UNT's Starting BBall Lineup...

[Army of Dad]

No disrespect to Holmen but no way does he start over JW or Patton.

Except that he did start over Jordan last year, at least part of the time. I think Jordan's ceiling is way higher than Jacob, but I think Joacob will be better than him at least early in the year. I'm not sold on Patton and really never have been. I hope I'm wrong and he turns out to be just awesome. I would go with the following (and I'm sure Coach Benson was on pins and needles waiting for my lineup!)

CJ5

Alzee

Jacob

Tony (if Odoh shows he has "it")

Odoh (if not then Tony at the 5 on d and Roger at the four)

[NT03]

CJ

Alzee

Patton

TM

Odoh

Also wouldn't mind seeing a BIG lineup of :

CJ

Patton

Holmen

TM

Odoh

Talk about a match up problem for most teams

[H-towngreen]

I'm not sure who is going to start. I don't really care either. All I know is that we are going to run 10 deep. A solid 10 at that.

[Harry]

No disrespect to Holmen but no way does he start over JW or Patton.

Did you watch him in the Sun Belt tourney? If he shoots like that he deserves consideration!

[NT03]

Did you watch him in the Sun Belt tourney? If he shoots like that he deserves consideration!

I've always thought Holmen has had the best stroke on the team , he's just taken a lot of ill advised shots. Some falls on him , but other times it was because no else seemed to want to take the shot.

He has his critics , but I'm a huge huge Holmen fan. He's a matchup nightmare for most sunbelt teams

[GrandGreen]

Guess I'll commit the ultimate sin by replying to my own post, but does no one around here know anything about Patton's game other than his past stats at other schools? Guess not, or someone would likely give a brief synopsis on why he should start at the 3 (or 4) over the multitude of other qualified candidates. Oh well. I tried.

How about the 26 points and 10 rbs he had against NT in 2010, he was clearly the best player on the court that night. JJ didn't recruit him and give him a year of scholarship to set out because he is altruistic. I unlike, you also don't discount that he was the best player at Gambling and All SWAC performer and has three years of college basketball experience.

At this point no one knows for sure who is even going to be here, and there are a lot of players that could get into the starting lineup. I don't even know if Benford is going with a two or three guard offense. A lot depends on what offense he plays and what his substitution pattern will be. As I stated before the only sure thing is Mitchell. The other four could be almost any combination of Jones, A. Williams, J. Williams, Hardwick, Patton, Holmen, Franklin Odoh and Walton. Hardwick won't start unless Jones is not here or is moved to shooting guard which is not likely. I think you could make a fairly strong case for any of the others starting.

[Cooley]

[Harry]

Wow the kid can dunk...very physical player. Man this team is going to be fun to watch!

[foutsrouts]

How about the 26 points and 10 rbs he had against NT in 2010, he was clearly the best player on the court that night. JJ didn't recruit him and give him a year of scholarship to set out because he is altruistic. I unlike, you also don't discount that he was the best player at Gambling and All SWAC performer and has three years of college basketball experience.

At this point no one knows for sure who is even going to be here, and there are a lot of players that could get into the starting lineup. I don't even know if Benford is going with a two or three guard offense. A lot depends on what offense he plays and what his substitution pattern will be. As I stated before the only sure thing is Mitchell. The other four could be almost any combination of Jones, A. Williams, J. Williams, Hardwick, Patton, Holmen, Franklin Odoh and Walton. Hardwick won't start unless Jones is not here or is moved to shooting guard which is not likely. I think you could make a fairly strong case for any of the others starting.

Hmmm...I always thought of JJ as a pretty altruistic guy. Second team All-SWAC btw. Obviously a great athlete, but his numbers do leave some room for improvement. Here are his Grambling stats for those who haven't seen them. Couldn't find stats for his 2 years at Southern U-Shreveport.

http://www.gsutigers.com/custompages/M.Basketball/2010-2011/teamcume.htm

[Cooley]

Most of these guys have holes in their game. That's why we are no where near a Top 25 club. I concur with GrandGreen that only Mitchell and Chris Jones should be considered legitimate starters. Take your pick on the others.

[NT Alum '04]

I know we all hate Twit news but I found this interesting....Forrest Robinson gone? Of course, Forrest could have just given up his number.

From May 5th,

The Chosen One ‏ @JustinPatton11

Had to change my number back to 11...I wear it bc of my nigga Myron (R.I.P) and bc of my bro @JCrossover !!!!!

[risinggreen]

Hmmm...I always thought of JJ as a pretty altruistic guy. Second team All-SWAC btw. Obviously a great athlete, but his numbers do leave some room for improvement. Here are his Grambling stats for those who haven't seen them. Couldn't find stats for his 2 years at Southern U-Shreveport.

http://www.gsutigers...11/teamcume.htm

Yeah, I don't see how we can lock in anyone as a starter at this point other than TM. Just too many variables with the new staff and all to say otherwise. Nothing wrong with speculating regardless.

As far as Patton is concerned, his free throw numbers and blocks at Grambling really stand out in a not so great way. For a big inside jumping jack kind of guy, 9 blocks in a full season is surprisingly low. Some point guards do better than that.

Hope these guys are really working hard in this off season, because it's going to be open season on who gets the big minutes this Fall. Coach Benford has the luxury of having a ton of talent, and it will be fun to see how he puts it all together.

[risinggreen]

I know we all hate Twit news but I found this interesting....Forrest Robinson gone? Of course, Forrest could have just given up his number.

