This is kind of a fantasy because of the improvement it would require of our players during the offseason (although they are all capable of it), but the lineup would be Shimmy at the 5, Condon at the 4, Haugh at the 3, Clayton at the 2, and Kugel at the 1. This lineup, in theory, would give us 5 guys who could shoot from the perimeter, a monster rebounding unit, a big 3 who could defend smaller 3’s and would be a mismatch on offense, a monstrous scoring 2 and an unstoppable point guard.
Do you think Kugel can step up and be the 1. I thought a lot of folks on here have been critical of his ball distribution.
So, Micah sits for someone who can't see the court this year? Richard sits for Haugh? who is a worse 3 pt shooter? They both have 30+ starts THIS YEAR. Not sure how we go, currently we have a good amount of talent returning, maybe too much. We could lose Krugel, Aberdeen, and maybe 1 of Condon/Haugh, (at least 1 or them would have to come off the bench).
I don’t think his distribution is a problem. To play the 1, he will need to tighten up his dribble. Too much bobbling. His vision is outstanding, but sometimes the touch on the pass is mismatched. He has all the raw tools, but it all needs to be tightened up a bit. But you can see the potential… his dribbling and passing is extremely high level. He can put together some mean dribbling combos.
Handling & decision making imho. He will probably be given the opportunity to be the starter if he returns, but he has a lot of work to do - maybe watch high school basketball games & not NBA 2k or whatever is being played now. Clayton is his room mate so it would be worthwhile to give him a shot to keep Clayton here.
There's no way this staff goes into next year with Kugel as the starting PG and Shimmy as the starting C. The growth and transformation he would have to make for that to even be considered is astronomical. Staff already has their eyes on some potential replacements for ZP and Samuel. He'd have to improve his handle, shot selection, feel for the game and passing to be considered for that spot.
Seriously, I've already talked to CTG about this and we agreed the lineups and depth chart will be: PG: As-Yet-Unknown Transfer/Kajus Kublickas/Clayton/Aberdeen/Isiah Brown SG: Clayton/Richard/Kugel/Aberdeen SF: Richard/Haugh/Kugel PF: Condo/Haugh C: Handlogten/Condo/Shimmy/Rioux
To date, he shows few attributes of a point guard. Dribbles the ball up around his ear, throws passes at the feet of bigs, below-average shooter. If he wants to crack the starting five, it'll be at the 2. But Clayton has that sewed up and he ain't going anywhere.
I called this a fantasy in my initial post, because Kugel and the others need to make substantial improvements. However, if you watched the game last night and saw Kugel in the several minutes when he was playing at the point, you would have seen that he can’t be kept from getting into the paint, he has great court vision, he’s capable of making outstanding passes, and he can dominate physically and athletically. I’ve been saying since Kugel was in high school, that he could be the starting point guard for Florida. I’m as unhappy as anyone else or maybe more so because of how poorly Kugel played this past season, but that does not take away from the fact that his potential is enormous. He played outstanding basketball last night even though he had his typical share of inappropriate shots and loose ball handling and passing. That doesn’t mean he can’t become a tremendous college point guard, and I believe that is the position he is best suited for.
I thought the only time Kugel was the primary ball handler last night was in transition. Which fits his skill set of being in the open floor. I thought Clayton looked improved running the team. But not sure either would make for a good starting PG for us next year.
Kugel was out on top in the half-court offense for several possessions after ZP went to the bench, and, IMO, he looked a lot better suited for that role than Walter, who is a shoot-first guard.
Went back and watched the last 8 minutes and didn't come to the same conclusion. Walter is a shoot first guard, but he's not a PG and neither is Kugel.
I’m not sure when Kugel was out on top. It might’ve been earlier. But, I think he was penetrating and passing the ball on almost every play. I could be wrong.
No offense, but Kugel at the 1 is insanity. He is way too loose with the ball and sloppy with his passing. And you think Shimmy will take over from Handy at the 5? I don't see it. Shimmy looked pretty stiff to me as a freshman and he has sat for a year. Looks more like a back-up at the 5. We need to recruite another Samuel in the portal and another point guard like Pullin, if we could get so lucky. Keep the rest of the team in tact and we have a very solid roster again. I think we need to take the restraints off Haugh on the offensive side of the ball. He has the athleticism and 3 point shooting to be a threat all over the court if he plays with confidence as a go-to guy.
Mica’s game is incomplete to be nice. He can’t on-ball defend, and he has no real game on offense. He actually is a pretty good high post passer. He also can rebound and block shots. He is a valuable player, but he, at least right now, is an average player at best. I would like to think that most of you must be frustrated by the 5-10 passes that ZP makes each game to big guys for wide open outside shots that are not taken or missed. My fantasy lineup contemplates having 3 stretch bigs on the floor at the same time who can shoot from the outside, score inside, rebound and defend.
