'22 TNFR SG Jalen Gabbidon (SIGNED to COLORADO)

[Luke]

Very true. It's going to be a concern for sure. I'm still a little baffled that we didn't sign a big from the portal. There were/are certainly players that fit Tad's criteria and would've replaced some of the production, size and toughness we lose with Evan and Jabari.

I'm convinced it's at least partially to do to CU top choices for three 6'10 big wings in '23: Diop, Ndongo, Betts. +Near top of list for few more, but most of them may not commit for another year. So how long CU remains at top of list remains to be seen. Diop's major may keep CU there. Hope Betts, Normand, Manning, Osiris patient.

 

[Luke]

Again, another one of these posts where you start off fine then go off the rails.
1) Stop assigning numbers to positions. It's not 1982.
2) Hammond is not redshirting. Good lord man, he basically started every game down the stretch last season.
3) daSilva is not a point forward and won't be bringing the ball up the floor given we have at least 5 true guards on the roster next year and 3 other small forwards.
4) Hadley may have guarded 1-5 (though, I highly doubt it) in Juco, but this ain't Juco. And he's not a "back-up 4." He's an off guard or wing. Yes, we're all laughing.
5) Clifford will play zero point next year. He'll be on the wing or working through the paint. He's by far our best returining rebounder and Tad's not going to have him handling the ball on a regular basis with...ah, screw it. See #3 above.
6) Gabbidon WILL NOT be a scorer here. He is here to offer mental toughness, defensive capabilities and some seasoning. He'll MAYBE be a 6ppg, 3rpg, 1apg glue guy next year and that's fine.

I understand that haters will always hate. But I, personally, prefer to respect everyone else's opinion as equal to my own.

Love to see Luke & Quincy play well enough to keep Hadley off back-up 4-spot minutes, but don't think they can outplay Hadley in the post (or out-size him) YET.

Or fill all 80 minutes of 4 & 5 spots with 3 guys? Tristan, Lawson & Hurlburt would only have to average 27 minutes a game. Or Tristan 32 minutes and Lawson & Hurlburt 24 minutes each. Not out of the question. But let's play-out that possible minutes-crunch:
KJ 30 minutes
Nique 20
Quincy 20
Hadley 10
Luke 10
Wright 8?
Julian 8?
Ruffin- 7?
Gabbidon- 7?
RJ- Redshirt?

Mix & match minutes all you want (hint: there's not enough minutes to go around for more than 10-11 guys to contribute 10 minutes/game), so it seems more likely:
-Lawson & Hurlburt average closer to 20 minutes- w/ a 4th guy getting back-up minutes at 4 (Lawson & Hurlburt getting 20 minutes/ game, & Luke & Hadley getting 17 minutes/ game easily balances front court minutes). But still too many guards & wings for remaining 120 minutes
-Give a 2nd guy THE OPTION to Redshirt & play 30 minutes as Senior vs. 5-10 minutes/game now. Julian or Luke? Not Ruffin, as he needs to play after injury. Gabbidon & Wright may be the kind of high-character guys & leaders on D to be OK w/ spot minutes to make 12 man roster work? Hope seniors are bought in?

-PS, I'm a huge Javon Ruffin fan. Quincy, Tristan, Ruffin, & Hurlburt may be our best 3 pt shooters. Luke & Julian will get there; if they're not already there this year.
-PSS, It's true: I love that Tad is a player-development coach....equally as much as I love his unique Tad Ball play-style! I'm confident he'll keep developing 4 future!

 

[Buffnik]

Tad's conundrum this year is that he's got 9 or 10 guys (maybe even 10 or 11) who look like they should play significant minutes, but last year he learned that a rotation of 7 or 8 has significant advantages to game flow, chemistry and consistency.

I suspect he will be a bit quicker to shorten his bench this year, but his tendency has always been to go the other direction when he's got the horses and health to do so.

 

[Da Lama]

I understand that haters will always hate. But I, personally, prefer to respect everyone else's opinion as equal to my own.

Love to see Luke & Quincy play well enough to keep Hadley off back-up 4-spot minutes, but don't think they can outplay Hadley in the post (or out-size him) YET.

Or fill all 80 minutes of 4 & 5 spots with 3 guys? Tristan, Lawson & Hurlburt would only have to average 27 minutes a game. Or Tristan 32 minutes and Lawson & Hurlburt 24 minutes each. Not out of the question. But let's play-out that possible minutes-crunch:
KJ 30 minutes
Nique 20
Quincy 20
Hadley 10
Luke 10
Wright 8?
Julian 8?
Ruffin- 7?
Gabbidon- 7?
RJ- Redshirt?

