I'm ready for some hog basketball!

[ballinhog]

Who else can't wait? What's everyone see as our likely starting 5? Or who do you hope is the starters? I know with our system starting doesn't mean everything as most will get their chances to play. I wanna see Kinglsey and Portis together.

I hope it looks like this

C- Kinglsey
F- Portis
F- Qualls
G- Madden
G- Durham

Or even Bell at the 2 and Madden starting off running the point, at least he won't have to be the PG near as much this year if he has to play it any at all. I doubt that's the starting 5 though, most likely be Portis and Harris inside. I just wanna see Kingsley and Portis together more to help rebounding and our interior D. What's yalls thoughts?
I'm just ready for some Hog basketball!!

[rzrbackramsfan]

I'm excited! I'll take Portis, Harris, madden, bell, Durham with qualls off the bench and the GREEN LIGHT. 

[ballinhog]

Sounds good to me. Any lineup sounds good I'm just ready for basketball! And ready to start talking basketball

[Big Nasty 34]

I predict it's

Durham
Madden
Qualls
Harris
Portis

[-Blu]

Who else can't wait? What's everyone see as our likely starting 5? Or who do you hope is the starters? I know with our system starting doesn't mean everything as most will get their chances to play. I wanna see Kinglsey and Portis together.

I hope it looks like this

C- Kinglsey
F- Portis
F- Qualls
G- Madden
G- Durham

I like that starting lineup as well, and we may get it sooner or later.

I think to start the year the starting lineup will be

F- Portis
F- Harris
G- Qualls
G- Madden
G- Durham

Bell will be the first guard off the bench and Kingsley will be the first forward off the bench.  Then after that you'll have Miles come in at either the 3 or 4 spot.  Everybody else I'm not sure about yet, I think players 9-13 are still battling for those last couple spots in the rotation.  If I had to make a guess right now I'd say Williams and Babb would be the last 2 in that 10 man rotation.  Beard/Thompson/Watkins will all play, but it will be kinda like how Scott/Williams/Wade were last year, some games you might see them, some you won't.

[ballinhog]

I hope Thompson can adjust and come along quickly, we could use that big body inside against those bigger teams, especially kentucky.

I do see Portis and Harris as the main starters inside just based on what Mike has done in the past. How quickly Thompson comes along may determine how much Portis and Kinglsey play together. We really need Bell to be consistent as well. I still think we are the team that'll really be the thorn in Kentuckys side. We just match up well with them

[TomBigBeeHog]

Portis, and Qualls are getting a lot of pre-season props. Madden and Harris are both seniors and are not getting mentioned nearly as much. Hope they are getting ready to show some strong senior leadership for this team. Playing off the ball, Madden may be our best 3 point shooter. Don't be surprised.

[mhuff]

I like that starting lineup as well, and we may get it sooner or later.

I think to start the year the starting lineup will be

F- Portis
F- Harris
G- Qualls
G- Madden
G- Durham

Bell will be the first guard off the bench and Kingsley will be the first forward off the bench.  Then after that you'll have Miles come in at either the 3 or 4 spot.  Everybody else I'm not sure about yet, I think players 9-13 are still battling for those last couple spots in the rotation.  If I had to make a guess right now I'd say Williams and Babb would be the last 2 in that 10 man rotation.  Beard/Thompson/Watkins will all play, but it will be kinda like how Scott/Williams/Wade were last year, some games you might see them, some you won't.

Unfortunately I agree with you. I say unfortunately because I have been calling for Kingsley to be in the lineup with Portis for many moons. However, it may be later than sooner. If MA wants to stifle the team again, it's up to him. He is the coach. The sooner they play together the better. But, if he can't get the right player combinations together soon enough, it will be evident quickly. I am really anxious to see what kind of defense we will have this year. I think Miles may be an important cog in that wheel.

Babb may surprise all.

This team needs to come charging into this season instead of stumbling. We need some confidence to develop swagger. Perhaps some good leadership will circle the wagons early on.

[Letsroll1200]

Durham
Madden
Qualls
Harris or Miles
Portis

[TomBigBeeHog]

Madden
Bell
Qualls
Harris
Portis

next 3 off the bench

durham
kingsley
miles

mop up

Williams
beard
babb
Thompson
watkins

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

See you all at the Wake Forrest game on Nov 19th!

[Danny J]

Madden
Bell
Qualls
Harris
Portis

next 3 off the bench

durham
kingsley
miles

mop up

Williams
beard
babb
Thompson
watkins

Spot on.....this is how it will be to start the season and likely up to SEC play or close to it. CMA has always shown a propensity towards starting experienced players in his system. That is why it took halfway though his first year before he started BJ.

[Dominicanhog]

Madden
Bell
Qualls
Harris
Portis

next 3 off the bench

durham
kingsley
miles

mop up

Williams
beard
babb
Thompson
watkins

I see:

Portis
Madden
Durham
Harris
Qualls

1st off
Moses
Bell
Miles

next off
Williams
Babb
Beard

mop up
Thompson
Watkins

[ballinhog]

One of the big keys to success this year besides the obvious which is PG play, is how consistent is Anthlon Bell. When he's on, we're very tough to beat. And just my opinion here and I'm not trying to say I'm anywhere near as smart as Mike Anderson, Kingsley and Portis playing together will make us a very good team while they're on the court. Just seems like CMA doesn't feel the same way for whatever reason. But I feel very confident that if they're on the court together, we are a top 15 caliber team not just in BWA but any arena in America

[downsouthhawg72]

Kingsley should have been starting this past year. Portis is no center, Harris is no Power Forward. If Harris had Sir Charles Hops or Corliss strength & post moves then yes, he has neither. If that's the line-up were rolling with were going to probably be in trouble. It should be a Moses/Portis show down low from the start.

