Upon Further Review...

[birdshlong]

One huge positive for the future is the last two seasons Paul Hewitt's recruiting has been stellar. Impressed with all his recruits.. Lets just see what he can do in the next 2-3 seasons.
He was a huge miss in his first season, I don't get what happened. very unlucky with copes. The dude is our highest recruit.

Whatever. Just have to be really patient.

 

[Patriotsince81]

Time will tell if his recruiting has been "stellar" or not. Looking ahead to next year we have 3 to make 2 up front with Royal, Jenkins, and Gujanicic. You will note that I did not factor Copes into the equation. Back court offers Moore, Edwards, Holloway, and Gray. Unless Mayimba, Lockett, and Porter turn out to be impact freshman they aren't going to lead us to the promised land. I see us as being very average again next year. Hope like heck I am wrong.

 

[gmutom]

I agree with '81 that next year won't be much better than this season (if not worse), so I'd rather roll the dice with playing our freshmen next year rather than waiting for our rising seniors to step up. The new kids and Royal can't possibly be less productive than Edwards, Gray, Copes and Okoloji.

 

[Dawgs99]

Really need a kid with a scorers mentality to take that last scholarship. Also agree that next year maybe be even more "uneven" with the rosters make-up. IMO Hewitt inherited a weird situation. Due to the youth in terms of eligibility on the roster when Hewitt was hired, he really didn't have much room to do what he does best: recruit. Hell if Paris and Vertrail hadn't transferred we'd be watching the exact same roster for the 2nd season, fairly unusual for a college team. Over the next 2 seasons we will finally see the roster turn over. In most cases I'm ready to see some new blood on the team. An upgrade in over all talent is needed to compete in the A10 and stay out of the basement. I feel pretty good about Hewitt bringing in the talent, so even if he gets canned the roster will be in decent shape. If you count the kids that the staff recruited out of HS they have done a good job in terms of finding and signing talented kids. I think most posters are pretty satisfied with Jenkins, Moore, Marko and PH. I do not count Copes as part of this equation for the obvious reason that he was a package deal and was fairly highly sought after. Lets hope Royal has more game than AO!!

 

[GMUgemini]

The team needs a point guard. I'm hopeful Moore can be that guy for the next three years, but that's going to mean growing his game quickly.

There will be players with a shooter's mentality on this team next season -- Holloway, Gray, and Marko -- and possibly Royal, who is a big mystery. That's possibly three or four starters who are willing to pull the trigger any time they catch it.

With that being said, who knows what's up with Gray or if he'll ever see the floor enough under Hewitt to score. God help us if Hewitt is forced to start Okoloji next season. If Gray can't get his stuff together, I hope Mayimba is ready to take over that SF role from day one, otherwise we have a black hole at the 3.

I'd love a Kobe Eubanks to sign on the dotted line, bring him in, and hope he's ready to score 8-10 points a game as a freshman.

That's a lot of hope

 

[Walter]

Does anyone know how Royal has looked in practice?

 

[gmutom]

Does anyone know how Royal has looked in practice?

I'm still trying to figure out what kind of player he is. I know he has good size, but is he another finesse player like J2, or can he also bang inside and give us the post player we so desperately need?

 

[gmujim92]

I'm still trying to figure out what kind of player he is. I know he has good size, but is he another finesse player like J2, or can he also bang inside and give us the post player we so desperately need?

Classic stretch 4. Mostly a finesse player -- he has range out to the 3-point line -- and much better facing the basket than posting up.

He's basically Marko, with better strength and athleticism.

I'll be interested to see how everything shakes out next season. If Jenkins continues to play the 4, that will give us a logjam of 3 at that position, with only Copes and a skinny, unproven true freshman at the 5.

With as foul-prone as Copes has been, I don't see how that could be a winning plan. I'd start Jenkins at the 5, Marko or Royal at the 4 and bring Copes off the bench -- barring injury, that would make it possible to redshirt Porter and beef him up.

 

[gmutom]

I'd start Jenkins at the 5, Marko or Royal at the 4 and bring Copes off the bench -- barring injury, that would make it possible to redshirt Porter and beef him up.

This makes the most sense to me given your description of Royal's game. If Jenkins put on that much weight between last year and this year, imagine how much more muscle his frame can hold between now and next season.

 

[gmujim92]

This makes the most sense to me given your description of Royal's game. If Jenkins put on that much weight between last year and this year, imagine how much more muscle his frame can hold between now and next season.

