VBC wrote:

Austin Rotroff is the People's Choice for the 21st century.  
 

I agree my friend.  Very glad that he will be back next year.  

This was a huge win today.  Rotroff was a big part of it.  KD has a nice three man rotation going with Williams, Easley and Rotroff.  Loved seeing JJ unleashed and Ayres at the point.  We also have a solid guard rotation going with JJ, Ayers, Spears and Acuff (who was a little off shooting still hit a big 3 pointer).  We are gaining more confidence and getting better.  If they can keep up the intensity they displayed today after such a long layoff this team is going to be fun to watch the rest of the way. Go Dukes!  
 

VBC wrote:

Austin Rotroff is the People's Choice for the 21st century.  
 

Agree my friend. Great story. Go Dukes

Judge Jack McVay Jr wrote:

Haha love it VBC and maybe nobody tell him that, or he might go around campus referring to himself as simply.." The Choice " or better yet..." The Maharaja of Love " as our friend the 20th century Peoples Choice did! 😀 Great win as they played together and liked defense too 👏

I had forgotten about "The Maharaja of Love".  Thanks for reminding me and giving me a good laugh this morning.  Next time I see him I'll have to bring that up.  
 

VBC wrote:

CLK wrote:

We are gaining more confidence and getting better.  If they can keep up the intensity they displayed today after such a long layoff this team is going to be fun to watch the rest of the way. Go Dukes!  
 

I'm with you.  Earlier this season I was looking at these guys and seeing that there is a lot of talent there but they just weren't getting it done.  As others pointed out the coaching staff needed to step up and get them playing together as a team.  Well, these last two games they've looked like the team that you and I were hoping for when we posted our preseason win predictions.  I'm feeling really good about this bunch right now. The freshman guards are really impressing me. 
 

Looks to be the best pair of freshmen guards we've seen around here. I do think that Jackie has some work to do on his flop. 

Glad you are better A83.  Hope it wasn’t serious.  Heal!

El Presidente wrote:

coffee wrote:

Nice win. We’re one big man away from a solid team.

Absolutely agree. We will be competitive as is but we will not ever win an A-10 championship without that big. Doesn't have to be a superstar. Just protect the rim, get some rebounds and score 10 points a game. 
Has to be our top priority for next year.

Was saying this all summer. We could have easily been exposed by UMASS with Williams foul trouble. Rotroff  definitely stepped up in this one and helped plug the gaps.

Imagine Bayley Steele on this team.

El Presidente wrote:

Would be a good time for a Baylee Steele type player. Always difficult to have all the right pieces at the right time but that's exactly what it takes to win championships.

And even harder with the portal. It used to be you at least had a pretty good idea what pieces you’d have 2-3 years down the road. Fill in the missing pieces with recruiting and you’re all set. Now you can’t even be confident in what you’ll have next season.

To respond to the earlier discussion, having another big would allow us to play Rotroff (or the other big) and Williams at the same time. As it is, we can’t risk them both being on the floor because then whether it be foul trouble or just fatigue when they both sit we’ve got no size at all (at least as long as Hima continues to not play).

Williams is probably better both defensively and offensively than Rotroff, but the team seems to do better with Rotroff at the 5 because you can’t teach size. Williams may be strong enough to play down low at this level, but he’s just not tall enough or long enough. I’m curious how Rotroff at the 5 and Williams at the 4 would work, but don’t think we’ll ever get the chance to find out. Of course if we did it Easley most likely slides to the 3 and then one of the guards has to sit. I don’t know if it would work (and we shouldn’t try to fix what isn’t broken right now), but it would be nice to at least have the opportunity to try it out.

phil95 wrote:

Tre's length & strength are what allows him to play at this level while only being 6'7". His wingspan is 7'1". Between the injury & 2 games with foul trouble, he has struggled in the last 3 outings. He was at his best against better teams like Colorado, DePaul, Marshall, & even Bradley. He has been significantly better than Rotroff is & ever has been in nearly every way. I am expecting him to bounce back over the next few games. 

I’m shocked his wingspan is that long. I would have guessed longer than his 6’7” height, but not that long. That explains how he’s able to help so well and pick up blocks though. I agree he’s a better player than Rotroff, but the team seems to do better when Rotroff is in. It’s a less extreme case of Bekelja last year. He isn’t a great player, and I can’t really explain why (except the difference in height that I mentioned earlier), but the team seems to play better when he’s on the floor. Or maybe it just seems that way to me. I’ll have to run some numbers.

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

The biggest issue with Tre and Rotroff on the floor at the same time is defense - neither can guard the other team’s 4 on an extended basis.

I’d agree about Rotroff, but I think Williams would be alright against most that we’d face. Like I said earlier maybe it wouldn’t work, but it would be nice to have the flexibility to try it.