Minute breakdown

[Sean Miller Fan]

PG Femi 32 Ezeakudo 8
SG Horton 32 Santos 8
SF Jeffress 32 Santos 8
PF Gueye 30 Oladapo or Payton 10
C Hugley 30 Collier 10

Burton gets some of Santos's minutes when he gets back.

 

[Drew1208]

PG Femi 32 Ezeakudo 8
SG Horton 32 Santos 8
SF Jeffress 32 Santos 8
PF Gueye 30 Oladapo or Payton 10
C Hugley 30 Collier 10

Burton gets some of Santos's minutes when he gets back.

Burton may get time at the 1,2,3, not sure with that wild card but i pretty much agree with you got.

 

[Vader_Storm]

PG Femi 32 Ezeakudo 8
SG Horton 32 Santos 8
SF Jeffress 32 Santos 8
PF Gueye 30 Oladapo or Payton 10
C Hugley 30 Collier 10

Burton gets some of Santos's minutes when he gets back.

What I want to see with Burton back

Pg- Femi-34 Burton-6
Sg- Horton- 34 Burton-6
Sf- Burton- 18, Jeffress- 12, Santos-10
Pf- Gueye- 25 Payton-10 Oladapo / Collier-5
C- Hugley-28 Gueye-6 Amadasun / Oladapo-6

This obviously changes as players progress during the season, but I am riding the trio of Femi, Horton, and Burton heavy assuming / hoping Burton comes back close to 100%.

Its not going to be this cut and dry as players are going to get hurt, get pulled, etc.. as the season goes, but if Burton is good enough for a ranked Texas Tech team with Chris Beard to play 20 minutes a game with 4 starts on a loaded backcourt at Texas Tech, he is going to play a lot here.

Jeffress / Santos minutes get impacted on the hot hand vs Jeffress defensive ability.

And I do not like Collier at Center.

 

[pittchagg]

no point in doing it with Burton not included - seems like he’ll be back soon.

1 - Femi 32, Burton 5, Ezeakudo 3
2 - Horton 24, Burton 16
3 - Jeffress 20, Burton 10, Payton 6, Santos 4
4 - Gueye 18, Oladapo 10, Payton 8, Collier 4
5 - Hugley 22, Gueye 10, Collier 4, Amadasun 2

Total minutes - Femi 32, Gueye 28, Burton 26, Horton 24, Hugley 22, Jeffress 20, Payton 14, Oladapo 10, Collier 8, Santos 4, Amadasun 2

 

[Drew1208]

What I want to see with Burton back

Pg- Femi-34 Burton-6
Sg- Horton- 34 Burton-6
Sf- Burton- 18, Jeffress- 12, Santos-10
Pf- Gueye- 25 Payton-10 Oladapo / Collier-5
C- Hugley-28 Gueye-6 Amadasun / Oladapo-6

This obviously changes as players progress during the season, but I am riding the trio of Femi, Horton, and Burton heavy assuming / hoping Burton comes back close to 100%.

Its not going to be this cut and dry as players are going to get hurt, get pulled, etc.. as the season goes, but if Burton is good enough for a ranked Texas Tech team with Chris Beard to play 20 minutes a game with 4 starts on a loaded backcourt at Texas Tech, he is going to play a lot here.

Jeffress / Santos minutes get impacted on the hot hand vs Jeffress defensive ability.

And I do not like Collier at Center.

I think you'll see Noah at the 5 whether you like it or not

 

[gary2]

no point in doing it with Burton not included - seems like he’ll be back soon.

1 - Femi 32, Burton 5, Ezeakudo 3
2 - Horton 24, Burton 16
3 - Jeffress 20, Burton 10, Payton 6, Santos 4
4 - Gueye 18, Oladapo 10, Payton 8, Collier 4
5 - Hugley 22, Gueye 10, Collier 4, Amadasun 2

Total minutes - Femi 32, Gueye 28, Burton 26, Horton 24, Hugley 22, Jeffress 20, Payton 14, Oladapo 10, Collier 8, Santos 4, Amadasun 2

From early indications, I think Santos plays a lot more than your 4 minutes.

 

[gary2]

I think you'll see Noah at the 5 whether you like it or not

I think he starts as the backup 5.

