Alonzo Edwards

[UNT90]

You said pick it up tho. Usually that implies he's not doing his job. He led the team in scoring, assists, and hit more big shots than anyone on the team. We don't win the SBC tournament without him. The kid is the biggest winner we have.

Maybe strategically it'd be better to have him come off the bench, but that's not the same as "pick it up and you get off the bench" -- not at all.

Well then, I'll just say I prefer him as a 6th man.

Maybe Thompson disappears because of the system? I would like to see him get more touches next year. Going for 28 against K St. says a lot to me. When UNT couldn't get anything going offensively this year, Thompson was the spark that got it going.

[CMJ]

Well then, I'll just say I prefer him as a 6th man.

Maybe Thompson disappears because of the system? I would like to see him get more touches next year. Going for 28 against K St. says a lot to me. When UNT couldn't get anything going offensively this year, Thompson was the spark that got it going.

I don't know the kid. But just based off of following him these years, I don't think Thompson wants to be the man. He seems to prefer being Robin, to someone else's Batman. You can't force that kinda personality trait.

[UNT90]

I don't know the kid. But just based off of following him these years, I don't think Thompson wants to be the man. He seems to prefer being Robin, to someone else's Batman. You can't force that kinda personality trait.

Completely disagree from seeing him play against Ulala (or was it La. Mo.?) during the last or 2nd to last home game of the year. Early in the game, UNT could get NOTHING going offensively. Thompson called for the ball and went to the hole like a madman, carrying the team for the first 12 minutes of the 1st half.

Maybe it's a maturation process.

[CMJ]

Who hit the big shot against ULM in the tourney? Or Troy?

[UNT90]

Who hit the big shot against ULM in the tourney? Or Troy?

And I love him for it, but it doesn't mean we are a better team going forward with him as a starter.

If DJ were healthy, who would you have pulled out of our lineup this year?

[CMJ]

And I love him for it, but it doesn't mean we are a better team going forward with him as a starter.

If DJ were healthy, who would you have pulled out of our lineup this year?

Shorter.

[TheTastyGreek]

Shorter.

I also think we would have seen a lot more substitution and diversity in how the minutes were distributed.

Josh and Tristan don't play 35-38 minute games if DJ is healthy, and we mix and match our configurations more within the game.

[MEANGREENMAN!]

Josh makes our offense go, plain and simple. I understand there will be a lot of Romoesque Josh White questioning after his poor performances in both the Sun Belt and NCAA tourneys, but he is the glue that makes this team work. He can penetrate in the Belt, outside of it maybe not so much, but most of our games are against teams where he can take over with his scoring ability or driving and kicking to the other guys. Knowing the kind of work ethic Josh has I'm sure he will go into the offseason with a chip on his shoulder after his poor performance down the stretch and bring a new fire and intensity into next season.

As far as Shorter goes I'm not convinced he is a guy who needs to log major minutes. He was a streaky player throughout the season and at times would try to take over the game as if he was this teams #1 option. Case and point in the Kansas State game, George sat down and the game started getting out of hand. Shannon gets the ball, drives to the hoop, clangs the runner hard off of the glass, and whines to the ref about a no foul call instead of getting back on defense.

I think the best 5 for this team next year (the 2 position can be altered according to match-up)

Josh White

Dominique Johnson

Tristan Thompson

Alonzo Edwards

George Odufuwa

[TheTastyGreek]

Josh makes our offense go, plain and simple. I understand there will be a lot of Romoesque Josh White questioning after his poor performances in both the Sun Belt and NCAA tourneys, but he is the glue that makes this team work. He can penetrate in the Belt, outside of it maybe not so much, but most of our games are against teams where he can take over with his scoring ability or driving and kicking to the other guys. Knowing the kind of work ethic Josh has I'm sure he will go into the offseason with a chip on his shoulder after his poor performance down the stretch and bring a new fire and intensity into next season.

