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Topic: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Topic: The rotation/starting lineup this year

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OU_Country
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Member Since: 12/6/2005
Location: On the road between Athens and Madison County
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The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/7/2010 2:22:13 PM

Since I've been MIA for awhile can someone update me on what Groce's rotation has looked like in the first two exhibitions? From what I'm reading TJ Hall is looking like one of the first couple guys off the bench. How have Kellogg and Johnson looked thus far? I'm somewhat surprised Keely hasn't started yet based on the box scores.

Hope to see a few old and new faces next Saturday in Athens!

Jeff McKinney
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/7/2010 4:41:37 PM

Due to these being exhibition games, I don't think there is any discernable "rotation" at the moment. We'll probably have a better idea next Monday night late...after the Delaware and Oakland games.

Ohio Hoops
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Location: Richmond, VA
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/7/2010 5:35:05 PM

Once Devaughn is back I expect the starters to be Cooper, Freeman, Sayles, Baltic, Washington. At this point Hall does seem to be the most ready to play so far of the freshmen to contribute right away. Kind of surprising that Johnson only got 8 minutes of action yesterday but I guess he hasn't shown the ability that Groce needs to see to play of yet. Most worrisome thing I saw yesterday is our bigs on offense. I think you could have probably counted on one hand the number of post moves Ohio had yesterday against a very small Walsh line up. That in turn means our bigs are going to have to do a phenomenal job on the numerous pick and roll situations in order to get their points and contribute in the offense.

OU_Country
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/7/2010 5:41:40 PM

So based on what you're saying, I'm guessing Reggie didn't have a great game. I kind of envisioned him in the starting lineup this year next to Devo down low. Then again, that was assuming a lineup with Coleman in it.

Ohio Hoops
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/7/2010 7:07:56 PM

I thought Reggie did have a good game but Baltic outplayed him and is a little more athletic which is why I think he'll start alongside Devaughn instead of Reggie. Since DW can't play on Saturday my best guess would be a lineup of Cooper, Freeman, Sayles, Baltic, Keely.

Chicken George
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/7/2010 10:11:59 PM

Not sure of the rotation, but I think our best five are:

Cooper
Freeman
Hall
Washington
Keely

Next off the bench:
Baltic
Kellog
Sayles
Johnson

Also:
1. My guess is that Johnson will move up this list and jump Sayles in the rotation once he gets his legs under him.
2. Baltic replaces Keely if we want a more athletic team that doesn't play as big. Keely helps fill the void of us not having a true center.
3. If we need more ballhandling and a smaller lineup, Kellog teams up with Cooper and Freeman moves to the SF.
4. I think we start Hall and let him grow into the position. I really think we need a guy to replace AB/Coleman and he looks like the most logical choice right now. I don't see any one guy on the roster right now who has that kind of upside (other than seeing what Johnson can do with seasoning). Once again it would've been nice to let him grow into this kind of position, but the offseason situations have caused us to need this part right now. He's not going to do it playing 15 minutes off the bench, so it's baptism by fire.
5. As I type this I notice we are really thin at guard. If we'd lose Cooper this roster would be a total mess. We have quite of few interchangeable parts that could plug the gap for just about anyone other than Cooper. Other than Kellog giving him some breaks, he's going to be playing a ton of minutes this year.
6. In a perfect world, we redshirt Jacobs if we can afford to. With A. Kellog that would've been more easily considered. He looks like he'll be a nice player, but not today.

Thoughts

Chicken George
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/7/2010 11:26:43 PM

Your Total Waste of Time Post of the Week

Imagine for a moment that everyone was a team player, everybody in life gets along and everybody follows life's unwritten secret rule book of what to do/not to do. Then picture us starting this season with this roster:

Cooper
Bassett
Coleman
Kinney
Keely
Freeman
Hall
Johnson
N. Kellog
A. Kellog
Washington
Baltic
etc...

I don't own an XBOX (but my son wants one for Christmas so I soon will). I would love to be able to construct that team and see how it does this season. This team is stacked! In a perfect world that's what this team should've, could've, would've looked this for this upcoming season.

