Garland Expectations

[explorerpride]

I must say, I'm still riding high from last night's squeaker!

With that said, I am also really excited about what Tyrone Garland can bring to the team this year.

Some questions: Does he enter the starting lineup at any point this year? Do you think we will play more of the 4-guard with him? Does he push DJP's minutes down?

I'm really hoping he can be another scoring option; especially if Galloway gets into foul trouble like he has several times this year. Gotta think we'll need every last Explorer to beat 8-1 Bucknell.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

[explorerman]

Garland is the better player all around even though their skills are slightly different.

Defense= Push
Both very good defenders, Garland can pick up quicker guards, while Peterson can pick up slightly taller players. Garland in HS would strip and play passing lanes with the best of them. Think Duren in that style.

Offense= Garland by a fair amount
Garland can create his own shot whether off the ball or taking his defender off the dribble. He is an advanced passer and dribbler with the ball (again think Duren). Peterson is more of a spot up shooter and weak side rebounder for put backs. Garland is also a spot shooter that occasionally can off the dribble (see youtube video), Garland is the advanced finisher around the hoop. To put into perspective, Duren is also a very good finisher around the hoop but coming out of HS, Garland was thought of much more highly regarding finishing around the hoop (or just overall offensive ability, in general). Keep in mind, Garland scored the third most points in the history of the Philly Public School league. Think about all of the players that came through there, Collegiate All Americans, Collegiate NCAA Players of the Year, NBA players and NBA MVPs and Garland scored the 3rd most points EVER. This fact alone speaks to his offensive ability, it is not something you just forget how to do.

As I am writing this, I realize it actually shouldn't be Peterson that is worried but it should be Sam Mills that is worried. They both are advanced and willing defenders. The biggest difference is that Garland is the much, better offensive player. Mills is a spot shooter that struggles to finish around the basket. For as quick Mills is, he doesn't always get by the defender and finish when isolated 1v1 like Duren, Garland and Galloway can.

[rcoz]

i was told by a few people that he will be the first gaurd off the bench unless a matchup is favorable for him then he would replace sam mills. however he will be gaurd number 4. mills is the one he would take however. he was a great scorer in high school and i am hoping he can continue to do that. hope that helps

[ncaa1992]

With Garland being able to play - a bit more time to rest for Mills, Duren and Galloway will help tremendously. Mills defense is impressive to watch, he usually takes on the opponents best scorer which is draining. Mills' efficiency on offense will only get better with 5 to 10 minutes of rest per game, same for Duren and Galloway. If we could only get five quality minutes a game out of Hunt and this team would be as deep as any in the A-10.

[cpico]

Garland will mean a little less minutes for DJ, but also more rest for Duren, Mills, and Galloway - which will be good for the team. It's not good if those guys are playing 36-40 minutes a game. Garland's addition will mean a fresher team for the last 5 minutes of a game and down the stretch at the end of the year.

It's good that we will finally have a full roster going into our next game.

[coachd]

I think Garland will provide additional defensive pressure similar to Mills and Galloway and has the chance to reach double digit scoring on most nights. DJP will be used much lack last season as he hesitates to take open shots... he does make key 3-ptrs. Duren and Galloway will have some of the scoring pressure taken away from them. I'd expect Wright to get more dish-off passes also.

[rcoz]

i think him being ready for the bucknell game is huge. he will def help and bucknell is pretty good. he will be able to give them good minutes and def allow them to rest when needed and not lose a lot.

[luhoopsfan]

Even if all he provides versus Bucknell is solid defense and 12-15 minutes it's huge because it's probably going to be a tight ball game and being able to put the "normal" guys on the floor for the final 5 minutes with fresher legs will be a huge contrbution. Then he can get more into the flow of things with the games against Sacred Heart, Siena and Iona.

[Shout out to my Cousin Bern]

I recall hearing he can score in the paint and drive the lane. I suspect that when we go on a few cold-streaks shooting he can keep us in the flow via drives.

[scarletexplorer]

I would almost rather see Garland spell the other guards to start as opposed to throwing him into a four-guard set off the bat. There's no doubt he's talented, but this is the first game action he's seeing in a year, against a tough Bucknell opponent. There's always a bit of a learning curve associated with working in a new offense, even when you get experience in practice.

Give him some time to get back in the flow of things, then let him and the other three guards wreak havoc against Sacred Heart, Iona and Siena.

[mookie]

it would make the most sense to have him start off coming off the bench and essentially be instant offense. it might actually be good to have him play that role this year so that the bench/2nd team will always have a scorer to go to in order to prevent scoring droughts

[stlexplorer]

@jonrothstein: @franfraschilla intriguing thing about La Salle is they add Tyrone Garland very soon. Another good guard to a sneaky good team. Bubble?

[mookie]

Why is LaSalle considered a "sneaky good team"? I understand that LaSalle has been overlooked because of its reputation, but they did make the NIT last year and return everybody except Pettis (but added Garland).