We have a LOT of size available this season, even without Handlogten. Bigs aren't typically expected to be aces at the free throw line, but need to hold their own. Right now, there's work to be done. Condon shot a respectable 67% from the line. I think he'll get that above 70% without much trouble, maybe 75%. Haugh, Alexis, and Chinyelu all shot below 50% from the charity stripe over the season. That's bad. Really bad. But all were true freshmen at their respective schools so you have to assume they'll improve. On the positive side, Haugh was abysmally bad through the first 2/3rd of the season, and not too bad over the last 1/3rd. CTG said at one point that he wasn't worried about it and that Tommy was a great shooter in practice and that the numbers would improve. I'll be disappointed if he doesn't elevate it to 75% this season. The new guy, Viktor Mikic, shot 71% in high school. Stats for Olivier Rioux are hard to find, but he shot 69% for FIBA Canada in a small sample size. Micah shot a woeful 38% from the line but he has a year to work on it, and he's better than that. EVERYONE is better than that. Tyrese shot 56%. As a team the Gators were bad at the line for at least half the season, then improved gradually to end at 71.5%, which is average across the nation.
I believe we brought him in for toughness, defense, and rebounding. If he provides a legit scoring threat that's a bonus. He'll probably be most effective if he waits for his opportunities to score and doesn't try to initiate them too much. Make yourself a good target, get open in the lane, and grab some offensive rebounds.
Agreed, I think with all the returning backcourt players we have our bigs won't be relied upon that much for initiating offense, probably lobs off pick and rolls and off reb put-backs will be a bulk of their points....but it would be nice to have someone capable, at least eventually, for initiating offense from the high post like Tyrese did so well last year. Most of those were layups off the dribble, so doesn't require great shooting but does require solid ball-handling. He was great at that. We'll see. It would be nice if that player could also make FTs when fouled as you said. Tyrese was a beast in that role either way, would love to see someone step into that role. And make FTs
Tyrese showed moves with the ball and open-court ball-handling that I absolutely did not expect. Dude was better than advertised.
