|
Post by Raider Country on Feb 23, 2009 15:37:09 GMT -5
JD and Ronnie are very good students. One or both of them might be able to attend grad school at Wright State on an academic scholarship. Darkwa might be able to attend Wright State on a military scholarship. We are also trying to get some kids to pay their own way to Wright State (Fugate, Cunningham). Just because our coaches are still recruiting for 2009, doesn't mean anyone is leaving the program.
|
|
|
Post by Tipp City Raider on Feb 23, 2009 15:39:45 GMT -5
I don't care how our coaches do it, but I want to see us bring in at least one tough guy. We need an enforcer.
|
|
3D
Mail Room
Posts: 5
|
Post by 3D on Feb 28, 2009 8:25:40 GMT -5
I am prior military and the way the military works with the Gi Bill is they send you a check every month and you may use it for school if not then you use it for living expenses to get you threw college.
|
|
|
Post by keithfromxenia on Mar 2, 2009 22:24:10 GMT -5
i would like to offer a couple of thoughts about next years roster. two caveats first. if you are offended to hear anything negative about our players or our program, please do not read anymore and second, regardless of what i think about one of our players, he is a raider and i will root for and support him all the way. that said, i would like to bring in a player to relegate every one of our starters to the bench, because that means we are getting better and deeper. my thoughts. first at the point guard position. this is one of the two areas that i see as major weaknesses, at least based upon what we know. i think ngai is a backup quality player, and unless he improves by 100% that is what he should be. but he has not shown himself to be a point guard. he does not see the court well, does not spot the open man and get the ball to him, has more to's than assists and does not shoot well from the outside. what he does well is drive the ball to the hoop but he is very one dimensional, and not very strong. way too many games this year he was a non factor. maybe one could argue that he was thrown in to the fire a year earlier than he should have been. however, he will need to show major improvement in a number of areas before he will be able to give us starter minutes next year. also, his skills currently do not lend themsevlves to either guard position particularly well. carthan will be a freshman and coming from a small hs. who can tell what he will bring to the raiders from the beginning. obviously playing in hs does not prepare them for the div i college game. we will have to see what he can do. i love john david, but i am struggling with the idea that he would be a primary part of our game play. if he comes back after 6 months of rehab, with probably very little hoops playing during that 6 months, he will be very rusty. and that will be in september right before start of practice. and it is possible that he will be a "game time decision" for next year and that makes it very difficult to plan and prepare for the games. maybe vaughn will be a guy who could play the point if we have someione else who could step up at the 2 spot. lastly, i floated in my mind the possibility that scott grote could have a role at the point, but that would take a huge improvement on his part in the offseason. so based upon what we know now, point guard is a major questionmark imho. the 2 guard spot is in very capable hands with vaughn. he is a solid player who will probably lead the team, maybe. i would assume kock will work into a backup for vaughn, and troy is there as well. troy really only offers his 3 pt shooting, and we need to find a better way to get him open looks. he cannot create his own shot off the dribble.we need to either get penetration from the point that draws troy's man off him so he can get a kickout pass, or we need an established threat in the post that troy's man would be drawn down to cover thus opening troy up for an open 3. his defense is suspect and he needs to work on his quickness. the 2 guard spot is light years ahead of the point guard spot in our roster just because of vaughn. the 3 spot, wing forward, is in the very capapble hands of todd. i said vaughn would lead the team, maybe, because todd may in fact be our #1 scorer. he has turned in to an excellent all around player, better rebounder, stronger and more physical. he still sometimes loses his man on defense and needs to focus better at that end. but this year we have counted on him so much for offense i think the defense was a time he relaxed a little, and he will need to work on that. backup at the 3 i guess would be scott grote. i think scott performed this year way below what most fans expected. i hope he elevates his game next year. obviously the level of competition he saw in the horizon league was better than what he saw his freshman year at duquesne. i hope he improves but right now i see him helping give todd a rest at the 3. the 3 spot is a position of strength because of todd. the four spot, power forward is manned by an undersized cory c. cory is a battler and gives it everything every play. because of that he can usually only go 22-25". we need a second player to offer quality minutes at this position and we currently do not have one. the players we have rotated in here have been pretty unproductive. we know so little about our navy recruit it is impossible to tell if he can be that guy. i have no idea what it means to be playing "navy basktball". is that aau level, junior college level, summer league in cincinnatti level. i just do not know. so i have no way of knowing what darkwa will bring to the raiders. there is still a local recruit out there who would greatly strengthen this position and i hope we manage to sign him. but for right now this is a position of sttrength for the raiders because of cory. the 5 spot, the center position or low post, is our second area of major weakness. right now i think it would be ronnie starting and i guess cooper backing him up. that is a very scary combo. i do not think either is a quality div i post player. one of our major weaknesses this year, even in our first four games when all were healthy, was that we had no low post game we could count on. that part of our game should be able to provide us with some consistent offense even when our outside shooting is off target. it did not this year, and right now i see nothing to make me think it will be better next year. i did have visions this year of ronnie being greatly improved, but it did not seem to happen so i am not optimistic about seeing him make a huge improvement next year. so our low post play is a major concern. if we do not bring in one of the jc post players i have seen mentioned on the board, and need to rely on what we have, we will not be near the team we all want to be. i do not see darkwa fitting in to this position although i have never seen him play so i cannot be sure. i just hope he does not turn out to be the same 6'7" that cory turned out to be, which is to say 6'5". last thought. at some point i would like to see the raiders become a little more athletic team. i do not want a bunch of athletes who cannot play hoops, but i think we can find the type of players bb likes who have a little more athleticism. we have great coaches and i really hope next year turns in to the year we move it to the next level.GO RAIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
|
|
Post by rock70 on Mar 2, 2009 22:54:20 GMT -5
Keith, that was very well said and I pretty much agree with your break down of our team next year.
