My non-conference assessment. We struggle to shoot the ball outside the paint, and we’re not great defensively, which means we’re in for a rough season unless one, or both, improve significantly, or we began to play a different style that masks our deficiencies.
Warren has a knack for scoring, moves well without the ball, gets to the boards, and scores well in transition, but he’s not going to beat most 3’s in the ACC off the dribble. When the shot clock winds down, he still needs someone to get him a good look.
Barber is a game changer for us but he’s been erratic. He gets into the paint so easily, but he’s not a great finisher yet and he doesn’t find the open man often enough. Lewis benefited last year from playing with a highly efficient offense that rarely saw zones. His inability to beat his man, penetrate a zone, make the 3 consistently, or play defense just makes it hard to get him on the court.
I still think our best lineup is 1 big, doesn’t really matter who (Vandy, Anya, Freeman, Washington) and Warren, Turner, Lee, and Barber. Turner has to play more. I know he takes ill advised shots but he’s still the best option from 3. We’re going to struggle to rebound regardless of who’s in the lineup, so you might as well score the ball.
