Basketball season is here for Chris Beard and his Red Raiders, as Tech will scrimmage Angelo State tonight at the USA. With that in mind, I wanted to dump some scoop for you guys about this team and what you can expect...
*Your starting five tonight, and the expected starting lineup to get things rolling this season, will be made up of five seniors: Keenan Evans, Niem Stevenson, Justin Gray, Zach Smith, and Tommy Hamilton. They're the cemented best five on this team right now, without question.
*With this team, I think shooting and getting buckets offensively might still be a bit of an issue at times. Yes, the offense will still run through Keenan Evans, and he's expected to have a really good senior season, but who is the next guy you can count on to score consistently? That was this team's biggest struggle on offense a year ago. The top tier teams in this conference can count on their top two to three guys to give them a consistent, baseline level of performance. Last year, you did not get that. Yes, Evans was the most solid player who definitely kept you in a lot of games and at times carried the offense, but even he was up and down at times. After that, some nights you might get a big performance out of Zach Smith, Justin Gray, or Niem Stevenson, but rarely at the same time, and often you'd get a nice, productive outing or two in a row, but then you'd get a down performance where those guys might only have a couple buckets. If you can get consistent performances out of a few guys, you'll take a big step forward. If not, the offense, while better than last year, will still have some tough stretches.
*As for how this offense goes about its business, I think you'll see them up the tempo some at times compared to what they did last year, With the increased depth of the roster and just overall improved athleticism and stamina of the group, they should be able to speed things up more at times.
*While Keenan Evans will start the season running the point, it would not surprise me at all if Beard and the staff decide to experiment a bit with him at the two as the shooting guard while Niem or possibly Josh Webster run the point. I think they'll try a few different ways to make him the most effective offensive weapon as they can. If that means taking him off point duties to where you can distribute it to him more, they could do that.
*From what I've gathered, I think you all are going to be really happy with what Tech gets from Tommy Hamilton at the five. He has a legit chance to be the best big man that's come through the program in a while, and it's because of his diversity on offense and ability to defend the post. Offensively, he can shoot it outside, but you can also feed it to him in the paint, which they'll definitely make a concerted effort to do. I think you'll finally have at least somewhat of an answer defensively so the Vlad Brodzianskys and Landen Lucases of the world don't dominate you in the paint. He's just been a really, really good player throughout the summer and fall so far, and I think you can get excited about him. He's in fantastic shape, and he did really well in the scrimmage against Mississippi State in Fort Worth last week.
*Speaking of that scrimmage against Mississippi State: Tech forced a ton of turnovers and held the Bulldogs to roughly 30 percent shooting, as the Red Raiders won 74-47. I think that's a really good indicator of how hard Coach Beard and the staff have these guys playing on the defensive end right now.
*If I had to pick one player to be your most improved heading into this season, I think it's a pretty big no brainer from what I've heard that it would be Niem Stevenson. He's bought in, gotten his head on straight, and I think you'll see much more of what you saw in that big mid-season stretch where he was giving you 15 or more a night. Eager to see what he does this year.
*Brandone Francis is a total wild card for this team right now. He has a ton of talent, and he can legit play the 1, 2, or 3. On the court, he's got it. I think some of his off the court inconsistencies are getting in the way a bit at times right now, though. Could be a guy who is your sixth man or is all the way down at the end of the bench. Like I said, total wild card as for what you're going to get out of him.
*Your top two backups after the starting five right now are, no questions asked, Jarrett Culver as the sixth man and Zhaire Smith as the seventh. Culver has been absolutely tearing it up in practice, and he flashes super star potential quite a bit. He's the next man up right off the bench for this team right now. He's just a versatile athlete that can do a ton for you. I think you can say similarly for Zhaire Smith as Justin Gray's backup at the three. Just a total freak of an athlete that, while still learning, works his tail off and has a motor through the roof.
*In fact, extremely high motors are things that both Culver and Smith possess. The staff keeps track of deflections on a weekly basis in practice, and Culver and Smith have won it every single week since the summer. That's flat out hustle.
*You won't redshirt a single one of these freshmen. Obviously, Culver and Smith are going to play a ton, but Davide Moretti and Malik Ondigo are absolutely going to play, too. With Ondigo, he's a rim protector that's going to be a nice piece defensively out of the gate in the post. Moretti can shoot the lights out, but I think there may be some concern still that - with him missing the summer workouts - he may not be quite physically ready for Big 12 play or just the general physicality that will likely be presented in American basketball compared with European basketball yet. Moretti is going to have a really good future, and he'll play this year like I said, but we'll see what his role ends up being.
*If one of the walk-ons has a chance at some minutes and will likely suit up on gamedays, it's going to be Parker Hicks. Don't expect him to get many minutes or anything I don't think, but he's the most likely to play of the walk-ons.
*The thing I think that Beard and this staff love about this group is just the overall depth. It's enough so that if even a guy like Zach Smith isn't playing to the level you want, you can bench him for someone else, give him a breather, or essentially bench him to tell him to step it up. I'm obviously not saying that's an issue with Zach, as it's obviously not, just pointing out that on this team, if you're not going to pull your weight, someone is going to take your minutes. That hasn't been the case in the past.
-If there's an odd man out in the rotation right now, I'd guess it's Hyron Edwards. He's been banged up a little anyway, and I think that could be a possible redshirt situation if Tech thought about exploring it.
-Defensively, this group should definitely be improved in defending the paint, as previously mentioned, because of having Hamilton, Odiase, and Ondigo. You finally have some size and players you can count on there. Perimeter defense should take a step up with the increased depth and athleticism of the team, too.
