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It’s way too early to have a well informed opinion about the upcoming season but off the top it looks like we will have a number of talented players, decent depth and the potential to have a good team. However in my opinion the difference between good and great hinges on our bigs underneath. Either Evans makes a large improvement or Kuany turns out to be the real deal. Based on limited video, I would bet on the latter before the former however I remember feeling the same way about Wiz and we all know how that turned out. In Boal’s interview he didn’t mention Kuany at all which is not a good sign but my imagination goes wild at the thought that he could be the next Enrique Freeman. Back to Top FearLeon General User Member Since: 3/12/2005 Post Count: 4,722 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/19/2025 4:07:41 PM  berniebobcat wrote: In Boal’s interview he didn’t mention Kuany at all which is not a good sign but my imagination goes wild at the thought that he could be the next Enrique Freeman. I actually like that Boals didn't mention Kuany. Boals mentioned Ben Nicol more than a few times this time a year ago and we saw how that turned out. I totally agree that either Kuany or Evans needs to be a solid contributor. It's crucial that one of them gives us solid minutes. #BleedGreen #TrentIsGOAT Back to Top FJC31 General User Member Since: 3/31/2022 Post Count: 1,877 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/20/2025 8:23:45 AM  In the preview thread, Boals is quoted being “really excited” about Kuany in the Blue Ribbon preview. That can be coach talk and is a blanket phrase, but I think we need to let it play out before deeming the success of this season hinges on Evans/Kuany. It’s why we brought in Breath and Simmons. There’s far less pressure on Evans/Kuany when defining rotational roles. IMO, this seasons success is more dependent on bounce back from Sheldon and additional shooters emerging. Last Edited: 9/20/2025 8:24:21 AM by FJC31 Back to Top Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame General User Member Since: 7/30/2010 Post Count: 4,125 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/20/2025 2:25:35 PM  I'm with FJC31 here and not really seeing how/why the season hinges on Kuany or Evans stepping up. If one of the two steps up, that would be a nice-to-have. But it doesn't strike me as a need, and there aren't even enough minutes to go around for both of them to get time. That we brought in two bigs is a pretty clear signal Boals doesn't expect at least one of Evans/Kuany to be in the rotation this year. Boals has had a three man frontcourt rotation for basically his entire tenure. The last time four front court players saw 10+ minutes was 2021-22 where Clayton & Towns both averaged 10mpg behing BVP & Carter. Seems pretty clear to me that Hadaway is going to spend time at both the 3 and the 4 and the frontcourt will be Breath/Simmons/Hadaway. We're unlikely to need many minutes from anybody else most nights. Back to Top berniebobcat General User Member Since: 11/23/2010 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Post Count: 301 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/20/2025 6:17:17 PM  Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote: I'm with FJC31 here and not really seeing how/why the season hinges on Kuany or Evans stepping up. If one of the two steps up, that would be a nice-to-have. But it doesn't strike me as a need, and there aren't even enough minutes to go around for both of them to get time. That we brought in two bigs is a pretty clear signal Boals doesn't expect at least one of Evans/Kuany to be in the rotation this year. Boals has had a three man frontcourt rotation for basically his entire tenure. The last time four front court players saw 10+ minutes was 2021-22 where Clayton & Towns both averaged 10mpg behing BVP & Carter. Seems pretty clear to me that Hadaway is going to spend time at both the 3 and the 4 and the frontcourt will be Breath/Simmons/Hadaway. We're unlikely to need many minutes from anybody else most nights. The missing element is injury. If any of our seasoned bigs goes down, we’re back behind the eight ball. That and the fact that none of the players you mentioned is really a center. A competent true big makes us a tough out. Back to Top Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame General User Member Since: 7/30/2010 Post Count: 4,125 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/21/2025 9:09:11 AM  berniebobcat wrote: Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote: I'm with FJC31 here and not really seeing how/why the season hinges on Kuany or Evans stepping up. If one of the two steps up, that would be a nice-to-have. But it doesn't strike me as a need, and there aren't even enough minutes to go around for both of them to get time. That we brought in two bigs is a pretty clear signal Boals doesn't expect at least one of Evans/Kuany to be in the rotation this year. Boals has had a three man frontcourt rotation for