Men's basketball: CU Buffs' Dustin Thomas determined to prove nay-sayers wrong

[RSSBot]

By Brian Howell Buffzone.com

Dustin Thomas was supposed to be a football player. At least, that's what he was told while growing up in Texarkana, Texas.

Originally posted by Daily Camera
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[Buffnik]

I still think Dustin is going to be our breakout freshman.

I don't want to over-hype him, but let's just say I wouldn't be surprised if he had a freshman year similar to the one Alec had for us.

 

[slider]

I still think Dustin is going to be our breakout freshman.

I don't want to over-hype him, but let's just say I wouldn't be surprised if he had a freshman year similar to the one Alec had for us.

Wowser. He would have to start at PF for that. Ahead of Gordon? We always hear about a freshman impressing during the summer, this year it is Thomas

 

[PuebloBuff]

So are we all convinced that Thomas is part of a 3-man rotation for the bigs and he probably won't see more than token minutes at the 3? Does Mills have to earn 5 to 10 minutes a game for that to happen?

I only ask because I've been wondering if we'll ever see Scott, Gordon and Thomas on the floor at the same time.

 

[jwhite17]

Possibly if can learn to play defense at a high level, Tad likes to go small for his style of play especially at the 3/4/5 position, so I think our initial starting lineup will be

1 - Dinwiddie - 6'6
2 - Booker - 6'1
3 - XJ - 6'6
4 - Scott - 6'10
5 - Gordon - 6'9

Now, for the bench:

1 - Hopkins/Talton/Stalzer
2 - Jenkins
3 - Fletcher/King
4 - Thomas
5 - Mills

Now, I doubt Mills really plays more than 5-10 minutes/game based on Boyle's preference for bigs that can move up and down the court, and he was pretty weak defensively.

Thomas probably won't take a starting spot from Gordon or XJ, but he can definitely provide some scoring punch off teh bench with the second unit with his versatility of an inside/out player. Gordon is the key guy here. He is the best defender on the team right now in the post, so I think he starts for that reason, but offensively, he will be limited except for layups, crashing the boards, etc.

I can't wait for November!

 

[mattrob]

So are we all convinced that Thomas is part of a 3-man rotation for the bigs and he probably won't see more than token minutes at the 3? Does Mills have to earn 5 to 10 minutes a game for that to happen?

I only ask because I've been wondering if we'll ever see Scott, Gordon and Thomas on the floor at the same time.

No, I still think XJ will see significant time at the 4. It probably doesn't matter much which forward spot he lands at though, since Tad is really just looking to add long, versatile athletes. I don't think Scott, Gordon and Thomas playing together is out of the question, but if we do see it, I'm sure it will be very limited to specific matchups. That lineup doesn't give us the overall athleticism Tad seems to prefer.

 

[PuebloBuff]

No, I still think XJ will see significant time at the 4. It probably doesn't matter much which forward spot he lands at though, since Tad is really just looking to add long, versatile athletes. I don't think Scott, Gordon and Thomas playing together is out of the question, but if we do see it, I'm sure it will be very limited to specific matchups. That lineup doesn't give us the overall athleticism Tad seems to prefer.

Jeebus, posing that question without including xj as part of the bigs rotation should have required some drunkenness on my part. But you're point on Tad's preferences and matchups get to what I was tossing around in my head. Do we gain any matchup advantages against the better teams on our sked with Gordon-Scott-Thomas on the floor? Or would Tad probably just prefer to attack squads like 'Zona and UCLA with a smaller lineup anyway?

 

[Buffnik]

Don't assume that Tad prefers a smaller lineup.

It happened to be the case that Tad's best players and most effective lineups have dictated smaller lineups the past 3 years.

Tad will play whatever rotation is winning basketball games. As long as the group he puts on the court can man up, play great defense and win basketball games, I don't think he could give a **** whether fans/media think he's playing a lineup with 4 guards or a lineup with 4 forwards.

So if Dustin Thomas plays good defense he will play major minutes. Period. Because he's one of the 5 best shooters and 5 best scorers on the roster.

 

[PuebloBuff]

Tad will play whatever rotation is winning basketball games. As long as the group he puts on the court can man up, play great defense and win basketball games, I don't think he could give a **** whether fans/media think he's playing a lineup with 4 guards or a lineup with 4 forwards.

While your point is spot on, 'Nik, it totally robs me of any baseless speculation that I might use to fill the time during the dog days of the offseason.

 

[mattrob]

Don't assume that Tad prefers a smaller lineup.

It happened to be the case that Tad's best players and most effective lineups have dictated smaller lineups the past 3 years.

Tad will play whatever rotation is winning basketball games. As long as the group he puts on the court can man up, play great defense and win basketball games, I don't think he could give a **** whether fans/media think he's playing a lineup with 4 guards or a lineup with 4 forwards.

So if Dustin Thomas plays good defense he will play major minutes. Period. Because he's one of the 5 best shooters and 5 best scorers on the roster.

Agreed, but with his recruiting, Tad really seems to prefer length and athleticism, primarily because of defensive versatility. With Scott, Gordon and Thomas, I'm not sure we'd have the footspeed and lateral quickness to matchup with most teams at the 3 and 4. That's where losing Dre hurts- he was part of the “big" lineup but had the footspeed to guard any wing out there.

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

Tad is all about defense. The best 5 defensively will start, and the second best defensively will sub in. Its that simple. He has proven that defense wins championships and it is why we did not advance as far last year as we did the previous year. We were simply too young and inexperienced and inconsistent on defense.