Bullish on Next Year

[T-Bone]

Our guards.
TC ranks 6th in the BE for A/T, 3rd in steals as a freshman.
JJJ can dominate for stretches, as the season wore on the length of those stretches increased.
HC keep up the confidence in his game, and he will be awesome.
Du is extremely talented, he will be as good as he wants.

Down low
Fish...  Stay out of foul trouble, I'm happy
Heldt, made some great strides, looking forward to his Jr year.
Sandy, needs to find a way to be an offensive factor again.  Others took some leaps past him, but he has the talent to do more.

I like what we got.

http://www.bigeast.com/documents/2015/11/15/1516MBBStats.pdf

[ChicosBailBonds]

Lots of open questions still

PG play.
Does someone leave....grad transfer, regular transfer
HE
DW has to get better at decision making, but has talent
Sandy...don't know, just don't know

[PGsHeroes32]

Need a PF its that simple.

Howard and at least 1 Big would make us pretty damn good.

[brandx]

Our guards.
TC ranks 6th in the BE for A/T, 3rd in steals as a freshman.
JJJ can dominate for stretches, as the season wore on the length of those stretches increased.
HC keep up the confidence in his game, and he will be awesome.
Du is extremely talented, he will be as good as he wants.

Down low
Fish...  Stay out of foul trouble, I'm happy
Heldt, made some great strides, looking forward to his Jr year.
Sandy, needs to find a way to be an offensive factor again.  Others took some leaps past him, but he has the talent to do more.

I like what we got.

http://www.bigeast.com/documents/2015/11/15/1516MBBStats.pdf

Duane needs to shoot better or else his minutes will be down. Rowsey is a better shooter, Hauser,  JJJ, and Cohen are better shooters as well. Worst shooting % among the 7 guys in the rotation and 2nd worst 3-point shooter (Fischer took no 3-pointers).

You never knew what Duane's shot would look like. Release changed, arc changed. No repeatable consistency at all. Doesn't bode well for next year, but hopefully he puts in the necessary work.

[Bricky]

Sandy...don't know, just don't know

I'm going to chalk this one up to lack of self confidence. He was clearly trying out some new offensive tools, but because he never regressed back to his natural style of play — cherry picking from the 3pt line — he never regained confidence in his skills. Just a thought.

[bilsu]

I think Carter will take a huge step up next year.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Very bullish on next season. Assuming no major defections besides HE, we will be a bubble team. Assuming no major defections besides HE and we get Markus Howard, we will be a very good bubble team. Assuming no major defections besides HE and we get Markus Howard and we get an impact player at the PF position....watch out.

Oh, and if HE stays, top 20 easy.

[real chili 83]

Wojo sees something in Sandy. That's why he got the minutes he did. 

[brewcity77]

Jajuan was maddeningly inconsistent his first two years but has really stepped it up this year. I'm not ready to close the book on Sandy, but he certainly does look out of sorts.

Next year will be interesting. We need another big, honestly could use another even if Henry were to stay. Fully expecting he'll be gone and Howard will be here, so the staff needs to find a ready to play big man.

Scheme will be interesting. If our core rotation after Luke is JJ, Duane, Cheatham, Rowsey, Sandy, Traci, and Wally, that's a very small team. Tough to play man against 6'7" and bigger wings and forwards when you can't really contest their shots. Might need more zone to protect Luke. Offensively, however, we would be very quick and very good on the perimeter.

[ATWizJr]

Our guards.
TC ranks 6th in the BE for A/T, 3rd in steals as a freshman.
JJJ can dominate for stretches, as the season wore on the length of those stretches increased.
HC keep up the confidence in his game, and he will be awesome.
Du is extremely talented, he will be as good as he wants.

Down low
Fish...  Stay out of foul trouble, I'm happy
Heldt, made some great strides, looking forward to his Jr year.
Sandy, needs to find a way to be an offensive factor again.  Others took some leaps past him, but he has the talent to do more.

I like what we got.

http://www.bigeast.com/documents/2015/11/15/1516MBBStats.pdf

Dreaming is free.

[nyg]

Need a PF its that simple.

Howard and at least 1 Big would make us pretty damn good.

