i wanted to share this team, they are the closest thing to a perfect team i have ever seen. if i noticed this team after a NT loss or something, i would post them - they are that stunning. i always admire beautiful teams, and i know some of you guys do, too. i only made a thread like this one other time, it with a d2 team i felt was a true work of art. admittedly, this is less a work of art, than a product of today's reality of high d1 recruiting, the super stars of this era, combined with a lucky EE dice roll. but still, the team is pretty incredible to look at. i just want to impress how rarely i do this - this is just a post about the beauty of the team, not a "look at me thread".
the team is only 5 games in, but it is easy to project them to their end-of-season goodness.
https://www.whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=4375
the current lineup is some BS lineup to grow the youngsters. the real lineup is:
jones, vickers, vroman, clement, smith
hubbard, ramsey, hardy, white, torres
stone backup pg/sg, page backup pf/c, ramsey and white or smith as backup sfs
the starting lineup is simply jaw-dropping. its one thing to roll with this kind of talent in d1 - or with this type of experience - but to have both to such an extreme, is almost unheard of. a staggering 3 seniors and 2 juniors make up this starting line. this team rocks the defense, with 96 and change avg ath/def. 4/5 players are 96 or higher in both ath/def. with a small lineup, perimeter offense is in supply at the highest level. the lead scoring tandem is the stuff of legends. shooting guard vickers brings 96 ath, 81 spd, 58 lp, 96 per, 90 bh, 76 pass, and b- ft. small forward vroman brings an incredible 96 ath, 99 spd, 35 lp, 99 per, 94 bh, 60 pass, and c+ ft. this duo not only brings a huge quantity of ultra efficient offensive production, but with 94 and 95 stamina ratings, they do it for as long as possible! pg jones with his 99 per, and pf clement with his 93 lp, are more than capable of rounding out the offense.
with a small lineup, the common concern is rebounding. both bigs bring their A game, with senior center smith leading with 98 ath and 99 reb, while junior clement brings 96 ath and 94 reb (96/97 to end the season). without a big at SF, the guards are ready to pickup the slack. pg jones brings a whopping 62 rebounding, while sf vroman competes solidly with 55. sg vickers chips in 39 reb of his own. just for fun, center smith brings 83 passing to the party, contributing to a lineup that will be very protective of the ball, allowing for an even wider turnover margin. truly, these starters have it all.
the backups bring plenty of game of their own. as a squad of 4 sophmores and a junior, they are not supremely experienced now, but will end the season with a b+ minimum iq, which is fairly unheard of in high d1. combined with their talent, these players provide rock-solid support to the starters. even with significant growth left in certain areas, being just 5 games in, the squad brings an impressive 91 average ath. their 88 average defense should inch up to about 90 by season end. pg hubbard fills his support role expertly, with 90s ratings for ath, spd, def, and passing, with bh expected to end in the 90s by season end. but the support does not end there. on the boards, big men white and torres bring 86 ath / 97 reb and 93 ath / 86 reb respectively, with torres likely reaching the mid 90s by season end. big-man-turned-small-forward hardy provides exceptional rebounding support, with 89 reb which will also end the year in the 90s.
however, the backup line is not only filled with support roles. sg ramsey brings the offensive firepower, with 95 ath, 78 spd, 72 lp, 94 per, 84 bh, and c+ ft. ramsey is expected to end the year with a- motion iq, along with b- ft and a few points of bh growth, making him a starting caliber lead scorer. sf hardy brings a whopping 95 ath, 62 spd, 95 lp, and 67 per. he is hampered by his d+ ft, which should grow to a c-. his 54 bh should grow another 10 points, making it a solid asset. combined with his 68 passing, hardy brings plenty of guard skills to his sf job, to complement his world class big man attributes. in truth, by season end, this squad of backups can stand toe-to-toe with many of the top starting lineups in the country.
as the cherry on top, 11th and 12th men stone and page have assets of their own. sophmore stone looks to end the season as starting pg material - with 90s in ath, spd, def, bh, and passing. freshman page brings 95 ath, 91 reb, 85 def, and 82 sb. although not much growth is expected, certainly that is "sufficient" for the 12th man and only freshman on the team!
on top of the talent, this motion/press team fits the ideal 12 man rotation like a glove. they also have 80 stamina, and are likely to end at 84, which should be the second best i've ever seen in high d1 (85 was the best). admittedly, a fb/press team might take better advantage of the depth - but this team is so good, that against most teams, they are already huge favorites. even a 2% increased risk of a foul/fatigue spiral is probably not worth it, not when their only real chance at a loss comes from some freak foul situation or something, anyway. it probably is the case against a few top teams, in a single game series, that fb/press would be superior - but over the course of the NT, i really wonder. for the last several years, i've believed that the best possible d1 team would run fb/press, not motion/press as i long figured. that is definitely true, in a single game, against some other insane team. but if you are 95 plus percent to beat most of the teams in a 6 game series, that's a very different situation, and the foul/fatigue risk just may not be worth the benefits.
the combination of talent, experience, and depth make this team truly unique. how rare is it for a team to possess no weakness, while simultaneously possessing each and every strength. it is truly a remarkable squad, and i hope others enjoy marveling at their improbability, as i have.