1St
C- Kinglsey
F- Portis
F- Qualls
G- Madden
G- Durham

2nd
C- Thompson
F- Harris
F- Miles
G- Bell
G- Beard

[Danny J]

One of the big keys to success this year besides the obvious which is PG play, is how consistent is Anthlon Bell. When he's on, we're very tough to beat.

HA!!!! I was going to start a thread just the other day basically stating the same thing. I believe he will lead us in PPG, be the most consistent and really be the go to player other teams are going to have to stop. I think Portis will still be very raw and likely average just below Bell in PPG but will also likely lead the team in minutes played. He plays with a motor that is non-stop but I digress. I think Bell is going to make a HUGE leap forward. I believe it will be evident from day one.

[ballinhog]

Kingsley should have been starting this past year. Portis is no center, Harris is no Power Forward. If Harris had Sir Charles Hops or Corliss strength & post moves then yes, he has neither. If that's the line-up were rolling with were going to probably be in trouble. It should be a Moses/Portis show down low from the start.

1St
C- Kinglsey
F- Portis
F- Qualls
G- Madden
G- Durham

2nd
C- Thompson
F- Harris
F- Miles
G- Bell
G- Beard

I agree 100%. And that's the exact lineup I like. Hopefully Durham is ready to roll, if not then I suppose it'll be Madden and Bell in the backcourt. Seems we all hope it's Kingsley and Portis starting together.

[PonderinHog]

I'm going out on an early limb and picking Williams as my sleeper.

[ballinhog]

HA!!!! I was going to start a thread just the other day basically stating the same thing. I believe he will lead us in PPG, be the most consistent and really be the go to player other teams are going to have to stop. I think Portis will still be very raw and likely average just below Bell in PPG but will also likely lead the team in minutes played. He plays with a motor that is non-stop but I digress. I think Bell is going to make a HUGE leap forward. I believe it will be evident from day one.

I really would like to see Bell step up and take that 15-18 foot jumper more often this year too. He's deadly from that range. Even take it in the lane some and try to draw some fouls bc he's dang near automatic from the FT line. But he definitely needs to at least take the mid range jumper more often. Especially early in games because if he hits his first 1-2 shots he can get unconscience in a hurry.

Dang basketball needs to hurry up and get here lol I been looking at NBA preseason box scores just to get a little fix

[ballinhog]

I'm going out on an early limb and picking Williams as my sleeper.

He's definitely being overlooked this preseason. If he just understands his role and gives 100% effort to fulfill that role, he can be a major help to this team. Rebound, play defense, and get cheap buckets. He has the tools to be a very solid player at this level

[intelligence]

A couple things to consider:

who can replace gulley's on ball defense? say what you want but he was seldom caught slipping.

kentucky may be a tougher match up this year. karl towns is no randle, and there isn't a single player in the post that seems to be "the guy" the way randle was. Getting in him foul trouble went a long way to keeping us into the ball game last year.  fortunately, we have Thompson who might be able to provide some valuable minutes at center for us this season, and we will need it vs SMU and Kentucky.

just my .02  :razorback:

[TomBigBeeHog]

He's definitely being overlooked this preseason. If he just understands his role and gives 100% effort to fulfill that role, he can be a major help to this team. Rebound, play defense, and get cheap buckets. He has the tools to be a very solid player at this level

If Williams does step up, who does he knock out of the rotation.

[ballinhog]

A couple things to consider:

who can replace gulley's on ball defense? say what you want but he was seldom caught slipping.

kentucky may be a tougher match up this year. karl towns is no randle, and there isn't a single player in the post that seems to be "the guy" the way randle was. Getting in him foul trouble went a long way to keeping us into the ball game last year.  fortunately, we have Thompson who might be able to provide some valuable minutes at center for us this season, and we will need it vs SMU and Kentucky.

just my .02  :razorback:

We will miss the defense from Gulley and Wade. I've never even seen a single highlight of Durham so I really have no idea the answer to that question. Hopefully he will be at least a decent defender. I assume Babb has potential to be a good defender as well but it will be hard for him to get minutes this year. This may not have anything to do with on ball defense against the opposing PG but I do think Miles is gonna be a very good defender, both on ball and as a help defender, even in zone defense. I see him as a potential great defensive player

[ballinhog]

If Williams does step up, who does he knock out of the rotation.

The only person he would take minutes from is Harris. But if Portis and Kingsley actually do start and/or play a lot together, you may see a lot of Williams and Harris together with the 2nd group, if Thompson doesn't earn his way into the top 10 of the rotation. I guess the answer to your question would depend on the line up we go with. Could be Harris, or depending on the line up, although it may not make sense, he could take minutes that would go to Thompson