Max is coming on. I think Max passes him as a 5.

 

[pittchagg]

From early indications, I think Santos plays a lot more than your 4 minutes.

Could definitely be the case. And he’s absolutely gonna play a whole lot more than that until Burton’s healthy. But I’m a little bullish on Jeffress’ showing enough offense to stay on the floor - if he just can’t score, I think Santos eats into his minutes.

 

[Vader_Storm]

I think you'll see Noah at the 5 whether you like it or not

He better start rebounding. His OR last year was 5 and DR rebound rate was 11. Those rebound rates are far beyond bad. He played 7 minutes against Gannon and he had 1 rebound with a + / - of zero.

If he doesn't do something, he isn't going to play at all and someone else is going to get the chance rather soon. Im not picking on him, but you cannot be this bad on the glass, especially at center.

 

[Drew1208]

He better start rebounding. His OR last year was 5 and DR rebound rate was 11. Those rebound rates are far beyond bad. He played 7 minutes against Gannon and he had 1 rebound with a + / - of zero.

If he doesn't do something, he isn't going to play at all and someone else is going to get the chance rather soon. Im not picking on him, but you cannot be this bad on the glass, especially at center.

I understand.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Ezeakudo 8

That would be a very, very bad thing.

 

[pittjas]

I mean I understand this is college basketball and not minor league baseball or something so Capel is going to play who gives him the best chance to win at all times (which I agree with obviously)…

But some of these projections have Jeffress playing like 10 minutes. He needs to earn a bigger role this year for the sake of the program moving forward IMO. Has a ceiling that not many others do but unfortunately I just still don’t know how much he’ll be able to do offensively.

 

[Drew1208]

I mean I understand this is college basketball and not minor league baseball or something so Capel is going to play who gives him the best chance to win at all times (which I agree with obviously)…

But some of these projections have Jeffress playing like 10 minutes. He needs to earn a bigger role this year for the sake of the program moving forward IMO. Has a ceiling that not many others do but unfortunately I just still don’t know how much he’ll be able to do offensively.

Jeffress and Hugley are the huge developments we need to see this year for next year. We should see them as much better by the end of the season than the beginning.

 

[pittjas]

Jeffress and Hugley are the huge developments we need to see this year for next year. We should see them as much better by the end of the season than the beginning.

Yes that should be the main goal for this year.., if Femi, Will, and John can all actually be on the 22-23 roster AND ready to all be above average ACC players, paired with Mintz and the other role players, we maybe could finally have something

 

[whirlybird optio]

no point in doing it with Burton not included - seems like he’ll be back soon.

1 - Femi 32, Burton 5, Ezeakudo 3
2 - Horton 24, Burton 16
3 - Jeffress 20, Burton 10, Payton 6, Santos 4
4 - Gueye 18, Oladapo 10, Payton 8, Collier 4
5 - Hugley 22, Gueye 10, Collier 4, Amadasun 2

Total minutes - Femi 32, Gueye 28, Burton 26, Horton 24, Hugley 22, Jeffress 20, Payton 14, Oladapo 10, Collier 8, Santos 4, Amadasun 2

Will he? The Rothstein tweet indicated it would be “weeks” until he’s cleared for contact drills. That seems like he could miss most, if not all of November.

I think that projection seems pretty close except I don’t have any clue on the backup frontcourt. Oladapo is just going to get killed athletically, and with quickness in the league.
I think Santos plays more than that, even when Burton gets back. You also can see with that lineup that any sort of foul trouble at really any spot and we are in a world of trouble.

The key guy in all of this right now, well there are 2, are Burton and Jeffress. I have moderate hopes for Burton but he hasn’t even played a game for us yet and we don’t know how he will look post injury. Jeffress really has an opportunity right now. He needs to be active, bring energy, run, and he’ll have open shots that he needs to hit. If he has a good first couple games, I think he stays in locked as the starter at the 3. He also could get some minutes if we go really small and play him at the 4 alongside Hugley or Gueye. He just has the frame of a kid who could play 3 positions if you need him to.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I know that it is fun to speculate this way--But, IMHO, from a practical standpoint it is too early for this kind of speculation to be anything more than a WAG.

We don't really know much of anything about how this team will ultimately shake out.

