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Noah Gurley

Yes. Would push to start at the 4.

Seems like possibly a Reese replacement, stretch 4/5 type of player. Smaller than Reese but seems like he would fit a similar big guy that can shoot role. Better career shooting % than Reese, albeit at a lower level.

Could be great insurance in case our younger bigs aren’t ready for prime time...higher floor, lower ceiling. I like it.
 
We're going to have a 10-11 man rotation next year. Oats will have the luxury of subbing in a whole five man rotation if he wants. Bama will easily have the deepest most talented team in the SEC if not the Country.
I know I've documented this consistently on this site, but I absolutely loathe anything more than a 9 man rotation. Impossible to get into a rhythm and you run into your best player playing 20 minutes or less a game, which is insane to me. Gotta make tough decisions and get your 7-9 players and roll.
 
I know I've documented this consistently on this site, but I absolutely loathe anything more than a 9 man rotation. Impossible to get into a rhythm and you run into your best player playing 20 minutes or less a game, which is insane to me. Gotta make tough decisions and get your 7-9 players and roll.

Recruit the best team you can, then worry about the rotation later. That way if injuries occur, you've got people ready to step up and it isn't a huge blow. The last thing I'm gonna worry about is having too many good players
 
Recruit the best team you can, then worry about the rotation later. That way if injuries occur, you've got people ready to step up and it isn't a huge blow. The last thing I'm gonna worry about is having too many good players
Oh don’t get me wrong... I want to have the best players... but when it’s time to play, you’ve gotta trim your rotation.
 
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Wimp never played more than 8. But then he never had a bench like Oats.
It’s awesome to have the bench depth. But if you’re playing all of them, then no one will get into a rhythm and your best players aren’t playing enough. So you end up with three McDonalds All Americans who are playing 18 minutes per game.
 
Wimp never played more than 8. But then he never had a bench like Oats.
Of course most of this is based on potential and not accomplishments at this point. But if these freshmen end up being as good as they are projected along with AT who missed last year to injury, this team will be insanely deep.
 
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It’s awesome to have the bench depth. But if you’re playing all of them, then no one will get into a rhythm and your best players aren’t playing enough. So you end up with three McDonalds All Americans who are playing 18 minutes per game.
I do agree with this; there were a few times this year I thought Oats killed his own team's momentum by subbing when the unit on the floor had things going.

But the saving grace could be that this team could play even faster (if that's possible) knowing you will always have a fresh unit out there.

It would be a complete opposite from Oats first year when he continued to play fast even though Bama only had 7 players in some games due to injuries. That team wore down at the end of games and gave up big leads, the UF game comes to mind first.
 
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I do agree with this; there were a few times this year I thought Oats killed his own team's momentum by subbing when the unit on the floor had things going.

But the saving grace could be that this team could play even faster (if that's possible) knowing you will always have a fresh unit out there.

It would be a complete opposite from Oats first year when he continued to play fast even though Bama only had 7 players in some games due to injuries. That team wore down at the end of games and gave up big leads, the UF game comes to mind first.
I agree, but so did Avery. Seemed like every game at the first media timeout Sexton, Petty, and Hall would come out at the same time... When you have studs, you gotta let them run. Grant would play Releford 38 minutes per game.

Regarding Oats' first season: imo, that's why he's having such recruiting success. He committed to playing his style regardless of immediate results. Avery said, "we're gonna score in 7 seconds," and then proceeded to put the slowest offense I've ever seen on the floor and I think it hurt him long term.
 
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I agree, but so did Avery. Seemed like every game at the first media timeout Sexton, Petty, and Hall would come out at the same time... When you have studs, you gotta let them run. Grant would play Releford 38 minutes per game.

Regarding Oats' first season: imo, that's why he's having such recruiting success. He committed to playing his style regardless of immediate results. Avery said, "we're gonna score in 7 seconds," and then proceeded to put the slowest offense I've ever seen on the floor and I think it hurt him long term.
I honestly think Avery came to Alabama wanting to go fast, but Avery came up under the coaching philosophy that you coach to fit your personnel. He only had Sexton that was capable of playing the style he wanted. I agree he was terrible at bringing Junior in at the worst time. I called Junior the momentum stopper. It would have been great if I was referring to him stopping the opposition momentum but...

I still think the best coaches can adjust their system to the players and still win. I know I was critical of Oats his first year for not slowing it down some for the sake of giving his team a better chance to win a few more games. But I can't be critical of him having Alabama on an upward trajectory..
 
