Am I completely off base in believing that Post can provide us a great deal of the interior defense that Oriakhi is presently providing us?

And let's not act like Oriakhi is a wealth of low-post moves and refined center play. He's generallly little more than a garbage man down there.

It sure seems to me like Post at the 5 and Criswell at the 4 (and I love Ross at the 3) would be a very good front court. JW3 and Jankovic can continue to develop physically and be used primarily as energy and instant offense off the bench.

Post has a lot of upside but still is pretty raw. If he improves as much over the summer as Tony Criswell did, he certainly could be in position to start in the middle. But that type of summer jump is pretty rare for JUCOs.

I think the primary offensive sets would struggle a bit with a starting lineup of Clarkson/Brown/Ross/Criswell/Post, but it's a long ways off.

As for this year's team... I see 23-24 wins in the regular season. Key thing I'm going to be watching for is how much they improve once they get healthy and the rotation solidifies again. They have the tools to be a tougher out in the tournament than last year's squad.

So many "what might have beens"....

With Dixon and Tony Mitchell wouldn't this have to be seen as one of the top 5 teams in the country?

Damn. Felled by rape and illiteracy...

Yeah, Holdmy Dixon really screwed things up quite a bit.

If Tony Mitchell was going to qualify, he never would have committed to Mizzou.

I'm surprised people aren't talking more about Jabari Brown. He's going to be a star. Actually, he reminds me of a more talented Dixon.

Denmon with better floor vision.

Denmon was a fearless shooter and aggressive defender/rebounder. Brown does those things as well.

He'll have all of Denmons strengths but also the ability to see the floor and be a plus passer.

He's an NBA caliber talent. I've been incredibly impressed by how seamlessly he's blended into the offense. Once he gets a little better and knowing when he has to be aggressive (he gets tentative at times) he'll be a guy you can count on for 18-20 points every night.

He's an elite prospect, for sure.

I like Brown's game a lot... but I don't think he's nearly as adept in mid-range or at getting his own shot as Dixon. I love his basketball IQ and floor vision.

I think he's going to be a big-time scorer for them next year, along with Clarkson.

Not yet, but I think he is father along than Dixon was as the same point in their careers (20 games in), and Brown is improving rapidly.

Yeah, I'm not sure Dixon's a great comp either. Dixon had a pretty unparalleled first step and Dixon could finish from essentially any angle (dammit...it is hard to not make entendres with this guy, isn't it?)

Dixon played a completely unconventional style but was so adept at it that he was a dynamic scorer. Brown will play a more conventional game but do it extremely well.

That's why I like the Denmon comp more.

I'm not really sure who he best compares to. I think we'll see his game evolve over the rest of the season and into next year. (Especially next year when he will need to be "the guy".)

He's a big bodied guard with some outside touch who can use his frame. He's a taller, more athletic Paul O'Liney

I think you're under-selling Brown. Dude's over 41% from deep (better than his overall %age, incidentally). I'd put that well above "some outside touch". Not a bad comparison, but that's taking PO's junior and senior seasons against a sophomore JB.

Sorry if Q, but Bowers has been ruled out tomorrow.

Figured as much, but still... shit.

Yep. Florida by 20.