Ok, back to reality....

perimeterpost
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/8/2010 1:49:48 AM

for grins add M Horne as your 13th. I think I remember reading he was supposed to better than Coop out of high school or something. And then say Bassett's, Freeman's, and Washington's scholarships are going to Offutt, Smith, and Taylor next year. And then pretend there are no chemistry issues or "violation of team rules" and you've got a pretty solid team. In theory.

The good news is that the ones that are left look like they have the potential to be big time contributors, and not just filler. Groce might strike out occasionally, but I like that he's swinging for the fences every time.

MY STATE. MY TEAM.

athena
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Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Athens, OH
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/8/2010 10:49:46 AM

I read some comments from Groce following the Wooster game about the starting lineup.... DJ, Tommy, Ivo, Asown and Tunji got to start, as they did in the Walsh game. Groce said those were the guys who had been working hardest in practice, so he gave them the start as a reward and to illustrate the importance of practice. I'm not sure if he's planning on doing that for the whole season, but it kind of sounded that way.

OUVan
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/8/2010 11:07:26 AM

athena wrote:

DJ ... Groce said those were the guys who had been working hardest in practice, so he gave them the start as a reward and to illustrate the importance of practice. I'm not sure if he's planning on doing that for the whole season, but it kind of sounded that way.

I love reading that. That wasn't the case the last time we had a budding superstar sophomore PG.

athena
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Location: Athens, OH
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/8/2010 11:42:01 AM

I hear you, Van... I had the same thought!

stub
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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/10/2010 1:53:14 PM

It's difficult to comment on starters since Groce likes making a point on who starts based on factors like practice effort, sportsmanship, etc. (note Sayles, Tungi starting in exhibitions). What's far more important is who gets most minutes and who is on the court at crunch times. Playing time also is influenced by opponent matchups and how well one is playing on a given day.

Having said that, Chicken George (above) has it right. My additions to that:

Health permitting, it looks like a 9 or 10 man rotation this year depending on whether Jacobs ends up playing and if so, is he ready to contribute significant minutes. The plan to redshirt him may have been scuttled when A. Kellogg opted out of playing.

Cooper will see the court the most, probably 35 minutes+. Barring foul trouble, Washington should be next with Tommy, Ivo and Reggie being our other returning major minute men. Kellog and Johnson should get increased minutes as the season progresses, and Sayles will certainly be called upon too. I'm betting though, that T. J.Hall will become the major factor among our talented frosh group and at some point, becoming a starter.

I think it’s unfortunate that everyone is picking us 1^st with such a young, unproven team, unfairly putting a target on our back. Much of that is based on our finish last year and our incoming players. Yes we are talented but how the 4 frosh mesh remains to be seen. I also think that Offut and Smith in practice sessions should be highly challenging for others, strengthening the team further. Our 2 huge losses - Bassett who played unconscious in Cleveland and Providence, and Coleman (even pictured in the Athlon Mag. as our star to be) had a lot to do with our being the consensus number 1 MAC team. It's sad we’ll never know what Coleman may have been able to do in his career, he’s quite a talent, but it's time to move on.

I'm certainly looking forward to this season.

perimeterpost
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Post Count: 3,165

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RE: The rotation/starting lineup this year

Posted: 11/10/2010 2:39:39 PM

I like that the team has a target on their backs this year. The biggest difference I've noticed between a Groce team and a TOS team is that the TOS teams would get that deer in the head light look in big games but this Groce team revels in the challenge. When AB and Coop didn't get the respect they thought they deserved in the All MAC awards they didn't get mad, they got even in the tournament. After watching the Georgetown game after signing with Ohio I'd bet that every new guy on the team BELIEVES they can win it all, and I'd guess the vets wants to prove last year wasn't a fluke, and that it wasn't all because of AB.

Lots of talent, confidence, and determination on this team, look forward to seeing how they use it.

MY STATE. MY TEAM.

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