BeachedBear said:BeachedBear said:barsad said:BeachedBear said:
I can't imagine NOT starting Daubaris (might be the best player on the team?). He's the 4.
Mitrovic is a 17 yr old skinny Freshman. I don't see him pushing DORT out of the starting lineup.
I can. In fact, we all should try to imagine it because with Dort taking all the minutes at center I see no tournament in our near future. Do the homework and watch the highlights, Mitrovic is 19 in a couple months, not 17, and he's going to be 3X better than Dort (I don't know if that happens in his first year, but we have to hope).
Good to know about Daubaris being a must-start (Mitrovic and him are the same age, by the way), but I can't say that 11 PPG in U18 Euro-ball really proves it, he'll have to show it against real competition here.
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/players/342144-dominykas-daubaris
It is not clear if you are responding to my WAG about Daubaris or Mitrovic. And the OP post was about starting, not ALL of the minutes or most. I agree that Mitrovic needs to contribute and that we cannot rely on DORT 100% at the 5 (I don't believe anyone one said that).
IF Mitrovic can start over DORT - that means he is that good - since DORT has proven he is at least a competent ACC Center. And that would be good news. But my expectations are not that high on Mitrovic (but hopeful)
As for his age, I was going by what the BI Moderators stated in comparing Mitrovic to Kocanas. I have not attended any of the birthday parties to confirm.
Bumping this, since I just watched Rod B's preview of Mitrovic. Agree with alot of Rod's caveats about limited and older tape as well as the competition.
It is pretty clear (barring injuries, etc) that Mitrovic would NOT start over DORT. However, Rod got me pretty excited about what could happen with some good coaching and individual development.
Unlike his predecessors (maybe going all the way back), Madsen seems to have a pretty good grasp on what type of players are best for his system and getting really good fits at a good value - which is such a huge part of the current state of Cal MBB (and all MBB outside of the top 15).
I seem to appreciate Madsen more and more each season. That is a pretty important metric. Not as important as WINNING, but even Monty was getting stale and seemed tired after a few seasons (he was also dealing with health issues - no knock on Monty). Braun stuck around too long, Martin was mostly ONE great recruiting class and phhht. Pretty much everyone else since Kuchen had us hoping for a replacement before the end of their first season (for different reasons).
Yeah, Madsen is doing a pretty good job given the situation. Given that Knowlton extended him through 2029, we realistically have this season and the next to decide if we might be able to do better. If his teams continue to improve every year, the consensus will be to extend him. As I said in another thread, I think a big factor will be his ability to engage donors and fans to support the program. Winning is a good way to do that.
