Possibility?

[Phantom Warrior]

For those who seem somewhat puzzled by the Reinhardt commitment (assuming it's true) here's a thought.

Reinhardt has been described in two articles as a lock-down defender. Maybe Wojo envisions him as the best option to defend the 4 despite being 6'6". Jae defended the 4 his two years at MU, and he's 6'5". Lazar defended the 4 for four years, and he was listed as 6'6" (though at the NBA combine he was deemed to be closer to 6'4").

Maybe Wojo sees Reinhardt as a better option to defend the 4 than Sandy or JJ.

And maybe he sees this as a way to allow Sam to get his feet wet playing 12-16 mpg at the 4.

If Reinhardt can be that kind of defender, then he would be an ideal stretch 4 for one season even though he is listed as a 2 guard/small forward type.

Last year Blueitt played the 4 for Xavier and Jenkins played the 4 for Nova. Both are listed as 6'6". In terms of their offensive games, both play much more on the perimeter than they do inside.

In Wojo's offense, the 2, 3, and 4 are virtually interchangeable since it's a 4-out/1-in system. So on offense, it really does not matter which of those three positions Reinhardt is listed at.

I guess my only real question about this concept is whether or not Reinhardt can get defensive rebounds. His stats do not appear to indicate that he is all that effective on the glass. But who knows? Maybe that was because he was playing more of a 2 on defense at USC.

I guess we'll find out whether or not my hypothesis (Reinhardt defending the 4) is correct next year, but at this point it seems to make some sense, and it certainly seems preferable to JJ or HC or SC trying to defend the 4.

[IrwinFletcher]

Good point Phantom. I feel that everyone is caught up in finding a 4 who is 6'9" and weighs 240 pounds and is a ferocious rebounder. Well, there aren't many of those guys out there. So a coach has to adjust his thinking and build a roster in a different way.

During the Final Four, I looked at the roster of Villanova and was shocked how little size they have. Their #3 and #4 were 6'6" and 6'7". Now they were both bulky which helps, but they aren't the prototypical guys you may want in terms of rebounding. But Villanova had a roster built to do other things really well. They shoot extremely well and they play great defense. The Commentators talked about it during the NC game how hard Archie was battling when he was switched on to Johnson and that Villanova was putting so much ball pressure on the perimeter that it made it difficult for the ball to get inside.

Maybe we still get Young but to think he can jump in and give us 30 effective minutes isn't going to happen. Wojo needs to get guys that can fill his vision for the next season. Having a great on the ball defender will help for sure.

[Warriors69]

Seems Wojo is adjusting to Big East basketball

[TheSultan]

Good point Phantom. I feel that everyone is caught up in finding a 4 who is 6'9" and weighs 240 pounds and is a ferocious rebounder. Well, there aren't many of those guys out there. So a coach has to adjust his thinking and build a roster in a different way.


Agreed. I think this is the guy that Bangura alluded to as the grad transfer and I think Phantom is spot on that he will be guarding PF types. (And causing match up problems of his own on the defensive end.)

[2012Warrior]

We have been successful with a lack of height in the front court. However, this team's bigger issue is lack of strength in my opinion. Lazar and Crowder were much stronger than anyone we have. Even our guards are very thin. Comparing Duane, Sandy, and JJJ to Villanova is pretty striking from a strength perspective.

I always remember Prohm comparing our team to a football team.

[mcwman]

For me, I think the lack of shooting was a bigger concern. With 4 shooters on the floor, the bigs are forced to come out of the paint more. This will leave more lanes for mu to rebound in space. Last 3 years, defenses have been sagging extra people into lane because they knew we couldn't shoot. 4 new shooters on the team this year is key. Hay wards teams could shoot. crowder, djo, butler could shoot. Every team in ncaa that won shot really well from outside.

[MUAlphaBangura]

Agreed. I think this is the guy that Bangura alluded to as the grad transfer and I think Phantom is spot on that he will be guarding PF types. (And causing match up problems of his own on the defensive end.)

Not at all surprised by this commitment but this is not who I was alluding to. Still feel they are going after two 4's. I personally don't think KR will be playing any 4 unless things don't work out with Young and any grad transfer/juco prospects they are looking at.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I can't stress enough that Reinhardt doesn't rebound at all. As in despite being 6'6", he was 72nd out of 78 qualifying players in the Pac-12 in defensive rebounding percentage. He was the worst rebounder on his team not just last year, but every one of his three years. Mentioning him in the same breath as guys like Blueitt and Jenkins, both of whom are excellent rebounding guards, just doesn't make sense.

