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Starting Lineup and 6th/7th Man???

I’m going to refrain until we know about the waiver situation. Embery Simpson will likely start if he’s granted one.
 
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I’m going to refrain until we know about the waiver situation. Embery Simpson will likely start if he’s granted one.

Correct, but I love these threads cuz they are fun to think about:

1 - Joiner
2 - Jackson (or Embery if he's eligible, but I'm rooting for Jackson to keep improving enough to start, love his defense)
3 - Korita (or maybe Jones? Historically Korita usually ends up starting though)
4 - Horne
5 - Igbanu
 
I'm interested to see what we do with Rachal. Seems like he could be good enough to start.
 
I also think that if Embery gets the waiver, he'll probably take the point. He seems like a player that needs the ball in his hands to be special and he's not a prolific shooter. He's also a tad smaller than Joiner. For me, this is what I'm seeing:

PG: Embery-Simpson* (25-28 mpg), Hill (10-12 mpg)
SG: Joiner* (23-25 mpg), Jackson (15 mpg)
SF: Korita* (20 mpg), Jones (20 mpg)
PF: Rachal* (18-20 mpg), Horne (22 mpg)
C: Igbanu* (26 mpg), Ugboh (14 mpg)
 
I don't see Jackson starting TBH. We need as much scoring as possible in the starting 5 and he simply doesn't provide enough of that. Your 2nd team usually doesn't score at the same clip as the starting 5 so you hope you have some defensive stopping capability there. I would think situation, especially late in games, would dictate Jackson's minutes. If TU is behind, Jackson won't see as many minutes. If TU s up 10 with 5 to go, Jackson may not come out for the rest of the game or would be subbed in as a defensive stopper. HE SHOULD NEVER TOUCH THE BALL WHEN THE OTHER TEAM NEEDS TO FOUL AND PUT US ON THE LINE!
 
I don't see Jackson starting TBH. We need as much scoring as possible in the starting 5 and he simply doesn't provide enough of that. Your 2nd team usually doesn't score at the same clip as the starting 5 so you hope you have some defensive stopping capability there. I would think situation, especially late in games, would dictate Jackson's minutes. If TU is behind, Jackson won't see as many minutes. If TU s up 10 with 5 to go, Jackson may not come out for the rest of the game or would be subbed in as a defensive stopper. HE SHOULD NEVER TOUCH THE BALL WHEN THE OTHER TEAM NEEDS TO FOUL AND PUT US ON THE LINE!

Yeah I hear you, but my prediction that he would start is assuming that he wouldn't be a liability in ways you are describing. I am rooting for his improvement to the point that it makes sense to start him, especially since he is at least a known commodity and the others are generally unproven.
 
Yeah I hear you, but my prediction that he would start is assuming that he wouldn't be a liability in ways you are describing. I am rooting for his improvement to the point that it makes sense to start him, especially since he is at least a known commodity and the others are generally unproven.
I understand and I hope for that improvement for him as well. But his shot from more than 6 feet is uglier than Shaq's and not improving at the same rate as Shaq's did and he is not nearly the same level of ball handler that Shaq turned into. Makes it harder to have him on the floor for extended periods of time, especially in situations where you need either of the skills I mentioned. I love his defense and athleticism though.
 
I'm kind of thinking we'll keep Horne as a super 6th man with guys like Jackson, Hill, Ugboh, etc....we'll need scoring with that unit and Horne + Jones could provide that. A first unit with Simpson + Rachal + Igbanu + Joiner should score at a decent clip already.
 
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I seem to remember Jackson hitting some FT late in the season? Maybe could continue that.
 
I don’t see anyway Horne isn’t in the starting lineup. We need his outside shooting. He’s the only player on the roster who shot over 33% from three their last D1 season. We need his scoring.
 
By middle of the year I believe Hill get majority of minutes
 
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I would bet the house that Igbanu starts at the 5 and Horne starts at the 4. I’m almost as certain that Korita is our starting 3. The other spots are the question marks and not having seen any of the new players I would expect to see Joiner at the 1 and possibly Jones at the 2. Before anyone says “JONES?!?!” I know he’s a natural 3 but he shot 40% from deep as a true freshman and can also drive the ball. His production fell off as a sophomore because his number of attempts doubled so I suspect he felt he was the only deep option and forced a lot of shots. I think Horne and Joiner will both shoot well enough to keep opponents honest and allow Jones to shoot in the flow of the game. Starters are really not as important with Haith though as they might be on some teams. We know we’ll see between 9 and 11 players (maybe more early) so total minutes are more important than who plays the first two or three minutes before the subbing starts.
 
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My biggest concern is that Haith may be unable to tell who can play until we have had a couple of "bad losses" which usually eliminates us from the bubble. This is the year I hope he will only sub one or at most two at a time and not disrupt momentum.
 
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I wouldn't count Rachal out as a possible starter. Nor would I count out Embery Simpson if he gets the waiver.
 
Nor would I count Ugboh out. I hope he gets a lot of minutes early to get experience. Thus we have about 9 choices to start.
 
My biggest concern is that Haith may be unable to tell who can play until we have had a couple of "bad losses" which usually eliminates us from the bubble. This is the year I hope he will only sub one or at most two at a time and not disrupt momentum.
Hasn't every year been the one we hope Haith wises up on mass substitutions earlier than in the past year.
 
I just checked out the roster on the TU Athletics web site and noticed that Simon Falokun is missing. Anyone know about this?
 
Could be an injury. ....................... May be one reason Gendron and Christopolos are waiting in the wings.
 
Could be an injury. ....................... May be one reason Gendron and Christopolos are waiting in the wings.
Why would he not be on the official roster on the TU Athletics web site? I've never noticed anybody being taken off the official roster over an injury.
 
That’s a shame. Hopefully Ugboh can jump right in. That also frees up minutes for some of the other new bigs.
 
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In 5 years at TU, Haith has only started 3 players in game 1 that weren't on the roster the previous season. Travis Atson, DaQuan Jeffries, and Zeke Moore. Here's your starting lineup for Houston Baptist: Joiner, Jackson, Korita, Horne, Igbanu
 
I mostly agree but I think I would put Jones at the 2 with Jackson off the bench but it wouldn’t surprise me if you’re right.
 
From what I understand rachal has already locked down the starting 4 position.
If true that's great news. Sounds like their won't be much of a drop off from losing Jeffries. If one of the newcomers is stepping into that position, rather than recycling players that have been on the court before, it bodes well for the team..
 
In 5 years at TU, Haith has only started 3 players in game 1 that weren't on the roster the previous season. Travis Atson, DaQuan Jeffries, and Zeke Moore. Here's your starting lineup for Houston Baptist: Joiner, Jackson, Korita, Horne, Igbanu

That shows how much he knows about his players when the season starts. This board if given access to practice could have picked better. I am still perplexed about Brown starting against South Carolina....Kinda like Wojcik not using his best free throw shooter to shoot the technicals.
 
From what I understand rachal has already locked down the starting 4 position.

I've heard that. But I also heard this time last year that Horne had already locked down the starting 4 position. Then he came off the bench for all but 1 game the entire season.
 
I've heard that. But I also heard this time last year that Horne had already locked down the starting 4 position. Then he came off the bench for all but 1 game the entire season.
I think that was more because Jeffries wasn't really a college 3.
 
From what I understand rachal has already locked down the starting 4 position.
I’m really looking forward to basketball season to see how the new players look and how the team gels. If this is true he must be a dandy and it would mean moving Horne to the three and bringing Korita off the bench. I don’t see Horne not being a starter this season.
 
I think it is still way too early to tell from what I have seen.
 
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