Capel's past Pitt offerings have looked bad very early, looked pretty good later and then collapsed toward the end.

What do we really know?

They apparently lost a scrimmage to Maryland 56-72 and played a bad first vs Gannon. we have no idea how the various players, especially the new additions, have looked in practice.

I don't think we will really know how really bad, bad, not very bad, or even possibly decent this team will be until it has played at least 4-5 games. Capel will probbably be tinkering with his lineups and minutes for at least that long, IMO.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

no point in doing it with Burton not included - seems like he’ll be back soon.

1 - Femi 32, Burton 5, Ezeakudo 3
2 - Horton 24, Burton 16
3 - Jeffress 20, Burton 10, Payton 6, Santos 4
4 - Gueye 18, Oladapo 10, Payton 8, Collier 4
5 - Hugley 22, Gueye 10, Collier 4, Amadasun 2

Total minutes - Femi 32, Gueye 28, Burton 26, Horton 24, Hugley 22, Jeffress 20, Payton 14, Oladapo 10, Collier 8, Santos 4, Amadasun 2

Will he? The Rothstein tweet indicated it would be “weeks” until he’s cleared for contact drills. That seems like he could miss most, if not all of November.

I think that projection seems pretty close except I don’t have any clue on the backup frontcourt. Oladapo is just going to get killed athletically, and with quickness in the league.
I think Santos plays more than that, even when Burton gets back. You also can see with that lineup that any sort of foul trouble at really any spot and we are in a world of trouble.

The key guy in all of this right now, well there are 2, are Burton and Jeffress. I have moderate hopes for Burton but he hasn’t even played a game for us yet and we don’t know how he will look post injury. Jeffress really has an opportunity right now. He needs to be active, bring energy, run, and he’ll have open shots that he needs to hit. If he has a good first couple games, I think he stays in locked as the starter at the 3. He also could get some minutes if we go really small and play him at the 4 alongside Hugley or Gueye. He just has the frame of a kid who could play 3 positions if you need him to.

By the time, Burton is back and is in game shape, its going to be late December or January so its really like 2 seasons. 1 without Burton being a major contributor and 1 with

 

[4Mark_Marty]

He better start rebounding. His OR last year was 5 and DR rebound rate was 11. Those rebound rates are far beyond bad. He played 7 minutes against Gannon and he had 1 rebound with a + / - of zero.

If he doesn't do something, he isn't going to play at all and someone else is going to get the chance rather soon. Im not picking on him, but you cannot be this bad on the glass, especially at center.

I was at the exhibition, and I saw nothing from Collier. Oladapo and Payton are at least active on the glass. Collier just looks lost.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I was at the exhibition, and I saw nothing from Collier. Oladapo and Payton are at least active on the glass. Collier just looks lost.

If Collier turns out like Drumgoole and Jeffress doesn't develop into anything more than a role player, that would be a terrible sign for Capel's recruiting considering all were Top 100ish level recruits.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

If Collier turns out like Drumgoole and Jeffress doesn't develop into anything more than a role player, that would be a terrible sign for Capel's recruiting considering all were Top 100ish level recruits.

Recruiting or development? Collier looks the exact same as last year.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Recruiting or development? Collier looks the exact same as last year.

So did Jeffress. But I would say recruiting. A lot of luck is involved in development.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

So did Jeffress. But I would say recruiting. A lot of luck is involved in development.

Jeffress looked improved IMO.

 

[DT_PITT]

Jeffress looked improved IMO.

Hope so -- I'm not quite so convinced as of yet, but we are certainly going to need him now more than ever.

 

[DT_PITT]

no point in doing it with Burton not included - seems like he’ll be back soon.

1 - Femi 32, Burton 5, Ezeakudo 3
2 - Horton 24, Burton 16
3 - Jeffress 20, Burton 10, Payton 6, Santos 4
4 - Gueye 18, Oladapo 10, Payton 8, Collier 4
5 - Hugley 22, Gueye 10, Collier 4, Amadasun 2

Total minutes - Femi 32, Gueye 28, Burton 26, Horton 24, Hugley 22, Jeffress 20, Payton 14, Oladapo 10, Collier 8, Santos 4, Amadasun 2

When Burton returns, I don't expect Santos, Max or Payton to be part of a regular rotation. Playing nine would be plenty.