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Practice with this group should be awesome. I’d love to watch that. But in games, there are a couple guys that still have to get big minutes even if you play 10.
 
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Pumped to think how this program is still morphing in to what Oats wants it to be. I know I stated this in multiple threads with @G.O.A.T-23 two years ago but his "go, go, go" style was for the benefit of Shack, Jones, Petty, and Reese this season. It didn't work well for Davis and Smith but they were never going to be a part of this year's squad. Now think about Guys like Reese and Rojas. Ideally one man fills that void and now Oats has Bediako, Tchikou, and Gary to see who wants to step up and take the minutes. I know we hate to see guys get pulled at times but Oats is planning for late game situation where his best 6-8 are available and fresh. Get pumped up guys, with this depth Avery Johnson Jr. and Rojas won't be one of the first guys off of the bench anymore.
 
I know I've documented this consistently on this site, but I absolutely loathe anything more than a 9 man rotation. Impossible to get into a rhythm and you run into your best player playing 20 minutes or less a game, which is insane to me. Gotta make tough decisions and get your 7-9 players and roll.

Agree, anyone who has played just about any sport understands playing into the Groove. Hard to get into that groove playing sporadically.
 
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I honestly think Avery came to Alabama wanting to go fast, but Avery came up under the coaching philosophy that you coach to fit your personnel. He only had Sexton that was capable of playing the style he wanted. I agree he was terrible at bringing Junior in at the worst time. I called Junior the momentum stopper. It would have been great if I was referring to him stopping the opposition momentum but...

I still think the best coaches can adjust their system to the players and still win. I know I was critical of Oats his first year for not slowing it down some for the sake of giving his team a better chance to win a few more games. But I can't be critical of him having Alabama on an upward trajectory..
Yep. Avery tried it and even had the shot clock lowered In practice. He gave up on doing it. I know you and I disagreed on Oats not adapting to what his players could handle. I wanted to see what would happen if Bama went all out on speed. It eventually worked for the most part this year. You have made an interesting point on will Oats turns out to be a Gus Bus with his analytics approach. We will see how other coaches adapt to Oats. I think Oats can adapt to what they do, but I think the Jimmy and Joes he is bringing in will help the most.
 
Yep. Avery tried it and even had the shot clock lowered In practice. He gave up on doing it. I know you and I disagreed on Oats not adapting to what his players could handle. I wanted to see what would happen if Bama went all out on speed. It eventually worked for the most part this year. You have made an interesting point on will Oats turns out to be a Gus Bus with his analytics approach. We will see how other coaches adapt to Oats. I think Oats can adapt to what they do, but I think the Jimmy and Joes he is bringing in will help the most.
The thing is re: CNO’s style, playing for high point per possession (PPP) shots isn’t a gimmick (ie Gus Bus)...it’s basic math. I know @G.O.A.T-23 has been beating the midrange drum for a while and taking a beating from some posters about it. And, he isn’t wrong from the standpoint that a wide open midrange shot is easier than a contested shot of almost any variety, so the PPP is likely to still be decent (although arguably still worse than a contested 3), which is why CNO won’t say not to take them.

What we really don’t want guys to take is the Carmelo Anthony style (and others) contested midrange shots, which have a poor baseline PPP compared to almost any other shot. In those situations guys need to move the ball and their feet to get a better shot.

That all being said, it also makes sense to build an offense that attempts to get more open high PPP shots (Rim attempts, 3pts, FTs) rather than midrange shots because all things being equally open those others will yield more points.

(link) https://shottracker.com/articles/analytics-shot-selection

***of course better players will be better at all of it
 
I love the idea of having two groups to bring in.. a coach does not have that luxury very often...

the one thing I’d like to see added is a soft zone full court press and hard trapping press ...

Bama will wear down so many teams because of this and their philosophy of a fast paced offense..

this future team is going to be an absolute nightmare to play
 
I know I've documented this consistently on this site, but I absolutely loathe anything more than a 9 man rotation. Impossible to get into a rhythm and you run into your best player playing 20 minutes or less a game, which is insane to me. Gotta make tough decisions and get your 7-9 players and roll.
I agree for the most part. There ARE some schools that do it well. FSU is one.
 
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Crazy. I am liking the Jimmy’s and Joe’s, boys. I do hate that 2 have to leave. I may have to start my Final Four prediction again.
 
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The STYLE of play will imo impact the number of players you play.
If players are asked to play at much faster pace than most teams I think your bench needs to be longer. How many time do we switch ends in a 5 minute stretch vs other teams .... we put up more shots than anyone this year ....
 
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