I know this has been brought up in some other thread but thought it was worth its own thread Name your starting 5 and their positions. First of all my starting front court would be Jitoboh at center, CC at power forward and Duruji at the 3 spot
Kennedy at Point Fleming at the two guard Jitoboh Center Felder PF Reeves sf bring CC off the bench, but before you bring him in, JJ roughs him up to make him mad! Tell Appleby that he rides the pine if he throws another loose pass, then insert McKissic. Tell him the same thing. Myreon spells Fleming, when he misses his first three, bring him out. We need relief, points from the bench. Duruji spells both Felder and Reeves, like his energy when he comes in.
It appeared Mike White was trying to answer that question in the last couple of games. The results were mixed, to put it kindly. To Hall's question, I would start Castelton has to start at C. He's not agile enough to play PF and we need Jitoboh to spell him, not play alongside. Felder appears to be the strongest player body-wise and is starting to show scoring flashes. He shoots the 3 better than Duruji. Fleming had a dud against Bama, but he's been one of our stronger players thus far. He can create his shot (when under control) and blocks shots. Wish he was stronger from 3pt Jones is streaky and we don't have anyone else to play that spot. Reeves would eventually be an athletic two with length, but just isn't ready. I could say more here, but will leave the critique of Jones aside. Appleby again, there isn't a better option yet. He's a senior and has paid dues. This team has a consistency problem with guard play. Maybe there are consistency issues all over, but the guards stand out to me. Sometimes great, esp. at the defensive end but too often there are turnover issues, not enough assists, and poor shooting. The good news is that the lineup above affords Duruji off the bench, which might be where he would be best (remember Finney-Smith being a sixth man and crushing?). You also have an oncoming Jitoboh to spell your center and McKissic, who can sub for Appleby or Jones. Edit: And it was good to see Reeves get minutes against Bama. If he keeps it up and progresses, he will be another good option, making nine deep w/o Kennedy, Lane, or Gatkek.
I like this! I'd probably have Jones at #2 and reluctantly Appleby at PG but would be looking like heck for someone else to step-up (maybe McKissic?) and let Appleby know he rides the pine if he turns the ball over . . . except that could backfire and make him play tighter. With the other four, and the bench rotation available, the PG wouldn't have to do much (IMO) except keep the ball. Also, great observations and post @gatordavisl I'd just maybe disagree about playing both bigs at the same time since Coach hasn't really tried that, has he? Interested in what others think . . .
Okay, I will give it a try. First, you need scoring so no one can start and not have the ability to score points. The other aspect is to make sure you have reserves to take over when necessary. Duruji and Felder are the same (let's call them 3s or 4s). For the 2-3 spot, we have Fleming and Reeves. Castleton can be both a 4 and a 5 but only a 4 against teams who are much bigger. So let's say he and JJ are the 5s. Now we have the 2s (and not 2/3s). McKissic and Appleby fit this spot. No reason for Appleby to be the QB anymore unless we are forced to put him there. That means Jones and Kennedy are the 1s until further notice. Lane seems to be out of the loop, which is a shame. So with this lay of the land, and the need to score, I will make the starting lineup: 1 - Kennedy 2 - McKissic 3 - Fleming 4 - Duruji/Felder (whoever is trending up the most) 5 - Castleton. JJ needs to get in the game for at least 12 minutes if for no other reason than to relieve Castleton. I can see Felder playing the 3 while Duruji is in at the 4 for some period of time. Jones and Appleby are at crossroads. They can either find their place on the rotation via quality play or they are sitting next to Lane. Time for some tough love. Reeves is the next person off the bench for the 2/3 position.
1 Jones / Kennedy / McKissic 2 Fleming / McKissic / Appleby 3 Felder / Fleming / Reeves 4 Duruji / Felder / CC 5 CC / Jitobah I don't want Appleby at pg until he takes better care of the ball, stops forcing terrible shots and enough of his ridiculous drives that barely ever work. He doesn't seem to have any feel for when to slow the ball down or when to take it to the hoop. Right now he's a huge liability and is hurting the team more than helping. The numbers speak for themselves. Appleby now has 4 games with 4 or more TO's and in 7 of the Gators 13 games, he has at least 3 TO's. Appleby has 14 TO's in the Gators 4 losses with only 10 assists. Also in those 4 losses, Appleby went 9 for 34 from the floor or a fg % of 26%. He's only at 36% for the season. Appleby has taken at least 5 shots per game in all but 1 game. In 6 of those 12 games, Appleby's fg% was 25% or lower. Jones was turning the ball over the last couple games as i think the slump finally got to him, but I trust him over Appleby by a lot.
This is tough. We don't have a high-level PG. I like Appleby and sometimes he makes you go, "Wow!" But then the turnovers and bad shots return. Neither McKissic nor Jones make me want to start them at the point either. Fleming was bad against Bama, but I'll give him a pass because of the missed practice time. So: Appleby McKissic Fleming Duruji Castleton
Appleby would be a decent PG for a mid-major team, say someone like Cleveland State. Aubrin to going to kick our ass.
At our best, we can hang with any team. We just haven't been at our best lately for more than a few minutes at a time. A lot of that is on Appleby. The PG has to play better.
Castleton Duruji Fleming McKissic Appleby bring Jones off the bench for firepower. Appleby is the best option at point but playing Fleming and McKissic with him might be able to mitigate some of Appleby's shortcomings. He's just not going to change his stripes at this time, and I don't think CMW is forceful enough to grind Appleby into the steady, pass first PG that UF needs. Felder needs to play more. Use Jitoboh for his 2-3 minute spell of Castleton. Kennedy if he's shooting well, can help. I don't see it with Reeves. Everyone calling for him to play more -- based on what? Hasn't shown anything. Lane is buried on the bench. Probably needs to go play somewhere else at this point.
I don’t think so about Appleby. Forget his stats when he was there. He played the same way to the extreme there that he does here, and the team was terrible.
I'm going back and averaging the season value pt scores of the first eight Gators. Player..........VPS Felder............1.73 Duruji............1.63 Castleton.......1.60 Appleby.........1.58 Jones............1.53 Fleming.........1.47 Jitoboh..........1.15 McKissic.........1.13 I know people are critical of this metric and that's fine, esp. when they bring facts/evidence. A couple thoughts: Felder should start, imo. He's stronger (not more athletic) and more of a scoring threat than Duruji, who could be great off the bench. Disappointing to see how McKissic has fallen off. He showed greater promise earlier in the season. Perhaps he will find his mojo. Castleton is our MVG for sure, but his VPS suffers due to missed FTs and too many missed bunnies. He's shooting 53%, which is too low (60% last season). Appleby is wildly inconsistent, like a yo-yo in his performance. Again, I think the starting five should be CC, Felder, Fleming, Jones, Appleby.
From what I have seen of this team so far this season, I would start both of them. These 2 guys and Castleton look like the 3 best players on the team right now. Why not give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, the coach can try something else.
