Two 7-Footers?

takethepoints

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AUFC said:
"… is going to be a pleasant surprise like Cole was last year."
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He was, wasn't he? And I expect he's improved since then. So I expect he'll play. What I'd like to see is Cole as Tom Owens. I was at USCe when Owens was the PF on McGuire's teams there. (Saw Cremins play too; so-so for a 6'3" SF.) Owens was 6'11" 205 soaking wet. He was also a really good PF, scored a lot and did his best on rebounds. Maybe Cole can do that.
 

SuperBarryBros

Georgia Tech Fan
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Stoudamire had all small forwards on the frontcourt at many instances during his last season. He never coached that way at Pacific. We couldn't of guessed he would coach that way at GT. As for this new coach, I think his success will be geared more towards the backcourt rotation.. if he is willing to play freshmen and stick with them will determine if this team will mesh..
Our bigs in the trenches will need to rebound on both sides of the court in way we haven't really had since Moses Wright. Scoring would be a bonus but we need stout defensive play and rebounding first and foremost out of those positions.

Haiden Harper will be starting point guard in a best case scenario..

I see alot of Bobby Hurley like potential in his game. He should play 30 minutes a GM and that will allow our team to stay in a groove regardless of rotation, with him being the staple of the offense
 
GTJacket Fan

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SuperBarryBros said:
Stoudamire had all small forwards on the frontcourt at many instances during his last season. He never coached that way at Pacific. We couldn't of guessed he would coach that way at GT. As for this new coach, I think his success will be geared more towards the backcourt rotation.. if he is willing to play freshmen and stick with them will determine if this team will mesh..
Our bigs in the trenches will need to rebound on both sides of the court in way we haven't really had since Moses Wright. Scoring would be a bonus but we need stout defensive play and rebounding first and foremost out of those positions.

Haiden Harper will be starting point guard in a best case scenario..

I see alot of Bobby Hurley like potential in his game. He should play 30 minutes a GM and that will allow our team to stay in a groove regardless of rotation, with him being the staple of the offense
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I don't see Haiden Harper as the starting point guard...
 

SuperBarryBros

Georgia Tech Fan
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He's in the way of the 3 best PG's to ever play at tech. Anderson, Best and Marbury.. High scoring point guards who prefer to score!
 

TechPhi97

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SuperBarryBros said:
He has a clear path to the position and unless he falters, he will hold that position...

And I don't see him faltering
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How likely is it that a 6’1”, 165 lbs player that had no other scholarship offers, who was 3rd team All-State in small classification HS basketball, has a “clear path to the position”?

I see you’re new to the board. Perhaps you’re related to the player or have some inside information that the basketball world is not privy to. But I fail to see how Harper would even play much at all.

A similar player last year, Eric Chatfield, played 182 mostly inconsequential minutes last year, and he was rated by recruiting services and had a few Atlantic 10 offers. Hes going to play at Bryant next year.
 

Jack

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takethepoints said:
He was, wasn't he? And I expect he's improved since then. So I expect he'll play. What I'd like to see is Cole as Tom Owens. I was at USCe when Owens was the PF on McGuire's teams there. (Saw Cremins play too; so-so for a 6'3" SF.) Owens was 6'11" 205 soaking wet. He was also a really good PF, scored a lot and did his best on rebounds. Maybe Cole can do that.
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Yeah but what we really need is a Tom Riker type.
One of his shoulders was wider than Tom Owens, but Owens got the job done!
John Roche was not a bad teammate too.
 

takethepoints

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Jack said:
Yeah but what we really need is a Tom Riker type.
One of his shoulders was wider than Tom Owens, but Owens got the job done!
John Roche was not a bad teammate too.
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Actually, we have one coming in Valdez, the transfer from Troy. No Roche, unfortunately.

I knew Rioker slightly since he was in the US government class I assisted with. He wasn't a bad student or a bad guy. Of course, on the court he was different.
 

takethepoints

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TechPhi97 said:
How likely is it that a 6’1”, 165 lbs player that had no other scholarship offers, who was 3rd team All-State in small classification HS basketball, has a “clear path to the position”?

