take another Wing, hopefully at least of the 6-6 variety

We'll be losing 4 starters off last years squad which is pretty significant. Three and possibly four of the guys leaving averaged 30mpg last year.

- Cattoor is a proven commodity
- Pedulla has only topped 20 minutes 3 times and is frequently in foul trouble
- Maddox is a great shooter and 1 on 1 defender but has a tendency to disappear on offense and his help defense needs work
- DNG is a good backup

Nobody we've brought in has played in a D1 basketball game. Rice is probably the only one who could step on the floor day 1 and comfortably contribute.

who we may get out of portal.

for Alleyne and Murphy. They were pretty much sharing minutes as the season progressed. Rice can back both of them up but there will likely be some defensive drop off there at the beginning of the season. The real issue remains the 4 and 5 positions question marks until filled with experienced portal players. Reid or Basile or both (if Mutts leaves) obviously would work. I still consider DNG in a reserve role until he’s proven he is more of a force offensively. I’m thinking Mutts stays, but we need to get Reid into the “Barn”. Also wouldn’t hurt to pick up a combo guard from the portal for added depth either.

"Not starters in name only"...lol

I would be worried about who's behind Sean, but Rice should be a great one. Maddox was getting starter minutes, so his joining the starting line up should also be seamless.

Guess the starters are Sean, Hunter, Maddox, Mutts (fingers crossed), and a 5 to be named later... If Mutts also decides to leave, his shoes should also be filled by a portal guy. not sure if we have any front court guys ready to fill their shoes.

So that statement is pretty much patently false. When the starters (Murphy, Cattoor, Alleyne) are averaging 30+ minutes during the stretch you say Maddox and Pedulla were NSINO even though they played the 6th and 7th most minutes the term loses a lot of its credibility.

Yes they were big contributors, no they were not in the top 5 contributors on the team.

will be fine but we’ll have to be patient with our 4 and 5. I still think we could have a good year, but getting the right people in place to be really good in two to three years.

We can pull guards and coach them up no problem but we struck gold with Keve’s surprise development and Mutts falling through the cracks after averaging almost a double double at Delaware

The first two years of CMY was just survival with a patchwork roster and installing the system and building recruiting relationships.

Last year was the first time where we had a solid core that had been here several years and it showed. Now we build up the next core and see if we can keep increasing the overall talent level of the program. It's going to be a fun ride these next few years, but expect next year to be a bit bumpy with such a young team.

His defense progressed well during the season and he probably earned a lot more playing time late in the season with his defensive improvement.

He still seems to suffer from the “retribution” fouls you often see in high school. A common occurrence is when someone turns the ball over they immediately run down and foul on defense. Or they get tired of being abused because they are a defensive liability and they start fouling. Not saying this is his issue but it is common with young underclass players ar the college level. It’s a big transition for folks to handle.

I think he is going to grow into a heck of a defensive player over time. That will not only earn more playing time but will also keep him out of foul trouble.

CMY has certainly shown guys don’t play it they can’t play defense. Maybe pedulla was trying to hard early in the season but as his confidence grows on the defensive end with experience he won’t be in foul trouble much.

Basketball is a team game and I think we’ll really good defensive players play good team defense. You have to know when to let others on d pick up the slack and not commit dumb fouls if someone gets past you or you make a mistake.

- Do we have a big(tall) man solution that can play in the ACC?
- Do we have a "force driver" that can impact the last 2 mins (Boots-ish)?

May not need either often, but need both in the toolbox on occasion. VT's a great atmosphere/culture/campus to live/play. Hope those last 1 (2) join the week!

I think both are good 1 on 1 and have mid-range, pull[-up games.. Pedulla took 10FT vs Tx because he was aggressive and got downhill. Corey Alexander has mentioned how good DM is in midrange (coached him in AAU)

After a starter quality 4/5, looks like another combo (1/2) would be best for depth and then bank the extra scholarship for '23 (assuming Mutts is gone)