2017-18

[MU82]

Have said it a number of times, but think the three guys departing are going to be harder replace than most think. Each one brought a dimension that was a big part of this season. The three of them received a nice number of sotg on this site.

Agree.

Each of them drove us batty at times, but each had the ability to take over games and each brought something unique that nobody else on the team did.

[AZMarqfan]

Would love to see us continue to use the redshirt option for players.  It's a chance for guys to adapt

[HoopsterBC]

I don't think we will be as good next year as this year.  Going to be hard to duplicate the Number 1, 3-point shooting team in the country, and 5th overall in eFG%.

Think Anim may be the key player.  If he is markedly improved, we could equal this year's team.  I don't see Duane, Haanif, or freshman Cain, Ike, able to exceed/equal what JJJ and Reinhardt contribute - need Anim to step up big time.  Also, don't think Froling will be as big of impact player as some seem to think - has a long ways to go in the athletic department.  Below the rim player at 6'11".  Think Luke is undervalued by some of our fans too.

After seeing an interview with Froling, the one point that he made was,  "I want to be a pro", in saying that he must believe he has the talent to do that.  If he can average 10 points or more a game,  MU will be as good as they are this year as I believe Heldt will 5-10% percent better.  Maybe average 4-6 a game.  John will be
gravy then no matter what he brings to the table.  If he can play D, be strong enough in his post defense, he will add something that they do not have this year.  Yes,
they will miss JJJ and Reinhardt scoring but Anim and Cain hopefully can improve on the weak D those 2 seniors brought to the table.  MU still will be able to score with
what they have, and Cain in his videos shows a player that can put the ball in the basket.  Not sure about Anim, maybe the year off helped his outside game.  Now
Cheatham will be the X factor.  How much does he want it, we will see.   DWilson really should be a back-up guard again next year.  Playing 3 guards like this year is
again against a team playing good D with those 2 pigmys out there.  Way to small.  Different make-up next year, but should be better defensively and the offense will
be OK.  The last point is that Froling has lost 23 pounds already, so he is being serious about getting into shape.  I am sure he will get to 240, then it is a matter of
getting stronger.

[brewcity77]

Expectations for next year will be very interesting. Losing three seniors that have played a lot of minutes will do that. Here are the positives and negatives I see:

Positives

• Our top three long-range shooters in terms of percentage and makes are all back, we should still be an elite team from range.
  
• We will have more length and athleticism, especially inside, where I believe Froling, John, and Eke will improve on the loss of Luke from a defensive perspective.
  
• Anim and Cain should provide the ability to get to the rim, which has been at times difficult this year.
  
• Rowsey's presence will prevent teams from focusing completely on Markus, which should help him avoid some of the wall that Cheatham hit this year.

Negatives

• No established late-game option with Reinhardt leaving. I could see Duane, Markus, or Rowsey in that role, but it still has to be established.
  
• Defensively, while we won't miss JJ's man defense, we will miss his ability to force turnovers. He has keyed much of our transition, and no one is close to his ability to do that. It will need to be replaced.
  
• We are losing 40% of our raw scoring. While we still have weapons, that's a lot of points (over 1,000) that need to be replaced.
  
• Luke is our only real low-post scoring threat. Hopefully Heldt, Froling, and John can help replace that, but losing one of the most efficient scorers in the league is still a big void.

All in all, I think we'll be about the same. There will be a lot of adjustment in November and December as guys adjust to being the focus of the scouting report, and as we integrate likely at least 4 new faces to the rotation (Anim, Cain, Froling, John) and maybe five if we have a grad transfer.

There's also the transfer question, will Duane be back after dealing with a diminished role? I've heard mixed reports on this. I hope he's back and think he could be a great senior leader, but he's probably at best the third scoring option returning.

I expect that come next March, we'll be sitting in about the same position. Within 2-3 lines of the bubble and around the middle of the league.

[Loose Cannon]

I agree with this analysis.

Well, I'm glad to hear that from you. That's all I needed.