Many folks seem to think Santos will see an increased role -- I'd be a kinda surprised by that. Freshman with pedigrees like Nate don't usually get a regular role.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

When Burton returns, I don't expect Santos, Max or Payton to be part of a regular rotation. Playing nine would be plenty.

Many folks seem to think Santos will see an increased role -- I'd be a kinda surprised by that. Freshman with pedigrees like Nate don't usually get a regular role.

When Burton is in game shape

PG Femi 32 Burton 8 (or Horton or Onye)
SG Horton 32 Burton 8
SF Jeffress 30 Burton 10

4 guys playing 3 positions basically. Spot duty for Santos

PF Gueye 30 (Oladapo/Payton 10)
C Hugley 30 (Collier 10)

I am not sure Collier is ready to play at this level, especially the 5 so I wouldn't be surprised to see this:

PF Gueye 20 (Oladapo/Payton 20)
C Hugley 30 Gueye 10

 

[Vader_Storm]

If Collier turns out like Drumgoole and Jeffress doesn't develop into anything more than a role player, that would be a terrible sign for Capel's recruiting considering all were Top 100ish level recruits.

Collier ended up 316th on 247s final rankings. He had a massive drop because he didn't perform all that well in the EYBL on a team that simply was average in the EYBL which is a double red flag. His drop was justified. Maybe not as much as he actually dropped because he still has potential with his major athletic ability, but he was always going to be a major project on offense. I called for him to redshirt last year long before last season even started. He was ranked high early on because of his athletic ability and potential. Teams like Uconn and Syracuse quit recruiting him.


Jeffress is different because he was only 17 last year, the youngest acc player in 40 years. He wasn't a big scorer in the EYBL but showed both a midrange game and 3 point shooting game his final season in high school. The competition was weak, but he at least showcased the ability to make open shots when he is open. Last year he missed a great number of wide open shots. He needs to make those. Jeffress is still a young 18 in college right now. He needs to be given at least another full year to really develop. The potential is there and he has shown the ability to make plays on offense and defense in spurts. This year, he needs to be more consistent on both ends.

The summer league stats are important along with being a contender. If you aren't producing in the summer league at an efficient level, you are likely not producing in college at least for 2 full years. The exception to this is, if you are playing on a loaded team that is contending for a peach jam title that is loaded with highly ranked players. Buchanan's recruiting was hurt by this because he played behind a really big 3 of Mintz, Rice, and Whitehead. The difference is, Buchanan's stats were still very respectable, and Team Durant was one of the best teams in the country. Team Durant players are underrated, both in 2022 and 2023 for what they accomplished and did over the summer. The offer sheets of players like Amani Hansberry, a team Durant stud we are recruiting hard, his national ranking is way off. When Kansas is recruiting you, some people should take that more seriously.

 

[DT_PITT]

When Burton is in game shape

PG Femi 32 Burton 8 (or Horton or Onye)
SG Horton 32 Burton 8
SF Jeffress 30 Burton 10

4 guys playing 3 positions basically. Spot duty for Santos

PF Gueye 30 (Oladapo/Payton 10)
C Hugley 30 (Collier 10)

I am not sure Collier is ready to play at this level, especially the 5 so I wouldn't be surprised to see this:

PF Gueye 20 (Oladapo/Payton 20)
C Hugley 30 Gueye 10

I agree with just about all of this -- but I do think Collier will have a regular spot, if even just a few minutes a game.

 

[gary2]

When Burton returns, I don't expect Santos, Max or Payton to be part of a regular rotation. Playing nine would be plenty.

Many folks seem to think Santos will see an increased role -- I'd be a kinda surprised by that. Freshman with pedigrees like Nate don't usually get a regular role.

Santos played a lot in the intra squad game with Nike available. Santos played a lot against Gannon.

I am guessing Capel likes Santos and feels he needs what Santos can provide regardless of pedigree.

I thought Santos had somewhat of a pedigree before his injury?

 

[Vader_Storm]

Santos played a lot in the intra squad game with Nike available. Santos played a lot against Gannon.

I am guessing Capel likes Santos and feels he needs what Santos can provide regardless of pedigree.

