In Reply to: A question …. posted by mikeo on November 15, 2024 at 10:21:42
and skill involved in that "size" too. Quickness (plus athleticism and skill--and great guard play) in basketball will generally overcome size if the size is not equally quick and not overly athletic. I know Wooden always looked for quickness in his players in his recruiting. Of course having guys like Kareem and Walton didn't hurt either.
My biggest concern with the Bruins this year is that they don't have a lot "big" depth in the paint. Bilodeau is the only one with a lot of experience at this level and Kyle and Mara are still developing. Foul trouble or injury could make it very difficult against teams that have skilled and quick big men. And there are quite a few of those type of teams in the BIG.
One team I've watched a lot of in the BIG is Michigan (my wife's school). They have 3 skilled and mobile bigs, two of them are 7 footers (Golden and Wolf) and the other is a 6'10 PF transfer from Alabama who can drain threes along with his other skills. And all three of them often are on the court together and run the court well. But that's just one of 18 teams and they were forecast to finish near the bottom of the league (I'd be surprised if that happens). As I implied before, I believe the overall success of our season will depend a lot on how quickly both Kyle and Mara develop. If that comes to pass fairly quickly (say by the end of Dec), that would give the Bruins 3 solid bigs and take some of the pressure off of the perimeter players and 3 point shooters. The Bruins play tough defense but that will only carry a team so far. They still have to rebound and put points on the board and having a solid inside game with good offensive rebounding will be a big plus.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the subject.