But its unlikely any of them will crack the top 7ish in the rotation...it might make their practices more "athletic", but the games won't change much unless those guys take a larger than expected chunk of minutes from Smith, Loyer, Gillis, Furst, TKR, etc...
I think a common "false hope" by college sports fans is that players will change who they are, and how they play, in their college offseasons. That doesn't happen any more. These kids have trained so much coming in to college, and played so much basketball, that completely changing their bodies, and their games, it just isn't possible. Improve on some of their deficiencies skill wise, sure. Gain a little bit of muscle, sure. Make incremental improvements, for sure. Edey is a great example of his. So was TJD.
But Smith isn't going to become strong or fast enough to guard Xavier Johnson, or Tyson Walker, or Chuckie Hepburn. Loyer isn't either. Edey is still going to be incredibly slow when trying to guard pick and rolls. Gillis and Furst aren't going to become playmakers with the ball in their hands.
Painter has to change their style and philosophies. And if the guys you mentioned are the 3 best athletes, and have any basketball skill, he's going to have to force playing them early on. Doubt he does any of these things in the end. And even if he does try it, they'll revert back to dumping it down to Edey, and guarding how they guard, because its reliable and overall effective. They'll contend for the B10 championship because of it, but their season will end sooner than hoped for, like it always has.