basically his entire tenure. The last time four front court players saw 10+ minutes was 2021-22 where Clayton & Towns both averaged 10mpg behing BVP & Carter. Seems pretty clear to me that Hadaway is going to spend time at both the 3 and the 4 and the frontcourt will be Breath/Simmons/Hadaway. We're unlikely to need many minutes from anybody else most nights. The missing element is injury. If any of our seasoned bigs goes down, we’re back behind the eight ball. That and the fact that none of the players you mentioned is really a center. A competent true big makes us a tough out. Breath is much more of a center than anybody else on our roster. And he's played a lot at the 5 in his career. Back to Top SBH General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Post Count: 4,372 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/21/2025 3:11:13 PM  berniebobcat wrote: Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote: I'm with FJC31 here and not really seeing how/why the season hinges on Kuany or Evans stepping up. If one of the two steps up, that would be a nice-to-have. But it doesn't strike me as a need, and there aren't even enough minutes to go around for both of them to get time. That we brought in two bigs is a pretty clear signal Boals doesn't expect at least one of Evans/Kuany to be in the rotation this year. Boals has had a three man frontcourt rotation for basically his entire tenure. The last time four front court players saw 10+ minutes was 2021-22 where Clayton & Towns both averaged 10mpg behing BVP & Carter. Seems pretty clear to me that Hadaway is going to spend time at both the 3 and the 4 and the frontcourt will be Breath/Simmons/Hadaway. We're unlikely to need many minutes from anybody else most nights. The missing element is injury. If any of our seasoned bigs goes down, we’re back behind the eight ball. That and the fact that none of the players you mentioned is really a center. A competent true big makes us a tough out. That's true of every MAC team. Back to Top OhioCatFan General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Athens, OH Post Count: 14,896 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/21/2025 4:48:15 PM  SBH wrote: berniebobcat wrote: Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote: I'm with FJC31 here and not really seeing how/why the season hinges on Kuany or Evans stepping up. If one of the two steps up, that would be a nice-to-have. But it doesn't strike me as a need, and there aren't even enough minutes to go around for both of them to get time. That we brought in two bigs is a pretty clear signal Boals doesn't expect at least one of Evans/Kuany to be in the rotation this year. Boals has had a three man frontcourt rotation for basically his entire tenure. The last time four front court players saw 10+ minutes was 2021-22 where Clayton & Towns both averaged 10mpg behing BVP & Carter. Seems pretty clear to me that Hadaway is going to spend time at both the 3 and the 4 and the frontcourt will be Breath/Simmons/Hadaway. We're unlikely to need many minutes from anybody else most nights. The missing element is injury. If any of our seasoned bigs goes down, we’re back behind the eight ball. That and the fact that none of the players you mentioned is really a center. A competent true big makes us a tough out. That's true of every MAC team. Not just MAC teams. The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA "It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right." Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org Back to Top GoCats105 General User Member Since: 1/31/2006 Location: Seattle, WA Post Count: 7,473 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/22/2025 10:52:23 AM  I think we as fans were spoiled for many years with Ohio's outside shooting prowess having Freeman, Kellogg and Dartis in successive years, and then it feels like it's sort of tapered off since Roderick's Junior year slump. But as bad as it seemed last year, Ohio was still 3rd in the MAC in 3pt % and 75th nationally. Not great, but not terrible either. My biggest issue was Sheldon (or anyone else) hitting the ones they "should" make. Wide open, uncontested, in rhythm when the offense is flowing with penetrations and kicks - those should be money most times and last year it just felt like they weren't. That being said, those shooting lanes should open up a lot more if Ohio has ANY kind of inside presence where we're not running a 6'2" guard into the 4 spot. Hard to get at a lot of good outside looks when the other team knows you don't have any muscle in the paint. That's why barring injury, any mix of bigs no matter who they are, is the key to the season for me. Ohio was absolutely dreadful last year in rebounding margin: 10th in the MAC and 295th nationally. Their FG% defense wasn't much better at 8th in the MAC and 282nd nationally. Basically Ohio either gave up a ton of easy buckets or if the opposing team got it inside, they had no way of stopping it. Back to Top Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame General User Member