What will be the 'X Factor' for next year's team?

#27
#27
I think we need BHH/Aidoo to not be busts. Our post looks like it should be much better than last year because of those two so hopefully they play like top 50/top 20 HS talents. I don't have a ton of hope that Uros or Olivier are going to break out this year and be much more than they are now, but I'd like to be wrong about it.

We also need an Alpha that isn't afraid to shoot and can get his own bucket to stop runs. We didn't have that for long stretches last year so not sure we can count on anyone of the returning players to be that next year. Chandler may be that but it's hard to put it all on a freshman in those situations.
 
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#28
#28
Basilio claims that another post is being pursued from the portal and that the staff wants to hold a scholarship open in case there is a mid-year transfer. He is throwing it out there that one more post player on the current roster is being ushered out. So that would with be ORN or Uros.
 
#29
#29
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Basilio claims that another post is being pursued from the portal and that the staff wants to hold a scholarship open in case there is a mid-year transfer. He is throwing it out there that one more post player on the current roster is being ushered out. So that would with be ORN or Uros.
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I’m sure he’s referencing Mitchell, of course as that’s shared here he miraculously has that info shortly after lol...I don’t think someone else will be leaving but we’ll see.
 
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#30
#30
A true X-factor, which is a bit of surprise imo, would be if JJJ can improve his shooting over the course of the summer and early fall. He improved it by .20 from .370 to .390 in his first two seasons and it was only .390 because his 3 point shooting crashed from 36 percent as a freshman to 30 percent this past year. If he can get his 3p percentage back into the mid 30s and be in the mid 40s from the floor he would probably be the best overall contributor on the team most nights. I just don't know if he has it in him to be a good scorer though. Which is a real shame because it's probably going to be the biggest factor in him living up to the 5 star/NBA potential he seemed to have in high school.
 
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#32
#32
Barnes really works his players hard, could be they are tired at the time they are peaking. Could be physically tired or mentally tired of him pushing them to be their best. Barnes is old school and I’m glad he isn’t changing. As far as peaking, teams don’t always peak at the right time, heck some teams never peak. This season we peaked within the first ten games.
 
#35
#35
The 🦒, Jonas Aidoo, by late Feb, early March, when UT makes a run, the team peaks late, next year. Will take a little a longer with all the new pieces, but that"s a good thing, imo
 
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#36
#36
Last years team was only going to be as good as Fulky could make it. No other low post threat allowed teams to clog the driving lanes. With no true 3pt threats they let us throw bricks left and right. That is exactly what happened in the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament. That big nerd from Oregon St had a career game because every other big we had flat out sucked. With Fulkerson back, additions of Jonas Aidoo/Brandon Huntley-Hatfield/Jahmai Mashack....if just one of those can become a legit low post threat/rebounder....this team can be scary good. Barnes best coaching is when he has a solid low post scoring offensive game. His defenses are always legit.
 
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#39
#39
I think the ability and the utilization of that ability to get in the weight room and gym during the pre-season is the x-factor. I think that is what limited us the most last year, and the extent to which that factor is enabled will go a long way toward this teams success. We have a lot of new parts that need to gel into a complete team. They need all the opportunities for that, before the bullets start to fly during the season.
 
#40
#40
VOLnVANDYland said:
At the end of the day don’t you think how well the team meshes is about coaching? I mean heck they were recruited here for a reason and a role in mind. The coach has to pull all the right strings, and get the team rowing in the right direction.
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Yeah, I think you’re right. CRB is just done. We’ve breached the threshold on the upper limit of his success. Also, you’re an idiot.
 
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#41
#41
I'm thinking the X-factor will be if one of our bigs (and I'll include ORN in that group) becomes a 3-point shooting threat.

Adding that dimension to our established offensive penetration, mid-range, and post play would bring significant flexibility to our inside-outside game, and allow us to post up our most talented players against man-to-man.
 
#42
#42
jasonvols2.2 said:
It might be Rick Barnes. We all know he has had terrible post season success in his coaching career. It is frustrating, because he has had a ton of success. But, it seems that he has a ceiling. Goodness, it is irritating!
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Playing consistently good basketball. That covers playing well, playing well enough throughout the season and playing well at the end of the season and playing well through the tournament. The only years we have done this were the years we lost to Loyola Maramount early on a last second shot (I think) in the NCAA Tournament and Purdue by one basket in the sweet 16 IMO. All of those kids were locked in and added unique value to the team. We had the talent last year. We beat Kansas and others. We were simply inconsistent.

That said,I think that Florida that gave Fulkerson needs to be taught a lesson. I think Fulkerson was starting to play good basketball, and not having him in the tournament hurt us. I will digress.
 
#46
#46
A lot better offensively than last season. We had some games where we couldn't throw it in the ocean. We need consistent three point shooting to give guys like Fulkerson a chance to avoid the double teams.
 
#47
#47
Our X factor will be the vaccine, IF every player gets jabbed and no practice/game time is lost through protocols. Yes, the nation may or may not be “over” the pandemic by then, but a huge segment of our population doesn’t intend to get vaccinated. Variants may put us back to square one, which no one wants.
I got my second Moderna shot two days ago, and I’m looking forward to going to games in the future. However, most individuals in my state (Alabama) have yet to get the vaccine.
 
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#50
#50
Rrcox1951 said:
Our X factor will be the vaccine, IF every player gets jabbed and no practice/game time is lost through protocols. Yes, the nation may or may not be “over” the pandemic by then, but a huge segment of our population doesn’t intend to get vaccinated. Variants may put us back to square one, which no one wants.
I got my second Moderna shot two days ago, and I’m looking forward to going to games in the future. However, most individuals in my state (Alabama) have yet to get the vaccine.
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