Yes, that would be the dream scenario and I am sure the staff knows that Fischer experiences foul trouble and with Heldt the only bigman left, well....

Last night when Henry fouled out, leaving JJJ and Cohen up front, they are man handled by Reynolds and Farr.  It was really not fun to watch those two thin kids against grown men.

One question I have.  Is Anim that bad, because even with the foul issues experienced, Heldt being out, he basically saw no playing time.  Since BE play, Anim played a total of 30 minutes in 22 games. Even with Cohen having a bad BE season, Anim didn't see the floor.  Is Cohen that much better than Anim?

[Babybluejeans]

Oh, and if HE stays, top 20 easy.

Why? Even in a dream scenario where HE stays, what makes you think this is a top 20 team? Bubble team, sure. But we haven't done anything to indicate that even with a year under our belt, we're capable of consistently beating quality, top 25 opponents. I'm not saying it wouldn't happen, I'm only saying that top 20 "easy" is not based on the evidence. 

[mu03eng]

Why? Even in a dream scenario where HE stays, what makes you think this is a top 20 team? Bubble team, sure. But we haven't done anything to indicate that even with a year under our belt, we're capable of consistently beating quality, top 25 opponents. I'm not saying it wouldn't happen, I'm only saying that top 20 "easy" is not based on the evidence.

We've currently got 5 wins over Top 50 KenPom opponents and were very competitive with at least 3 more of those games.

[CTWarrior]

I'm going to chalk this one up to lack of self confidence. He was clearly trying out some new offensive tools, but because he never regressed back to his natural style of play — cherry picking from the 3pt line — he never regained confidence in his skills. Just a thought.

He may have a confidence issue, but his biggest problem is that he moves two speeds slower than everyone else.  He takes forever to get his 3 point shot off, and when you're not playing cupcakes getting that time is more difficult. 

As for the team next year, we are losing our best player by far, and we have no one to replace him.  We are a pretty bad rebounding team with Henry, what are we going to be without him?  As of now, we don't have a single real PF on the roster for the 2016-17 season, good, bad or otherwise.  I can't see us being an NCAA team without one of those (and frankly, how many good teams only have one of those?).  I would be a lot more optimistic if we land a PF capable of big minutes immediately.  I do very much like the quality we have assembled at the 2/3 positions, and Carter gets better every day at PG.  There are pieces of a good team here, but not enough quality size, particularly since our guards are not very good defenders.

[jsglow]

I agree with CT.  We need a rebounding PF bad.  But I know Wojo knows that and think he'll address it.

I suppose the very good news is that pretty much everything else seems to be NCAA tourney worthy.

2/3 play by Haani, JjJ and Duane. NCAA worthy. Check.
PG. Traci, Andrew and maybe Markus. NCAA worthy. Check.
C. Luke backed up by Matty. Check.

Now perhaps Sacar, Wally and/or Sandy can add enough muscle to provide some reasonable time at #4 but I have my doubts that the combination of those 3 is enough.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Why? Even in a dream scenario where HE stays, what makes you think this is a top 20 team? Bubble team, sure. But we haven't done anything to indicate that even with a year under our belt, we're capable of consistently beating quality, top 25 opponents. I'm not saying it wouldn't happen, I'm only saying that top 20 "easy" is not based on the evidence.

Because we will return 99.9% of our production (by far biggest factor in determining off-season improvement), add an impact guard (potentially two if Howard commits), add a top 100 freshmen wing, and the biggest jump in production tends to be between freshmen and sophomore year.

We seem to really forget that teams do most of their development in the off-season.

[esotericmindguy]

I don't see what others see in Traci Carter. He'd maybe see the floor for 2 other teams in conference. He can't shoot, not a great ball handler and average perimeter defender. He hustles, but he consistently gets beat off the dribble. I like how hard he plays, other teammates could learn from him and Wally. This team is extremely soft. Duane, JJJ, Fish and Cohen are soft. I'm wondering who will grab a rebound next season. Until Wojo recruits some toughness, I see another lackluster season.

[LAMUfan]

A couple of posters in this thread have been talking about getting Howard and a PF for next year, we don't currently have the scholarships spots for that correct?  We have one plus one if Henry leaves making two (one taken already), right?

