

I honestly don't think any freshmen are going to start, at least until near the end of the year. Hickson will probably get significant minutes, and later in the year Smith probably will too, but if I had to guess percentages, I would say something like this (number = percent of game played at that position)

C - McCauly (40), Hickson (45), Lewandowski (5)
PF - Costner (40), McCauly (30) Smith (30)
SF - Grant (60), Costner (25), Thomas (15)
SG - Fells (50) Ferguson (30), Horner (20)
PG - Johnson (60), Degand (30), Fells (10)

And yes Hickson is playing more minutes than McCauly at center, but he isn't starting.

1/5/2007 1:00:31 PM

^^^Tired legs were a factor, as was the fact that the entire offense was built around one shooter.


So this guy is looking to enroll for spring semester? I wonder if NCSU's early start (compared to some other schools) could make logistics difficult.

Also, barring injury, I don't see any scenario where Fells isn't starting next year. He is perfect for Lowe's system and is really coming into his own. He will be one of the best 2 guards in the conference by the end of the year.

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 1:03 PM. Reason : .]

1/5/2007 1:01:18 PM

^Who are you playing Fells over?

Grant? Costner?

If you slide Grant back to the 3, that means either McCauley, Costner, or our stud freshman Hickson has to sit.

While fells is the most athletic player we have and definitely has potential, I definitely don't see how he could start over Grant(our only senior next year), Costner (our scoring and rebounding leader), or McCauley(who single-handedly has kept us where we are).

1/5/2007 1:11:16 PM

Hickson will sit.

And he will like it.

1/5/2007 1:12:22 PM

why are you all excited about him? he couldnt start at Tennessee and they are horrible, so he must really suck

-Token TWW Sports Talk biased homer fuck

1/5/2007 1:16:17 PM

Marques Johnson will be a player, he has just been limited by his allergy of hair product.

1/5/2007 1:17:55 PM

Quote :

"I never said depth hurt a team but TOO MUCH depth can easily hurt a team and it was in response to a guy saying if we have Atsur next year 3 pg will make us much more likely to be a great team."

First of all, even if Johnson enrolled this spring he wouldn't be eligible until midway through next year so how are you gonna put him in the starting lineup or rotation anyways? This season will be a struggle with or without Atsur, so i think it would be worth it to have him ask for a medical redshirt, that way we would have two solid point guards in him and Degand next year. Then Johnson would learn the system next year, Atsur would graduate and he could step in the lineup in the 2008-2009 season.

1/5/2007 1:24:13 PM

You can't ask someone who is a senior, who is most likely graduating, and will have no shot at the NBA, to take a redshirt. That would be a bastard thing to do.

Let him graduate and go play in europe where he can make some money.

1/5/2007 1:26:47 PM

I'm sure this guy is coming here with the intent of playing. He's already sitting out one year he would be very upset to have to play 3rd string pg and be the 11th man. 2pg is plenty. One semester is enough to learn the system Lowes' system is not complicated at all you act like its a Princeton or something. Furgie will take Farnolds back until he is eligible. No big deal.

1/5/2007 1:35:47 PM

i watched unc roll out wave after wave of players with little drop in talent wednesday night.


sure doesnt seem like too much talent is a problem for them

1/5/2007 1:46:24 PM

surely not against Penn. Lets wait and see what happens. I think it can be just as big an obsticle as lack of depth. Doesn't mean neither can be overcome (see george mason and then the deep teams that have done great).

1/5/2007 1:53:34 PM

^why don't you stfu


padowack=randy=earl=aristotle=hcngay=howard

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 2:20 PM. Reason : stfu]

1/5/2007 2:15:03 PM

ya cuz all duke fans are really just one person

1/5/2007 2:34:43 PM

nah but they're certainly all bitches

1/5/2007 2:40:15 PM

^^^^ I believe the word you are looking for is "obstacle" not "obsticle."

1/5/2007 4:15:20 PM

I would imagine Fells fitting perfectly into the "spark off the bench" player next year, with his energy, shooting ability, and athleticism.

1/5/2007 5:14:11 PM

^I don't.

I see Fells being a lot like Bennerman. Bennerman grew ever frustrated having to come off the bench and I think Fells wouldn't take coming off the bench after starting all year very well.

I think this chemistry thing holds some weight. I think it'd be hard to go from a 35+ minute a game guy to the bench. Hopefully Lowe can handle the situation though.