I see you’re new to the board. Perhaps you’re related to the player or have some inside information that the basketball world is not privy to. But I fail to see how Harper would even play much at all.

A similar player last year, Eric Chatfield, played 182 mostly inconsequential minutes last year, and he was rated by recruiting services and had a few Atlantic 10 offers. Hes going to play at Bryant next year.
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Well, new to the board or not, Super may be on to something. I did a little digging. Harper scored 2151 points in his high school career, 130th in the country. Not to shabby, I'd say. Does this mean he's the shoe-in at PG Super thinks he is? Of course not. Does it mean that the young man can shoot? You betcha. That might be enough.

Update: Lee-Scott Academy - Harper's School - was 25-5 in 2026. Obviously, Cross saw something there.
 
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ChristoGT

ChristoGT

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takethepoints said:
Well, new to the board or not, Super may be on to something. I did a little digging. Harper scored 2151 points in his high school career, 130th in the country. Not to shabby, I'd say. Does this mean he's the shoe-in at PG Super thinks he is? Of course not. Does it mean that the young man can shoot? You betcha. That might be enough.

Update: Lee-Scott Academy - Harper's School - was 25-5 in 2026. Obviously, Cross saw something there.
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I want to be pleasantly surprised by each of players this year. Would love it for Harper to make an impact, even if in a rotation. If he can show up for 10 minutes a game with a 4/2/1 stat line as a frosh, that will be nice. I think there are several above him at present, but again it will be great if a few "show up" and get increased PT. Same for the bigs. I really hope Cole/McVey can provide a combined 15-20 minutes on occasion with a 6/6 stat line behind what I'm hoping is a 8/5 Diop starter. That would be a solid 5 spot stat line this year and let the guards do their thing.

Of course, this is said by a guy who went out for the first time in 2 years shooting with some teenagers yesterday and got smoked early and hurt a few minutes later. Damn hammy. But hey, these were 6-4 teens and pretty good :). Scary part is the ham went just shooting a jumper. Sucks getting old.
 

TechPhi97

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takethepoints said:
Well, new to the board or not, Super may be on to something. I did a little digging. Harper scored 2151 points in his high school career, 130th in the country. Not to shabby, I'd say. Does this mean he's the shoe-in at PG Super thinks he is? Of course not. Does it mean that the young man can shoot? You betcha. That might be enough.

Update: Lee-Scott Academy - Harper's School - was 25-5 in 2026. Obviously, Cross saw something there.
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I would be willing to bet that the kid plays less than 200 minutes next year.
 
Northeast Stinger

Northeast Stinger

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I think the wish (dream? fantasy? vision?) is that we have a coach whose strength is player development and coaching, and that we will have several players elevate above their status on paper.
 
GTJacket Fan

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UgaBlows said:
I bet not many thought that Nait George would get many minutes his freshman year, much less wind up starting and flourishing. You just never Know…
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Maybe Garland falls out of favor with Cross the same way Amaree Abram fell out of favor with Stoudamire and we get Harper as the second coming of Nate George. But, that's not likely.
 
orientalnc

orientalnc

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Connell62 said:
@Techster I love the position energy, but you are wearing the gold-tinted Meta glasses. If Cross turns either of those into a factor, he deserves COY.

My bold take still stands... Cole and McVey average < 6ppg between the two of them. They're not going to be relied on for offensive production, and I think that both will be down the bench in the rotation.

Could be entirely wrong, but just based on how many he recruited, I believe that CSC likes the 6'8 - 6'9 athletic PF types and usually one guy that is considered a traditional big..

That big's role will be defense, boards, and helping move the ball. That hurts Cole in my book because he is the least comfortable on the perimeter of the bunch.
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I think this is my take as well. I will caveat that by admitting I know almost nothing about McVey. I just don't expect much scoring from these three guys. It will be interesting if one of them is good enough that Fields spends more time as a 4 than as a 5. I'm not holding my breath.
 
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