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Post by hhgreen on Mar 13, 2014 14:36:09 GMT -5
I wonder who the starting 5 will be next year. Of course we had many starting lineups this past season and it was not etched in stone.
Reggie. Senior Hopkins. Senior Sledge. Senior Griffin. Senior Gossard. Senior Yoho. Junior Collie. Junior Thomasson. Junior Howell. Sophomore Davis. Sophomore Benzinger. Freshman Mitchell. Freshman Evans. Freshman Roderick Davis. Freshman Meyer. Freshman
1. Reggie 2. Hopkins 3. Yoho 4. Davis or Davis 5. Sledge
Just looking ahead. Our 5 and 4 spots are going to be challenging for us next year. Short on experience not necessarily just height or size.
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Post by wolf41 on Mar 13, 2014 15:07:05 GMT -5
I think Reggie was our most improved player this season. His play exhibited real growth in his game and in his maturity. I think he will be the PG next season, backed up by the very capable Howell. I like Hopkins as the 2 guard. I think the 3 new freshmen guards will be in competition to back him up. I think Donlon will start 3 guards, so I think Thomasson is a virtual lock. He can jump, ala Young, so he may collect some boards for us as the small forward. S. Davis may have something to say about Thomasson getting the starting nod. But I see those two sharing the small forward job.
Hard to say about the other two bigs since we haven't seen the two new freshmen in action much and don't even know if a new JUCO will be here or not. Right now Yoho and Sledge may be penciled in to start next season. Yoho could also compete for the SF position. But there will be pressure from at least the two new guys on the block.
I think we will be very competitive next year IF the 2/3 new bigs have game. If not, we will suffer big time. If our new bigs are the type of players I'm hoping for, we'll be a force to be reckoned with. We could even be good enough to get an NCAA bid without winning the HL tournament. But the overall playing ability of the new big guys will be the acid test for this team IMO.
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Post by wsuraider09 on Mar 13, 2014 15:56:03 GMT -5
I think this is hard to speculate so far. Obviously we don't know about transfer out situations. However, it seems unlikely that anybody is going to be able to take the starting spot of Sledge away. I sincerely hope that we can keep JY as more of a 3 guard, and keep him out of the 4 position where he seems to get a ton of fouls called on him. I haven't got to see much from any of our recruits, but I can't remember the last freshman who got considerable playing minutes at WSU. VD maybe?...Anyways.
It's hard to fathom anything besides this 1,2,3 and 5. I think the 4 position is kind of up in the air...and could be filled with Yoho on ocasion if we get a decently sized JUCO transfer. I think Stephen Davis could be huge playing a 4, but who really knows. Nobody knows for certain that Kendall Griffin will be returning, although I personally think he'll see the hardwood again...seems like others aren't so sure. If that happens, we may run 3 small with Reggie, KG, Hop (playing a Todd Brown PG/SF) and then Yoho at the 4 (which I don't like) and Sledge (with Davis coming off the bench) That's an awful small lineup. Holding out hope for somebody big JUCO signing or something. As we saw in this last game, we are going to struggle in league with stronger more physical teams if something doesn't change, doesn't matter WHO we run out there.
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Post by Big D on Mar 13, 2014 18:44:46 GMT -5
This thread is several months too early. You have no idea what our roster will look like next year. We will most likely have some transfers. We will bring in a few new recruits. We might not even have the same coach in a few months, so the entire roster could be overhauled by our next coach.
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Post by hhgreen on Mar 13, 2014 19:56:02 GMT -5
These are the players we have now that are on the team that are left. If I were a betting person I think by the first or second week of April we will know the make up of the team. Right after the Big Dance or thereabouts.
I can't see any of the seniors quitting unless they have graduated already and possibly transfer that way. It is possible for a player to get tired of the grind of life as a college basketball player.