[connie]

While normally the voice of impending doom, I too think we will be a better team next year.  I really like Hani and think he will make a jump next year, and have to give major credit to JJJ for his work this year.  Not expecting top 20 and we miss HE to be sure, but overall I think we become a more rounded and stable team.

[NavinRJohnson]

Funny, I have been thinking just the opposite. I am not terribly bullish on the near-term futur. The have some nice pieces, but are losing by far the best player off a team that frankly wasn't very good. The inexperience and inconsistency are well documented and is a legitimate excuse, but while there are some nice pieces (Cheatam, Carter and JJJ in particular) there, i suspect lack of depth will be even a bigger issue next season. If I were Wojo, I'd be looking very hard at jucos. I see next year being a lot like this year. Largely competitive, but not really very good, and completely over matched by the top teams in the league.

Long time between now, players to be added, etc., so we'll see, but they are still a long way away.

[jsglow]

A couple of posters in this thread have been talking about getting Howard and a PF for next year, we don't currently have the scholarships spots for that correct?  We have one plus one if Henry leaves making two (one taken already), right?

Incorrect.  We have one available right now even after Hauser and Bailey signed.  Bailey won't end up counting while he goes on LDS mission.  If (when) HE leaves we'll have 2 available.  So expect 3 new players in uniform next year.  Hauser plus two TBD.

[frozena pizza]

Funny, I have been thinking just the opposite. I am not terribly bullish on the near-term futur. The have some nice pieces, but are losing by far the best player off a team that frankly wasn't very good. The inexperience and inconsistency are well documented and is a legitimate excuse, but while there are some nice pieces (Cheatam, Carter and JJJ in particular) there, i suspect lack of depth will be even a bigger issue next season. If I were Wojo, I'd be looking very hard at jucos. I see next year being a lot like this year. Largely competitive, but not really very good, and completely over matched by the top teams in the league.

Long time between now, players to be added, etc., so we'll see, but they are still a long way away.

Yeah, I don't know where people are getting any kind of optimism for next season.  They seem to be based on wishful scenarios that simply are not likely to happen.  Henry stays or we bring in a dominant power forward.  Carter, Duane and Heldt take a huge step forward.  Is there any indication that will happen?  I see us fighting to hang with the mid-pack of the Big East and probably missing the NIT.  Again.

[LAMUfan]

Incorrect.  We have one available right now even after Hauser and Bailey signed.  Bailey won't end up counting while he goes on LDS mission.  If (when) HE leaves we'll have 2 available.  So expect 3 new players in uniform next year.  Hauser plus two TBD.

Thanks. 

[Marcus92]

Next year will be interesting. We need another big, honestly could use another even if Henry were to stay. Fully expecting he'll be gone and Howard will be here, so the staff needs to find a ready to play big man.

Scheme will be interesting. If our core rotation after Luke is JJ, Duane, Cheatham, Rowsey, Sandy, Traci, and Wally, that's a very small team. Tough to play man against 6'7" and bigger wings and forwards when you can't really contest their shots. Might need more zone to protect Luke. Offensively, however, we would be very quick and very good on the perimeter.

I don't see Wojo moving away from the inside-out philosophy; early in the possession, all of our guards (whether it's Traci, Haanif, Jajuan or Duane) are looking to drive or feed the post first.

But if the returning guards and Rowsey are better than this year, it could open up the middle even more than the combination of Henry and Luke did. Having more reliable three-point shooters means defenders can't sag into the lane to double-team as often. And if defenders are playing close on the perimeter, once you get the first step or a good pick you're creating havoc on your way to the basket.

Quality bigs make a difference. But that only goes so far. Good teams found ways to limit Henry's touches and deny him the ball where he wanted it. This is a guard's game. Cut down on the turnovers, make more threes, and I think we're going to be okay.

And hopefully Henry stays or we land another big.

[GooooMarquette]

Wojo sees something in Sandy. That's why he got the minutes he did.

Maybe becomes next season's JJJ?

If you look at Sandy's stats this season and JJJ's last year, there are similarities.