I just hope Hewitt doesn't stubbornly try to turn Jalen into a 3-4 combo forward as has been speculated.

On a team that lacks for low-post threats and rebounders, the last thing we need is our most aggressive post player hanging out by the 3-point line.

 

[Harry]

This makes the most sense to me given your description of Royal's game. If Jenkins put on that much weight between last year and this year, imagine how much more muscle his frame can hold between now and next season.

Not sure I want Jenkins putting on more weight. As Red Auerbach used to say, when you want to handicap a race horse, you add weight. More weight could adversely affect his quickness and leaping ability. Lefty Driesell did not ask Buck Williams to add weight when he moved Buck to center.

 

[Pablo]

I just hope Hewitt doesn't stubbornly try to turn Jalen into a 3-4 combo forward as has been speculated.

On a team that lacks for low-post threats and rebounders, the last thing we need is our most aggressive post player hanging out by the 3-point line.

In Jalen, I see a player who could potentially play multiple positions particularly defensively. And, Hewitt has spoken highly of his passing skills, so I'm guessing that he would like to see Jalen use this ability occasionally on the wing.

 

[gmutom]

Not sure I want Jenkins putting on more weight. As Red Auerbach used to say, when you want to handicap a race horse, you add weight. More weight could adversely affect his quickness and leaping ability. Lefty Driesell did not ask Buck Williams to add weight when he moved Buck to center.

Good point, Harry, but I'm just talking about adding some more muscle so he can bang more in the paint. He's a very athletic kid, so I don't think another 10-15 pounds would affect his agility much if at all.

 

[gmujim92]

In Jalen, I see a player who could potentially play multiple positions particularly defensively. And, Hewitt has spoken highly of his passing skills, so I'm guessing that he would like to see Jalen use this ability occasionally on the wing.

In a perfect world where we have more than enough depth at the PF and C positions, sure, play him on the wing.

But that will certainly not be the case next season, when our only two centers will be a foul-prone senior with no offensive skills and a skinny, unproven true freshman.

So no, I don't think we'll have the luxury of Jalen roaming around on the perimeter.

We're already going to be extremely perimeter-oriented with 3 stretch 4s in Marko, Royal and Okoloji and 3 SFs in Gray, Mayimba and Lockett.

We need Jenkins to work hard in the offseason to develop 3-4 go-to moves around the basket, not to become another perimeter player on a team full of them.

 

[Pablo]

Gray hasn't played since the first half of the Iowa State game. If he isn't injured, then how can you be sure that he'll be a key player at the "3" next season?

 

[gmujim92]

Gray hasn't played since the first half of the Iowa State game. If he isn't injured, then how can you be sure that he'll be a key player at the "3" next season?

Where did I say Gray will be a key player?

I just included him in the list of SFs because until we hear about him (or anyone else) leaving, we have to expect that he'll be part of the 2014-15 team.

I notice, though, that you didn't argue my main point: We will have far more perimeter options than proven post players next season.

Jenkins is an absolute horse. I wouldn't be surprised if he was already our strongest player, as a redshirt freshman. With 3-4 go-to moves, he'd be an absolute stud in the paint.

 

[JBiggs]

He's not only strong and quick, but he's aggressive down low. He's forced his way to the basket on several occasions, using his hips and shoulders. I haven't seen anybody move guys in the paint since RP graduated. He has "it." None of our other post players do.

 

[Pablo]

Where did I say Gray will be a key player?

I just included him in the list of SFs because until we hear about him (or anyone else) leaving, we have to expect that he'll be part of the 2014-15 team.

I notice, though, that you didn't argue my main point: We will have far more perimeter options than proven post players next season.

Jenkins is an absolute horse. I wouldn't be surprised if he was already our strongest player, as a redshirt freshman. With 3-4 go-to moves, he'd be an absolute stud in the paint.

I assumed that you projected Gray as a key player at SF next season since you listed him first & he'll be a senior (if he returns). But, you are definitely correct about having more perimeter options than proven post players next season.

While I agree that Jalen is primarily a post player, I also believe that there could be situations where Hewitt would want to play him on the wing. I'm concerned about the "3" position next season pending the development of the incoming freshmen. And, frankly, I don't see the harm in having the flexibility of Jalen playing the "3" on occasion (provided he can adequately learn the position).

 

[A.-Siegfried]

They need the post kid from harcum college that I heard was on campus a few weeks back.

 

[Pablo]

They need the post kid from harcum college that I heard was on campus a few weeks back.

Are you talking about Ivan Uceda?