Originally Posted by FlyerinChicago
I don’t share your false optimism or positive illusion when it comes to the flyers. Been burned too many times. When we garner one player out the 100 we look at, that’s bad. I love our coach and AD, but we may have a couple rough years ahead without more talent coming in—and soon.
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I can appreciate the historical point. There is a difference today that will need more seasoning before Flyer fans buy all in. The next 1-3 years will play out and we’ll all know if it’s bankable.
That difference is AG & Staff’s ability to find and land the skill sets and athleticism in a recruit to fit their system and then the ability to develop those players.
That’s what they accomplished last year. No one in our starting line up was an elite - everyone was after them - recruit out of high school. The closest was our 6th man Ibi and then Crutcher. (Johnson is also in that elite category, but injury has impacted his college career and the jury is still out.) Clutch and Ibi should have monster years this year, but it’s the development of the next 4-6 players that will tell us how great AG &Staff are at finding the right recruits to fit their system. That group includes Chatman, Jordy, Moulaye, Zimi and a freshman or two coming in ready to contribute.
We are replacing roles, leadership and offensive and defensive contributions.
Obi - I think Ibi and Johnson can do that. It will be a little different, but it might be harder to defend because it’s two players to stop vs. one.
Trey - I think Jordy and Moulaye will need to step up to take over Trey’s blue-collar roles for rebounds and defense. I consider this the biggest question mark. Johnson might also play big here.
Ryan - I think Crutcher already took on the “ glue” duties at the end of last year, so we need to replace Ryan’s offense and defense. This will be Zimi and the incoming freshman challenge.
Somewhere in this mix Chatman needs to be factored in. We all saw him take it to a new level the last third of the year. I believe a big part of that was AG finding a way to “encourage” him to get there. As a junior, if Chatman finds yet another higher gear, AG’s management of his development will be even more crystal clear.
The next 2-3 years will tell us a lot about AG & Co. I don’t believe last years team and the development of Obi was a one-hit wonder. I think there is more coming.
