Roster Management for 24-25

[BamaMoon]

Once we know about Mark and Darin, the difficult part begins. Having this much talent is intoxicating. Turning it into a team – never guaranteed – takes hard work, alchemy and luck. Safe to say that Nate has never managed such a loaded roster. Does everyone buy into the shifting roles?

Was just telling a buddy this today.

Figuring out a rotation that will work and make folks happy will be CNO's biggest challenge to make this into a "team."

We are possibly 12-13 players deep that could get valuable minutes!

If Sears returns he'll return to less minutes played and he can lead the team by example to unite in a "less about me; more about team" approach.

 

[BAMAVILLE]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1787204576547926158

Oh SNAP! Thanos is joining the team too!?!

 

[AlexanderFan]

Oh SNAP! Thanos is joining the team too!?!

Talk about a banger under the rim.

 

[BAMAVILLE]

Talk about a banger under the rim.

He'll take care of half our competition alone! (haha)

 

[JDCrimson]

What is overseas money for a rookie guard? I think that should be factored into the value of the NIL.

Btw, I would like to see Sears come back and the last scholarship get awarded to Max.

 

[oskie]

Please coach Oats, I beg of you, whatever you do in the portal please find a true big man for next year

Nate Oats has delivered a "true big man" - just for you

Watch this short clip and tell me if he's "big enough" for you

 

[BAMAVILLE]

Nate Oats has delivered a "true big man" - just for you

Watch this short clip and tell me if he's "big enough" for you

I really hope this play is incorporated next season ... seriously great misdirection play

 

[BamaMoon]

Nate Oats has delivered a "true big man" - just for you

Watch this short clip and tell me if he's "big enough" for you

Say what you will about Zach Eddy, but the man is tall and wide. To dunk over/thru him like that is impressive!

For those who maybe know a little more about Cliff's intangibles, how does he compare to Bediako's game from 2 years ago?

 

[dayhiker]

Oh SNAP! Thanos is joining the team too!?!

I see what you did there.

 

[day-day]

In another time, I'd look at some of the young players to come in and play somewhat limited roles as they mature and gain experience. Several seniors would be leaving after this season and the young guys would become part of the core the next season. It is really futile to even think of this for the 2025-26 season with the NIL and portal as it is now but is still a possibility...

Hopefully, Bama can keep the pace up in the games so there are a lot of points to go around; many opposing coaches will try to keep the pace and scoring down. Also, some of these new players will have to learn to play defense which is often lacking in freshmen.

 

[JohnD]

We already have a 5 Star (depending on which service you look at) 6'11 freshman C coming in that will backup Cliff. If Sears stays in the draft, we will probably go after another ball handler. I don't think some of you realize how good Sherrell actually is.

The Freshman coming in is much more like Stephenson than Clifford size-wise. Not even close to Nelson size. We have a lot of guards and small forwards.

 

[teamplayer]

CNO's offensive MO creates so many opportunities with 5 positionless players (in theory) that you can expect each position to garner impact points game in and game out.

IOW, we don't need a 25 point scorer. I'd argue that year before last it hurt us to be so dependent on Brandon Miller to get his 20 each game.

Sears can score 20+ a game, but with next year's infusion of talent I doubt it would happen as much. We'd probably be a better team if he averaged around 15-18 a game (which is nothing to sneeze at) because it would probably mean we are getting another 5 or 6 players with double digit scoring averages.

We have a ton of talented players on the team for next year. Trying to keep them all engaged with only one ball will be a major challenge for Oats. Will these guys defend? Will these guys play selfless basketball? If they do, they could be very, very good.

 

[BAMAVILLE]

Say what you will about Zach Eddy, but the man is tall and wide. To dunk over/thru him like that is impressive!

For those who maybe know a little more about Cliff's intangibles, how does he compare to Bediako's game from 2 years ago?

Cliff is a more reliable post player on both sides ... I think Beds would have been a closer in production to Cliff if he would have stayed another year.

I'm thinking Cliff will end up being a late first round pick/early second round if everything holds serve next season.

On paper, this is the best CNO class/team to date.

 

[BAMAVILLE]

We have a ton of talented players on the team for next year. Trying to keep them all engaged with only one ball will be a major challenge for Oats. Will these guys defend? Will these guys play selfless basketball? If they do, they could be very, very good.

Defense will be the key in this team showing they are elite. The offensive production will be there BUT if they can play lockdown D and rebound, then this will definitely be an elite team with Final Four abilities.

 

[TexasBama]

Defense will be the key in this team showing they are elite. The offensive production will be there BUT if they can play lockdown D and rebound, then this will definitely be an elite team with Final Four abilities.

I'm looking for Reid to be "thay guy" on defense.

 

[CajunCrimson]

Without Sears, who is the big scorer?

Maybe you end up with 5-6 averaging double digits

 

[BamaMoon]

Maybe you end up with 5-6 averaging double digits

Yeah, you look at the offensive capabilities and that's an easy answer!

 

[BamaHoopsBoi]

Defense will be the key in this team showing they are elite. The offensive production will be there BUT if they can play lockdown D and rebound, then this will definitely be an elite team with Final Four abilities.

I feel the same way about our team being elite if it can figure things out on defense. However, what amazed me this past season is that we most definitely played average defense throughout the tournament and made a FF... So maybe the case can be made if we have an absolute phenomenal offense as we did this past year, then we can get by with average defense? I'm not sure, this past season just seems like an outlier to me. Normally defense gets you farther, however that wasn't the case for us. Just a thought.

 

[BamaMoon]

I feel the same way about our team being elite if it can figure things out on defense. However, what amazed me this past season is that we most definitely played average defense throughout the tournament and made a FF... So maybe the case can be made if we have an absolute phenomenal offense as we did this past year, then we can get by with average defense? I'm not sure, this past season just seems like an outlier to me. Normally defense gets you farther, however that wasn't the case for us. Just a thought.

I thought last year's teams just didn't have the defensive chops, but then we kinda turned it up during March.

With such a deep roster next year, I think CNO sets the tone early and we see much more consistency on the defensive side. Also, Cliff at the #5 spot will instantly make us better there too with shot blocking and rebounding.

Offensive abilities are a given for this team.

 

[BamaMike05]

The Freshman coming in is much more like Stephenson than Clifford size-wise. Not even close to Nelson size. We have a lot of guards and small forwards.

Well, Clifford has a 7'6 wingspan. There are not a lot of guys that are like him with his athleticism and wingspan. Also, I never said that Sherrell and Clifford were the same type of player. All I said was that we don't need to bring in another big if Sears doesn't return. We will replace Sears with likely another ball handler. Sherrell is very capable, especially as a backup, and has potential to be a star. When you bring in Sherrell to give Cliff a rest, you have a different dynamic and get to play more 5 out.

Also, Sherrell isn't like Stevenson size wise. He is more solid and can actually defend the post a bit. Really the only real similarities is that they can step out and shoot the 3.