Roster make up and expectations as of 4/14

[tower912]

For the sake of this, I am going to assume Garcia comes back.

Bigs:  5 6'7+    Garcia, Keeyan, Osa, Joplin, Lewis.    Two 6'9 pogo stick string beans.    Two 6'7 combo forwards.   Garcia.   
Guards: 7  6'2-6'5.    DJ, Greg, Perez, Dexter, Jones, Mitchell, EE.   

Young.  Keeyan and Osa need to eat some sandwiches and get in the weight room.    Lewis needs to get healthy and find his jump shot.    Shaka likes to run 3 guard sets.   He certainly has options.    This is the kind of roster where MU can pressure a la Havoc/SJU/FSU/Pitino.      If everybody gets up to speed quickly.     Which is the biggest if.   

Floor:   Too much youth.   Not enough bulk down low.   Returnees struggle with the new system, new guys struggle with Big East physicality.      Record similar to last year.    Patience, building for the future.   

Ceiling:   A full offseason of training and conditioning.    Everybody knows and accepts their roles quickly.   Swarming defense.     Length and depth lead to pressure, leading to dunks.    4 or 5 out motion offense leads to more open 3's and MU hits at an average rate.     22-24 wins, back to the tourney.   

I will hope for the best, but young teams scare me.     

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Said it elsewhere, so far it seems like Shaka's priority is building culture and winning down the road, not necessarily winning next season. Personally, I think that is a fine approach and different from Wojo did when he started (credit to Dr. B for calling that early). There's still a schollie to play with and we may have some transfers out to make room so maybe he adds some instant impact guys to make a run next season.

[Goose]

TAMU


Lose a couple more guys and fill in with transfers for next season and all is good.

[CountryRoads]

Too many question marks at the guard spot now. Would really love to add Morsell from Maryland as the top priority. I believe he played the 4 for them in a small lineup a year or two ago and is an elite defender and would add experience we need. Tamar Bates is also regarded as one of the best perimeter defenders in his class and should be prioritized regardless of the fact we have a lot of players at his position. Get these guys on board and then see where room needs to be made.

[Marquette4life]

Not an expectation but with the talent of dg,Lewis, and carton, and the role guys on the roster right now I could clearly see us sneaking in the top 25 at some point! Exciting!

[GooooMarquette]

If we have a young, athletic team that plays a swarming defense and wins 22-24 games, I will be very happy.

If we improve as the season progresses, I will be ecstatic.

[mileskishnish72]

Tower, Roads, great posts.

Isn't it cool to be excited about MU ball again?

What is a recruit worth? I don't know, but I feel that a recruit under Shaka is worth more than a recruit under Wojo because there is a greater chance that they will be coached up.

Yes, young teams are scary, and if Wojo were still here with the personnel we are looking at today he'd already be singing the blues about how young we are. Shaka is willing to go for it.

Hang on!

[Uncle Rico]

Tower, Roads, great posts.

Isn't it cool to be excited about MU ball again?

What is a recruit worth? I don't know, but I feel that a recruit under Shaka is worth more than a recruit under Wojo because there is a greater chance that they will be coached up.

Yes, young teams are scary, and if Wojo were still here with the personnel we are looking at today he'd already be singing the blues about how young we are. Shaka is willing to go for it.

Hang on!

I think the bolded part is why it is exciting. 

[GoldenWarrior11]

Will be interesting to see where that last scholarship goes (assuming Garcia returns). 

[Big Papi]

Hoping for Bates as I think he will have an impact right away.  I can't say the same for half of the incoming freshmen.

[tower912]

It would be weird to have all of the scholarships used.

[mileskishnish72]

Dogfight for PT. Show Shaka what you got.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

I see a lot of raw, skinny athletes.  They'll be a lot better in year 3 than year 1.

Unless some players turn out to be much better than anticipated, I don't see a top 25 team.

Hopefully we see some growth throughout the year, setting the stage for the future.

[jfp61]

I see a lot of raw, skinny athletes.  They'll be a lot better in year 3 than year 1.

Unless some players turn out to be much better than anticipated, I don't see a top 25 team.

Hopefully we see some growth throughout the year, setting the stage for the future.

Well when Garcia comes back and Tre Mitchell and Marcus Carr come in we might become the 23rd best team...

There was never really a real chance for next years roster to be top 25 on paper. Maybe if they get lucky they can sneak in for a couple of weeks. Next years team is going to be a incrementally better team than last years, with a significantly better record. Top 45-50ish. But as they years go by theyll get better.

[MuggsyB]

If Garcia comes back I think we'll be a tourney team.  Even with a lot of new pieces.

[We R Final Four]

I think we are now....even with a young team. No more 1-4 inbound play deficiencies....no more bullshit.

[tower912]

This is so yesterday.


I look at the players that Coach Smart is going to have next year.     And the common theme that seems to be emerging is to beat Villanova and Creighton.     Last season, Jay was smart enough to keep running his motion and setting up mismatches until Theo was guarding Gillespie and DJ was guarding the post.   Pull Theo away from the hoop and then attack.   Creighton's MO was 5-out.    The make up of the 21-22 team appears to be a whole bunch of guards with size and mobile forwards.    Bordering on switchables, but it appears that there will still be roles and positions.     But switches are going to be easier.    Recoveries are going to be quicker. (assuming everybody understands and executes their role)   Pressure is going to be extended, forcing both Villanova and Creighton out of their offensive rhythms.     
And if you can beat those two.....     
Still worried about maulers down low.    But there will be enough forwards to not worry about foul trouble.