As far as Shorter goes I'm not convinced he is a guy who needs to log major minutes. He was a streaky player throughout the season and at times would try to take over the game as if he was this teams #1 option. Case and point in the Kansas State game, George sat down and the game started getting out of hand. Shannon gets the ball, drives to the hoop, clangs the runner hard off of the glass, and whines to the ref about a no foul call instead of getting back on defense.

I think the best 5 for this team next year (the 2 position can be altered according to match-up)

Josh White

Dominique Johnson

Tristan Thompson

Alonzo Edwards

George Odufuwa

I'd give Holmen a chance at that other starting forward spot (and Kedrick if he's ready to be more of a scoring threat and he's worked on his free throws), and I'd have DJ as the primary ballhandler.

Otherwise, I think that's the primary lineup we'll see next year.

[MEANGREENMAN!]

I'd give Holmen a chance at that other starting forward spot (and Kedrick if he's ready to be more of a scoring threat and he's worked on his free throws), and I'd have DJ as the primary ballhandler.

Otherwise, I think that's the primary lineup we'll see next year.

I didn't see enough from Holmen to deserve a starting spot barring a great offseason. He had flashes, but wasn't consistent enough to get big time minutes. That being said I think he should be the first forward off of the bench next year. Do we know how Kendrick's recovery is going and if he will be 100% at the beginning of next year?

[GrayEagle]

The thing about Johnson is that he gives the team so much more speed. He is the assist leader and can shoot pretty well when needed. He would be my PG. Josh is used to playing a lot of minutes and I think does a lot better when he is not saddled with the point. He's streaky but usually worth the minutes given. Tristan Thompson has to be in there so he is the three. I don't really know about Edwards. The last three years have been pretty much a waste as far as high level basketball. If he can recover his high school form he could end up starting sometime during the season but I look at him now as a backup to Thompson. It's hard to choose between Hogans and Holmen. Hogans brings rebounding, shot-blocking and the better defense. Holmen is faster and has a lot of scoring potential. Early on he had the best scoring average per minute played. I would think that you rotate them according to the situation but I would start Holmen. George O is an obvious choice for the other starting position.

I still think that JJ may find a quality player for the other scholarship. I hope that it's another big man but I can't be sure if Williams is the point guard of the future so he could spend it for a point guard if that's the best player available.

[GrandGreen]

One great thing is that traffic on the basketball board has gone up an order of magnitude from prior years. A lot of HSO's being expressed.

Back to Edwards, I don't think there is any doubt he was recruited to fill Tramiel's position at the four. The question that has evolved based on a relatively poor juco performance is he capable. I don't believe despite sugar coating his performance at Lon Morris like Barnes attempted to do in his commentary that his progress has been promising. Numbers at Lon Morris are hard to come by, but it appears that Edwards was about fourth or fifth in scoring and third in rebounds on a very mediocre team, 16-15. For example, in LM's last regional game, Edwards started but only played 16 minutes with 0 points and 6 rebounds. I still can't believe that anyone thinks that JJ is going to start a 6'7 245 player with little demonstrated offensive skills at the wing or all of sudden go to a three man back-court with a team loading at the guard position. If he wanted to do that he would use Holmen. It seems to me despite what Edwards may think his correct position is, that his best change to contribute is being a rebound first interior player. The issue there is that with Spencer and Hogans, NT already has two similar players. A positive out of the article is that Edwards is working hard and wants to contribute.

Josh White will start and I question the BB IQ of anyone that blames him for anything. He has had more clutch performances than any recent player and is the heart of the club. As far as Thompson not wanting to be the go to player, I am not sure how anyone comes up with that conclusion. He has on the offensive end always been the one that seems to want the ball, maybe too much. This year, he also improved his defense and made more than a few good defensive plays. Thompson has substantially improved every year, if he can do that again he may be the best player in the conference.

Odufuwa, White and Thompson are obviously all great Belt level players and will start. Johnson before the injury was also close to that level. Magrum, Williams and Shorter provide great depth at the guard positions. The only critical issue next year is going to be the other front court starter. Holmen appears to have the best potential to be good on both ends of the court. Hogans and Spencer should be adequate depth players. I also would not be surprised to see Edwards come through. Knox did not play much but did show some promise, if he could gain some confidence he could really help.

