re: Tide Hoops | Recruiting

Yeah his issues on the court seemed to mostly start in his head. Trying too hard is a good way to put it, he put way too much pressure on himself.

JQ was the only guy we had on the roster last year that was actually a PG. Herb did his best at PG but wasn't a good passer or dribbler.

We will give up some size from last year but I think we will be able to play even faster than last year with a lineup of JQ, JD, Burnett, Ellis, and Gurley. JQ, JD, and Burnett are all good ball handlers, Ellis isn't bad either.

We also have taller guards like Miles and Holt, then two big guys in Tchikou and Bediako. We have a chance to be a really versatile team if everything comes together.

Theres more to being a guard than hitting a three. Can he dribble? Can he guard a guy that’s 6’1? I haven't seen many 6’11 guys play guard even in the NBA. He could play the 4 maybe but we would be a really slow lineup with him and another big like Cockburn or Bediako in the game at the same time.

Any smart coach would isolate a fast guard on a 6’11 guy playing the 3 and he would blow by him every play. Having a 6’11 guy who can dribble and shoot at the 5 gives you an advantage cause he is more skilled than the guy guarding him, playing a 6’11 guy at guard gives the other team the advantage. Tchikou has potential but he is a freshman in college coming off an achilles injury, he isn't Durant or Giannis.

I do hope that Tchikou is skilled enough to be a guard, just saying that if he is it makes more sense to play him at the 5 still, then you could have a 5 guard lineup basically but still have size in the middle, which is what Oats ideally wants and why he tries to recruit skilled bigs.

I do think Tchikou has the potential to be one of the most skilled bigs in the country if he is close to 100% healthy. He is pretty special, not many 6'11 guys can move and shoot like he can.

Durant is about the closest thing to an NBA guard that's 6'10 or over, but still I would consider him a small forward, he isn't as quick as a guard. Giannis and Ben Simmons can't shoot so I consider them forwards too.

There are some 6'9 guys that are legit guards, but I can't really think of anyone over 6'9 I would consider a guard.

He is the heaviest but Bediako is listed as 7'0 on the roster so he is the tallest.

Tchikou I would label a stretch Forward. He'll play out on offense but I don't think he would ever be labeled or considered a Guard.

Gary is definitely a Forward. Right now his game is playing defense, crashing the boards, and going for putbacks. Hopefully his jump shot is developing.

Another poster pointed out that we may be losing some size this year in our lineup. I'm actually okay with the trade-off of size for speed. I don't want to see players like Herb or Petty trying to ball handle again. If we're undersized at two Guard spots but both have great handles and can speed up the offense, I'm all for it.

I'm really eager to see this offense with two primary ballhandlers on the floor along with a stretch 5. This offense hasn't reached its full potential just yet.