I know, and rightfully so, that most have been screaming that we need a legitimate post player but I think with our last scholarship we need a JUCO point guard. As you mentioned JDG is our only true point guard and we don't even know if he be able to play next year or will his foot, hip, or ankle flare up again. I know I'm in the minority on this one but I wouldn't be surprised if we pursue a point guard especially since we already landed Darkwa.
It seems to me that over the last ten games we have been at our best when Cory and Scott or at the two forward spots with Todd at the wing. It sure makes us small but it is probably our most athletic combination we can put on the floor. Heck when Butler made a run to the sweet 16 two years ago their starting center was 6-7 Brian Ligon.
So in summary I think we first need to fill the point guard position then hope that Darkwa can provide us some post play.
|
|
|
Post by wolf41 on Mar 3, 2009 6:41:35 GMT -5
Next year I think will be our best team to date at WSU. So it will be"great" for us, but only "good" or "very good" from the perspective of a BCS team. None of us know what to expect from the recruits we've never seen play a college game. What I am "hoping" for is for Darkwa to be somewhat like Thad Burton on the boards, as well as being able to defend his counterpart. If he is quick and agile, he may be a good match for Howard. If we can have him, Cory, and Todd fighting for rebounds the guards can concern themselves with getting long rebounds. So if Darkwa is a strong rebounder/defender, who occasionally scores, I'd be willing to recruit a pure PG.
If Darkwa is not quick, agile, a leaper, who can defend, etc. then I'm inclined to look for a JC center who can occupy space and rebound primarily. If he can defend and/or score that's even better.
Of course, we are all hoping that Ronnie gets heavier and stronger next season. But he must also become someone who fights for rebounds. It seems to me that most of his 2.9 rebounds per game comes from balls coming directly to him. I don't recall him getting many "contested" rebounds, but maybe that's my faulty memory.
As always, I hate to see the season end, but man, am I looking forward to next year.
|
|
|
Post by 86grad on Mar 3, 2009 9:09:54 GMT -5
My biggest concern about next year is how quickly Vaughn is able to adapt to game play. It seems that missing a season due to transfer, redshirt, or injury requires some transition time to re-adapt to the pace of a game. Many of us expected big things from Scott Grote right off the bat this season, but it has taken nearly 20-25 games to see him perform close to his potential. I don't think that it will take Vaughn that long to transition back to his game, but I also don't think that he will be 100% the first time he takes the court in a game. Next season, I do expect better things from Scott. He should come into the season ready to play his best basketball. As far as Darkwa goes, I think that he will need some time to learn the pace of play and adjust his body to that pace. I hope that he is a fast contributor, but I think he will need time.
|
|
|
Post by riceownz2 on Mar 3, 2009 10:29:04 GMT -5
Well said everyone. Just remember what everyone's been saying. BB for some reason loves N'gai. So he is going to be a factor in our lineup next year if we like it or not. I dont think playing VD at point is such a bad idea. Yes our point guard brings it up and starts the offense, but after that with the motion offense, playing point does not matter. So he could just get it up pass it off then its like he is playing the 2. I say we go small and quick next year. We are so deep, lets play like the big boys. Get the rebound and run. I dont know if we can do that but i think its worth a shot
|
|
|
Post by fizztharaider on Mar 3, 2009 22:36:53 GMT -5
For some reason, I like N'Gai as well, maybe BB can see his great potential. He is a beast and will be next years starting PG. Sure, right now, all he has is a drive to the basket. But let us not underestimate the power of a penetrating PG. He creates shots for others when he does this. Tonight against Valpo he gave us a preview of this penetrate and dish game, and it looked nice, and was effective. Some people only see things as they are not how they could be. As his court vision continues to improve he becomes a larger asset to the team. The exciting thing about N'gai is his potential to improve. Look at a guy like Tabler, his natural abilities put a limit on his potential. Even as he develops his game and gains experience, he can only do so much physically.
