2021’s starting 5: Reserves for East Tennessee
One thing is for sure in basketball. A coach needs depth. That’s important late in the season when a team is trying to make a deep postseason push. My starting five of Zion Swader, Kley McGowan, Isaiah Jones, Jonathan Milloway…
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Continue ReadingOne thing is for sure in basketball. A coach needs depth.
That’s important late in the season when a team is trying to make a deep postseason push.
My starting five of Zion Swader, Kley McGowan, Isaiah Jones, Jonathan Milloway and Bretner Mutombo is solid and will score a lot of points, but these guys will need to rest their legs at some point.
I’m all about depth, so I’m looking at a deep but manageable lineup.
Here are my reserves.
Grant Hurst, Cleveland: Hurst is a 6-foot-1 combo guard, so he will play a vital role. I will take Hurst because of his passing ability and versatility. I will not need him to score a lot of points. If he could average between 8-10 points and 6-8 assists off the bench, this team would definitely score over 100 points a game. Because of his versatility, I would be able to run different backcourts.
Matthew Schneider, Siegel: The 6-5 shooting guard would fit perfectly with Hurst in at point guard because he can score the basketball. Swader is familiar with Schneider since the both of them are currently teammates for the Stars, so those two wouldn’t have a problem playing in the backcourt with one another if I needed to play the two. He would be able to relieve McGowan and come off the bench and be a double-digit scorer. Schneider can easily average 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Riggs Abner, Mt. Juliet: Abner is right at 6-6. He’s a shooting guard, but there may be times I would use him the small forward spot. Abner rebounds the ball well and can score just like Schneider. He would be a great substitute for Jones.
When Mutombo is on the bench, Milloway would be moved to the five. When Milloway is on the bench, I would slide Jones to the four.
As for positions 1-3, I have plenty of flexibility. A combination of Hurst/McGowan/Abner, Swader/Schneider/Abner or Swader/Hurst/Schneider would work. Like I said earlier, Jones can move to power forward while Milloway plays the five. Jones, at 6-6 ½, is well suited to play the four. He plays well with his back to the basket and crashes the boards. When Mutombo is in the game, he will play at center while Jones or Milloway plays the four.
This team can easily back-to-back state titles.