I was informed by one of Hornecker’s teammates that he is “very smart and works very hard”. He is a fundamentally solid player with good footwork who knows how to score. Plus, he is kinda tall. Go Dawgs.
The guy has terrific footwork and may very well be the best center on this team right now. Not to mention, you can’t teach 7 foot. I’d guess that him and Muila eat up almost all of the minutes at Center this year.
I believe that Ebube is too big and too athletic to keep out of the rotation. The question has been raised as to why he redshirted, at least part of the answer is the fact that he dropped 30 or so lbs. and is now down to a svelte 265. His shot blocking abilities alone are enough to get him minutes.
These are all good points and I actually agree with them to an extent. I’m just going off of what I’ve seen. We shall see. I’m really excited to see who emerges from this group!
Also, I’ll add, that I think Rupert will get time too. Fact is, we won’t be playing 4 centers on a regular basis, and from what I’ve seen, Ebube will be the odd man out. Just a personal guess on my part.
I was informed by one of Hornecker’s teammates that he is “very smart and works very hard”. He is a fundamentally solid player with good footwork who knows how to score. Plus, he is kinda tall. Go Dawgs.
The guy has terrific footwork and may very well be the best center on this team right now. Not to mention, you can’t teach 7 foot. I’d guess that him and Muila eat up almost all of the minutes at Center this year.
I believe that Ebube is too big and too athletic to keep out of the rotation. The question has been raised as to why he redshirted, at least part of the answer is the fact that he dropped 30 or so lbs. and is now down to a svelte 265. His shot blocking abilities alone are enough to get him minutes.
These are all good points and I actually agree with them to an extent. I’m just going off of what I’ve seen. We shall see. I’m really excited to see who emerges from this group!
Also, I’ll add, that I think Rupert will get time too. Fact is, we won’t be playing 4 centers on a regular basis, and from what I’ve seen, Ebube will be the odd man out. Just a personal guess on my part.
The College Basketball Almanac I was referencing says that SIU wants to roll out four-guard lineups this season with Domask playing any position he pleases. I think you're going to see Muila and Rupert split a lot of the minutes at Forward early in the season and they'll ease in Hornecker and Ebube more as the season goes on.
I was informed by one of Hornecker’s teammates that he is “very smart and works very hard”. He is a fundamentally solid player with good footwork who knows how to score. Plus, he is kinda tall. Go Dawgs.
The guy has terrific footwork and may very well be the best center on this team right now. Not to mention, you can’t teach 7 foot. I’d guess that him and Muila eat up almost all of the minutes at Center this year.
I believe that Ebube is too big and too athletic to keep out of the rotation. The question has been raised as to why he redshirted, at least part of the answer is the fact that he dropped 30 or so lbs. and is now down to a svelte 265. His shot blocking abilities alone are enough to get him minutes.
These are all good points and I actually agree with them to an extent. I’m just going off of what I’ve seen. We shall see. I’m really excited to see who emerges from this group!
Also, I’ll add, that I think Rupert will get time too. Fact is, we won’t be playing 4 centers on a regular basis, and from what I’ve seen, Ebube will be the odd man out. Just a personal guess on my part.
The College Basketball Almanac I was referencing says that SIU wants to roll out four-guard lineups this season with Domask playing any position he pleases. I think you're going to see Muila and Rupert split a lot of the minutes at Forward early in the season and they'll ease in Hornecker and Ebube more as the season goes on.
Minutes Up...D'Amico
Minutes Up....Rupert, Ebube, Hornecker
Minutes down....Muila - unless he has greatly improved, he's going to get less than the 15 min last year. Just more talented big guys this year, and I expect D'Amico to really improve from an outstanding freshman year and get more playing time - he's a big dude.
AMEN !!!
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Probably a nonissue but for whatever reason Rupert appeared to be missing from the team tip-off dinner pics posted tonight on social media.
Probably a nonissue but for whatever reason Rupert appeared to be missing from the team tip-off dinner pics posted tonight on social media.
Clarence was present, just saw that in an Instagram pic with a loyal Saluki fan.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
Approaching that time of year to find out whether anyone will redshirt this season. Although redshirting is less common these days, they somewhat surprisingly redshirted Ebube and Wonders last year, so you know Mullins is still open to it. And, thankfully, looks like all 13 scholarship guys are currently healthy, and you know they're not going to play 13 with any regularity ... usually it's more like a 9-10 man rotation.