It is interesting that the NT program is in such good shape that we are expressing concern over a fifth starter when we have three All Belt players

and two other players returning that probably would have been in the top six contributors if heathty on the team this year.

Edited March 26, 2010 by GrandGreen

[foutsrouts]

Nice argument going on here. Luckily we (LOL!) have 6-7 months to figure this all out. As far as my opinion is concerned, I lean toward bringing Josh off the bench as the sixth man at this point in time. The guy was incredible for us this year, and won SO MANY games for us, but with what we have coming back, I'm not so sure that this would not be the best thing. That is not to say that Josh would not get 25+ minutes in my scenario, but I really like to see us starting out with a little more size on the perimeter. Josh and Dom together for extended minutes showed some flaws in '08-'09. Edwards vs. Hogans etc.? We shall see what we've got.

[aprice]

Nice argument going on here. Luckily we (LOL!) have 6-7 months to figure this all out. As far as my opinion is concerned, I lean toward bringing Josh off the bench as the sixth man at this point in time. The guy was incredible for us this year, and won SO MANY games for us, but with what we have coming back, I'm not so sure that this would not be the best thing. That is not to say that Josh would not get 25+ minutes in my scenario, but I really like to see us starting out with a little more size on the perimeter. Josh and Dom together for extended minutes showed some flaws in '08-'09. Edwards vs. Hogans etc.? We shall see what we've got.

Josh is the most important player out there. If you think putting him on the bench is best for this team, I think you sir are nuts. He may not always be the best on any given night, but he brings so much more than points and assists... What about poise, clutch plays, energy, etc... I think you are way off the mark here.

Edited March 26, 2010 by aprice

[UNT90]

Basketball is about match ups. If you are playing a team with an under 6 foot shooting guard, starting Josh is fine. If not, you have a HUGE defensive liability in the match up there. Basketball is played at both ends of the court. This team will be so deep next year that JJ will have the option of putting a starting 5 on the floor based on match ups. That is a very good position in which to be. I would like to see Josh in the sixth man role, ala Jet Terry in the Mavs heyday. He can still be in the game at the end for the big shot.

For those who continue to think he is a point guard, please look at his assist to turnover ratio. Love him, but he is a 2.

[NT03]

The great thing about next season is that we will have plenty of depth to do a number of things. We can very easily be 10 deep and JJ could use the 5 man rotations as much as needed. He could move someone like Josh or DJ to the 2nd team to create more balance. The starting 5 can be interchanged on a game to game basis depending on matchups. We should be very fresh come crunch time and down the stretch for another tourny run. This is a good debate and a good problem to have.

[Censored by Laurie]

Is there a reason we're pulling Shorter out of a starting line-up that really clicked down the stretch? I'd expect the same starting five with Edwards filling in for Tramiel and DJ being utilized as the 6th man...with a minute distribution looking something like this:

PG. White - 10, Johnson - 25, Williams - 5

SG. Thompson - 15, White - 20, Johnson - 5

SF. Shorter - 15, Thompson - 15, Mangrum - 10

PF. Edwards - 20, Hogans - 15, Holmen - 5

C. Odufuwa - 30, Spencer - 5, Edwards - 5

This gives Josh, DJ, TT and George 30 minutes each

Edited March 26, 2010 by Censored by Laurie

[CMJ]

I suspect Hogans will get more minutes than that CBL, but that's not a bad minute breakdown at all.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Is there a reason we're pulling Shorter out of a starting line-up that really clicked down the stretch? I'd expect the same starting five with Edwards filling in for Tramiel and DJ being utilized as the 6th man...with a minute distribution looking something like this:

PG. White - 10, Johnson - 25, Williams - 5

SG. Thompson - 15, White - 20, Johnson - 5

SF. Shorter - 15, Thompson - 15, Mangrum - 10

PF. Edwards - 20, Hogans - 15, Holmen - 5

C. Odufuwa - 30, Spencer - 5, Edwards - 5

This gives Josh, DJ, TT and George 30 minutes each

I hope that Alzee gets more than 5 min. per game next year... But, it's hard to take minutes from the other guys. If DJ comes back strong and plays as well or better than '08-'09, then it would be hard to justify giving some of his minutes to Alzee. However, if he comes back rusty, then he may be reduced from your 30min/gm. in order to give Alzee some time. As awesome as this next year's team is going to be (I'm already looking forward to it), if we mortgage our future starting PG's minutes next season, 2011-2012 will be a dismal year.