Mix & match minutes all you want (hint: there's not enough minutes to go around for more than 10-11 guys to contribute 10 minutes/game), so it seems more likely:
-Lawson & Hurlburt average closer to 20 minutes- w/ a 4th guy getting back-up minutes at 4 (Lawson & Hurlburt getting 20 minutes/ game, & Luke & Hadley getting 17 minutes/ game easily balances front court minutes). But still too many guards & wings for remaining 120 minutes
-Give a 2nd guy THE OPTION to Redshirt & play 30 minutes as Senior vs. 5-10 minutes/game now. Julian or Luke? Not Ruffin, as he needs to play after injury. Gabbidon & Wright may be the kind of high-character guys & leaders on D to be OK w/ spot minutes to make 12 man roster work? Hope seniors are bought in?

-PS, I'm a huge Javon Ruffin fan. Quincy, Tristan, Ruffin, & Hurlburt may be our best 3 pt shooters. Luke & Julian will get there; if they're not already there this year.
-PSS, It's true: I love that Tad is a player-development coach....equally as much as I love his unique Tad Ball play-style! I'm confident he'll keep developing 4 future!

Fair enough. But, try to keep it realistic. A couple of points to keep things "real":
- Hammond is not redshirting and he's probably getting just slightly less PT than Simpson.
- O'Brien is not redshirting because we need his size and players don't simply choose to redshirt in their junior season for roster reasons.
- RJ Smith is redshirting unless something crazy happens in camp.
- Hurlburt is not getting 24+ minutes/game next season. Lovering probably isn't either.
- Tad didn't bring in two experienced grad transfers to sit the pine.
- Ruffin is likely the odd man out in all this. No one cares that he needs to play after injury. That's not how this works. He's a year behind and Tad just brought in three dudes that basically play his spot (Wright, Hadley, Gabbidon), all with more experience.

If reports are true and barring any huge surprises in the offseason or early in camp, your penciled in starters are:
Simpson
Hammond (or Wright or Gabbidon if Tad wants to platoon Hammond and Simpson at point)
Clifford
Allen
daSilva

 

[BuffsNYC]

Fair enough. But, try to keep it realistic. A couple of points to keep things "real":
- Hammond is not redshirting and he's probably getting just slightly less PT than Simpson.
- O'Brien is not redshirting because we need his size and players don't simply choose to redshirt in their junior season for roster reasons.
- RJ Smith is redshirting unless something crazy happens in camp.
- Hurlburt is not getting 24+ minutes/game next season. Lovering probably isn't either.
- Tad didn't bring in two experienced grad transfers to sit the pine.
- Ruffin is likely the odd man out in all this. No one cares that he needs to play after injury. That's not how this works. He's a year behind and Tad just brought in three dudes that basically play his spot (Wright, Hadley, Gabbidon), all with more experience.

If reports are true and barring any huge surprises in the offseason or early in camp, your penciled in starters are:
Simpson
Hammond (or Wright or Gabbidon if Tad wants to platoon Hammond and Simpson at point)
Clifford
Allen
daSilva

I doubt Simpson and Hammond will start together. I see a decent chance that Lovering is a started for a good portion of the season.

 

[Da Lama]

I doubt Simpson and Hammond will start together. I see a decent chance that Lovering is a started for a good portion of the season.

I can see that. It depends on who we're playing, the type of ball Tad chooses to play next year and whether Lovering elevates his man defense from last year.

 

[Hallett Hell]

He can start a Skull & Bones chapter in Boulder!

There already is. You just don't know about it.

 

[Medford M.]

Fair enough. But, try to keep it realistic. A couple of points to keep things "real":
- Hammond is not redshirting and he's probably getting just slightly less PT than Simpson.
- O'Brien is not redshirting because we need his size and players don't simply choose to redshirt in their junior season for roster reasons.
- RJ Smith is redshirting unless something crazy happens in camp.
- Hurlburt is not getting 24+ minutes/game next season. Lovering probably isn't either.
- Tad didn't bring in two experienced grad transfers to sit the pine.
- Ruffin is likely the odd man out in all this. No one cares that he needs to play after injury. That's not how this works. He's a year behind and Tad just brought in three dudes that basically play his spot (Wright, Hadley, Gabbidon), all with more experience.

If reports are true and barring any huge surprises in the offseason or early in camp, your penciled in starters are:
Simpson
Hammond (or Wright or Gabbidon if Tad wants to platoon Hammond and Simpson at point)
Clifford
Allen
daSilva

Quincy Allen has a better chance starting at the 2 then he does of ever playing minutes at the 4.

 

[Buffsbball]

Quincy Allen has a better chance starting at the 2 then he does of ever playing minutes at the 4.

That doesn't really matter these days. On offense everyone is 4 out. For defense, with @Da Lama 's line up I'm guessing Nique would guard the a teams second big if he's talented when matchups dictate over Allen. However if a guard is better for a team and the second big sucks Nique would probably be on the guard and Allen on the second big. Guessing Lovering will get extended run over teams that like to go big ala USC.

Most teams will not have 2 bigs on the court at the same time. UCLA will have a 4 guard line up most of the time next year with Campbell, Bailey, Clark, Jacquez and Bona. If that's the case does it truly matter whose at the 1-4? You'd just play matchups. Would your starting 5 be different?

