2020-2021 Player Predictions

Hauser was on the J Willy show and said Justin and Jabri had impressed him the most in the practices/workouts they’ve had so far

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I believe Justin and Casey both will be much improved and play important roles. If Casey does play much better offensively as I expect Reece’s role will be limited to giving Kehei a break which in itself going to be a big help to us. Reese needs to put some weight on but he will be a bigtime player in a couple of years. I love his game. Not the quickest or strongest but his ability to beat his opponent off his dribble is awesome. He is smooth…Loved watching him in high school. Doesn’t force anything and let’s the game come to him. Very unselfish but knows when it’s his time to make something happen. I am so looking forward to watching this team play and grow together. We should be awesome when March gets here
Just praying that we will be able to play this season without many problems for us or any teams for that matter

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I gotta believe it’s going to take time for Reece and Jabri to adapt to the next level and play defense well enough to get tons of time. Probably see more time for them in the latter part of the season if they can make the core rotation.

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One thing just hit me, is how will this altered pre-season/camp affect the First Years? It’s hard enough to adapt to college life and the PackLine when you can live it full time on grounds for a few months, but with limited/adjusted practices, could that set back the development of a Reece or Jabri?

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I personally think it will be huge impact. This early time is everything and everyday matters

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That’s what I was thinking. There’s so much that you can get in on these early days, and for a newcomer those learning opportunities are crucial.

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You gotta see and feel the speed and the size and intensity of the game coming in. You arent in an AAU showcase anymore. Casey who was as physically prepared as anyone discussed this in that article. Everything goes fast and you have to figure out how to slow it down for yourself and play without thinking. Imagine coming out of HS and your Beekman and you are dealing with Kihei on the daily…

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Damn good point. That time to adjust is critical. Toss in I’d imagine none of them have played a meaningful minute in 3 or 4 months, so there’s a natural letdown. This year is going to prove to have a steep learning curve.

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For sure. There’s some luxury in the 20-21 roster that for the first part of the season, they can lean on the experienced guys, probably still be a very good team, and buy time for the newcomers to adjust to the speed of the game. Obviously you don’t predict this kind of situation, but this is how you get value from the get old-stay old model of roster building.

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Also, every college has the same problem this year (assuming they are following the same rules). Our advantage is that we always seem to have an excellent group of returning upperclassmen who can lead the way. This should benefit us over the Dukes, Kentuckys and others who rely heavily on superstar freshmen.

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I agree totally. The time that the freshmen have lost will be critical. Not only adjusting to the speed of the game but also learning the pack line which is very hard to do. It took Jay Huff 3 years to learn it but now he’s one of the top defensive players in the country

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I think if the season gets pushed to January it actually deters such as they have much more time to prep. However being so far removed from serious competition and the body maybe not being adjusted to such might lead to more injuries

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This is true, but also we do have a lot of experience coming back which is good for our team overall and less pressure on the youngsters…as long as we are winning :wink:

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No doubt. I can see it both ways. The longer the delay the more “versed” the new players will be with the systems and with their teammates. However, for everyone, the longer it goes the less sharp they will be. It’s tough to stay frosty when you’re not facing live fire on a regular basis.

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