2015 C Justin Patton (Signed)

[section221jay]

Maybe A center on the roster that can hit threes or someone who can hit threes that can play SOME 5. But if this staff thinks their primary 5 has to be a 3 point threat...I hope that was misinterpreted.

[mredle]

Mac and Staff obviously want the 5 position to be able to hit 3s, it's very clear in Piv's last chat.

I think you read more into Piv's remark than was warranted. I believe that Mac would like to have versatile rotations that he can exploit to take advantage of mismatches. But if Justin, Geoff or Zach were to emerge next year as beasts in the paint I don't know that Mac would care if they ever took a three let alone made one and he would be happy to play one of them 30 minutes a game. After this year I think that Mac most wants a 5 that he can consistently start and expect production out of and consistent play out of a back up. Toby playing even a little bit of 5 allows him to move Cole from the 3 (which is where I think he will play most of his minutes next year, barring injury to someone else) to the 4 and allow James, IZ to play at the two and Martin and Leon to see time at the 3 and 4, and Ronnie to see some time at the 2 and 3. Five guys on the perimeter might be nice in some respects for floor spacing but you can also space the floor in other ways with a post player. For example on the penetration if the post slides over to pick up the penetrator the post player is in open position for an easy score inside. I believe Mac would like to pick up offensive boards on a regular basis. Putting 5 players out a 20 feet may space the floor somewhat but the offensive rebounds may be more limited to bricks coming off iron and if that's the case, that's a bad sign.

[R Jay]

I should have made myself more clear there. It sounds like Mac wants at least one 3 pt threat at the 5. Toby looks to be the guy there.
Thank you mredle and section221 for saying what I was trying to, but obviously failed to do.

[Jaysker12]

Justin's range has probably been exaggerated by coaches who are projecting his potential down the road. To expect him to be able to stick college 3 pointers next season is quite a stretch, IMO. tbh if Justin can even hit the midrange at a serviceable rate then his case for playing time is a lot more valid, but even that is a big question mark at this point

[fritzpointer]

Justin was 7-9 for 17pts 12rb. in his last game. Why don't we let Justin play for CU before we decide what he can't do. Glad have you Justin. Go Jays!

[Chicagojayfan]

The take-away I got from Piv's comments on Hegner wasn't that he was going to play the 5 all the time or that he'd start there, but that he'd help the team by being able to play that position. Piv also said he expected Huff to start at the 4, but I actually think he's going to play the 3 with Hegner at the 4 then with Him at the 4 and Hegner at the 5 when we go small. Hegner's the only guy on the roster who can potentially play the 5 and shoot the 3 next year, IMO.

We'll know a lot more as the summer progresses, but I think we have a few options at the 5, 4 and 3 positions.. more so than we had this year. Patton has come a long way in the last year but still has a ways to go, so let's see how far he gets by next year before we start projecting too much.

[sptah]

I have only seen him play once. BUT my first thoughts were he can play right away. I thought he might get cut in two by some of the Bigs in the Big East. However, his ability to move very well might allow him to slip around the really big ones and score, rebound and block shots. I think he will play next year and be a factor in most games. I will look forward to seeing blocked shots become a real part of our offense/defense. To me, there is not much a much more devastating play in Basketball. Many of our troubles last year (and this) relate to the opposing team's ability to block or alter shots in the paint. The idea of "cold shooting nights" is largely a figment of imagination. Those nights are made by tough defense and blocked shots are real critical to forcing bad shooting. When a shot is blocked it affects all on both teams. You can see some of this even this year on our team when Groselle is in there. You can see good players hesitate to take in in closer as Goeff backs up the area. We need real protectors of the 3 sec zone. Geoff has developed into the beginnings of such a player. Patton will be an incredible addition to our 5 position and could play either side too. Even 10 minutes of useful action will go a long way next year. But I think he will start with around 10 minutes and work his way up.

[gtmoBlue]

Mac and Staff obviously want the 5 position to be able to hit 3s, it's very clear in Piv's last chat.

I think you read more into Piv's remark than was warranted. I believe that Mac would like to have versatile rotations that he can exploit to take advantage of mismatches. But if Justin, Geoff or Zach were to emerge next year as beasts in the paint I don't know that Mac would care if they ever took a three let alone made one and he would be happy to play one of them 30 minutes a game. After this year I think that Mac most wants a 5 that he can consistently start and expect production out of and consistent play out of a back up.

Five guys on the perimeter might be nice in some respects for floor spacing but you can also space the floor in other ways with a post player. For example on the penetration if the post slides over to pick up the penetrator the post player is in open position for an easy score inside. I believe Mac would like to pick up offensive boards on a regular basis. Putting 5 players out a 20 feet may space the floor somewhat but the offensive rebounds may be more limited to bricks coming off iron and if that's the case, that's a bad sign.

.

As usual RJay, you grossly mis-stated and ran with your "revised" assumption. Nothing new there. So much for your projected 15-20 mpg at the 5 spot for Hegner, what will you do for your encore?

[R Jay]

I still think Hegner will play 15-20 minutes at the 5.
As for my encore I'm just going to laugh when all of your crazy predictions don't come true.
I'm not sure when this became personal, I never intended to make it so, but believe me, if you continue your immature attacks I will dredge up every crazy prediction that hasn't come true just to throw it back in your face. Have a nice day.

[Chicagojayfan]

The name of the game for us is to get the best 5 on the court and to create the most mismatches. I think Hegner at the 5 creates a lot of mismatches and allows us to go smaller with Huff at the 4. I don't think we'd do this all the time, but could easily see the 15 minutes a game happening.

the other factor here is that we don't play our 5's a lot as starters. Echenique, the most solid and prototypical 5 we have had under Mac played a max of under 24 minutes a game at his peak for us. Wragge played 27 a game as a senior. Add in the fact that Groselle's best game had him clocking in at 26 minutes and has only played more than 20 a game 3 other times and I think it's fair to say there are minutes to be had at the 5.

given that Hegner is the only one of the 4 who can shoot 3's, and given that the coaches have stated that they want him ready to play the 5 as well, it's not a stretch at all to imagine double digit minutes for him at the 5. Finally, it's very clear the coaches have plans for Hegner -- there are few guys who are 6-10 who have his combination of skills and a frame to allow him to play the post. I expect to see a lot of him tomorrow night.