Ok, I love football, but I am a hoops guy and need some hoops talk this time of year. So I was thinking earlier today about who is potentially the MOST important player this year for the Cats to stay at the level where we want them to be? I had a pretty good argument with myself as I was driving to work, and I'm not sure if I figured it out.
Carti to me might just be a 1st Team Big 12 guy, could be wrong, but he just has so much swag and confidence, and he tends to play with no fear, almost to a fault sometimes with his loose handle and his one-handed passes, but man, he is never scared and he has stepped up huge in some pretty big moments. Considering we know we have a number of very good defenders and a number of solid role players, Cartier might just be the most important as it relates to taking a big step toward being a 16ppg. type of guy.
Mak is also pretty dang important considering we don't really have any experienced depth behind him other than Stockard to an extent. If we plan on mainly using the two freshman at the 4, Mak being consistent and having a big senior year would seem to be pretty important.
I am still a bit unsure about X, at least as it relates to his ceiling. Can he take a huge step forward on the offensive end and be a 14ppg guy now that he will be one of the top offensive weapons? Was his being mainly a spot-up shooter a result of playing with last years seniors? Can he drive it and finish?
Mike is pretty important as well. The description we got on him when he signed was that he was a very versatile scorer who had nearly unlimited range and I remember the videos of him were mainly pulling from way down town. We know he can shoot it, but can he shoot it night in and night out and be a consistent offensive threat??
What do you guys all think? Which guy is the MOST important to our success this year?
Who is the most important player??
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Section 12-2
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I'm guessing X. But I believe all three will step up their game.
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tmcats
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X is my pick as well. senior leader with the most experienced 'game' on the squad. he's this year's wes and rodney and jake. i'll be disappointed if he doesn't have an all-B12 type of year. good guy and student-athlete.
Why is there something rather than nothing?
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KsJoey
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Cartier has the most upside and IMO, this will be his team. With Brown and Stokes gone, Cartier will be getting a lot of minutes. I know everybody likes to say X will be the man, and I think he will be in certain games. But I don't see his ceiling getting a lot higher unless he develops some handles, which is very unlikely. or just plays as a different level like we've seen him in some games. Plus, if you take him out of the 4 spot and into the 3, I don't see that helping his offensive stats
I know it's not all about offense.. but Cartier is a returner that I expect to at least double his PPG from last season.
I know it's not all about offense.. but Cartier is a returner that I expect to at least double his PPG from last season.
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IStillLikeHarv
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Strictly speaking, the answer to the question in the thread title is Makol Mawien. All three returning starters are important because they represent 80% of the experience on the team, but Mak is the one who appears to be crucial to KSU being a decent team this season. It will already be a challenge to find someone who can play 10-15 mpg at the five when Mak is on the bench, but if that becomes 40 mpg, KSU simply doesn't have a known answer right now. That is one more reason why losing Dean Wade is such a big blow. When Mak was on the bench, Dean gave KSU a solid option at the five spot.
You can make similar arguments for X and Carti as the only proven four (X) and proven point guard (Carti), but there are at least plausible next-men-up if one of those two goes down.
Looking at the positive side, there are a number of potential choices, but I believe D. Gordon will be the biggest boost to this team. IMO he is the closest thing KSU will have to a replacement for Barry Brown. LIke Barry, he will give major help in covering quick guards in the backcourt on defense along with getting steals. Perhaps even more crucial, I think he will be that guy who can go inside and generate his own shot when the chips are down. X and Carti are both great athletes, but I believe DJG has the best combination of athleticism and offensive basketball skills when KSU needs to put a shot up.
On a more general level, who replaces Dean at the four is obviously a huge question, but I think there are multiple reasonable possibilities for that role, though it may be filled by committee.
It should be fascinating to see how it all works out. I could also see Sloan being a major factor if he can translate some of the skills he showed as a JUCO to the high major level. Lots of possibilities for this coming season.
You can make similar arguments for X and Carti as the only proven four (X) and proven point guard (Carti), but there are at least plausible next-men-up if one of those two goes down.
Looking at the positive side, there are a number of potential choices, but I believe D. Gordon will be the biggest boost to this team. IMO he is the closest thing KSU will have to a replacement for Barry Brown. LIke Barry, he will give major help in covering quick guards in the backcourt on defense along with getting steals. Perhaps even more crucial, I think he will be that guy who can go inside and generate his own shot when the chips are down. X and Carti are both great athletes, but I believe DJG has the best combination of athleticism and offensive basketball skills when KSU needs to put a shot up.
On a more general level, who replaces Dean at the four is obviously a huge question, but I think there are multiple reasonable possibilities for that role, though it may be filled by committee.
It should be fascinating to see how it all works out. I could also see Sloan being a major factor if he can translate some of the skills he showed as a JUCO to the high major level. Lots of possibilities for this coming season.
