This is a tough team with four regulars back, a dominant, crafty center, a team that won 35 last year and beat Villanova, the national champs. They start four juniors and a senior. I don't see an Iowa win.
Hey guys, Hall fan here. Feel free to drop by the board if you want to see some scouting reports, it's very active.
I can't see the Hall losing this one, and that's no disrespect. SHU has a lot of people looking at the team with the thought "they might be experienced, but they lost Isaiah Whitehead". That is true, that was a key component to the team last year. And I won't say that we're better for it, but the emphasis and expectations on the juniors are that much greater. This is a deep team and a team that does a lot of things well, except (ugh) free throws. Beat Villanova last year in the Big East Championship, but also gave them 2 very tough games in losses and beat #5 Xavier twice. Many of these kids have been playing together or in the same circles since high school and now 4 of them are juniors. I've seen a lot of "teams" in my SHU days that were a collection of individuals, this is a team...
Starters:
Khadeen Carrington - smooth guard, can drive and shoot. Being groomed to move to the point, as Whitehead was last year. Will be the one to step into IW's role as the guy who has the ball when a bucket is needed.
Angel Delgado - monster inside. When he wants it, nearly unstoppable. Plays with too much emotion, but if kept under control he could be one of the best big men you'll face all year.
Desi Rodriguez - match up nightmare. 6'6" that will shoot 3s over smaller guys or abuse bigger guys with his athleticism. Explosive player, could score 2 points or 20.
Ishmael Sanogo - 3rd year of a 4 year project that could take a kid from under-recruited to being a potential all-BE player. Year 1 you never saw him, year 2 he became the best defensive player on the team, year 3 the rumor is he learned to shoot. But if he's shooting, we're doing something wrong. I'd imagine he will be on Jok.
Madison Jones - grad transfer point, great assist to turnover, can slash, can't shoot.
Key reserves:
Myles Powell - freshman, great shooter, cut 45 lbs over the last year and is now a better slasher. Has struggled with his shot, freshman jitters. At some point in some game, he'll go 5-6 from 3 and the rest will be history.
Michael Nzei - You won't see much difference when he's in over Ish. Better offense, lesser defense.
Rashed Anthony/Myles Carter - Back up 5s, not pretty. If they give Delgado a break and try not to impact the game, they can be useful. Still works in progress
Veer Singh - 6'9" 3-pt shooter that just has not put his game together. Will give Desi a rest at the 3, might hit a 3, not a huge liability but not a great asset at this point.
Eron Gordon - younger brother to Eric Gordon, freshman, potential but won't see much.
Dalton Soffer - if he plays then one of the fan bases will be very happy.
Michael Dowdy/Manny Anderson - walk-ons.
You will see 10-11 players get minutes, with Carter/Gordon/Soffer in the 11/12/13 spots.
If the Hall plays tough defense and can slow you down, it's a 68-60 win. That's a Big East score. If it plays open and loose, I see it 84-72 Hall.
And now that I've thoroughly jinxed it, final should be Iowa 80-58.
