[Xs and Joes #3] Roster Construction: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
In Episode 3 of Xs and Joes, Mike Wiemuth (iu-in-philly) and Bob Moats (cbobmoats) dive into what makes for good roster construction and analyze a few of this season’s rosters from across the country.
In this episode …
Segment 1: A High Performing Roster: A simple yet very difficult thing to do.
1) Follow the Shoe/Follow the Gourd: How do we, oftentimes, miss the point of Rankin/Bass by thinking that “misfits” have clear, binary paths?
2) The Sweet Spot Performance Curve: Why are OADs better than most other freshmen but are, usually, not as good as Sweet Spot Upperclassmen? (Charts)
3) The only thing that matters…is it working? Can the Good, the Bad and the Ugly basically be the same thing?
Segment 2: Model Rosters: Who they are and how are they performing
1) UConn: Could they be the last to “do it this way”? What the model program actually looks like. (Team Sheet 1)
2) Kentucky: Is this your dad’s UK team? How shooting has changed some things in Lexington. (Team Sheet 2)
3) Michigan State: Can you blame players for “effort” or is there shared responsibility here? The parts can be greater than the sum. (Team Sheet 3)
Segment 3: Misfit Rosters: What are they trying to do and how are they doing it?
1) Purdue: Can a true system-scoring-based team actually achieve at the highest level? Just how much can you exponentially increase the sum of the parts. (Team Sheet 1)
2) Houston: Will they continue to stifle in the toughest conference in D1? Small ball and lockdown faces a great overall test. (Team Sheet 2)
3) Indiana: Do they have what it takes to get somewhere? Is the gun loaded or do they need a shovel? (Team Sheet 3)
Segment 4: Results
You will not win a National Title, a Conference Title or even gain a tournament berth in the first half of the season, but you certainly can lose one. Where do you need to be at the end?
cisco academie
Wonderful show. I wish everyone would stop and watch / listen to this before making hot takes. I am always struggling with which is more important to get put in place first. I realize you have to have both but it seems to me like you have to have your system figured out first and then start collecting and developing your talent. When I think of UVA, Houston, Purdue, Wisconsin, UConn, Nova (Jay W. era) or MSU I recognize their overall system and when a new kid is recruited or promoted into the lineup, I can immediately see how they are going to fit. I honestly don't really understand what systems IU is trying to run and as a result, I see us just chasing various players primarily based on size or athleticism. Not having the success of a Kentucky or Duke means we won't get enough of those guys to give us their level of success. On the other side, I don't see enough in our recruiting / developing classes to take advantage of experience / age to counter the one and dones. Mike has always talked about getting that "foundation" class in the first three years that sort of comes together and then helps propel you into the future. I know we have the portal now, but it seems like portal when used in the best way (Purdue, UConn, Wisconsin as examples) gives you a missing piece or two but is not your whole roster creation. I hope some of your optimism happens for Woody and IU but a coach at his age that still seems to be trying to land his first foundation class that make take 2-3 years to develop just doesn't seem very likely to me. Sorry for the rant.
Easily the biggest problem with this team was our roster construction. Sparks and Walker simply made no sense as transfers when we had X coming off foot surgery and a true freshman as our only 2 pg options. Woody whiffed BAD missing on every single guard portal target. Also We basically have 3 open scholarships (open scholarship, Anthony Leal, Jakai newton injury)