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SCKSCat
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xtrawildcat
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I don't think one guy stepping up will be the answer. Incremental 0ffensive improvement by Diarra, Sneed, Mak make aand McGuirl is needed.
1. McGuirl shot 42% from three in Big 12 play. He needs to be in the 35% or above area but with a higher volume. I think he can
2. Mak needs to cut down on turnovers when doubled and bemore efficient making jump shots on a higher volume.
3. Diarra needs to keep improving all aspects of his offensive game. He has a hard time breaking down defenders off the dribble as Barry did and improving that aspect of his game along with cutting out the sloppy turnovers will be what I am looking to see from him.
4. Sneed just needs to hit a higher percentage from three and be more consistent doing it. We'll lose a lot of games if he goes 1 for 6 in one game and 4 for 6 in the next.
I expect SNW, Sloan and D Gordon to all be positive contributors and hope one of them steps up and becomes a big time player by the end of the year.
A Gordon and Murphy will be key to us being really good or just good. Hope one or both of them can produce as freshman.
The other bigs are going to be role players but lets hope all three make at least incremental improvements.
How well the entire team makes threes from the longer distance vs how the rest of the league hits them is an unknown. I'm pretty nervous about that change.
1. McGuirl shot 42% from three in Big 12 play. He needs to be in the 35% or above area but with a higher volume. I think he can
2. Mak needs to cut down on turnovers when doubled and bemore efficient making jump shots on a higher volume.
3. Diarra needs to keep improving all aspects of his offensive game. He has a hard time breaking down defenders off the dribble as Barry did and improving that aspect of his game along with cutting out the sloppy turnovers will be what I am looking to see from him.
4. Sneed just needs to hit a higher percentage from three and be more consistent doing it. We'll lose a lot of games if he goes 1 for 6 in one game and 4 for 6 in the next.
I expect SNW, Sloan and D Gordon to all be positive contributors and hope one of them steps up and becomes a big time player by the end of the year.
A Gordon and Murphy will be key to us being really good or just good. Hope one or both of them can produce as freshman.
The other bigs are going to be role players but lets hope all three make at least incremental improvements.
How well the entire team makes threes from the longer distance vs how the rest of the league hits them is an unknown. I'm pretty nervous about that change.
My gut wants to say X, but I think it's Cartier because I don't believe X 's strength is creating his own shot nor do I believe Mak is a big enough offensive presence to draw a double team.
With last year's unquestioned best passer(Dean) gone, can Cartier be a functional "facilitator"?
He needs to have good enough handles to get to the rim, the strength to finish, the vision to drive and kick the ball to X, as well as the touch on his passes to put it on Mak's hands while the big man is moving toward the basket. In other words, he needs to be the kind of player that raises the level of everyone else's game because, to be perfectly honest, there just aren't going to be any offensively dominant players out there with him.
But what the hell do I know? My default setting is pretty much that the PG is the most important position on the court at all times, but that's just me.
With last year's unquestioned best passer(Dean) gone, can Cartier be a functional "facilitator"?
He needs to have good enough handles to get to the rim, the strength to finish, the vision to drive and kick the ball to X, as well as the touch on his passes to put it on Mak's hands while the big man is moving toward the basket. In other words, he needs to be the kind of player that raises the level of everyone else's game because, to be perfectly honest, there just aren't going to be any offensively dominant players out there with him.
But what the hell do I know? My default setting is pretty much that the PG is the most important position on the court at all times, but that's just me.
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Sir Ocelot
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I think you know a lot and I would normally agree with you.WIldWIllieCat wrote: ↑August 23rd, 2019, 5:42 pmMy gut wants to say X, but I think it's Cartier because I don't believe X 's strength is creating his own shot nor do I believe Mak is a big enough offensive presence to draw a double team.
With last year's unquestioned best passer(Dean) gone, can Cartier be a functional "facilitator"?
He needs to have good enough handles to get to the rim, the strength to finish, the vision to drive and kick the ball to X, as well as the touch on his passes to put it on Mak's hands while the big man is moving toward the basket. In other words, he needs to be the kind of player that raises the level of everyone else's game because, to be perfectly honest, there just aren't going to be any offensively dominant players out there with him.
But what the hell do I know? My default setting is pretty much that the PG is the most important position on the court at all times, but that's just me.
I am going to say Mak, because he is the only proven B12 contributor big guy that we have and we will be in deep trouble in conference play unless one of the other tall players proves that he can be at least decently good at this level.
I would vote for Cartier in the games that we can/should win with a smaller lineup (Tulsa, for example).
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Puffdad
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I think the key guy to winning this year will be Mak. Mainly because he has a huge role to fill without much apparent help unless the new freshman bigs turn out huge. And that unfortunately is a very scary thought from past observations. I think Cartier will be fine and X will be ok if he doesn’t lose his mind trying to do too much. But playing without a league average 4 or 5 could be a real bad situation. Here’s hoping for huge improvements from the upperclassmen bigs or a real splash for the frosh bigs.
