WFU Hoops: '21-'22 Roster Construction Thread: +LaRavia/Taylor/Walton/Monsanto/Williams/Sy/Marsh

[Tobacco Road]

Our strength is not our starters, but the depth we can bring off the bench.
We don’t have much in the way of all conference players, but everybody with a scholarship can contribute.

 

[PhDeac]

WFU Hoops: Roster Construction - Added LaRavia/Taylor/Walton/Monsanto/Williams/Sy

Agreed.

I'm going to rethink my projections. I didn't have Williamson starting because Forbes brought in Williams who started at Oklahoma until he got COVID. Sticking with that. But Forbes seems real high on Mucius at the 3.

I think we should consider these quote from The Athletic article on Forbes about the returning players:
https://theathletic.com/2617656/202...-future-and-not-compromising-on-playing-hard/

As much as the results were a struggle, what did you see in your personnel that you can build on?
I coached Daivien Williamson at East Tennessee State. Quite honestly, when I left, he went into the transfer portal, and I wasn’t really sure this was where he needed to be. Daivien was like my sixth-leading scorer. I had a really good team, I know that, but I wasn’t sure the ACC was the right place for him. He obviously came in here and proved that it was. He’s a tough kid, a hard-nosed competitor. He put up some damn good numbers. I think Isaiah Mucius is on the verge of being an all-league player. He’s got to change his assist-to-turnover ratio but he’s 6-8, a legit three, can play some four in our spread offense. He’s got a chance to have an all-league type year, he’s just got to continue to gain weight, which he’s done.
Carter Whitt showed flashes late that he’s going to be the type of player I thought he could be. Poor kid came at Christmas, did his physical, couldn’t even practice because we were still in the middle of (the pause). Played against Catawba and the kid went right into the ACC without any practice, basically. I laughed the night we played at Virginia — he played, and I said, “What are you smiling about?” when we were coming off the court. He said, “Tonight would’ve been my first high school game.” Well, you played Virginia instead there, buddy. But he’s got a chance to be a really good player in the ACC.
And I have two third-year freshmen. Think about that. Damari Monsano was SoCon freshman of the year. He redshirted when I signed him at East Tennessee State his freshman year. So last year didn’t count and he didn’t play his first year. Tariq Ingraham is a third-year freshman for me. Tore his ACL his first year. He was our leading scorer in our first game (of 2020-21) and played well in our second game and then was out for the year with COVID. Tariq’s got a chance to be a really good player. He’s just got to stay healthy. He’s 6-8, almost 6-9, he’s lost almost 30 pounds since he’s gotten here, he’s at 250, 255 right now. Got great hands, can score the ball. Those guys, heading into this year, have a really good idea what we’re about and what we’re doing, and that’ll help.

Who among the new guys are you excited to work with, who can help you right away?
Jake Laravia is a good place to start. He’s 6-8, 230, all-league player in the (Missouri Valley Conference). Another guy that has three years. He’s really athletic. He’s really skilled. He’s going to be a really good player in our league. Dallas Walton is 7-foot, brings us a lot of experience from a winning team. He can play around the basket but he can stretch it too. Probably one of the biggest things that drives me crazy is five-men that can shoot 3s, and he can do it. Alondes Williams is a really big wing. Strong, athletic, skilled, can handle it. He can really pass the ball, he brings some size to our backcourt.
I thought we did a great job recruiting high school kids without ever meeting them. Cameron Hildreth is a prime example of that. He’s the best player in England. He’s tough, skilled, great size, played in the best pro division in England this year. He’s been playing against men. Robert McCray and Lucas Taylor bring length and athleticism to our backcourt. Just to give you an example, Robert McCray is 6-3. He decided to go out for track this spring. He won the 4A state championship in high jump. He went 6-10. He’s never even been out for track before.

 

[DeacsNVols]

DNV and Creamy, in our up tempo offense, I hope we see a bigger spread of minutes because I do agree our quality and depth will give Coach Forbes lots of versatile options.

Going to be really interesting to see how Forbes handles this roster for sure. A lot of depth and quality talent to work with.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

DNV and Creamy, in our up tempo offense, I hope we see a bigger spread of minutes because I do agree our quality and depth will give Coach Forbes lots of versatile options.

