Wow, thinking that little for Grünloh? Gonna need you to elaborate haha
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I don’t think it’ll be that much of a shocker if Onyenso is starting to begin the season. But I will be surprised if Grünloh isn’t starting by the end of the season, would even go as far to say that it would probably be a bad sign for us.
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I don’t think it’s a bad sign if Onyenso is getting good minutes - people are sleeping on him a bit and what he can offer. I do think Grünloh should start (at least once the seniority element is done with) long term and is going to be positive in more matchups.
Give me 22-23 mins Grünloh and 17-18 mins Onyenso. I don’t want to touch De Ridder at Center unless there’s some crazy super small ballish opponent.
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Tillis at the 5
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… and we riot. Promise me, LRA.
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Tillis got this question from someone, maybe Luke Neer, and he was genuinely surprised. He had to kind of stammer out the obligatory “whatever the team needs”
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It seems like the formula is 90% “traditional” 5 and 10% small-ball at the 5. And then the traditional 5 minutes get split fairly evenly. Based on Hoop Explorer’s positional analysis, the highest share of center minutes I saw was Brandon Horvath in 22-23 at Utah St with 70%, but more typical is somewhere between 50-60% for the starter (of the traditional 5 minutes, so like 45-55% of center minutes overall).
Jack Clark had like 10% of the center minutes last season, Kuany Kuany had some center minutes in 23-24. Less smallball at Utah St, it seems.
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“Do you envision any circumstances where you could play the five? In a small ball line up?
Hey, you never know, you know, Coach Odom is really, he does some interesting concepts where he might include stuff like that. I definitely think I could do it. You know, I’m always down to wherever you need me, I’m going to figure out how to get it done.”
From The Best Seat in the House: Devin Tillis & Jacari White Interviews, Jul 9, 2025
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No. I think they’re both solid big guys. Odom rotates a lot, nobody plays heavy minutes, especially bigs. Onyenso has the college experience, more likely to have an almost incumbency factor. Plus these Euros aren’t used to playing big minutes either. That’s the style over there, frequent subs.
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Fermin played 19 and Bam played 17 last year and Jack Clark was 6’10" for the “Small Ball” Center role.
I’m not tryna spend Grünloh or Onyenso minutes on shorties!
(I should clarify that you probably can get away with most things, like De Ridder at Center, in really short spurts - but I would view it as a reactionary measure that responds to a specific problem like a matchup or foul trouble or fatigue more than something that’s often beneficial)
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Grünloh at least provides some of the spacing benefits of smallball 5s. I’d imagine you saw more non-traditional options at the 5 in Odom’s past teams because he’s had a bunch of non-shooting 5s recently. Horvath could shoot a little and played a ton (relative to typical patterns).
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That’s the thing about Grünloh - if you want the spacing he provides it without having to sacrifice your rim protection.
He makes small ball mostly unnecessary.
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Grünloh is skinny, will have to adjust to US ball and already a month behind, and Ugonna’s proven rim protection helps compliment our guards while being low usage offensively with our guards handling.
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I look at the history with Onyenso to understand the situation more…
It’s been heavily rumored as his minutes declined he lost focus last year. Have a hard time believing if that’s the case he’s walking into a 10ish minutes a night situation happily..
I’m with HGN I think he starts atleast for the majority of OOC while Grünloh adjusts to college ball/college life. But look for him to play plenty, he’s a nice talent. I feel like his skillset could play nicely against other “backups” and give a different look while Onyenso could really set the tone as the starter. First time in awhile I’ve felt confident in our 5 spot rotation. Kind of refreshing.
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I think we need a poll:
Who starts game 1?
- Onyenso
- Grünloh
0
voters
Watching Grünloh’s highlights, he has slow feet and doesn’t have a lot of vertical explosiveness. I wonder how much of a defender and rim protector he’ll be in the ACC, compared to Onyenso. For this reason, I wouldn’t be surprised if Onyenso initially starts in non-conference play - he’s older, more athletic, and is an elite shot blocker (something very important in Odom’s system). But I wouldn’t be surprised if Grünloh eventually earns the starting role in ACC play.
Johann’s feet are very quick for a 7 footer. Honestly one of my favorite things about him. Agree that his vertical leap isn’t much to write home about but he moves his feet extremely well and gets down the floor in a blur.
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I guess it’s subjective when you throw in the phrase “quick for a 7 footer.” I was referring to his lateral quickness, not necessarily his ability to run down the floor. He’s also seems vulnerable to getting pushed around by bigger but shorter players. Hoping Coach Curtis can remedy this a bit, build up some strength, especially lower body strength.