Just for the sake of discussion, within our current roster, is Keyontae more suited to play power forward or small forward? Or are those labels irrelevant in this system?
Do you have a educated guess on what the starting 5 would like at this point if we assume KJ can play? Appleby Jones Fleming KJ CC
I would say that, at this moment, Duruji would be ahead of Fleming, but only because he's a known quantity. There are a ton of question marks until we get deep into practice. And I imagine we're going to see the starting 5 change a number of times this season.
I think the forward positions have become weird over the last 10-15 years. It used to be that if you were 6’6”-6’7” you were a small forward. 6’8”-6’10” was a power forward, and anything above that was a center. Now, you have big/tall guys like Lebron and KD listed at small forward. I think the positions are determined more by skill set than size these days. To me, KJ is more of a power forward with some guard skills. If he improves his left hand a little bit, he’d be a SF. The modern day SF is expected to do a lot more ala Scottie Pippen. They are oftentimes expected to bring the ball up and initiate the offense depending on the unit on the floor. Lebron and KD do it regularly, and you even see the younger guys like Zion doing it. I think KJ could be a Zion-like player, but like I said his dribbling needs improvement, as well as his playmaking ability. I think it’s critical for his development, especially because he’s not 6’8”. At 6’5”ish tall, he’s a tweener. Those guys need to be Swiss Army knives. He’s very close to being there. If I was his trainer, I’d make him spend the whole offseason playing left-handed. I’d make him only play pickup games as the point guard. He’d be guaranteed lottery pick with that added capability.
He's kind of a UNLV Larry Johnson type, from back in the day. As I recall, Johnson was a skilled and powerful 6'-5" forward. Keyontae's 3-point shot improved over the course of his UF career from being below average to dependable. Once that started falling, defenses had to come out and challenge him, at which point he could take it downhill to the hoop in a hurry and play through any contact. Tough to defend.
Larry Johnson was a 6'7" power forward, which basically agrees with my post. I said 6'8" was typically the lower height range for a PF. LJ at 6'7" was right at that border... much closer than KJ at 6'5". That said, you can play above your height positionally. Barkley and Rodman are great examples. Hard to put KJ in their league talent wise, but hey... you never know. Nobody knows who will be a Hall of Famer based off what they did in college. KJ might be a first ballot Hall of Famer one day. Anything can happen.
I know this was intended for Brent, but in my mind KJ is a quintessential three. He can matchup with just about anybody there. One of the reasons he's so versatile is that he's got the lower body and mentality to be able to hang with the fours (ala Charles Barkley). At the four, he's a matchup nightmare on the offensive end due to his quickness, range, and athleticism. Ideally he would be a three though and the answer to your question can't be divorced from matchups because it matters who we are playing.
I know -hang with the fours (ala CB). I think Keyontae is the rare three who can play the four at the defensive end and dominate at the offensive end.
As I said above, I think KJ is more of a 4 offensively. Defensively, I think he can probably guard a 4 in short bursts, but he would likely be undersized. Then again, if a team goes to small ball he'd be a nice guy to plug into that lineup. KJ just needs a few small tweaks to really take his game over the top, IMO.
Appleby Jones Kowacie Duruji CC that would be my guess. Certainly a lot ... A LOT ... of variables there. I do think starters 1,2 and 5 are virtual locks. The 3 & 4 will be interesting on a number of levels.
I'm surprised you're that high on Reeves and I think it would be huge for the success of the team if he's good enough to start. Let's hope you're right. I would rather see Felder start and have Duruji's energy coming off the bench. I just think CJ is better.
I'll save my opinion until after this season. As of now Castleton is the leader, but he should have an even better this year than last year. If that's the case then CC hands down (no offense to Hayes or Kerry).
Has anyone heard an official status update on Keyontae? It seems like he's ready to play this year but I don't even know if he's been officially cleared yet (or maybe he has and I missed it)
He has not yet been cleared to practice, run, or play in games. Can only participate in daily walks and shooting drills.