I hope so too. Spreading out the minutes would mean a lot of guys are playing good basketball and we are most likely winning a significant amount of games. Forbes stretching out the lineup to give 10 guys good minutes instead of 7 or 8 is would definitely keep our legs fresh.

 

[PhDeac]

I see a delicate but promising situation in which Forbes doesn’t play Hildreth, McCray, and Taylor that much but he will convince them they’ll be taking over Williams and Mucius’ minutes next year.

Williamson will be a valuable sixth man.

 

[birdman]

Is anyone keeping of scholarships by year? Like, which guys are here for how long. Strickland33 used to keep and really useful table on the recruiting thread but I don think that’s there anymore. There has been so much roster change and the freebie COVID year confused a lot of timelines.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

I could be wrong but I think there's a free thread on 247 with updated scholly chart

 

[DCDeac]

If nothing else, this is going to be a fascinating season to watch from a coaching perspective. It's one thing for a new coach to clean house and sign a couple really good players as starters, promising them a million minutes and a spotlight in the ACC. Forbes added some serious depth as well - enough that we're discussing our top 2 point scorers potentially not starting next year in Mucius and Williamson, even though they will almost certainly play critical roles.

And while we've certainly upgraded offensively overall, the improvement on defense could be far more impactful. Our front court last year was a single borderline 5 still learning to defend without fouling. We didn't have a 4 on the roster, we got absolutely destroyed inside. Now we have an experienced 7 footer in Walton, LaRavia, a hopefully healthy Ingraham, and a banging shotblocker in Sy to round things out. Plus Williams and Monsanto add some rebounding and strength as well. About the only thing we're missing is a true superstar-level player, so it'll be interesting to see if Forbes runs 12 guys full-out with limited minutes every game, puts guys like Cam/Taylor/McCray on the back burner for a year, or goes with a hot hand/matchup approach.

 

[CONeill]

Is anyone keeping of scholarships by year? Like, which guys are here for how long. Strickland33 used to keep and really useful table on the recruiting thread but I don think that’s there anymore. There has been so much roster change and the freebie COVID year confused a lot of timelines.

Taking a quick stab at this, somebody correct me if I'm wrong. Just going to list how many years of eligibility each one has left:

Carter Whitt -- 4 years
Daivien Williamson -- 2 years
Isaiah Mucius -- 2 years
Tariq Ingraham -- 4 years

McCray/Hildreth/Taylor -- 4 years

Jake LaRavia -- 3 years
Dallas Walton -- 2 years (but Wake's release said one year and it seems like he won't be there for that additional season)
Damari Monsanto -- 4 years
Alondes Williams -- 1 year
Khadim Sy -- 1 year

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Fun nucleus to build around for sure...

3+ years of:

Whitt, McCray, Hildreth, Taylor, LaRavia, Monsanto

 

[PhDeac]

This roster allows Forbes to aim high to add stars instead of having to recruit bodies to fill spots.

 

[Pilchard]

Have no idea where the minutes are going to come from, but expect/hope that Cam Hildreth plays more than 6 to 8 minutes a game. He can ball, and will get better the more minutes he plays.

To give an idea of how few an average of 6 to 8 minutes a game is, Isiah Wilkins who had six DNP coach's decision last year, still averaged 7.3 minutes per game last year on the season. Unless he gets hurt, suspended or leaves school, I can't imagine Hildreth getting as little time as Wilkins did.

 

[PhDeac]

Have no idea where the minutes are going to come from, but expect/hope that Cam Hildreth plays more than 6 to 8 minutes a game. He can ball, and will get better the more minutes he plays.

To give an idea of how few an average of 6 to 8 minutes a game is, Isiah Wilkins who had six DNP coach's decision last year, still averaged 7.3 minutes per game last year on the season. Unless he gets hurt, suspended or leaves school, I can't imagine Hildreth getting as little time as Wilkins did.

Speaking for myself, game predictions count DNPs as 0 and include them in the average. That’s how it adds up to 200. He played 182 minutes in 22 games. A third of those minutes were in the first three games. That’s not a good comparison for a kid people seem to think will play 5-10 minutes every game.

The issue with the freshmen is our team now as two NCAAT team starters in Williams and Walton. Two players who won mid-major All-Confernce honors in LaRavia and Monsanto.