For Katin Reinhardt to provide even marginal rebounding at the 4 (as in a 12% DR%) would require a massive, massive outlier of a statistical year, and for him to reach average levels would pretty much require two of him on the floor at once. Jay Bee on Scoop put it well when he said Reinhardt is allergic to rebounds. He can shoot the ball, he defends without fouling, but he does not rebound. If he is the worst rebounder in the country at 6'6" or taller it would not surprise me in the least.

[kneelb4zerg]

I can't stress enough that Reinhardt doesn't rebound at all. As in despite being 6'6", he was 72nd out of 78 qualifying players in the Pac-12 in defensive rebounding percentage. He was the worst rebounder on his team not just last year, but every one of his three years. Mentioning him in the same breath as guys like Blueitt and Jenkins, both of whom are excellent rebounding guards, just doesn't make sense.

For Katin Reinhardt to provide even marginal rebounding at the 4 (as in a 12% DR%) would require a massive, massive outlier of a statistical year, and for him to reach average levels would pretty much require two of him on the floor at once. Jay Bee on Scoop put it well when he said Reinhardt is allergic to rebounds. He can shoot the ball, he defends without fouling, but he does not rebound. If he is the worst rebounder in the country at 6'6" or taller it would not surprise me in the least.

The OP was about defense not rebounding. Your insistence upon being the smartest person in the room is ... off-putting.

[MUAlphaBangura]

The OP was about defense not rebounding. Your insistence upon being the smartest person in the room is ... off-putting.

My take on Brew's comments are that if MU is planning on playing KR at the 4, he better damn well rebound the ball because nobody else will. Doesn't really matter how well he can guard the opposing 4(which imo would be a for sure compromise), that spot has to rebound for us. Yet KR has shown no ability to be a rebounder in his collegiate career. But many here continue to think KR can play minutes at the 4. I agree with Brew on this, and as I stated previously, I really don't think he will be playing the 4 spot for any extended minutes barring an inability to recruit one this spring. If he is getting large minutes at the 4, we are in trouble.

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

The OP was about defense not rebounding. Your insistence upon being the smartest person in the room is ... off-putting.

The OP definitely asked about rebounding in his post... a bit aggressive on your part here.

[Goose85]

My take on Brew's comments are that if MU is planning on playing KR at the 4, he better damn well rebound the ball because nobody else will. Doesn't really matter how well he can guard the opposing 4(which imo would be a for sure compromise), that spot has to rebound for us. Yet KR has shown no ability to be a rebounder in his collegiate career. But many here continue to think KR can play minutes at the 4. I agree with Brew on this, and as I stated previously, I really don't think he will be playing the 4 spot for any extended minutes barring an inability to recruit one this spring. If he is getting large minutes at the 4, we are in trouble.

While he may not play what we consider the traditional 4, I can't see him transferring here if he didn't think he was going to play a lot of minutes.
Based on last year, I think JJ gets plenty of time at the 3. I would think Hauser will get some back up minutes at the '4' too. I could see KR getting time at the 3 too, but I would think JJ gets a lot of minutes, so I think KR will have to play the 4 to get minutes.

HC, Rowsey, Wilson will get the minutes at the 2 and maybe even point with Carter and Howard getting the minutes at the point.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

While he may not play what we consider the traditional 4, I can't see him transferring here if he didn't think he was going to play a lot of minutes.
Based on last year, I think JJ gets plenty of time at the 3. I would think Hauser will get some back up minutes at the '4' too. I could see KR getting time at the 3 too, but I would think JJ gets a lot of minutes, so I think KR will have to play the 4 to get minutes.

HC, Rowsey, Wilson will get the minutes at the 2 and maybe even point with Carter and Howard getting the minutes at the point.

I agree that he wouldn't transfer here is there weren't opportunity for minutes. But the guy has shown nothing in terms of rebounding ability. Maybe he could defend 4s, but if that's the case, either he needs to seriously step up or we need someone like Haanif or Jajuan to crash the glass hard because both have shown better acumen for rebounding.