|
|
|
Post by Raider Rowdies on Mar 3, 2009 22:41:24 GMT -5
For some reason, I like N'Gai as well, maybe BB can see his great potential. He is a beast and will be next years starting PG. Sure, right now, all he has is a drive to the basket. But let us not underestimate the power of a penetrating PG. He creates shots for others when he does this. Tonight against Valpo he gave us a preview of this penetrate and dish game, and it looked nice, and was effective. When exactly did you see any of this. The N'Gai I saw tonight had 1 assist and 3 TOs. Until those numbers are reversed, he's more of a liability at PG than an asset. PG's need to be able to do more than score. They need to set up their teammates. Evans doesn't do this well yet.
|
|
|
Post by fizztharaider on Mar 4, 2009 4:53:51 GMT -5
For some reason, I like N'Gai as well, maybe BB can see his great potential. He is a beast and will be next years starting PG. Sure, right now, all he has is a drive to the basket. But let us not underestimate the power of a penetrating PG. He creates shots for others when he does this. Tonight against Valpo he gave us a preview of this penetrate and dish game, and it looked nice, and was effective. When exactly did you see any of this. The N'Gai I saw tonight had 1 assist and 3 TOs. Until those numbers are reversed, he's more of a liability at PG than an asset. PG's need to be able to do more than score. They need to set up their teammates. Evans doesn't do this well yet. He is improving quickly. There were a few missed 3's off of N'Gai passes vs. valpo, i only remember specifically the one to Tabler, a wide open shot...and then there was the dish to brown for the dunk, that was a flash of greatness. Go back on film and watch his approach on that play, seriously. I agree that he has work to do but lets not write him out the scenario for next year. And don't be surprised if he starts games when JD's out. As for the quote in Italics, sometimes its better to raise your head from the stat book. But, if we must limit our evaluation in such a manner, let us at least point out N'Gai's 7 points on 4-4 FT and 50% from three land, in just 19 minutes, by the way. My point is that Evans showed a side to his passing game that I hadn't seen before in him, whether it showed in the box score of not. He also showed us a 17 point game and a game winning shot last week. He is moving quickly in the right direction. Realize that our opinions as fans can actually effect the emotional state of our players. I don't know how many of you heard Will's speech on senior night, but to me he seemed a little hurt by the negativity displayed to him by fans and basically he said so in his speech. Many of our fans turned their back on Will. After all that he has done for us over the years you might think we would show a little more support, even when it becomes frustrating. Its hard to justify the amount of hate for Will on this board, its not as if is screwing up on purpose, he probably beats himself up about it as it is. As for Evans, give the kid another off season. just wait.
|
|
|
Post by Raider Rowdies on Mar 4, 2009 7:15:45 GMT -5
I'm not giving up on Evans by any means, but I don't see as much progress as you do in his passing. I think he needs to have a big off season in the weight room and I really think he would benefit from going to as many open gyms as he can to work on his PG skills.
In regards to Will, that's part of playing D1 athletics. When you consistently make bad decisions (like Will even thinking about taking a 3) you are going to get criticized. This isn't pee wee basketball. These are D1 games and people are paying serious money to see them. Like it or not, people are going to be judged by their play.
|
|
|
Post by wolf41 on Mar 4, 2009 14:36:17 GMT -5
I have to agree with Orville. I have never seen anyone on either board ever express "hate" towards a player. We are all fans. We support our players and want the team to win. Thus, any criticism is just a comment, nothing more. I suspect that the coaches say far worse things to them after a bad play. It is a fact that players make bad plays. How about that pass N'gai made early in the second half, straight to a yellow jersey. Wasn't that a bad play? The next time down the court I yelled "We're wearing the white shirts." The fact is every one has so called "brain farts" now and then.
Will has made great plays for us over 4 years. But I'm sure Will may acknowledge that he has made mistakes as well. I'm upset with Will, not for shooting .135 from beyond the arc this past year, but for the fact that he shot 52 shots from there. Cooperwood shot .143, but only shot 7 times from beyond the arc. Gavin Horne only shot 29 times from the arc, but made 12 and had our best percentage from there. So are the fans "wrong" for being upset over Will's shot selection? I don't think so.
|
|
|
Post by riceownz2 on Mar 4, 2009 15:07:48 GMT -5
I guess i would want to know how many of those 3-pointers Will took were at the end of the shot clock? Yes I know he still shot too many overall but i was just trying to bring up a point. I watch him shoot in warm-ups, its silky smooth and looks good. Then in the game all of a sudden this hitch happens. He like flares his elbow out and all that. Idk. I think no matter what next year we are a huge contender for the HL title.
|
|
|
Post by wolf41 on Mar 5, 2009 10:16:39 GMT -5
rice, I totally agree with your team expectations for next year. I'm looking forward to the Buckeyes taking the field in Sept. and the Raiders running onto the court in Nov.
As for Will, some of his shots off of his drives to the basket have also been beyond belief. But for his career I have been happy with his play. He has given the fans more"surprises", both good and bad, than any player I can remember at WSU.
|
|