1/5/2007 7:30:15 PM

so is he coming or not?

1/5/2007 11:28:00 PM

95%, he should be at the game today. i think the only hold up with him is getting him enrolled.

1/6/2007 10:59:06 AM

does anyone know if we he is coming or not

1/9/2007 11:53:59 PM

Yes, its official.

http://ncstate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=626978

1/10/2007 12:01:24 AM

Link that was asked for earlier...

" Marques Johnson, a former top-100 guard prospect who played sparingly this season as a freshman at Tennessee, is transferring to N.C. State. Dawn Johnson, the player's mother, said Xavier also heavily pursued Marques after he announced in December that he was transferring. Johnson's top three colleges before he committed to Tennessee out of high school also included N.C. State and Georgetown.
-- Charlotte Observer"

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/scorecard/01/10/truth.rumors.college/index.html

[Edited on January 10, 2007 at 12:46 PM. Reason : italics]

1/10/2007 12:45:46 PM

Him not being able to get playing time at UT is a concern, and I've heard that he has annoying parents.

Plus i wonder if we couldn't have done better in terms of recruiting a freshman like Lucas or Wright. With this signing, we've no more scholarships to offer them right? So we've taken this kid instead of them.

1/10/2007 1:11:20 PM

we're done untill '09

1/10/2007 1:12:49 PM

WRIGHT???????? Please tell me you're not talking about Chris Wright.


I'm thinking we probably should have recruited Lucas, but we'll see how this turns out. We need ball handlers, and I'd take a 5'3" point guard who couldnt shoot at this point if he could get the ball down the floor and run the offense.

1/10/2007 1:32:06 PM

I was talking about Wright. AFAIK we were still in the running for him...

1/10/2007 1:50:29 PM

Wright committed to Georgetown. He wanted to stay on the east coast and liked that system I suppose. It was either G'Town or WVU left I guess after Sendek left.

[Edited on January 10, 2007 at 1:52 PM. Reason : x]

1/10/2007 1:51:48 PM

wrights been out of the questions for like 7 months
where you been slackerb

1/10/2007 2:00:18 PM

I don't think we were seriously in the running for Lucas, or we wouldn't have used our last scholarship.

And Wright was long gone, before we even signed Hickson. I thought everyone knew that..

1/10/2007 2:02:58 PM

Must have forgotten bout Wright's commit. Doh!

Anyways, this guy seems solid, but still wonder why he couldn't break into UT's lineup.

1/10/2007 2:03:08 PM

We never offered Lucas, there were major concerns about his size. He's REALLY small.

1/10/2007 2:47:28 PM

and we REALLY need a point guard....who knows about this transfer kid. Hopefully it works out

1/10/2007 2:48:53 PM

^^so was Spud Webb and Mugsey Boggs but they were both great basketball players.

Look at all the good teams that want Lucas.....He can obviously handle the ball and he must be a really good player and we would have been lucky to land him

[Edited on January 10, 2007 at 2:55 PM. Reason : fix]

1/10/2007 2:52:57 PM

Tiny Towe says hi

1/10/2007 3:16:24 PM

Johnson is also a model for Belk Corporation

1/10/2007 3:54:32 PM

dude i already made fun of that picture.

1/10/2007 4:11:47 PM

He was a freshman on possibly the best team in the SEC with lots of guards....why are you even bringing up playing time? He was a top-100 recruit, RARELY do those turn out to be duds.

1/10/2007 4:13:12 PM

Bogues and Webb are extremely rare players. Comparing a kid who has never played in college to them is absurd. The kid is only top 50, and he'd be a major defensive liability against any teams with tall guards. Period. I trust our coaches to make the right decision regarding who we recruit, and they went with Johnson rather than offer Lucas.

1/11/2007 11:56:24 AM

it was not a comparison of Lucas' skills to Bogues or Webb's.

i was simply stating that size is not always a determining factor of whether a player will be good or not

1/11/2007 12:58:38 PM

Signed,

Monte Towe
Spud Webb
Mugsey Bogues

1/11/2007 1:03:38 PM

Even though we're terrible this year, I have been more excited about bball and haven't been bored to death even when we actually win. This is a great pickup and whatever the starting lineup, we'll be much improved. The future is really looking good.

1/11/2007 1:12:35 PM

App State's best player cannot be more than 5'9". D.J. Thompson is his name and the nigga can ball.

^^What about Archie Miller?

1/11/2007 1:13:56 PM