Yes I’m creating a separate topic Let me start by saying this is *not an iMac haters thread, but more of an apples to oranges comparison of opportunities between the two.
I feel like even though Taine hasn’t *fully shown his skill yet this year, we did see flashes of it last year, and seeing as how much more talent we gained this year I wish he would have been able to play ALOT regardless of mistakes because now he’s going to get buried behind 8 other people.
Hypocrisy- Sabotage- Treachery?:
Last year he had to play out of position at the power forward spot??? Makes no sense.
Taine had a very short leash as a first year, yet iMac and Dunn are allowed to play through their mistakes on a much deeper team (They’re getting more of a fair shake). If he was allowed to play the same amount he would be much further along this year.
Skillset:
His handle is actually pretty good, may be better than iMac’s at the moment and a bit more explosive with his driving. I think last year if he was groomed to be a secondary ball handler like iMac currently is this year then he would be further along as well.
Hustle- Last year he had the same kind of work ethic and hustle that I see this year. (Yes he does get called for *some fouls, but again last year he should have been allowed to grow from those mistakes and not be benched).
Shooting- Even though he is a bit streaky, I would have much rather he had the opportunity last year to work out those issues, and gain some confidence. Yesterday against Monmouth he was 1/3 (33%) I believe, plus we know that he had that awesome game against Iowa last year, just never got the same opportunity throughout the rest of the season.
Driving ability- Yesterday was an example of some of his driving/fastbreak ability in which he had a few points. If he had those same opportunities last year then he would be further along etc.
Bottom Line- I know we have alot of new shiny toys this year, and an iMac being one of them…but we did have an unused Macbook Pro last year
My hope is that Taine keeps developing because I see potential for a strong rotation player. With Franklin’s departure, there will be more minutes to claim in the future.
I can also understand why TB has landed on the rotation that we’ve seen so far this year.
Yeah I agree about this year…I just think that if Taine had the same opportunity to sit in the corner and hit some open shots and play 25 minutes per game then he’d be further along…with that said BVP has been great at passing and finding open players for that second unit so that helps alot.
The key for Murray is how much the other guys are allowed to play out of position …
If Reece and Clark only played their best position (PG) and Franklin and McKneely only played theirs (SG) then Murray would have plenty of opportunity at his natural position - SF.
Unfortunately I’ll believe it when I see it…
Now that we are down to 10 players who will get time at any time of a game we should have two teams of 5, not necessarily *even minutes but everyone at their correct spot.
Reece/ Kihei
Armaan/ iMac
Taine/ Dunn
Gardner/ BVP
Shedrick/ Cafarro
However we *know that Reece and Kihei will always start together so that throws the rotation into flux.
By January, I think the bench 5 of Caffaro/BVP/Dunn/Taine/iMac might actually be a better, more versatile all-around squad than the 5 of Shedrick/Gardner/Franklin/Clark/Beekman. They’d probably lose in a head-to-head matchup because Beekman would just devour iMac trying to bring the ball up court, but if you swapped, say Taine and either Clark or Beekman, I’d probably bet on the bench.
One takeaway I have from this is that I think Caffaro is better than last year, and, other than detailed knowledge of the defense, everyone else on UVA’s bench is better than Stattman was last year. So, sure, I’m probably overreacting to a great win, but I think this team could be really solid this year. Not top 10 because I don’t think the team will get enough top-end production this year, but top 15 because I think they’re genuinely really deep. And the team could be great next year.
That said, assuming no additional Covid years are claimed, here’s the currently projected two-deep:
PG: Beekman, Coleman
2G: McKneely, Gertrude
SF: Dunn, Murray
PF: Traudt, Bond
C: Shedrick, Buchanan
There are plenty of promising but unproven talents on that squad.
Tbh, for now anyways through two games of not great competition, I actually like BVP and iMac off the bench. They both provide an immediate spark, which nice to see after having zero spark off the bench last season.
A couple of tweaks:
Primary ball handler - Beekman, Coleman, & ??? from the portal. (McKneely if all else fails)
Wings - McKneely, Murray, Bond, Dunn, and Gertrude, with the possibility of Franklin.
Forward - Traudt & Dunn (depending on matchups) & ??? from the portal
Center - Shedrick, and, hopefully, Caffaro. Possibly ??? from the portal
Redshirt - Buchanan.
I get that, but I seem to recall that, at this time last year, most folks thought that Kihei would be gone by now. It might not be likely, especially for Caffaro, but their return remains a possibility. I imagine a lot will depend on how Franklin and Caffaro play this year, the options the portal presents next spring, and any 2023 de-commitments which might happen. Lots of unknowns between now and next summer. I think that Coach Bennett has to assume that five are gone, but I don’t believe anything is written in stone.
Edit tp add: I also imagine the team’s prospects for the 2024 will have an influence.
Yeah, guessing now, I would guess that Papi and Armaan move on. But Kihei’s situation is a good reminder that guessing now (in November) is a pretty fruitless exercise.
Yeah. Honestly unless he shoots 40+% from 3 for the year and plays himself into solid draft contention, I don’t get the assumption that Franklin is gone. Because if he’s not drafted, sure, he could go play in Europe, but he doesn’t seem like he’s in a big hurry to leave. Why not stick around another season in hopes it’ll get him into the NBA?
While I suspect that Caffaro will leave, I imagine that Franklin will have several things to consider. First, if he’s playing well and not losing status (not the same a minutes) within the team, but not a projected first round pick, I can see him electing to return. This is especially true if there is the possibility of picking up some NIL money. And, if the team goes deep into the tournament with the expectation that they will challenge for a Final Four berth in 2024, he might want to be a part of that.
While I don’t think Caffaro’s return is likely, it might be more significant. I really hope that Coach Bennett can redshirt Buchanan, but if that happens and Caffaro leaves, there will be a serious need for more depth in the post. Virginia was very fortunate in obtaining Vander Plas last spring. I don’t know if Coach Bennett has any remaining former roommates with 7’ sons who are contemplating the transfer portal.
There’s arguments on both sides for staying or leaving for Armaan.
If he isn’t playing at a level that attracts NBA interest this year (not a given - he could have an awesome year this year), the odds he does next year aren’t terribly high, and rightly or wrongly, a lot of NBA teams will look at a 5th year college player as too old/limited upside, especially if their game isn’t already translatable. His game probably could do well overseas though, and he could leave and immediately start making money. Another year in college just delays that.
That said, there’s exceptions, and he possibly could ball out next year, get a spot on a team’s G League team because of it, and then work his way up. Happens semi-frequently. Also, it’s possible his NIL earnings would at least partially offset any Euro compensation and make staying more attractive. And then I have no idea where is in his degree process - if he needs more time to finish it, that plus some NIL could be a good reason to stay.
Anyway, like others say: who knows? He probably doesn’t know. Will be interesting to see.
Because of the redshirts next years incoming class will be Bond, Isaac 2, Buchanan, and Gertrude … ACC BEWARE. We will dominate this conference for at least the next 8 years
Let me start by saying this is *not an iMac haters thread, but more of an apples to oranges comparison of opportunities between the two.