So what now. Omier can't play the whole game even if he can stay out of foul trouble.

Can the big European play some? He looks like he can move a bit at the end of the UCF game. Go small ball for 10-15 minutes a game. Thoughts?

We have no choice but to go small. Extremely small. The foreign big is nowhere near ready. I'm not even convinced we could get 5 minutes from him that aren't completely disastrous. This also forces Omier to play olay defense. He simply cannot be in foul trouble

It means zone.

Zone leads to offensive rebounds. If this tiny lineup goes zone we're going to get obliterated on the boards every game. Going zone would fix nothing

We struggle to make the NIT that's what

VJ gets backup minutes at the 5.

If you think that's crazy...For you old heads like me ..look up when Magic had to play center in Game 6 of the NBA Finals when Kareem was hurt

Stefano DiMera said:

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VJ gets backup minutes at the 5.

If you think that's crazy...For you old heads like me ..look up when Magic had to play center in Game 6 of the NBA Finals when Kareem was hurt

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Not apples to apples…VJ is 6'5" and not 6'9". And Magic played next to a 6'10" power forward who did a lot of the dirty work inside. I watched that game and the narrative was always over-blown.

Stefano DiMera said:

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VJ gets backup minutes at the 5.

If you think that's crazy...For you old heads like me ..look up when Magic had to play center in Game 6 of the NBA Finals when Kareem was hurt

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For the record, Magic is 6' 9", 220lb, whereas VJ is 6'4.5", 180. If you have to go 5 guard your probably playing catchup and full court press, if they break to the paint they're scoring whatever you do.

Jim Chones is really the one who anchored the center position on defense, not Magic. But the Media loves a narrative.

This is why I'd hoped we add another big in the portal. Someone who could play 5-10 minutes and simply bang in the paint and get some reps behind Omier and Josh O. Foul trouble happens and sadly injuries do too. Best to Josh O on his recovery so he can be back 100% next year.

We will be fine. A good coaching staff who knowingly chooses to go into a season with only 2 legit playable front court guys obviously has a contingency plan in place since the likelihood of 1 of those 2 fouling out or facing nagging injuries during the course of a 30+ game season is extremely high.

We will get to see that contingency plan starting tomorrow night.

Nobody on the free boards thought Josh was worth a damn anyway. According to these experts, he won't be missed.

In God we trust 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/AZG8MT6UWd

— Joshua Ojianwuna (@JoshuaOjianwuna) February 10, 2025

To quote the eloquent wit, Mickey Spillane: "We're Doomed."

IowaBear said:

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We have no choice but to go small. Extremely small. The foreign big is nowhere near ready. I'm not even convinced we could get 5 minutes from him that aren't completely disastrous. This also forces Omier to play olay defense. He simply cannot be in foul trouble

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Does he have a choice? He needs to grow up.

Quinton said:

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Celestine, VJ (already does it), and Love will have to bang and crash the boards hard. Up the tempo and try to run bigger line ups off the court. Mix Assemota in at times in Celestine's role.

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This. Asemota will need to be a contributor in the rotation. He will have to be the de facto backup center when Omier is out of the game. Love and Celestine will have to split minutes at the stretch 4 and we will play (extremely) small ball. Fortunately Love and VJ are good and elite rebounders for their position.

I still think we have a decent shot at the sweet 16 since matchups drive the tournament. Depending on our matchups we could go sweet 16 or even elite 8 if our opponent can't match our small ball lineups. Of course, the opposite could also be true.

You really think Asemota is capable of being the back up center? Dudes rail thin and will get absolutely dominated in the paint by any competent center. Imagine him trying to guard Roberts or Tugler from Houston… that would be pure comedy

IowaBear said:

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You really think Asemota is capable of being the back up center? Dudes rail thin and will get absolutely dominated in the paint by any competent center. Imagine him trying to guard Roberts or Tugler from Houston… that would be pure comedy

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Ummm....who would you prefer at backup center when Omier is out of the game? Love? Celestine? Roach?

I don't know…. Maybe an actual Center perhaps. Put Asemota at the 5 we may as well prepare for the opponent to score every single possession.
And you didn't answer my question.

You are arguing for the sake of arguing. We don't have an actual center on our roster behind Omier who is ready to play. Omier is not even a true center when you think about it.

I'm not arguing. I ask you a genuine question that you can't answer.
I'd rather see the foreign big play the 5. And he's no where near ready. But at least he wouldn't get pushed around every possession. Asemota is incredibly weak physically at this stage of his career (that'll improve over time)

Quinton said:

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Celestine, VJ (already does it), and Love will have to bang and crash the boards hard. Up the tempo and try to run bigger line ups off the court. Mix Assemota in at times in Celestine's role.