*Your starting five tonight, and the expected starting lineup to get things rolling this season, will be made up of five seniors: Keenan Evans, Niem Stevenson, Justin Gray, Zach Smith, and Tommy Hamilton. They're the cemented best five on this team right now, without question.
*With this team, I think shooting and getting buckets offensively might still be a bit of an issue at times. Yes, the offense will still run through Keenan Evans, and he's expected to have a really good senior season, but who is the next guy you can count on to score consistently? That was this team's biggest struggle on offense a year ago. The top tier teams in this conference can count on their top two to three guys to give them a consistent, baseline level of performance. Last year, you did not get that. Yes, Evans was the most solid player who definitely kept you in a lot of games and at times carried the offense, but even he was up and down at times. After that, some nights you might get a big performance out of Zach Smith, Justin Gray, or Niem Stevenson, but rarely at the same time, and often you'd get a nice, productive outing or two in a row, but then you'd get a down performance where those guys might only have a couple buckets. If you can get consistent performances out of a few guys, you'll take a big step forward. If not, the offense, while better than last year, will still have some tough stretches.
*As for how this offense goes about its business, I think you'll see them up the tempo some at times compared to what they did last year, With the increased depth of the roster and just overall improved athleticism and stamina of the group, they should be able to speed things up more at times.
*While Keenan Evans will start the season running the point, it would not surprise me at all if Beard and the staff decide to experiment a bit with him at the two as the shooting guard while Niem or possibly Josh Webster run the point. I think they'll try a few different ways to make him the most effective offensive weapon as they can. If that means taking him off point duties to where you can distribute it to him more, they could do that.
*From what I've gathered, I think you all are going to be really happy with what Tech gets from Tommy Hamilton at the five. He has a legit chance to be the best big man that's come through the program in a while, and it's because of his diversity on offense and ability to defend the post. Offensively, he can shoot it outside, but you can also feed it to him in the paint, which they'll definitely make a concerted effort to do. I think you'll finally have at least somewhat of an answer defensively so the Vlad Brodzianskys and Landen Lucases of the world don't dominate you in the paint. He's just been a really, really good player throughout the summer and fall so far, and I think you can get excited about him. He's in fantastic shape, and he did really well in the scrimmage against Mississippi State in Fort Worth last week.
*Speaking of that scrimmage against Mississippi State: Tech forced a ton of turnovers and held the Bulldogs to roughly 30 percent shooting, as the Red Raiders won 74-47. I think that's a really good indicator of how hard Coach Beard and the staff have these guys playing on the defensive end right now.
*If I had to pick one player to be your most improved heading into this season, I think it's a pretty big no brainer from what I've heard that it would be Niem Stevenson. He's bought in, gotten his head on straight, and I think you'll see much more of what you saw in that big mid-season stretch where he was giving you 15 or more a night. Eager to see what he does this year.
*Brandone Francis is a total wild card for this team right now. He has a ton of talent, and he can legit play the 1, 2, or 3. On the court, he's got it. I think some of his off the court inconsistencies are getting in the way a bit at times right now, though. Could be a guy who is your sixth man or is all the way down at the end of the bench. Like I said, total wild card as for what you're going to get out of him.
*Your top two backups after the starting five right now are, no questions asked, Jarrett Culver as the sixth man and Zhaire Smith as the seventh. Culver has been absolutely tearing it up in practice, and he flashes super star potential quite a bit. He's the next man up right off the bench for this team right now. He's just a versatile athlete that can do a ton for you. I think you can say similarly for Zhaire Smith as Justin Gray's backup at the three. Just a total freak of an athlete that, while still learning, works his tail off and has a motor through the roof.
*In fact, extremely high motors are things that both Culver and Smith possess. The staff keeps track of deflections on a weekly basis in practice, and Culver and Smith have won it every single week since the summer. That's flat out hustle.
*You won't redshirt a single one of these freshmen. Obviously, Culver and Smith are going to play a ton, but Davide Moretti and Malik Ondigo are absolutely going to play, too. With Ondigo, he's a rim protector that's going to be a nice piece defensively out of the gate in the post. Moretti can shoot the lights out, but I think there may be some concern still that - with him missing the summer workouts - he may not be quite physically ready for Big 12 play or just the general physicality that will likely be presented in American basketball compared with European basketball yet. Moretti is going to have a really good future, and he'll play this year like I said, but we'll see what his role ends up being.
*If one of the walk-ons has a chance at some minutes and will likely suit up on gamedays, it's going to be Parker Hicks. Don't expect him to get many minutes or anything I don't think, but he's the most likely to play of the walk-ons.
*The thing I think that Beard and this staff love about this group is just the overall depth. It's enough so that if even a guy like Zach Smith isn't playing to the level you want, you can bench him for someone else, give him a breather, or essentially bench him to tell him to step it up. I'm obviously not saying that's an issue with Zach, as it's obviously not, just pointing out that on this team, if you're not going to pull your weight, someone is going to take your minutes. That hasn't been the case in the past.
-If there's an odd man out in the rotation right now, I'd guess it's Hyron Edwards. He's been banged up a little anyway, and I think that could be a possible redshirt situation if Tech thought about exploring it.
-Defensively, this group should definitely be improved in defending the paint, as previously mentioned, because of having Hamilton, Odiase, and Ondigo. You finally have some size and players you can count on there. Perimeter defense should take a step up with the increased depth and athleticism of the team, too.