 

[Medford M.]

That doesn't really matter these days. On offense everyone is 4 out. For defense, with @Da Lama 's line up I'm guessing Nique would guard the a teams second big if he's talented when matchups dictate over Allen. However if a guard is better for a team and the second big sucks Nique would probably be on the guard and Allen on the second big. Guessing Lovering will get extended run over teams that like to go big ala USC.

Most teams will not have 2 bigs on the court at the same time. UCLA will have a 4 guard line up most of the time next year with Campbell, Bailey, Clark, Jacquez and Bona. If that's the case does it truly matter whose at the 1-4? You'd just play matchups. Would your starting 5 be different?

Hammond ain't a starter, so the lineup would definitely be different. I think we signed 3 guys who are all better than Hammond.

 

[Buffsbball]

Hammond ain't a starter, so the lineup would definitely be different. I think we signed 3 guys who are all better than Hammond.

That’s fair! I can see that too. Point being even if Wright, Hadley, or Gabbidon start over Hammond there’s not an old school 4 in that lineup everyone but KJ would be pretty interchangeable.

 

[CPVbuff]

Hammond ain't a starter, so the lineup would definitely be different. I think we signed 3 guys who are all better than Hammond.

I kinda think the same thing on Hammond. That he’s not a starter. But I’ve heard some highly informed basketball folks swear he’s gonna start over KJ I don’t see it

 

[PAHIBuff]

I know that Hurlburt had some other good offers and that he probably showed up really well in club ball but here's where he played HS hoops:

Enderlin ND, population <900, and 58 miles from Fargo. IMO he'll have at least as big a learning curve as Lovering if not more. Seems like a great kid but will need to develop.

Enderlin, North Dakota - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Medford M.]

I know that Hurlburt had some other good offers and that he probably showed up really well in club ball but here's where he played HS hoops:

Enderlin ND, population <900, and 58 miles from Fargo. IMO he'll have at least as big a learning curve as Lovering if not more. Seems like a great kid but will need to develop.

Enderlin, North Dakota - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Much better athlete than Lovering. Different type of player.

 

[leftybuff]

I know that Hurlburt had some other good offers and that he probably showed up really well in club ball but here's where he played HS hoops:

Enderlin ND, population <900, and 58 miles from Fargo. IMO he'll have at least as big a learning curve as Lovering if not more. Seems like a great kid but will need to develop.

Enderlin, North Dakota - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

HS ball means jack. His AAU team is what you look at.

D1 Minnesota is a pretty quality AAU club. They ave put several players into D1 schools. If he excelled there, it really doesn't matter about his HS.

For instance, current Denver Nugget Zeke Nnaji, (played college ball at AZ) is a D1 Minnesota alum.

 

[Buffnik]

HS ball means jack. His AAU team is what you look at.

D1 Minnesota is a pretty quality AAU club. They ave put several players into D1 schools. If he excelled there, it really doesn't matter about his HS.

For instance, current Denver Nugget Zeke Nnaji, (played college ball at AZ) is a D1 Minnesota alum.

Austin Dufault is a great CU example. HS ball was nearly meaningless for getting him offers. He blew up due to an AAU tournament and we were fortunate to sign him. (George King was also a traveling team find very late in the cycle. Not sure Tad ever even talked to his HS coach.)

 

[leftybuff]

Austin Dufault is a great CU example. HS ball was nearly meaningless for getting him offers. He blew up due to an AAU tournament and we were fortunate to sign him. (George King was also a traveling team find very late in the cycle. Not sure Tad ever even talked to his HS coach.)

Exactly. College coaches go to the major AAU club tourneys where they can see the cream of the crop, all day, playing against other quality players. Why drive to Bumblebee AZ HS to see one legit D1 prospect playing against a bunch of stiffs when you can go to the Adidas gig in Portland, or the Nike gig in Vegas and see literally dozens of legit guys in one sitting?

 

[BuffinCali]

Exactly. College coaches go to the major AAU club tourneys where they can see the cream of the crop, all day, playing against other quality players. Why drive to Bumblebee AZ HS to see one legit D1 prospect playing against a bunch of stiffs when you can go to the Adidas gig in Portland, or the Nike gig in Vegas and see literally dozens of legit guys in one sitting?

Have you ever been to Bumblebee AZ? The women love churros in Bumblebee as much as they do in San Antonio. IYKYK

 

[Bear Fiend]

TIL Bumblebee AZ is a real place.

 

[Buffnik]

TIL Bumblebee AZ is a real place.

FYI, it's the tuna capital of the southwest

 

[AztecBuff]

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to him!

 

[Chautauqua]

Tad signing Yale graduates just to dare CU's admissions office to deny them.

 

[AztecBuff]

 

[Preston Slaughter]

He seems like a great culture fit with what Tad has cultivated through guys like Evan and McKinley.