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Post by Big D on Mar 19, 2007 15:58:45 GMT -5
I posted this on the other board and thought I would put it over here for discussion. Here is how I see our depth chart for next year.
Point guard: Should be a nice battle for the starting spot. My guess is we might see Vaughn Duggins as the starter early next year. He was initially recruited to UNCW as a point guard by Coach Brownell. I wouldn't be surprised to see him there with Will Graham backing him up.
Shooting guard: Should be another nice battle for the starting spot. Todd Brown is my pick, but we will have plenty of depth with JDG and Troy Tabler there also. What I really like about this postion is JDG and Troy Tabler can play either guard position, so we have the benefit of having 2 ball handlers on the court at the same time.
Small Forward: I think this is where we start to see the benefit of our incoming class. I see Scottie Wilson as our starter and I think he will really benefit from moving back to his natural postion. Having to play against bigger players this past year has really made him a tougher overall player. I think he will be a rebounding machine at SF. I think we will see Cooper Land or even Gavin Horne backing up at this position primarily. If the coaches want to go with a smaller lineup, we could also see Todd Brown here. We have a ton of options.
Power Forward/Center: I think we will see Jordan Pleiman and Ronnie Thomas as our 2 starters next year. I think Ronnie holds an edge over the other incoming players since he was been practicing with the team since last summer. That leaves Kyle Pressley and Gavin Horne as their primary backups.
We have a young team next year, but we will be deep and talented. The biggest questions entering next season are: health? leadership? and how long until the team gels?
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Post by ilm2day on Mar 20, 2007 17:56:11 GMT -5
As soon as he eligible JD Gardner will be the starting point guard.
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Post by Nutt House on Mar 20, 2007 21:09:09 GMT -5
Oh, and I think Eric Stevenson could surprise some people next year (another good PG off the bench). His problems this year were mostly academic from what I hear. Nothing major, but skipping a few classes and not getting the best grades. Sounds like they have been hard on him and if he can turn it around in the classroom, he could be a sleeper next year. We will have some big white boys in the backcourt next year and it will be good to have a little quick guy like Stevenson as well. He is probably 5th on the depth chart at point guard behind Graham, Duggins, Gardner, and Tabler. He doesn't play good defense. He can't shoot. He can barely dribble. He isn't a D1 player. Wright State reached on him because we were desperate for players last year. I doubt he will be with the team by the end of next season, if he doesn't quit at the end of this school year.
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Post by Raiderfan on Mar 20, 2007 21:37:36 GMT -5
First, I agree with ilm2day in that JDG will start at the point shortly after he becomes eligible. Remember, JDG started the first 7 games his freshman year for BB at UNCW.
I initially thought Ronnie & Jordan would be starting at the 4 and 5 spots but after thinking about it a little more BB went with a smaller and quicker lineup more often then not the last half of the season. He preferred Scottie & Drew over Jordan so I just don't see him going with 2 of our slower players on the court at the same time. With that in mind here is my projected starting 5:
Point - Gardner = Will Graham will play the point until JDG becomes eligible. Will Graham will be JDG backup at the point.
2 guard - Duggins = backups will be Will Graham & Troy ( Todd can also play some 2 guard)
small forward - Todd Brown = I'm convinced BB will go with a quicker 3 guard lineup and since TB is 6-5 he can rebound and defend most of the other teams wing player. Backups = Scottie, Cooper Land, Will Graham.
power forward - this spot is up for grabs in my opinion. I'll initially give the nod to Scottie simply because he will be a Sr. and knows the system plus BB seems to favor a smaller quicker lineup. If a Pressley, Horne, or Land steps up then they could easily grab this starting spot.
center - this position will be a 2 head monster of Jordan and Ronnie Thomas. Depending on who is playing better that particular game or who is in foul trouble will determine who plays more minutes on a game by game basis. Jordan will get the start simply because he is a Sr. but if RT is playing well he might end up with more minutes in certain games.
Both Will Graham & Scottie Wilson might not start but both will play starter minutes on many occasions. Will can play 3 positions ( 1, 2, & 3) and Scottie can play both forward spots plus both are high energy players who can spark a team.
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Post by Retired Coach on Mar 21, 2007 21:03:57 GMT -5
I had no idea that JD Gardner was a star and a sure-fire starter as soon as he's eligible. Interesting to hear. But I would still bet otherwise. Will Graham will hold on to the starting PG job even after Gardner becomes eligible is my prediction. And I've never been a huge Will Graham fan, but he's shown me enough. He's got what it takes. I haven't seen Gardner, so I don't know. Gardner was Coach Brownell's last big recruit from his days at UNCW. Gardner was recruited by Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, Stanford, Butler, and Western Kentucky. He was offered a scholarship by Alabama, Mississippi, Butler, and Western Kentucky. scout.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=1153774basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=22013&sport=2
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Post by bam989863 on Mar 22, 2007 11:32:24 GMT -5
My take is that the starting point guard position has to be taken from WIll Graham. He developed a lot over the past season and dewerves to start. If JDG or anyone else plays better and takes the position and PT from him that is fine but they will have to win it from him.
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Post by nybuckeye on Mar 22, 2007 18:20:07 GMT -5
Thanks for the links on JDG, Irish Raider. I always put more stock in a recruits offer list than their ranking by so-called recruiting experts. The coaches who offer these kids have seen them play and studied tons of film on them while recruiting services hardly ever see the kids in person.
I expect to see JDG as the starting point guard very soon after he is eligible. Graham will serve as a great back-up and has a chance to push for the starting spot if he can develop on the offensive end during the offseason. I hope Duggins doesn't need to man this spot as he has the potential to be a big scorer from the 2 spot.
SG:
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Post by Willie on Mar 22, 2007 18:59:30 GMT -5
My take is that the starting point guard position has to be taken from WIll Graham. He developed a lot over the past season and dewerves to start. If JDG or anyone else plays better and takes the position and PT from him that is fine but they will have to win it from him. I guess our recollections of this past season are a little different. I remember that Graham was a starter at the beginning of this past season, but lost that starting position to Todd Brown. I am not impressed with Mr. Grahams development as a player. He isn't a scorer by any means. That alone makes him a liability in our starting lineup. When he is on the court, teams play 5 on 4 against us because you don't have to worry about him offensively. He might start at the beginning of next season, but I wouldn't bet on him remaining a starter beyond when Gardner becomes eligible unless he seriously improves as a player this off-season.
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Post by rock70 on Mar 22, 2007 21:06:22 GMT -5
I think Will Graham is most valuable to the team coming off the bench because he can play three positions. When Gardner was interviewed by Chris Collins at half time this year he said that he was a point guard all through high school and that he rarely played the off guard so Gardner might be limited to mostly point guard.
I also think Pliemans minutes will decrease with us adding more height next year. Either Ronnie Thomas or Kyle Pressly will start at the center or power forward positions.
I don't think Wilson starts next year. He is too inconsistent. He can look great one night and not very good the next night.
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Post by keithfromxenia on Mar 26, 2007 10:57:25 GMT -5
we will certainly be deeper than we have been for a while. i still think it is possible we might red shirt a player. we have a lot of young guards. except for will, they are all freshmen and sophs. we shall see how bb handles it. GO RAIDERS!!!!!!!!!!1
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