Our Dynamic Trio

[BillySee58]

We all love to talk about how deep our team is, how much we have returning, etc, but let's take a moment to reflect on our super trio of Jordan Williams, Tony Mitchell, and Chris Jones. The great basketball teams usually have 3 players that are looked at as "All Star" types who can carry a team in different phases of the game.

Look at NBA Championship trios like Ginobili-Parker-Duncan, Bosh-Wade-James, Jordan-Pippen-Rodman, and even on the college level like 02-03 Syracuse with Anthony-McNamara-Warrick, 01-02 Maryland with Dixon-Baxter-Wilcox, and of course 05-07 Florida Gators with Noah-Brewer-Horford.

Although it's a bummer that Patton is out and TJ Taylor is out for the whole season but the close games were and are going to be won with the ball in the hands of our trio. It's going to be fun to see how our other players on our stacked team such as Coleman, Alzee, and Franklin match up against another, possibly even more, stacked team but as long as they play solid basketball this year our big 3 should lead us to many, many wins.

Can't wait for tonight, really looking forward to the game. Not expecting a win, but not expecting a loss either. We couldn't have asked for much better to open up the year. GMG!

[MeanGreenD]

I'm with you, even told my wife this morning I don't think I've been this excited about a game, any game, ever.

Part of the reason is I don't know what to expect. Could be a blowout, where you are depressed throughout think 'we're better that this'. Could be close, where you say 'we let it get away' or 'we made the plays to win, unbelievable!' Could be that we run em off the court and really shock the Jays while going nuts from the tip to the end of the second half. Anything is really possible, but the beauty is we get to watch the Big 3, the role players, the players we have all come to love, respect, and cheer for. Win or lose, it'll be fun. Yes, even if it is a blowout, at least the season has begun and the team will learn what it needs to improve on.

This could be a big coming out party for the Big 3, but I hope fans keep some perspective and come out a week from tonight despite what transpires through the first 3 and show up in force for a team that cares about its fans as much as we care about them.

GO MEAN GREEN!

[GrandGreen]

Those 3 sophs should all be special but the depth of this club is solid and I believe that is what could make this club very good. There have been a lot of NT teams that didn't have a better player than Franklin, Alzee, Holmen or Patton. Walton is also looking like he is ready for a big senior year. Hardwick is a very good looking freshman and although Coleman is largely a mystery; he could be the missing piece of this puzzle. Have not seen much of Outlander but he appears to be our best outside shooter and if Niko can shore up his defense he could also contribute a lot.

I don't think Odufuwa, White and Thompson were as talented as the three sophomores but they were among the best in the Belt and because of lack of depth didn't come close to a conference championship. Depth was also a big problem last year, but this year that hopefully won't be an issue.

The material is great this year, the question is how will they come together and how good a coach is Benford.

[emmitt01]

"I hope fans keep some perspective and come out a week from tonight despite what transpires through the first 3 and show up in force for a team that cares about its fans as much as we care about them."

THIS. More than anything else, THIS.

[glick1980]

Not so sure about this game if the Black Hole isn't out there. Without Patton already that makes us very thin at the forward spots. I think Holeman is going to have a great year, hopefully it starts tonight.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Not so sure about this game if the Black Hole isn't out there. Without Patton already that makes us very thin at the forward spots. I think Holeman is going to have a great year, hopefully it starts tonight.

Looks like Niko will get some minutes!

And on another note, I'm not sure why some people still question Alzee's abilities. The dude has done nothing but provide consistency offensively, and is still ARGUABLY our best defender (including T-Mitch). Definitely our best perimeter defender. He's also got skills on offense. If he steps up any more, he'll be making his case for team MVP.

[BillySee58]

Looks like Niko will get some minutes!

And on another note, I'm not sure why some people still question Alzee's abilities. The dude has done nothing but provide consistency offensively, and is still ARGUABLY our best defender (including T-Mitch). Definitely our best perimeter defender. He's also got skills on offense. If he steps up any more, he'll be making his case for team MVP.

That's another thing I love about this team, the internal competition. Benford has stated that if someone isn't on their game they're liable to get yanked. I really feel like whoever is on the court tonight is going to give their absolute best effort on both ends of the court.

We have a team of guys who truly love the game and who want to be on the court.