New lineup hope

[forrest city joe]

PF.M. washington
SF.Sonny weems
C.D. towns
PG.patrick beverly
2G.Nate Rakestraw

[cthog99]

starting lineups mean nothing. some teams have their best players come off the bench to provide a spark. look at bev against utsa

[Poker_hog]

PF.M. washington
SF.Sonny weems
C.D. towns
PG.patrick beverly
2G.Nate Rakestraw

What has Rakestraw done to deserve to start?

[cthog99]

plus, how is he gonna start when he didn't play at all yesterday

[forrest city joe]

What has Rakestraw done to deserve to start?

Nothing. but it's time to try something new. maby he can make a shot for one thing.

[The Realist]

As the announcers said..."If Sonny Weems had the motor of Patrick Beverley, he would be first team all american"

[chiefsfan]

Stay with Welsh or Britt over Beverly at point, leave beverly at the 2

Rakestraw just isnt ready yet

[40MINSOFHELL]

why in the bloody hell do you wanna start Sonny Weems, he is a turnover waiting to happen and his shot selection is horrible!

[3pigsinafountain]

Rakestraw may not start a game this year.  Pel has made it clear this team is going to hang its hat on defense.  That is what is behind some of his recent starting lineups.  He started Britt, who has no offense at the moment but decent defense, recently.  This looks like his signature, get the "D" functioning then work the offense in.  Rakestraw may or may not get his minutes, but imo they won't be starting minutes as his value is as a shooter, not a shut down defender.

which btw is why Weems is starting, he can be a shut down defender and Pel is starting his all 'D' team.

[The Realist]

If defense is going to be our forte...why can we not stop backscreen alley oops?

[mbgrulz]

rakestraw won't see very many minutes this year. he looked way too far behind vs. utsa to come in against good talent and hold his own. he was shaky with the ball, and a defensive liability.

[Modsquad24]

as long as Hill's minutes get cut down alot im happy

[proud2bpork]

It's hard to pick a solid line up because everyone is so inconsistent.  If I had to go with the most consistent guys, it would be:

Welsh
Beverly
Washington
Townes
Thomas


later. proud

[hawgwild1087]

Yeah its definitely time townes gets the start over hill.  Id kinda like to see britt get some starts at the 1.  hes a solid distributor and doesnt turn the ball over that much, even though he doesnt contribute much point-wise.

[blacksuit]

why in the bloody hell do you wanna start Sonny Weems, he is a turnover waiting to happen and his shot selection is horrible!

Who else do we play at the three?

[hillhog]

why in the bloody hell do you wanna start Sonny Weems, he is a turnover waiting to happen and his shot selection is horrible!

I agree with you on his penchant for the turnover due to slow passes and some poor shot selection BUT, I have to go with Weems starting because of the presence he has on defense. Most  of the time it is his energy and knack for getting in the right position to put pressure on that sparks the defense from his trammates

[hawgwild1087]

Heres one ive thought about:
PG  Britt -  Consistant, strong defensively, doesnt turn the ball over, pass first/shoot second
SG Ervin - Until Beverly picks it up offensively, Ervin may be the best shooter on the team, not afraid to penetrate
SF Washington - Has a nice midrange game, deserves the start after saturdays performance
PF Thomas - Consistant, pretty solid defender
C Townes - Best offensive threat down low

The only problem i see with this lineup is defense in the frontcourt but if either townes or thomas can pick it up, they would be much better options than hill who contributes nothing offensively.
Beverly had probably his best game of the year coming off the bench against UTSA and i think he should until he starts knocking down his shots.

[Nutts and Bolts]

I have been MOSt disappointed in Weems.... Too careless... He may make 2-3 great plays but during that time, he makes 5-6 bonehead plays... He needs to be benched

[chiefsfan]

I really think if given more time Britt will develop more of an offensive game.   But its just not good when your current starting point guard is shooting 53 percent from the Free throw line, and the guy who plays alot of minutes behind him is turning the ball over or taking a stupid shot one out of every 3 times down the floor

[mathhog]

if weems would get his act together, the whole team's chemistry changes immediately.

[spahoopsfan]

rakestraw won't see very many minutes this year. he looked way too far behind vs. utsa to come in against good talent and hold his own. he was shaky with the ball, and a defensive liability.

I sure didn't see any evidence of that.  Did he have any turnovers? He made an excellent play on defense during one of the trips down court.  It is hard to make an impact from the bench.  Could he have shot any worse than anyone else when OU was in the zone? We only made one in the second half.  The OU three point shots were wide open.  He sure couldn't have done worse.

[Tomhog™]

If Rakestraw's minutes don't pickup through the year, I'd be surprised if he didn't transfer at season end with the class that we have coming in.  I said this was going to happen to McGowan last year and it did, though most didn't believe me.

[jry04]

I sure didn't see any evidence of that.  Did he have any turnovers? He made an excellent play on defense during one of the trips down court.  It is hard to make an impact from the bench.  Could he have shot any worse than anyone else when OU was in the zone? We only made one in the second half.  The OU three point shots were wide open.  He sure couldn't have done worse.

How did you not see that vs UT-SA? Every trip down the court they worked the ball through the man he was "defending." He ran to the FT line one time to try and get around a screen that was on the block. His guy went out to the three point line and hit a wide open shot. Another time he got scored on because he let his guy cut baseline and go backdoor to make a layup.

[yocdaddy]

I like bringing Townes off the bench, because he comes in fresh against a guy who is getting tired or a 2nd teamer.  My ideal lineup would be:

PG Welsh - better option than Ervin.
SG Beverly - needs to get more shots.
SF Weems - needs to make better decisions.
PF Washington - needs to play tougher defensively and not settle for the 3-pt shot so much.
C Hill - usually prevents the other teams' big man from getting off to a hot start.  Notice I said usually.

I agree that Townes should play much more than Hill, but I like Hill starting for the first 5 minutes of each half.  That would be about all I would play him, unless I needed more defense on the floor.  Thomas needs to start playing better.  Ervin plays too careless with the ball in crucial situations.

[elksnort]

The Hogs need a leader. They need a guard. They need a guard that is a leader.
Hmmm, someone like Corey Beck. Beck did little or nothing in the NBA, but he sure helped make Arkansas a great basketball team.