With Trent gone, what do you all think the lineup will look like?

I admit, I had my hopes Trent would be back so we could finally see Miles and Trent on the floor at the same time. If Trent was smart, he would have stuck around for that so he could showcase himself at that position (he never liked playing center). Alas, we won't get to see it and with Trent gone Rose will go with a similar lineup like we had this year. My thoughts:

Center - Miles
Forward - Cummard
Forward - JT
Shooting Guard - Jimmer
Point Guard - Loyd

What I would like to see:

Center - Miles
Forward - Cummard
Forward - Anderson/McGregor
Shooting Guard - JT
Point Guard - Jimmer

I think with Trent gone McGregor will come off the bench to relieve Miles. I'd love to see them in together, but I don't think it's going to happen. I'd love to see a legitimate power forward, but I don't think it's going to happen either so once again we'll see JT starting. Rose has a fascination with outside shooters and not using the PG as a scoring threat.

I think it would be better to start Miles and another big man, whether McGregor or Anderson. Miles isn't the offensive threat Trent was, so another big body down low gives us more of an inside presence, plus rebounds. Not only that but last year we lived and died by the 3 way too much. Two outside shooting threats (Cummard and Jimmer) should suffice with the PG occasionally pulling up for the shot. This, of course, assumes Rose will continue to use the PG primarily as a passer and not a scorer as has been done at BYU for the past 30 years. If Rose decides to break away from precedent, then Jimmer should be the PG, JT the shooting guard and Cummard as small forward. That would give us 3 bombers with one of those capable of taking it to the rack, and 2 inside threats for rebounds, put-backs and low post moves. That would be my ideal and what I would do if I was coach.

How would those various scenarios work out for us defensively? Where would the strengths and weaknesses be?

I actually think Miles gives us a physical presence inside which will help with other people getting to the basket. He's a big physical guy, but I doubt he is going to be consistently double teamed like trent was. This ought to free up some space in the lanes for people like Jimmer who can drive.

gladejo wrote:

How would those various scenarios work out for us defensively? Where would the strengths and weaknesses be?

Defensively, I think it would work out this way.

With the likely lineup, Miles will do well guarding the post. Miles' defense was always better than Trent's. He has more of physical presence and does a pretty good job of moving his feet. If I recall correctly, he did better against Beaker (Luke Neville).

JT is a liability on defense at the forward spot. He's not big enough to put a body on any forwards that post up on him, and he can get pushed around.

Cummard plays awesome defense and shouldn't be a problem at all.

Jimmer is good on defense. He gets trapped a bit every now and then and falls for jukes, but he's definitely an improvement over Burgess on defense (don't ask me why they nominated Burgess for DPY). Jimmer moves his feet very well.

Loyd is quicker than Morgan, by far, but I've noticed he kind of gives up on defense. He has quick hands, though. He's not the type of player that's going to shut down the other teams point guard, so unfortunately don't count on anything spectacular from him.

If BYU goes with my ideal lineup, I'm not too sure how it would play out on defense. I haven't seen Anderson play defense. McGregor is solid at D. He moves quick and is aggressive, so he'll play well against other teams' power forwards. I really like the idea of two big guys down low on defense. Both Miles and McGregor/Anderson would be tough to box out. Not only that but any opponents taking it to the rack would have to deal with two big guys.

If JT plays shooting guard, unfortunately he's a liability on defense. He has quick hands and disrupts passing lanes, but has a hard time staying in front of quicker players. At SG JT will be up against some quicker players.

I know I am biased, but I think my ideal lineup would work out better on defense.

I know Emery is coming back, but I seriously doubt his legs will be in good enough condition to be the defensive specialist he was his freshman year. I hear Abouo is great at defense as well, so I could see him coming in as SG with Jimmer as point.

gunk you might be forgetting about LAMONT MORGAN,JACKSON EMERY, CHARLES ABOUO AND NOAH HARSTOCK.

my list would go as follows:

Center - Miles/McGregor
Power Forward - Cummard/Anderson/Harstock
Small Forward - JT/Abouo/Harstock
Shooting Guard -Jimmer/Loyd
Point Guard - Lamont/Emery

ABOUO, HARSTOCK AND EMERY should all give us a lift off the bench.