I thought Santos had somewhat of a pedigree before his injury?

Santos hasn't played in a summer league game in 3 years. He missed years of exposure because of his former injuries and because of covid. Unless a person was scouting the Nepsac and watching Nepsac games which is one of the toughest high school / prep leagues in the country, there was no opportunity for anyone to scout him. His one prep year in the Nepsac, his stats were quite good and his team was the Nepsac A Champion. His stats were right in line with Matt Cross in Nepsac competition.

Jeff Capel has raved about his shooting multiple times. Making them in the Nepsac and in practice vs making them in D1 games isn't the same thing, however.

 

[DT_PITT]

Santos played a lot in the intra squad game with Nike available. Santos played a lot against Gannon.

I am guessing Capel likes Santos and feels he needs what Santos can provide regardless of pedigree.

I thought Santos had somewhat of a pedigree before his injury?

Everyone played a lot in the intra squad. Nonetheless, we think differently but we'll see, as it indeed only matters what Capel thinks.

 

[Vader_Storm]

Everyone played a lot in the intra squad. Nonetheless, we think differently but we'll see, as it indeed only matters what Capel thinks.

In the end, its play in real games which is going to matter and determine things. Gerald Drumgoole started once too. He went from a starter to a role player to a bench sitter to a transfer rather quickly.

 

[gary2]

In the end, its play in real games which is going to matter and determine things. Gerald Drumgoole started once too. He went from a starter to a role player to a bench sitter to a transfer rather quickly.

I am not saying Santos is going to be a Justin.

Santos did play twice as many minutes in those two events than 5 or 6 other players competing for time. I don’t. see any reason for that to end with. Nike out.

I would hope for a Ryan Murphy level of performance before the concussion.

 

[Vader_Storm]

I am not saying Santos is going to be a Justin.

Santos did play twice as many minutes in those two events than 5 or 6 other players competing for time. I don’t. see any reason for that to end with. Nike out.

I would hope for a Ryan Murphy level of performance before the concussion.

If Santos makes 3's consistently he is going to eat into others players playing time. Its pretty simple really. By making 3's he is going to command time on a team that desperately needs another 3 point shooter to help spread the floor.


You cant just judge a book by an early cover. And what I mean by that is, what a player does in a meaningless scrimmage or in practice is pretty much meaningless. Its what happens during the course of the actual season during actual games that count.

I mean, the perfect example as of late is really Parker Stewart. In Parker Stewart's first 5 college games, he was 4-22 shooting for 18% and he was 3-17 shooting from 3 for 17% his first 5 college games. Then, as the season progressed and he got confidence, he started making a bevy of shots. The same thing happened with Femi last year who came out of the gate very slow with a broken arm in the preseason then proceeded to play at a far higher level.

Its going to take at least 10 games to get an idea of what these guys are going to really bring to the table this year. Obviously coming out of the gate shooting well sooner rather than later will help things.

 

[DT_PITT]

I am not saying Santos is going to be a Justin.

Santos did play twice as many minutes in those two events than 5 or 6 other players competing for time. I don’t. see any reason for that to end with. Nike out.

I would hope for a Ryan Murphy level of performance before the concussion.

I believe that’s a far too optimistic hope.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

but he at least showcased the ability to make open shots when he is open

What this team could really use is a guy who can make open shots even when he is being closely guarded!

 

[WillFerrell]

I think Hortons numbers might be a little lower. Just a wild guess.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I think Hortons numbers might be a little lower. Just a wild guess.

PG - Femi 20 Ezeakudo 20
SG - Femi 20 Santos 20
SF - Jefress 30 Santos 10

 

[whirlybird optio]

PG - Femi 20 Ezeakudo 20
SG - Femi 20 Santos 20
SF - Jefress 30 Santos 10

I’m guessing more like:

PG - Femi 25 Eze 15
SG - Santos 20, Femi 10, Jeffress 10
SF - Jeffress 20 Payton 15 Santos 5
PF - Gueye 30 Collier 10
C - Hugley 30, oladapo 10

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Ezeakudo 20

That would be a very, very bad thing.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

That would be a very, very bad thing.

Yea but he is a legit NEC-level PG so its not like he's your "regular" D3-level walk-on