Honestly, the guy that looks like he might be most important to next year's team right now is Sandy. He's the only G/F player that has shown any real ability to go get a loose ball (other than Wally, but he didn't prove he could play big minutes) and I just can't see Wojo running out a lineup that can't rebound after seeing the past year. Our coaching staff isn't stupid, they know we have serious rebounding deficiencies and know it needs to be addressed.

The Reinhardt recruitment, more than anything, just makes me think there's another shoe to drop. There's no one on this roster I really want to see leave, but I just don't see any way that Reinhardt, JJ, Duane, Haanif, Traci, Rowsey, Cohen, Howard, Hauser, Wally, and Anim share 160 minutes at the 1-4 positions. Especially as the first 7 of those 11 players averaged 188.4 minutes combined in their most recent seasons of eligibility.

This is all about roster makeup. It's been noted we are still clearly after Young and other transfer targets. We're full up. Someone has to be leaving, more likely 2-3 someones. We are incredibly thin up front, even if we go four guards because when you do that you need some guys to play bigger than their size, especially on the glass. But adding Young and another immediately eligible forward means subtracting two of those eleven listed above.

And guys...you don't have to defend me against zerg. His natural response as we've all seen 1000 times when he doesn't have anything to say is to lash out with personal attacks and zero substance responses. I won't be offended by someone who decides that being a snarky ass is preferable to engaging actual discussion.

[MU_Iceman]

I agree that he wouldn't transfer here is there weren't opportunity for minutes. But the guy has shown nothing in terms of rebounding ability. Maybe he could defend 4s, but if that's the case, either he needs to seriously step up or we need someone like Haanif or Jajuan to crash the glass hard because both have shown better acumen for rebounding.

Honestly, the guy that looks like he might be most important to next year's team right now is Sandy. He's the only G/F player that has shown any real ability to go get a loose ball (other than Wally, but he didn't prove he could play big minutes) and I just can't see Wojo running out a lineup that can't rebound after seeing the past year. Our coaching staff isn't stupid, they know we have serious rebounding deficiencies and know it needs to be addressed.

The Reinhardt recruitment, more than anything, just makes me think there's another shoe to drop. There's no one on this roster I really want to see leave, but I just don't see any way that Reinhardt, JJ, Duane, Haanif, Traci, Rowsey, Cohen, Howard, Hauser, Wally, and Anim share 160 minutes at the 1-4 positions. Especially as the first 7 of those 11 players averaged 188.4 minutes combined in their most recent seasons of eligibility.

This is all about roster makeup. It's been noted we are still clearly after Young and other transfer targets. We're full up. Someone has to be leaving, more likely 2-3 someones. We are incredibly thin up front, even if we go four guards because when you do that you need some guys to play bigger than their size, especially on the glass. But adding Young and another immediately eligible forward means subtracting two of those eleven listed above.

And guys...you don't have to defend me against zerg. His natural response as we've all seen 1000 times when he doesn't have anything to say is to lash out with personal attacks and zero substance responses. I won't be offended by someone who decides that being a snarky ass is preferable to engaging actual discussion.


To me, one way to offset the rebounding issue(s) is to not miss shots and run, run run(easy baskets in transition)...at least that takes care of the offensive rebounding issues. MU will have enough really good shooters on the floor now that they will be able to light it up from distance which will be a big help. I also think WOJO now has a roster that will alow him to play the running style he truly prefers, and perhaps we will see some pressing and trapping as well.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

To me, one way to offset the rebounding issue(s) is to not miss shots and run, run run(easy baskets in transition)...at least that takes care of the offensive rebounding issues. MU will have enough really good shooters on the floor now that they will be able to light it up from distance which will be a big help. I also think WOJO now has a roster that will alow him to play the running style he truly prefers, and perhaps we will see some pressing and trapping as well.

There's definitely some merit to this. 14 of the top 23 teams in the country in terms of eFG% were in the tournament, and 4 of the remaining 9 would have been NCAA teams had tourney seedings held (Belmont, St. Mary's, North Florida) or not for sanctions (SMU). So if you're elite at scoring efficiently, you can overcome rebounding deficiencies (those 23 teams were all over the board in terms of rebounding, including 7 teams that were below average on both the offensive and defensive glass).

eFG% is king in terms of statistics, and if we among the top teams in that category, we'll always have a chance. That said, I just really hope we have some more big bodies to contest with the teams in this league.