Of course it seems like all of them are wing scorers so there may be overlap there. McCray may be a combo so that could help.

 

[DeacsATS]

I've dug in a bit more to this... and have some random thoughts:

Williamson, despite what Forbes says, played 28mpg at ETSU and was the 3rd leading scorer on that team. He's enough of a ballhandler that I think he'll be the primary PG when Whitt is on the bench. He also played a shitload of minutes last year (34.4mpg - a lot of which was out of necessity). I think it's safe to assume he's going to play a lot this year... Like 25+mpg.

Williams is a nice add, but I think it'll be tough for him to crack ~18mpg given his relative lack of an outside shot, Williamson, Monsanto, and Hildreth/McCray. He'll still be a huge help, but I think his role will be largely dependent on opponent/matchup. 10 minutes some games, 25+ others.

Mucius is going to play a lot. He's the leader and the heart. He has talent around him that will allow him to play to his strengths. 25+mpg.

Monsanto and LaRavia will also play a lot... 24mpg+ each. I think they fit in really well with what Forbes wants to do and they can play multiple positions (and shoot).

I still think Walton will start, but I don't think he'll average more than 18mpg... Sy/Ingraham will allow Forbes to only play Walton as much as his body can handle.

So here it is with minutes attached.

Whitt - 28-32
Williamson - 26-30
Mucius - 24-28
LaRavia - 23-27
Monsanto - 23-27
Sy - 19-23
Walton - 16-20
Williams - 15-19
Ingraham - 12-16
Hildreth & McCray - ???

 

[PhDeac]

Don’t forget Lucas Taylor.

 

[Demonwolverine]

Forbes said in one of his postgame pressers last year that he didn't want Williamson playing as many minutes as he was. I think it was after the Notre Dame game where he played 38 minutes and Forbes looked kind of surprised when asked about it, saying something along the lines of "Wow, he played that many? That's not what we planned on." But then he went on to play 30, 39!, 34, 37, 33, 26, 36, 36, 38 minutes in the remaining games. It's not a knock on Williamson, it's just that I don't think Forbes wants to play anybody that much. Until we can reliably break a press without him, Williamson is going to be playing 30 mins+ again.

 

[CONeill]

Forbes said in one of his postgame pressers last year that he didn't want Williamson playing as many minutes as he was. I think it was after the Notre Dame game where he played 38 minutes and Forbes looked kind of surprised when asked about it, saying something along the lines of "Wow, he played that many? That's not what we planned on." But then he went on to play 30, 39!, 34, 37, 33, 26, 36, 36, 38 minutes in the remaining games. It's not a knock on Williamson, it's just that I don't think Forbes wants to play anybody that much. Until we can reliably break a press without him, Williamson is going to be playing 30 mins+ again.

This is a good point. You'd think now that Wake has more than one player who can handle the ball under pressure (as was the case at least until DuBose came back), they won't see as much press.

 

[DeacsATS]

Didn't forget him, I just don't see him playing many minutes this season.

I think Hildreth and McCray will get a decent amount of run. Hopeful one (or both) of them can surprise and be impactful right away. That would (obviously) impact Williamson and Williams the most in terms of minutes.

Taylor is kind of stuck behind Mucius, Monsanto, Williams, & LaRavia (and the other two frosh). I have no doubts that he can be a contributor, I'd just be surprised if it were this season. But at the end of the day, I know nothing.

 

[OldGoldBeard]

For what little it may be worth, KenPom provides line-up and positional data for the last 5 games of each team's season. While it's admittedly imperfect, here are the numbers on our transfers:

In '21, Dallas Walton played 29% of CU's minutes at center, and never lined up anywhere else, understandable for a 7-footer. (I believe the positional data is based, at least in part, on height, so you aren't going to see many folks able to bump him). In '20, he played 7% of their minutes at center and in '18, he was at 51%. He is never recorded at any other position.

Sy doesn't chart in the last 5 games for Ole Miss. In '20, he played 56% of their minutes at center, and was exclusive at that position. In '17, he was 20% of VT's minutes at center, and again didn't chart anywhere else. I'm not sure where the idea of him getting minutes at the 4 comes from, as he appears to have played C exclusively, and I don't see the triumvirate of him, Walton, and Tariq being so dominant that 40 minutes simply isn't enough to go around.

