Excellent Zags Preview by 3MW

[TexasZagFan]

Playing angry... reminds me of a guy named Casey. Man... watching Timme play is gonna be FUN.

Having seen Drew play, it's going to be great. As much as we loved J3, one could only grimace when he had the ball in traffic. Drew got used to being double and triple teamed, and he displayed a deft passing skill. Zags will be able to run their traditional high-low offense through Drew on Day 1.

How many other freshman can do that?

[LTownZag]

Probably depends of if they measure from the top of the head or the top of the hair.

I've seen Drew listed as 6'9" and Pavel as 6'10" or 6'11".

Based on this picture I'd guess Anton is 6'9" (if the other measures are accurate).

He's shorter than Pavel and looks to be at least as tall (or within 1/2") or Drew.

[ZagRecruitWatch]

Who is the extra dude in the middle? And where is Ballo?

[LTownZag]

Who is the extra dude in the middle? And where is Ballo?

1. Someone from Ravet's high school.

2. What am I, the Ballo wrangler? He's probably in Greece or Mali or other far flung destination. Or taking the picture for all I know.
I was just curious how many of the players seem to be in Washington over the summer VS France or elsewhere, and this image was on Ravet's instatweetgrambook

[GonzaGAW]

- great site!
- spent time reading up on Arizona, seton hall, st. mary, and Oregon (although not updated with Oregon's most recent two freshman).

[Bogozags]

When he goes in at the 3, that will be three guy on the court that are over 6'10. That's a big boy lineup!!

Just remember the defence might have trouble with that line-up BUT on the other hand, can our 6'7" - 6'10" SF guard their SF on the other end...that was one of the issues Coach Few had when he tried to start PK, DS and KW at the same time...they couldn't defend the other SF...I remember the 1st half of the Pitt game in Okinawa...KW struggled on defence...yes, the floor was "wet" too...

[BavarianZag]

Good article overall, but one glaring error imo when he talked about Kispert moving to sg to create more minutes for the plethora of bigs. Anybody who has watched the team a lot knows that's not gonna happen.

Based on what we have seen so far, I'd normally say you're correct. But, in this case, I am going to disagree. Not only do I think Kispert can play the two (especially offensively), I suspect that is exactly what may be happening. I base this mostly on my own belief that we haven't seen the real Cory Kispert and he has a lot more to offer than we have seen. But I also have seen continual social media exchanges between Kispert and his teammates, with many mentions of "big guard U" and the like. Maybe I am reading too much into those, but maybe I am not.

[DZ]

Just remember the defence might have trouble with that line-up BUT on the other hand, can our 6'7" - 6'10" SF guard their SF on the other end...that was one of the issues Coach Few had when he tried to start PK, DS and KW at the same time...they couldn't defend the other SF...I remember the 1st half of the Pitt game in Okinawa...KW struggled on defence...yes, the floor was "wet" too...

I always understood why a big lanky guy might have trouble guarding a fast wing. I never really understood why that fast wing wouldn't have a hard time guarding a guy who has 4-5 inches on him and maybe 30 pounds. There must be a reason or Few would go with it, I just never understood.

[maynard g krebs]

Based on what we have seen so far, I'd normally say you're correct. But, in this case, I am going to disagree. Not only do I think Kispert can play the two (especially offensively), I suspect that is exactly what may be happening. I base this mostly on my own belief that we haven't seen the real Cory Kispert and he has a lot more to offer than we have seen. But I also have seen continual social media exchanges between Kispert and his teammates, with many mentions of "big guard U" and the like. Maybe I am reading too much into those, but maybe I am not.

It would be a big change from what we've seen for the past two decades. Nobody w/ CK's body type and skill set has played the 2 for GU that I can remember. Till now, Few has always liked to have two true guards on the floor, as opposed to a pg and two wings.

ETA I'm a big Kispert fan, as anyone who read my report on him at the spring Premier League after his jr yr in hs would recall. I do agree that he has the vision/awareness/understanding to play the 2, but there are other issues imo.

[FloridaZagFan]

Kispert is really not a 2 or a 3. He's a 2.5, it dosnt
really matter. Kispert can shoot, its all about give and take. I think we take him for granted a little bit, Kispert is a heck of a player! Lapses on defence (yes) but he can give you 18 points any night you give him the chance. Without guy's who can shoot the 3 (Kispert, Gilder or Tillie) defenses collapse in the paint and it kills the offence. As Crazy as it sounds in a Mark Few offence on some plays Tillie would be the 2 like ( Cam Johnson) and Kispert the 3. We need to give Kispert some respect he can really play!!

[ZagRecruitWatch]

2. What am I, the Ballo wrangler? He's probably in Greece or Mali or other far flung destination. Or taking the picture for all I know.

I don't what a Ballo Wrangler would look like, but I'm gonna go with a yes on this one!

[soccerdud]

Kispert is really not a 2 or a 3. He's a 2.5, it dosnt
really matter. Kispert can shoot, its all about give and take. I think we take him for granted a little bit, Kispert is a heck of a player! Lapses on defence (yes) but he can give you 18 points any night you give him the chance. Without guy's who can shoot the 3 (Kispert, Gilder or Tillie) defenses collapse in the paint and it kills the offence. As Crazy as it sounds in a Mark Few offence on some plays Tillie would be the 2 like ( Cam Johnson) and Kispert the 3. We need to give Kispert some respect he can really play!!

i don't entirely understand why you (and others) seem to get defensive on corey's behalf here. he's a great player, maybe the ideal/prototypical mark few 3 offensively. he can shoot, attack the rim, has plus athleticism, and takes care of the ball-- and still manages to fit into the offense without needing plays called for him. it's awesome. he's awesome, and that's why he's almost certain to hold down the starting '3' job until he runs out of eligibility or chooses to move on-- even with players like watson and strawther coming through on their way to the league. period.

but this isn't fantasy where you just pick the 5 best players and make up positions until you have a lineup the computer will accept. based on 20 years of watching the zags, i can't imagine few playing any lineup regularly with only a single guard on the court who is comfortable bringing the ball up against pressure 1v1. it just hasn't happened. and that's where that .5 (even if i grant your description) pushes him out of the '2' spot in games.

i certainly could be wrong. few could surprise me. or corey could have been drilling on this specific thing all summer in anticipation, and come into the new season completely transformed as a ballhandler. but i doubt it.

[TexasZagFan]

I'm seeing way too much angst over where players are going to play. What I'm pretty sure of is our bigs won't be playing point guard, and our guards won't be playing center. The rest of it will be positionless, and situational. I expect Few to experiment a lot early in the season, to see what combos are most effective.

We are going to be a matchup nightmare for most teams, and no one will want to play us in March, when our newcomers are no longer newcomers.

[zaguarxj]

I'm suffering from a facial tic since seeing the word "bromantic" in that article. I think I'd better go have a drink and/or break something.

[sittingon50]

I'm suffering from a facial tic since seeing the word "bromantic" in that article. I think I'd better go have a drink and/or break something.

You just need to get in touch, rxj.