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Post by Doliboabros on Mar 13, 2014 20:18:33 GMT -5
These are the players we have now that are on the team that are left. If I were a betting person I think by the first or second week of April we will know the make up of the team. Right after the Big Dance or thereabouts. I can't see any of the seniors quitting unless they have graduated already and possibly transfer that way. It is possible for a player to get tired of the grind of life as a college basketball player. I can think of 4 players that might not be back next year. 1. Griffin is the most likely to not be back due to his health. I could see him finish up his career on a medical hardship scholarship. 2. Hopkins is graduating this spring. I could see him leaving and using his final year of eligibility somewhere else where he thinks they will better utilize his skill sets. 3. Davis didn't appear in 1/3 of our games this year even though we had no depth inside and multiple injuries. Seeing how Young was under utilized this year, I could see Davis transfer somewhere else where his style fits better. 4. Howell played in even fewer games than Davis. I could easily see him transfer somewhere closer to home where he thinks he will play more.
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Post by wsuraider09 on Mar 13, 2014 20:45:05 GMT -5
Hopkins is no Julius Mays...doesn't seem likely to me. If KG does this medical hardship thing, does that open back up a scholarship for next season? As far as the other two, that's a total crap shoot. Could pull a Bramanti and just peace out on us.
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Post by Big D on Mar 13, 2014 20:49:43 GMT -5
If KG does this medical hardship thing, does that open back up a scholarship for next season? Yes
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Post by allfor4 on Mar 13, 2014 21:12:33 GMT -5
I'd say Davis and Howell are gone. They have way too much and are were way under utilized by Billy Donlon. There are plenty of teams that will welcome their talent and actually use it
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Post by hhgreen on Mar 14, 2014 8:26:11 GMT -5
I think the only reason they leave is If they can't play Billy's style of ball or don't want to. Howell is a good defender but you can tell he would like to push the ball more. Davis wants to play some offense as well.
What does a college coach that wants too play defense instead of offense look for in a player? Obviously if a high school player is scoring 30 ppg and we recruit him and he can't play Billy's defense , it is a bad decision both ways.
Some of the kids going to big time colleges put points on the board by themselves with little help from the rest of the team. So they are putting a 100% on offense and play little defense as a consequence. That kind of kid will have a hard time learning the defense that Billy wants unless he is really smart and has good eyes on the court with quick decision making.
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Post by wsutommygun on Mar 14, 2014 8:53:39 GMT -5
HHGreen, I think you make a valid point...any freshman or juco would have to be pretty special to get big minutes from the start. Hope they show up to WSU as early as possible. Steven Davis sat out his first year so, that might need to be considered. Personally, I think he can be a player capable of doing some things Jerran was able to do. The returning players can figure out that 5 seniors are done, as long as they believe in themselves then they should know what it takes. I think many coaches have thought of returning to their alma maters. If the timing is right then that might be a concern.
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Post by wolf41 on Mar 14, 2014 12:09:41 GMT -5
I will be surprised if either Davis or Howell opt to go elsewhere. They had limited play, but the were freshmen on a more senior team. I would have liked to have seen more of them early in the year, but in the final month I think Donlon played the more senior members of the team. I think next season COULD be a very good year for WSU. It will come down to our front line I think. Our guards will be solid. If Sledge, Yoho, and Davis return and are complimented by Meyer, R.Davis, and a JUCO center we will have a solid squad. If the new bigs have the talent we want, our season could be exceptional.
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Post by Raider Fanatic on Apr 14, 2014 15:02:38 GMT -5
This thread is several months too early. You have no idea what our roster will look like next year. We will most likely have some transfers. We will bring in a few new recruits. We might not even have the same coach in a few months, so the entire roster could be overhauled by our next coach. Looks like you were right Big D. We just added our second new player this spring: Ernsthausen and Karena. A few questions remain about our roster this spring. We still have one offer out to JUCO Keith Thomas. Does Karena's commitment impacts Thomas' offer? We are currently 2 over the limit for next year with the additions of Ernsthausen and Karena. Who is leaving to open up those spots?
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Post by Rush the Court on Apr 14, 2014 16:03:29 GMT -5
Sledge, Meyer, Ernsthausen, Karena, and Roderick Davis. I cannot remember the last time we had 5 players on our roster 6-8 or taller.
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Post by wsuraider09 on Apr 14, 2014 22:36:49 GMT -5
I think something is going to give. I've read other transfer news around the country... but all is quiet. I'm not real versed on scholarship and eligibility requirements...but if we are two over...then we have to ask two people to pay their own way now? After offering a scholarship at first.... Kind of a slap in the face if it's me. But I know we've made mention of that in the past when we were over....
I think the feathers are still to be ruffled a bit.
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