LaRavia played 82% of ISU's minutes at center, and nowhere else in '21. As a freshman in '20, he played 36% of their minutes at PF and 25% at C. I think it's more reasonable we see a few minutes of him at center than that we see Sy or Walton at PF.

Monsanto played 34% of ETSU's minutes at SF, and 41% of their PF minutes.

Alondes Williams played 31% of OU's SF minutes, and 18% of their PF minutes in '21. The prior year, he played 21% of their SG minutes.

Just out of curiosity, I looked up last year's transfers as well. Williamson went from an exclusive PG at ETSU (67% and 80% in his two seasons there) to a primary SG with us (29% PG, 55% SG). Antonio was mostly a SF at UNLV (36%, vs. 7% SG and 5% PF) but slid down more often for us (29% SF, 14% SG). DuBose was a PG/SG hybrid at HBU (56% PG, 27% SF) who was a pure SF here (53%). Jalen Johnson pretty much stayed at SG/SF (9% SG, 24% SF at UT, 6% SG, 8% SF here).


For the sake of context, our team returns 91% of its PG minutes (62% Whitt, 29% Williamson), 55% of its SG minutes (55% Williamson), 0% of its SF minutes, 65% of its PF minutes (65% Mucius), and 0% of its C minutes. Obviously, the biggest need is on the wing, but I feel like we'll be sliding Mucius out to SF a lot more often.

 

[DeacsATS]

For what little it may be worth, KenPom provides line-up and positional data for the last 5 games of each team's season. While it's admittedly imperfect, here are the numbers on our transfers:

In '21, Dallas Walton played 29% of CU's minutes at center, and never lined up anywhere else, understandable for a 7-footer. (I believe the positional data is based, at least in part, on height, so you aren't going to see many folks able to bump him). In '20, he played 7% of their minutes at center and in '18, he was at 51%. He is never recorded at any other position.

Sy doesn't chart in the last 5 games for Ole Miss. In '20, he played 56% of their minutes at center, and was exclusive at that position. In '17, he was 20% of VT's minutes at center, and again didn't chart anywhere else. I'm not sure where the idea of him getting minutes at the 4 comes from, as he appears to have played C exclusively, and I don't see the triumvirate of him, Walton, and Tariq being so dominant that 40 minutes simply isn't enough to go around.

LaRavia played 82% of ISU's minutes at center, and nowhere else in '21. As a freshman in '20, he played 36% of their minutes at PF and 25% at C. I think it's more reasonable we see a few minutes of him at center than that we see Sy or Walton at PF.

Monsanto played 34% of ETSU's minutes at SF, and 41% of their PF minutes.

Alondes Williams played 31% of OU's SF minutes, and 18% of their PF minutes in '21. The prior year, he played 21% of their SG minutes.

Just out of curiosity, I looked up last year's transfers as well. Williamson went from an exclusive PG at ETSU (67% and 80% in his two seasons there) to a primary SG with us (29% PG, 55% SG). Antonio was mostly a SF at UNLV (36%, vs. 7% SG and 5% PF) but slid down more often for us (29% SF, 14% SG). DuBose was a PG/SG hybrid at HBU (56% PG, 27% SF) who was a pure SF here (53%). Jalen Johnson pretty much stayed at SG/SF (9% SG, 24% SF at UT, 6% SG, 8% SF here).


For the sake of context, our team returns 91% of its PG minutes (62% Whitt, 29% Williamson), 55% of its SG minutes (55% Williamson), 0% of its SF minutes, 65% of its PF minutes (65% Mucius), and 0% of its C minutes. Obviously, the biggest need is on the wing, but I feel like we'll be sliding Mucius out to SF a lot more often.

I think Sy can play the 4 alongside Walton or Ingraham at the 5... Especially if we need to go big due to matchups. But I tend to agree that 40 minutes will be enough for Walton, Sy, & Ingraham (most nights). I think Sy played C exclusively because he was the biggest guy on the team both years at Ole Miss.

LaRavia, I think, is more of a 3/4 in the ACC. Honestly, I think he'll get all he can handle at the 4... Unless we go "small" and put Mucius there with Monsanto at the 3. There are a ton of potential combinations at 2-4. As you state, PG is pretty much Whitt/Williamson and C is pretty much Walton/Sy/Ingraham.