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Love had five or six boards on Saturday. I was pleased with how physical he was on both ends. We're going to need him to be more of a forward than guard on this roster.

bear2be2 said:

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Quinton said:

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Celestine, VJ (already does it), and Love will have to bang and crash the boards hard. Up the tempo and try to run bigger line ups off the court. Mix Assemota in at times in Celestine's role.

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Love had five or six boards on Saturday. I was pleased with how physical he was on both ends. We're going to need him to be more of a forward than guard on this roster.

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Love has always been a good rebounder. He and Celestine will have to split minutes at the stretch 4 (as awful as that sounds).

KIA said:

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Nobody on the free boards thought Josh was worth a damn anyway. According to these experts, he won't be missed.

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This isn't true. I've been a Josh O believer and defender for a long time. I love the guy.

IowaBear said:

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I'm not arguing. I ask you a genuine question that you can't answer.
I'd rather see the foreign big play the 5. And he's no where near ready. But at least he wouldn't get pushed around every possession. Asemota is incredibly weak physically at this stage of his career (that'll improve over time)

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You didn't ask a question I couldn't answer. Of course Asemota isn't a center. But he will have to play when Omier isn't in the game. We have no choice but to go small ball. The foreign big isn't even ready for garbage time.

bear2be2 said:

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KIA said:

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Nobody on the free boards thought Josh was worth a damn anyway. According to these experts, he won't be missed.

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This isn't true. I've been a Josh O believer and defender for a long time. I love the guy.

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You and I were among the few who respected Josh O for what he was: a big in the same vein as Thamba. A body who could clog the paint, set decent screens, mobile enough to switch on the perimeter for stretches. He is the equivalent of a mid level offensive lineman in football, you don't miss him until he's gone and there's no one to back him up.

boykin_spaniel said:

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This is why I'd hoped we add another big in the portal. Someone who could play 5-10 minutes and simply bang in the paint and get some reps behind Omier and Josh O. Foul trouble happens and sadly injuries do too. Best to Josh O on his recovery so he can be back 100% next year.

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We were all hard on the staff but apparently they swung for another big portal get and missed. I thought they should have brought in a solid big, could have been a physical forward. But they tried to hit a big one and then were left scrambling

Crawfoso1973 said:

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bear2be2 said:

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Quinton said:

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Celestine, VJ (already does it), and Love will have to bang and crash the boards hard. Up the tempo and try to run bigger line ups off the court. Mix Assemota in at times in Celestine's role.

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Love had five or six boards on Saturday. I was pleased with how physical he was on both ends. We're going to need him to be more of a forward than guard on this roster.

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Love has always been a good rebounder. He and Celestine will have to split minutes at the stretch 4 (as awful as that sounds).

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Love hasn't played in a month and is coming off a lower leg injury that has cost him most of two seasons. What he's always been doesn't encourage me as much as what he was on Saturday, if that makes sense.

He looked like himself, which could be a very good thing for us.

Yes, he looked great and was moving around like old times. Hopefully he can keep that up and doesn't get hurt again (knocks on wood).

Omier is going to have to stay on the floor nearly the whole entire. If he gets in foul trouble against good teams it's probably a wrap unless the offense is on fire.

We don't have a bridges type unfortunately, Celestine is playing ok and rebounding better. He is toughing it through injury so credit to him. But he just isn't that guy.

Toppin or even one of the Houston kids who only play half the game would have been great.

Quinton said:

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boykin_spaniel said:

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This is why I'd hoped we add another big in the portal. Someone who could play 5-10 minutes and simply bang in the paint and get some reps behind Omier and Josh O. Foul trouble happens and sadly injuries do too. Best to Josh O on his recovery so he can be back 100% next year.

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We were all hard on the staff but apparently they swung for another big portal get and missed. I thought they should have brought in a solid big, could have been a physical forward. But they tried to hit a big one and then were left scrambling

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We had an early commit from the 7ft. Forward, who decommitted and signed with LSU, where he has played in 4 games thus far on a 1-9 team in conference. LSU spells his name differently than we did, but the same guy.

I am blissfully ignorant of NIL machinations, but I have sensed a Baylor tendency to strenuously avoid paying for things you can get for nothing or less or avoid getting entirely. Our finite donor class would not likely have been inclined to pay the premium for back up Forwards --the premium that the market was giving last summer.

Always need a backup plan