Dry your tears and get back up on that horse, friends. Last night’s game was a full-force groin kick but we’re here to make everything better with a mailbag. Let’s get it then.
Quick shout to Jesse (Golden State Husky), who submitted a mailbag question last week that led to this great Top 10 Dunks post by TCF.
Remember: If your question wasn’t answered or you’ve been living under a rock and are just hearing about this, you can submit your questions here or on Twitter (@ADimeBack).
Davis asks: which team has higher potential of winning a title: This year’s team or next year’s team? Both can be scary good imo.
I don’t feel great about this year’s team’s chances of winning a title, though I would have told you the same thing two years ago at this time. Next year’s team is interesting, in particular since we have a few borderline cases for potential early departures in Hamilton, Purvis, and Brimah. Let’s assume for a second that all three stay. You’re losing Gibbs, Miller, Nolan, and Calhoun. Adams becomes the full-time point guard alongside Purvis, with Gilbert spelling both off the bench, and Cassell hopefully healthy enough to hit a few shots. Replacing Miller is a bit more interesting. One possibility would be to insert Terry Larrier there. Similar build, but Larrier is a bit more of a finesse player. Also a terrific athlete, though. You’d have Facey coming back, as well as Enoch (though they seem to have settled on Enoch as a center), Diarra, and Durham. It’s likely that Vance Jackson, at 6’8″, might also see some time at the 4. There’s a ton of depth up front, and probably just enough in the back court (hopefully one more guard could be added before then).
The only issue would be finding the right roles for everyone, as it has been this year. Would Adams be ready to take control of the offense? Would Hamilton improve his finishing enough to be a go-to scorer? Does Purvis become consistent enough? The potential is off the charts because there are so many talented players, but it will be interested to see how everyone fits together. I could definitely see that roster competing for a championship.
Joe asks: in [A DimeBack]’s professional opinion, what is the best cheese?
This is a serious and important question, which I will answer extremely seriously. Because I, unlike some no-taste cheese-haters who shun the greatest food of all foods, understand the culinary cornerstone that is cheese. I spend obscene amounts of money at the Trader Joe’s cheese counter. And there are currently no fewer than four kinds of cheese in my fridge right now. Now, the best cheese is entirely dependent on what one is doing with that cheese. Is it going on a cracker or some baguette? Then brie or perhaps some delicious Camembert or maybe manchego or gouda. Will it be added to a roux and combined with some short-cut pasta to create God’s perfect food? Cheddar, jack and fontina are all great choices. Is it on my meatball grinder? Provolone is the correct answer. Want the greatest mashed potatoes you will ever have? Throw a wheel of Boursin cheese in there. Pizza needs mozzarella, of course. And any Italian-style pasta dish requires copious amounts of Parmesan cheese, though I would never say no to Romano, either. But the best cheese? No, I’m sorry, but I cannot. That it the food version of Sophie’s Choice. I will not choose one cheese child over any of the others, because they are all wonderful and perfect in their own special way. Just give me all of the cheese. All of it.
Anthony asks: What is going on w/ Kentan Facey’s development? I remember watching him shine in Bahamas last yr, hasn’t reached that level since.
I’m not sure I’d agree with the notion that Facey hasn’t developed. The fact is that, since Shonn Miller arrived, Facey’s role is different than we were expecting. Last season, Facey averaged 21.5 minutes per game, resulting in 4.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in those contests. His minutes have dropped this year, but that shouldn’t surprise you. If Miller and his 26.6 minutes weren’t around, you would see an awful lot more of Facey, and we could’ve had a more vigorous debate about his expected statistics. I would argue, given the current roster, Facey has performed admirably. He has improved his shooting, rebounding, his defense and his scoring. In fact, Facey is currently putting up the highest total rebound percentage (17.8%) in a season since… Kentan Facey in 2014. The one knock on Facey this season that I think is fair (and correctable) is that he is fouling opponents like crazy. He’s averaging seven fouls per 40 minutes. That’s not cool (though still less than Nolan and Enoch). For UConn to maximize Facey’s contributions, he needs to make sure he’s able to stay on the court when his name is called.
