KAEO: Sy Chatman

[69MG]

Officially in the fold:

http://umassathletics.com/news/2018/4/2 ... tball.aspx

An interesting paragraph from the article, or maybe I'm just paranoid.

UMass returns guard Luwane Pipkins who will be the top returning Atlantic 10 scorer next season after averaging over 20 points a game this past season. Joining Pipkins in the back court will be the nation's most accurate three-point shooting freshman in Carl Pierre who broke the Minutemen's record for made three-pointers by a rookie in 2017-18. Overall, the Minutemen have seven players returning who logged significant minutes this past season.

The article only mentions LP and Carl by name as key players returning. It then states that we have 7 players returning who logged significant minutes.
I can't find 7 players who logged significant minutes unless you count Randall West & KTM and that would mean that nobody else is leaving. Or maybe it's all nothing.

[69MG]

I'm talking about their college careers, not their first year. At no time did I say that. I am very hopeful this years new guys will have better first years than the 2016 class. I am hopeful that they have better careers as well. But judging each on just one year doesn't make any sense. And my initial response was a retort to judging them before our class new played any years, never mind one.

I wasn't really responding to your post. Sorry if it seemed that way. I was just thinking back to how high my expectations were for that class and how little we actually got. I expected immediate help. Also, to answer 6thman, I was hoping that they would play well enough to deserve a lot more minutes per game than they got. So yes, that's part of underperforming in my eyes.

[MJatUM]

The article only mentions LP and Carl by name as key players returning. It then states that we have 7 players returning who logged significant minutes.
I can't find 7 players who logged significant minutes unless you count Randall West & KTM and that would mean that nobody else is leaving. Or maybe it's all nothing.

With all due respect to everyone else on the team, Pip and Pierre are the only key players returning. I would say the other 2 key players from last years team were Hines and CJ - both gone. It may be significant in the fact that they are saying not to expect much from everyone else returning.

The interesting part to me is it sounds like Holloway is probably back - being an official release from the school I'm sure it got McCall's blessing. Can we get excited again at the prospects of a committed and fit Holloway on the floor with a bunch of three point shooters and a pick your poison offense? Or Nah?? I think its nah.

[mlaconte459]

^ his minutes and impact will purely be based on how in shape he is. McCall wants to run a pressing and fast break team. Not two strong areas for RH

[InnervisionsUMASS]

^

He has actually shown that he can run and he can run quite well. For how long has always been the issue. Assuming he is in better shape, the fast break component will work well... him barreling down as a trailer will be a scary sight for many opponents. As far as the press, most centers are back anyways, so that part isn't a big deal.

Hopefully he is eligible, that's the key.

[natwam2547]

^On top of that, I know he wasn't playing 35+ minutes to begin with, but if he's in shape and running the floor he will be awesome in short spurts. With the depth they have, I can't see him playing more than 15 minutes most nights.

[TheOFFSeason]

^ & ^^
I think it's fair to say that the group as a whole underperformed in 2016-2017 relative to the hype.
Jarreau - 9.8 points, 4.5 assists but 64% from the FT line and 24% from 3.
Gresham - 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds
Flowers - 4.5 points but only 31% from 3 which was supposed to be his strong suit.
Baldwin - 2.2 points, 2.8 renounds

Each player had some good moments and Jarreau had quite a few but overall I would classify this as very mediocre for such a highly touted group.

The question for next year is playing time. We'll have to see if there is any other roster activity but do we see any of the freshmen getting more than 15 minutes a game? That is probably a topic to be started when we know the roster.

Stats will only tell a small part..character, work ethic, not looking forward to 4:20 each day...don’t need 4 years to tell this class is better than 2016, they are better right now in every way.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

[capezona]

Off-season optimism

[78]

As I posted earlier in this thread, for my money, theOFFseason has shown he knows as much if not more about college basketball and UMass than anyone else on that forum. I think he knows what he is talking about when it comes to the incoming class. I would say the only guy from that class who might end up making a splash is Jarreau based on what I saw two seasons ago.

[inthescoop]

As I posted earlier in this thread, for my money, theOFFseason has shown he knows as much if not more about college basketball and UMass than anyone else on that forum. I think he knows what he is talking about when it comes to the incoming class. I would say the only guy from that class who might end up making a splash is Jarreau based on what I saw two seasons ago.

While I do agree that he is a great poster, and knows more than most here about UMass basketball, I don't think he was on the recruiting trail following these guys to know their exact game-play. What he said was an opinion, not a fact all in all.

But hey, if this class is in fact better than that class, then I am 100000% for it! But I think that we have to wait and see for that to happen.

[uz2b-len]

Inthescoop is also a knowledgeable poster. Wasn't it one of these guys who told us a few months ago Hines was gonna leave to get closer to home?

[Floyd]

I believe it was OFFseason who mentioned that. And I agree with 78 that generally when he posts stuff it is pretty accurate.

[capezona]

I have no problem with optimism and wasn't trying to be critical. I actually agree that this incoming class should outperform the one from two years ago.

[TheInsider]

Well MM first class avg more points and shot it better than the 2016 class... and that was with a guy that didn't play much and another guy nobody ever heard of.