If they haven't decided already, maybe they'll use the preseason scrimmages these next two weekends to make final determinations. Really, the only two guys who seem like semi-realistic possibilities would be Hornecker and Ferguson. I know a lot of people are high on Cade, but with three other viable bigs, redshirting Hornecker, the lone true freshman, would make some sense unless the staff really sees him being able to add something valuable to the mix.
I think the coaches typically have a good idea before the scrimmages who might or might not redshirt, but they definitely help. I recall being surprisingly disappointed in watching one player in a scrimmage last year who looked completely lost on the court and subsequently redshirted. I would also agree with the 2 possibilities that you mentioned, although we obviously won't know for a few more weeks.
I'd guess AJ Ferguson would be the only candidate for a redshirt. Didn't have impressive stats at the D2 school he was previously at and could benefit from sitting out a year and I'm not too sure the minutes will be there.
Approaching that time of year to find out whether anyone will redshirt this season. Although redshirting is less common these days, they somewhat surprisingly redshirted Ebube and Wonders last year, so you know Mullins is still open to it. And, thankfully, looks like all 13 scholarship guys are currently healthy, and you know they're not going to play 13 with any regularity ... usually it's more like a 9-10 man rotation.
If they haven't decided already, maybe they'll use the preseason scrimmages these next two weekends to make final determinations. Really, the only two guys who seem like semi-realistic possibilities would be Hornecker and Ferguson. I know a lot of people are high on Cade, but with three other viable bigs, redshirting Hornecker, the lone true freshman, would make some sense unless the staff really sees him being able to add something valuable to the mix.
Three other viable bigs is a stretch.
Rupert as a true freshman got better as the season went on but in a very bad conference, although he was good in the NCAA tournament.
Ebube has not played a second of college basketball although has a lot of upside by all accounts.
Muila should be a 2 to 4 minute max guy and only when every other big needs a rest. If he is an important part of this team SIU is a bottom half of the Valley team.
SIU kind of NEEDS Hornecker to be ready to get minutes this year(and his game is more like a 4 anyway IIRC).
Approaching that time of year to find out whether anyone will redshirt this season. Although redshirting is less common these days, they somewhat surprisingly redshirted Ebube and Wonders last year, so you know Mullins is still open to it. And, thankfully, looks like all 13 scholarship guys are currently healthy, and you know they're not going to play 13 with any regularity ... usually it's more like a 9-10 man rotation.
If they haven't decided already, maybe they'll use the preseason scrimmages these next two weekends to make final determinations. Really, the only two guys who seem like semi-realistic possibilities would be Hornecker and Ferguson. I know a lot of people are high on Cade, but with three other viable bigs, redshirting Hornecker, the lone true freshman, would make some sense unless the staff really sees him being able to add something valuable to the mix.
Muila should be a 2 to 4 minute max guy and only when every other big needs a rest. If he is an important part of this team SIU is a bottom half of the Valley team.
You're in for a really bad time if you think Muila is getting 2-4 minutes a game. It's likely going to be around the 14-16 minutes a game he got last year and possibly starting. The coach of the team values defense more than offense and Muila is the team's best or 2nd best defender behind Lance Jones. It's the same reason Trent Brown is likely going to see more minutes than he should even if he's not shooting the ball well (although I think Brown's defense is very overrated).
I think you're going to see Muila, Rupert, Ebube and Hornecker get about the same amount of minutes with heavy rotating and some Troy D'Amico mixed in there.
I'd guess AJ Ferguson would be the only candidate for a redshirt. Didn't have impressive stats at the D2 school he was previously at and could benefit from sitting out a year and I'm not too sure the minutes will be there.
With Ferguson, his best chance to earn some sort of role this year would be if they see him as an athletic wing defender to throw at guys like Sheppard on Belmont, Heise on Northern Iowa, Henry on Bradley, King on Valpo, etc.
It might come down to whether they value Wonders' offense or Ferguson's defense more for some bench minutes on the wing ... and which of the two is more well-rounded on the other end of the floor.
Agree with the usual BM emphasis on defense. Other than Domask and Jones getting max time, I don't know how much PT other players will get. One thing for certain, BM has a lot of options, depending on matchups, both defensively and offensively. It seems to me there will be ample minutes for most players depending on circumstances. He should be able to throw a lot of bodies at the opposition.
March on triumphantly!
