GDT: @ George Mason.

[Old guy]

2 hours ago, HoosierPal said:

Here is maybe a similar comeback.  Jordan Morris, USMNT soccer player, tore his ACL in Feb 2021. Eight months later he was back playing with his club, Seattle Sounders, and this week he went 60 minutes in the USMNT match against Honduras.  ACL tears differ, athletes differ, but the pathway back to full recovery for Perkins is there.

You are entirely correct, everyone's rehab is different just like every tear is different. What matters is the time that it will take to get back to the prior level. This is also an individual thing.

[3star_recruit]

38 minutes ago, Dr. Holly Hills said:

If Perkins comes back and plays significant minutes, who is going to guard the opposing team’s #1 (usually a shooting guard or small forward)?  Perkins is not a slouch on defense, but he is no Thatch.  4 out of our 6 loses were because we couldn’t stop the other team from scoring down the stretch.  

In nearly all of our losses, the pattern is the same.  The opposing team traps Yuri late in the game and we don't handle it well.  We either turn it over or are so discombobulated when we get into the halfcourt, we throw up a bad shot.  Turnovers and empty possessions are how you get a 12-14 point turnaround in just a few minutes.   And Thatch being on the floor hasn't stopped this pattern from happening.

As for who guards the opposing team's #1 shooting guard or small forward, you do realize that Nesbitt is already shouldering some of that responsibility now, right?  That's how we're able to play Thatch at the 4 in stretches.

We didn't have a turnover/empty possession problem at the end of games last year with Perkins as our closer.  With Yuri learning that role on the job, we'll have the luxury of two closers next year.

[RUBillsFan]

41 minutes ago, Dr. Holly Hills said:

If Perkins comes back and plays significant minutes, who is going to guard the opposing team’s #1 (usually a shooting guard or small forward)?  Perkins is not a slouch on defense, but he is no Thatch.  4 out of our 6 loses were because we couldn’t stop the other team from scoring down the stretch.  

Whoever guards that guy this season when Thatch isn't in the game?  Nesbitt, Hargrove or even Thatch himself if is back next season & in the game.  You are allowed to have 5 players on the floor at a time.

[Dr. Holly Hills]

Late turnovers are a problem, yes. But I saw uab make bucket after bucket, and watched auburn do the same.. granted most were ally-oops to a 7 footer… Just playing devils advocate with Perkins coming back.  We will still need the strong athletic types like thatch and Hargrove for all the grit and grind.

[3star_recruit]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Holly Hills said:

Late turnovers are a problem, yes. But I saw uab make bucket after bucket, and watched auburn do the same.. granted most were ally-oops to a 7 footer… Just playing devils advocate with Perkins coming back.  We will still need the strong athletic types like thatch and Hargrove for all the grit and grind.

Exactly.  The athletic or super-skilled 7 footer will always be an Achilles heel. 

I agree that we'll need our strongest run and jump guys to log more minutes in certain games.

[NH]

18 minutes ago, Dr. Holly Hills said:

Late turnovers are a problem, yes. But I saw uab make bucket after bucket, and watched auburn do the same.. granted most were ally-oops to a 7 footer… Just playing devils advocate with Perkins coming back.  We will still need the strong athletic types like thatch and Hargrove for all the grit and grind.

Auburn did the same thing to Kentucky. It turns out a pick and roll with a 7+ footer with super long reach, a dynamic point guard, and Jabari Smith in the corner drawing the help defender is basically impossible to guard.