Starting 5 Next Year? Bench?

But I frankly would not mind seeing Smote take a big step forward and grab the starting 4 spot but if McGary is the real deal it may be tough to keep him on the bench.

That's not enough shooters for JBs offense. Smotz will be in there. He will be much more effective on the perimeter when you have Morgan and Mcgary inside. Robinson will be first off the bench.

This is what the rotation SHOULD be, but we'll see how committed JB is to his offense. Normally he'd want a 4 that can shoot, but we would be a better team with Morgan and McGary on the floor together. 

I agree

14-18th.  About the same as this season.  Pre-season rankings factor recruiting much less than performance in the previous season.

It's a basketball game. You make it sound like a close friend just died. Take a walk, enjoy some sunshine, the world hasn't ended.

Dude, seriously? It's a game. Honestly, I've been wanting to talk about this on the board for a while, but the general sentiment is to wait until this season is over before we talk about next season. It's an exciting topic. If it pains you too much to think about basketball, then stay the fuck out of basketball threads.

Pull it together man.  We drew a tough matchup against a really hot team, and deservedly lost.  This kind of matchup happens all the time.  We weren't gonna win it all this year anyways, we just exited a game or two early.  On the same day, two larger fanbases expecting to make final 4 runs saw their 2 seeds drop to 15s.  They should be feeling much worse than you.

I'm sorry for your loss. Do you have an address I can send a sympathy card and flowers to?

Burke started because he was the only PG on the roster, freshman or not.  He also came in with uncanny maturity and leadership ability for an 18 yr old.  This is not the norm in college basketball.

McGary is actually older than Burke, but I wouldn't expect him to come in and have the same impact on the game as Trey.  It may take a while for him to gel with the team and learn the offense, and he has a less clear cut path to seeing the floor, with Morgan and Horford a couple years ahead of him in the system.

I think you're just about right.

No way we see much of Morgan/McGary on the court together. I think their minutes wil be mostly split (with Horford as well)

I think Stauskas gets a ton of minutes, especially if he can defend well. I do think we'll see a little bit of Hardaway at the 2 as well.

At the 4, I think the rotation will be Smot, Robinson, and Beifeldt, with Robinson also getting some minutes at the 3.

except I think we'll see McGary some at the 4, not Morgan.

I agree, Coach wants a 4 that can spread the floor with his shot. This will keep Smot in the rotation. If McGary can shoot the 18ft he will get some PT at the 4 too.

I also think Coach wants two people who can handle the ball and Stauskas is that second man. He can immediately step in as a bigger more talent Stu from Day 1...and he will. I just hope the he and Burke can figure out how to defend opposing guards especially the quick ones that gave us trouble all year. I'm thinking we will go a lot more zone next year with our new size.

I liked your lineup but made one change. Moran starts (he has really improved his game and know Belien's system). I think McGary backs up Morgan and Smot and still gets his minutes. McGary and Morgan won't play together much. Just like Robinson and THjr won't play together much..the latter probably will a little more because Coach will probably try and go small with Robinson at the four and playing zone on D.

main lineup to start the year

Burke/Brundidge

Stauskas/some Hardaway/Brundidge

Hardaway/Robinson/Vogrich

Smotrycz/McGary/Beifeldt

Morgan/McGary/Horford

Pretty much agree.  One huge advantage vs. this year will be the ability to absorb fouls with the bigs.

Bielien adapts to his personnel.  He's a good coach who will find a way to put his best 5 players on the court.

While, yes, he clearly prefers to have floor-spacing players in the front-court, it doesn't necessarily mean that, for example, Horford, is going to be relegated to 4th-big minutes.  Both Horford and McGary have the potential to be quality jump shooters, even if they aren't taking a lot of 3s, they can keep defenses honest (potentially).

Moreover, Bielien's could be willing to sacrifice offense for defense, especially with Burke and Hardaway's scoring talent.

Given the depth at forward and the lack of it at guard, there's a good chance that Hardaway slides to the 2 spot.  It's hard for me to imagine Brundidge and Stauskas getting 40 or so minutes between them, even though I do think Stauskas will be a very good player.

I do agree that Smotrycz will play primarily the 4, but not because he's a 3-shooter, but because he's way to slow to defend most 3s.  Unless Michigan plays more zone (tougher with a lot of young players) Smotrycz is a defensive liability against most teams, especially when he's shifted to the 3 spot - where you don't even get the benefit of creating an offensive mis-match like when he's at the 5.

Regardless, it's going to be very interesting to see how Bielien handles this roster given how different it is from any of his past teams (AFAIK).  It wouldn't surprise me to see signifiant changes to what defines a 'Bielien team'.

Thanks for bringing him up---I've been eager to see how his talents might be put to use, too.  I didn't know if there was a specific reason, other than lack of experience, for his lack of playing time (thinking Beilein was wanting to instead maximize the minutes of Stu and Zack, needing their experience while still in the race for the B1G crown), and that therefore Brundidge just didn't fit into the rotation.

Maybe now that next year's roster/rotation has incoming size and muscle (recruits plus the return of Horford), Brundidge will finally get a chance to get a lot more PT.

I would confidently bet $$$ that THJ improves his dribble-drive ability this offseason.  I don't know as much about the game of GRIII, but he (and Stauskus) seems to have a work ethic similar to Trey Burke. This bodes well for 2012-2013 and beyond. 

Agree completely with this assessment.   I haven't seen much of GRIII's handle on his highlight films, but I just can't see Burke w/ THJ & GRIII for long stretches.   I honestly didn't see a lot improvement in THJ's handle between his frosh and sophomore years, but I'm hoping it's a huge point of emphasis for him in the offseason.  Stauskas looks impressive and versatile, so I think we'll lean on him and Brundidge to assume Stu's 2-guard role.  

The other potential issue going big with Burke, THJ,and GRIII is on the defensive side.    Who will be the defensive stopper?   THJ will really have to elevate his defensive skills to guard smaller, mobile types.   I guess this question is also relevant with a smaller lineup, too.    We'll miss Stu's defensive acumen.   Or maybe a longer team will make the 1-3-1 a more viable option?