From May 5th,

The Chosen One ‏ @JustinPatton11

Had to change my number back to 11...I wear it bc of my nigga Myron (R.I.P) and bc of my bro @JCrossover !!!!!

At least it sounds like Patton plans on being here next Fall. I was kind of wondering about that even though it wouldn't make a lot of sense for him to leave.

[risinggreen]

Most of these guys have holes in their game. That's why we are no where near a Top 25 club. I concur with GrandGreen that only Mitchell and Chris Jones should be considered legitimate starters. Take your pick on the others.

I wouldn't definitively rule out a top 25 myself, since we've got the superstar and a whole lot of talent around him. I'm thinking that coaching is going to be more than a little bit crucial in that regard this season. We'll know more six or seven months from now.

[Harry]

I wouldn't definitively rule out a top 25 myself, since we've got the superstar and a whole lot of talent around him. I'm thinking that coaching is going to be more than a little bit crucial in that regard this season. We'll know more six or seven months from now.

That's sort of my thought too...Tony - who only played half a season - never really got to play with Chris and Jordan (Chris in particular). Had they all three played an entire season I have a feeling things might have turned out different. Cooley is right though - on paper is different then playing the games. We still have to prove ourselves..

[An Aquarian]

I'm not sure who is going to start. I don't really care either. All I know is that we are going to run 10 deep. A solid 10 at that.

This. I can't wait.

[mgfan]

CJ

J. Williams

Patton

Tony

odoh

Edited May 7, 2012 by mgfan

[Maduro]

per Vito's sunday blog, it might be time to hit the reset button on all our projections with Odoh.

amended...

1. CJ

2. AW

3. Jacob

4. Roger

5. Tony

[MeanGreenTexan]

We have a new coach.

Honestly, I believe outside of Tony Mitchell, everyone's spots are going to be up for grabs... including Jones' spot. Benford did just recruit his own PG...

Sounds like Benford will run something similar to JJ, but we don't really know.

If everyone hustles during this offseason, then the usual suspects may rise to the top.

PG - Chris Jones

SG - Alzee Williams

Swing - Jordan Williams (this spot seems the most wide open as we have lots of guys who excel here. Patton/Holmen could certainly take this spot.)

PF - Tony Mitchell

C - Odoh (Assuming he's as-advertised. If not, then Mitchell will have to slide over here again this year and watch for Holmen/Franklin to start at the 4.)

Heavy minutes for Hardwick, Holmen, Franklin, & Patton. I think Walton's role will shrink considerably, but he'll still see 5-10 min/game. Niko, Trey, Clark, Forrest(?) will all be fighting for scraps and mop-up minutes.

[agw0038]

if P.J.H. and Odoh both come as advertised.... how do yall feel about putting Jones at the 2 and letting Alzee/trey be the 6/7?

PJ could open up a lot of shots with his pass/penetrate ability...

Edited May 7, 2012 by agw0038

[GrandGreen]

Hmmm...I always thought of JJ as a pretty altruistic guy. Second team All-SWAC btw. Obviously a great athlete, but his numbers do leave some room for improvement. Here are his Grambling stats for those who haven't seen them. Couldn't find stats for his 2 years at Southern U-Shreveport.

http://www.gsutigers...11/teamcume.htm

This has developed into a circular argument. The initial post was your projected starting lineup and then why Patton. Those were answered and now we start again. Why anybody else but Patton? Make your case and go on. I have already stated that Holmen goes hot and cold and if can play consistently like he did in the tournament he will start. Franklin has a good inside offensive game and is a good defensive player but at about 6'4 IMO is a role player on next years team. I like Niko's offensive game but he has apparently never impressed the old coaching staff. Robinson would have to really improve his game to be a factor. Williams is primarily a guard but is super athletic and depending on what offense is played could get time in the paint.

I picked Odoh to start and now it looks more and more like he won't be here, so my guessed lineup would have to change. Then I think you go with Mitchell, Jones, A. Williams, Holmen and Patton.

When you think of it, NT returns 7 players that started a lot of games: MItchell, Jones, A. Williams, J. Williams, Holmen, Franklin and Walton. Plus potentially two recruits who could break into the lineup; Odoh and Hardwick. Mitchell is a potential AA, and Jones should be all Belt and Alzee Williams has a great game. Those three should get 30 or more minutes a game. There are a lot of players vying for the other 110 minutes.

[NTGabe15]

PG CJ5

PG Lil Al

F J-Will

F Patton

F T-Mitch

Patton's spot I feel is interchangeable but I feel pretty confident Tony, CJ, Jordan, and Alzee will start.

Edited May 7, 2012 by NTGabe15

[Harry]

PG CJ5

PG Lil Al

F J-Will

F Patton

F T-Mitch

Patton's spot I feel is interchangeable but I feel pretty confident Tony, CJ, Jordan, and Alzee will start.

I actually like the versatility of that lineup Gabe and agree that Alzee should start, especially given how hard he worked last season.

[THOR]

PG CJ5

PG Lil Al

F J-Will

F Patton

F T-Mitch

Patton's spot I feel is interchangeable but I feel pretty confident Tony, CJ, Jordan, and Alzee will start.

sounds like a good lineup, but i hate those nicknames...

[All About UNT]

sounds like a good lineup, but i hate those nicknames...

Fixed it to your liking....

PG Chris "Odin" Jones

PG Alzee "Valkyrie" Williams

F Jordan "Ragnar" Williams

F Justin "Loki" Patton

F Tony "MFin" Mitchell