Now that we all know Ward is back, I had some thought and questions about possible rotations for the 2018-19 team. I think that most people are expecting a starting five, at least in the first game of:
Winston
Langford
McQuaid
Goins
Ward
There is a lot of speculation that Bingham might start at the 4 instead of Goins, and that makes sense. As we look at the whole team, the 1, 4, and 5 positions are pretty clear. But, I wonder about the possible rotation at the wing (2 / 3) position. The general problem is that you have 2-3 veterans who are a bit undersized for the 3 perhaps (Lanford, McQuaid, and Ahrens) and several candidates at the 2/3 who are taller, but who are Freshman (Brown, Henry, and maybe Kithier, but he is more likely a 4).
Actually, there seems to be some discrepancy about height... but anyway, from the standpoint of experience on the floor at a given time, I am not sure that it makes sense to start the game with Winston, Langford, and McQuaid all on the court at the same time. It seems to me that it might be better to maybe have McQuaid continue to come off the bench to back up Langford and have either Ahrens or whichever Freshman is up to the task (Brown or Henry) start at the 3. It just seems like this would work better once Izzo starts to go to his bench. Now, at the end of the game, I think having those three in the game is very likely. But, my gut feeling is that more of a staggered approach would work better in a situation like this year when you have 5 Freshman, none of who are one-and-done types.
Winston
Langford
McQuaid
Goins
Ward
There is a lot of speculation that Bingham might start at the 4 instead of Goins, and that makes sense. As we look at the whole team, the 1, 4, and 5 positions are pretty clear. But, I wonder about the possible rotation at the wing (2 / 3) position. The general problem is that you have 2-3 veterans who are a bit undersized for the 3 perhaps (Lanford, McQuaid, and Ahrens) and several candidates at the 2/3 who are taller, but who are Freshman (Brown, Henry, and maybe Kithier, but he is more likely a 4).
Actually, there seems to be some discrepancy about height... but anyway, from the standpoint of experience on the floor at a given time, I am not sure that it makes sense to start the game with Winston, Langford, and McQuaid all on the court at the same time. It seems to me that it might be better to maybe have McQuaid continue to come off the bench to back up Langford and have either Ahrens or whichever Freshman is up to the task (Brown or Henry) start at the 3. It just seems like this would work better once Izzo starts to go to his bench. Now, at the end of the game, I think having those three in the game is very likely. But, my gut feeling is that more of a staggered approach would work better in a situation like this year when you have 5 Freshman, none of who are one-and-done types.