Since: 7/30/2010 Post Count: 4,125 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/22/2025 12:41:19 PM  GoCats105 wrote: I think we as fans were spoiled for many years with Ohio's outside shooting prowess having Freeman, Kellogg and Dartis in successive years, and then it feels like it's sort of tapered off since Roderick's Junior year slump. But as bad as it seemed last year, Ohio was still 3rd in the MAC in 3pt % and 75th nationally. Not great, but not terrible either. My biggest issue was Sheldon (or anyone else) hitting the ones they "should" make. Wide open, uncontested, in rhythm when the offense is flowing with penetrations and kicks - those should be money most times and last year it just felt like they weren't. That being said, those shooting lanes should open up a lot more if Ohio has ANY kind of inside presence where we're not running a 6'2" guard into the 4 spot. Hard to get at a lot of good outside looks when the other team knows you don't have any muscle in the paint. That's why barring injury, any mix of bigs no matter who they are, is the key to the season for me. Ohio was absolutely dreadful last year in rebounding margin: 10th in the MAC and 295th nationally. Their FG% defense wasn't much better at 8th in the MAC and 282nd nationally. Basically Ohio either gave up a ton of easy buckets or if the opposing team got it inside, they had no way of stopping it. We were actually worse defending the 3 than inside the arc. But very, very bad at both. Opponents shot 37.6% from 3 against us. 349th in the country. We basically made every single opponent a top 20 3p shooting team. Some of that, I'm sure, had to do with lack of size inside and perimeter defenders having to over-help on penetration and inlet passes. Hopefully more size inside helps. Back to Top Casper71 General User Member Since: 12/1/2006 Post Count: 3,097 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/22/2025 2:20:59 PM  Newsflash… Guard the three and give up the two. That is the way to play defense in college basketball nowadays. Most everybody has guys that can shoot the three if they are left wide open. Back to Top Buckeye to Bobcat General User Member Since: 9/10/2013 Post Count: 1,826 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/22/2025 6:44:04 PM  Casper71 wrote: Newsflash… Guard the three and give up the two. That is the way to play defense in college basketball nowadays. Most everybody has guys that can shoot the three if they are left wide open. Unfortunately in this league you need to carry a couple bruisers to survive in Cleveland. No bruisers, no getting out. That's just the reality of MACtion on the Hardwood. Athletes on the wings don't hurt, but carrying a guy who can eat space, get boards, and put you in foul trouble tend to be the dominant ballclubs of the league..... Back to Top OUcat General User Member Since: 10/13/2011 Post Count: 189 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/22/2025 11:12:29 PM  I think it's a combination of both. Prolific shooting teams (Miami, Ohio, Toledo) and solid/strong defensive teams (Akron, Kent) are the teams that consistently reach the MAC Tournament semis and finals. A pretty poor offensive (and barely .500 entering the MAC Tournament) Kent team with a really strong defense should have won the MAC Tournament 2 years ago. Prolific shooting Miami should have won it last year. The fact Akron won both may have been luck in some sense, but in reality the Zips were good enough to reach both finals with a team strong enough to defend and top of the league offensively. You got to get there to win it, and Akron did both times (and 3 of the last 4). Last Edited: 9/22/2025 11:14:05 PM by OUcat Back to Top shabamon General User Member Since: 11/17/2006 Location: Cincinnati Post Count: 6,937 Status: Offline     RE: Official beginning of practice.    Posted: 9/23/2025 9:43:29 AM  OUcat wrote: I think it's a combination of both. Prolific shooting teams (Miami, Ohio, Toledo) and solid/strong defensive teams (Akron, Kent) are the teams that consistently reach the MAC Tournament semis and finals. A pretty poor offensive (and barely .500 entering the MAC Tournament) Kent team with a really strong defense should have won the MAC Tournament 2 years ago. Prolific shooting Miami should have won it last year. The fact Akron won both may have been luck in some sense, but in reality the Zips were good enough to reach both finals with a team strong enough to defend and top of the league offensively. You got to get there to win it, and Akron did both times (and 3 of the last 4). You need some bruisers to win the MAC. You need a great guard or two to come out of the MAC and win in the Dance. Back to Top Showing Replies:   1 - 14  of 14 Posts Jump to Page:   1 View Other 'Ohio Basketball' Topics                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               WHO'S ONLINE There are 179 Active Visitors on BobcatAttack.com 178 Guests 1 Registered User:   Scott Woods There are no other users looking at this page.

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