Sad, but so true 
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That is damn impressive. If it’s accurate.
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There’s virtually 0 chance we see any fall sports unless a miracle happens. The big question is do we hold off until Jan ans tipoff conference only hoops?
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Of course the year we have an awesome non conference the non conference gets cancelled
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I’m gonna say it now: Beekman and Jabri will be starters by midseason. Their passing and offense will be too much to leave on the bench.
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Careful with sky high expectations for true freshmen. Realistically, the Guy/Jerome model is about as much as you can expect, contributors but not starters/stars. There’s a lot of experience in front of them and not a lot of TB patience for learning on the job. Kihei should benefit greatly from another ball handler to spell him in spots. JAR will be another bucket getter if things get stagnant. This says nothing of their positioning/communication/ability in the packline though. Those dudes are going to get a crash course next week!
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Jerome averaged 14 minutes a game as a FR and that is what I expect from Beekman. I see Jabri as the 6th man like Hunter was his RS FR year. Remember there are at least 11 guys (12 if Carson doesn’t RS) that will looking for playing time. Not all of them can be 30 minutes a game.
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My personal belief and hope is that A-R is so good that he has a realistic chance of becoming a regular starter sometime during the season. And that Beckman may get spot starts when UVA goes with a 5 guard set to start a game against a 5 guard opponent (like VT) and we need two skilled ball handlers to start so that Kihei is not overused early on by having to always bring ball up the court against a intense guard press defense. But I am also high on Beekman and A-R.
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I tend to also think it’ll also look more like Kyle and Ty - meaningful contributors but unlikely to be starters. There is a lot of talent and experience in front of them, and even for the best players, it usually takes of time to adjust. Last year everyone was saying Morsell was the most game-ready first year we’d had in years, and while he did play due to necessity and his defense and did an admirable job, we saw how hard that transition can be.
Also, one thing to keep in mind are circumstances beyond the roster. Jabri is coming off an injury that kept him from playing basketball for most of this year. I think he’s back healthy now, but he hasn’t played competitively in a while and may need to come back up to speed. Beekman also recently went through the tragic passing of his brother. Those type of things affect everyone differently, but if I were in that situation I’d imagine it’d be a lot to handle along with moving away from home and starting college. Throw onto that that both of these guys’ transition into the program is going to be far from normal due to the ongoing pandemic and it just adds up to a lot of uncertainty.
I think they’re going to be great (and Carson as well), but I’m trying to keep first year expectations measured. Going to be very exciting to watch though.
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Carson is also returning from injury last year. On the other hand Ty had both hips operated on his senior year and was good to go.
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I love this conversation because it reinforces the fact that our roster isn’t dependent upon the incoming class so we can bring them along at a pace that works for them. Current success helping to breed future success.
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Wow, forgot those hip surgeries were his senior year. That type of recovery seems really impressive.
And yeah, on Carson, I personally tend to think that redshirting makes sense in part because of that injury. Obviously totally up to the player and coaches, who might think totally differently, but foot injuries that require surgery are seemingly so tricky. That plus the depth in front of him, seems like it might be really beneficial to spend a year more gradually getting back to game speed and bulking up. But who knows.
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Yep! I agree. Among other things, it’s worth remembering that Coach Bennett is unlikely to go beyond a nine man rotation, if that. An initial rotation might be: Clark, Woldetensae, Stattmann/Morsell, Huff, & Hauser, with either Stattmann or Morsell being the first perimeter sub. How Caffaro, McKoy, & Shedrick rotate in the front court is an unknown. Of the frosh, I imagine the most likely to get early playing time would be Beekman. I expect him to relieve Clark, however I don’t expect to see them on the court together as much as some do. Looking at the numbers, The starting five, plus Morsell or Stattmann, plus one or two front court subs, plus Beekman gives you an eight or nine man rotation. How Abdur-Rahim, Caffaro, McKoy, Shedrick, & McCorkle figure into this is also an unknown. Of course, there is the distinct possibility that I could be completely wrong. If either Woldetensae, Stattmann, or Morsell don’t show the progress we might reasonably expect, then the possibilities grow exponentially. On the other hand, it’s worth recalling that the returning perimeter players were part of the back court rotation that won eight straight (and 11 of 12) to end the 2020 season.
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I think the key to getting minutes for these guys is going to be an reliable ball handler to relieve Kihei even while he is on the floor. Which is exactly why Kiehei played 26 minutes per game alongside Ty as a freshman
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I think Beekman is the perfect guy for that role. The interesting thing will be what comes next for 22 when Clark is gone. Do they use a combination of CG’s or wings (Morsell, Keels, Warley or McNeely) to back up Beekman like Brogdon did for London or do they recruit a pure PG like Dug McDaniel.
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My impression was that Clark’s minutes as a frosh were less connected to ball handling and more due to his defense, and, when Coach Bennett wanted to move Hunter to the #4 spot (or play Hunter & Key as a front line), there really weren’t any other back court options other than Clark. By that time, Anthony’s game seemed to be in regression, much to my disappointment.
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