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Who should be the 5th starter?

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IYO, who "should" be the 5th starter this season?

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    33
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So, I'm really not trying to be a jerk here, but I don't believe it matters at all who the 5th starter is.

IIRC, Lauderdale was the 5th starter for most of last season. He handled the jump ball duties and went to the bench at the soonest opportunity to bring Craft onto the floor.

With our youth and depth, I think the rotation outside of the established group of veterans is going to be constant.

It should be fun to watch.
 
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OSU really needs 2 things a rebounder/inside defender and another 3 point shooter (Buford being the best we have). I've not seen enough yet to know who or even if they exist at this early stage.
Sully would have a very difficult time against NC for instance, getting inside shots off.
 
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Falcon7;2033834; said:
OSU really needs 2 things a rebounder/inside defender and another 3 point shooter (Buford being the best we have). I've not seen enough yet to know who or even if they exist at this early stage.
Sully would have a very difficult time against NC for instance, getting inside shots off.
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From what I saw of the Carrier Classic (which was just bits and pieces) MSU's Green didn't have much trouble inside versus UNC's bigs and Sullinger's inside game is much better than Green's. Sure, Henson would probably block a few of Sullinger's shots but if Green can get 13 points and 18 rebounds its a valid assumption that Sullinger could put up 20 and 10 against UNC.

Besides, OSU doesn't have to be concerned with UNC until the NCAA tournament. I'm more interested how OSU stacks up against Florida, Duke and Kansas before the B1G season starts.
 
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MaxBuck;2033424; said:
Either Lenzelle Smith or Jordan Sibert, though Sam Thompson impressed me in the exhibition.
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Initially, I'd rotate between the two (or three) depending on how the matchups look. Eventually one of the three will probably grab the role, but right now all look like effective contributors.
 
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I see no persuasive reason to not start Smith at this point. He has versatility and contributes in all aspects of the game - something I think some people underestimate. Sibert might average more points and make more 3s, but as far as all-around production, Smith has that aspect possibly over Sibert. Thompson is backing up Buford at this point, so the roles there are somewhat clearly defined.

Now, perhaps in the future if Ross is on the team than maybe Thomas' starting spot could be in jeopardy, because I think the 4 is where Ross would fit in best on this team & if he's as good as advertised, then he could be a better option than Thomas.

If/when Ross is on the team, we could see a fairly well-defined and simplified rotation with 1 starters and 1 backup playing at each position - if Craft, Smith, Buford, Thomas, Sully is the starting 5, then the backup group could be Scott, Sibert, Thompson, Ross and Ravenel.
 
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MaxBuck;2035738; said:
Odd conclusion, given that he's consistently played shooting guard.
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My best guess is he fits in at the 4, and some surely will disagree with that, and that's fair. Matta has said Ross is a 6'8" 2-guard, but how many 6'8" 2-guards do you see in NCAA basketball? I can't think of any, and I like to think I follow the sport pretty closely. When Ross was in HS he was often guarding the post because he was the biggest guy on the team. He may have 2-guard skills offensively, but with his size and length, and with OSU needing help in the frontcourt moreso than the backcourt, I think where he fits best with this team is the 4. The odds are he won't beat out Thomas to start at the 4 given the experience edge/delay in joining the team, but we won't really know how good Ross is this year until we see him.
 
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