Rather than moving Josh/DJ to the 6th man role, I think Tristan would be a better sparkplug from a 6th man standpoint. That doesn't mean reduce Tristan's minutes, just bring him off the bench. I'd like to see extended minutes of Josh and DJ on the floor at the same time... so much quickness.

[Censored by Laurie]

I hope that Alzee gets more than 5 min. per game next year... But, it's hard to take minutes from the other guys. If DJ comes back strong and plays as well or better than '08-'09, then it would be hard to justify giving some of his minutes to Alzee. However, if he comes back rusty, then he may be reduced from your 30min/gm. in order to give Alzee some time. As awesome as this next year's team is going to be (I'm already looking forward to it), if we mortgage our future starting PG's minutes next season, 2011-2012 will be a dismal year.

Rather than moving Josh/DJ to the 6th man role, I think Tristan would be a better sparkplug from a 6th man standpoint. That doesn't mean reduce Tristan's minutes, just bring him off the bench. I'd like to see extended minutes of Josh and DJ on the floor at the same time... so much quickness.

Lots of quickness, but a big defensive liability. I'd assume those two will be on the floor a bunch, especially at crunch time...but I'd prefer starting a line-up that can set a defensive tone early. Plus, I really like having a combo 1-2 guard off the bench...I'd prefer it be Josh, but I have a hard time believing JJ will move Josh to 6th man.

[All About UNT]

I don't know the kid. But just based off of following him these years, I don't think Thompson wants to be the man. He seems to prefer being Robin, to someone else's Batman. You can't force that kinda personality trait.

Great analogy and 100% agree....the kid is very talented but doesn't have the spark of either White or Tramiel as fas as leadership and running the game is concerned. Gotta love his talent though.

[Keith7]

Did you guys skip reading the article that started this thread in the first place?? The guy transferred from Nebraska because he didn't want to play forward.. I see him caving in and playing some PF at times but he will likely play more like a SF.. So even though he has the body of Eric Tramiel he doesn't have the same skill set like I think a lot of you are thinking

Edited March 26, 2010 by Keith7

[Keith7]

Great analogy and 100% agree....the kid is very talented but doesn't have the spark of either White or Tramiel as fas as leadership and running the game is concerned. Gotta love his talent though.

I saw a lot of spark and leadership in him in that NCAA game when he was the only one knocking down shots and essentially put the team on his shoulders for a late run

[Quoner]

I saw a lot of spark and leadership in him in that NCAA game when he was the only one knocking down shots and essentially put the team on his shoulders for a late run

Agree 100%. Watching him play his conference tournament this year was a really fun experience. I think he grew a lot in Hot Springs and we'll see the payoff next year, however he's used.

[Censored by Laurie]

Did you guys skip reading the article that started this thread in the first place?? The guy transferred from Nebraska because he didn't want to play forward.. I see him caving in and playing some PF at times but he will likely play more like a SF.. So even though he has the body of Eric Tramiel he doesn't have the same skill set like I think a lot of you are thinking

Unless I'm forgetting someone...in a decade of JJ basketball I don't recall the use of a small forward at any point...and I'd say between Jermaine Green, Michael DeGrate and Harold Stewart he's had that 6'7"-6'9" 200-220 player who would fit the bill and they all played the 4 here.

So despite what Edwards may be saying, JJ's system has been 2 bigs and 3 guards...so myself and others are projecting Edwards at the 4 based on 10 years of history rather than the word of the player. Whether or not it happens...we'll see come November