Seeing the game live and sitting down low, Bobi looks like an NBA player. He is a legit 6-10 and has the potential to be one of Wake's best players ever. I don't think that's hyperbole. As Forbes said after the game, Damari will play plenty this year. This just wasn't the game for him. And I like that we have enough depth to where one of our best offensive players can sit and we still beat a quality mid-major team. Carr's stroke looks fantastic, as does Keller's. Appleby had a quiet game, but he settled in towards the end and started attacking, which is more in line with who he is. Last year he shot 125 FT's and hit them at an 85% clip. He put up 190 3's and hit them at a 34% clip. We will certainly see some games from him where he hits 4-5 3's. He's the PG that we were missing last year. Taylor is great for the team. That energy we saw from him last year on the bench translates when he's on the court. He's our best defender, and I was happy to see that his 3-pt stroke looks better. The rotation possibilities moving forward are very intriguing.
We could throw out a three point shooting lineup of Appleby, Williamson, Monsanto, Carr, Keller
A rim attacking lineup of Appleby, Ituka (please hurry back!) Hildreth, Klintman, Carr
A big lineup of Hildreth, Taylor, Klintman, Carr, Bradford
A defensive lineup of Appleby, Hildreth, Taylor, Klintman, Bradford
A ball handling/FT shooting lineup to finish games off of Appleby, Williamson, Ituka (he shot 142 FT's last year and hit them at a 77% clip), Klintman, Carr
And so on....
KenPom had Hildreth as the MVP of the Fairfield game, so those attacking him are blinded by his admittedly horrible 3 point attempts. I'm excited about the potential of this team, and even more so about it moving forward to next year. I think we have one of the best coaches in college basketball, and he's going to get the most out of this group of players. I'm excited for the Georgia game. The lower bowl is already sold out, so hopefully it's a good atmosphere.