2021-22 Roster

[sedziobs]

In terms of roster spots and class balancing, we're pretty close to where we would have been before the exodus and coaching change.

Vogt > Koval (senior)
Diarra > Newman (junior)
Harvey > Banks (sophomore)
Eason > Hensley (freshman)

Now we're looking to fill the spots opened by Keith, Gabe, and Rap. And although it wouldn't be fair to Banks, I think we might pull his scholarship if we needed that spot in 2023 or 2024, especially if he's already graduated by then.

 

[waterhead]

I don't think anyone wants to get rid of DDJ, but we don't know what he's thinking right now. We have been in touch with at least one PG so who knows. I am sure we will try to bring in a playmaking PG if he decides to transfer. I would assume he stays though.

I probably didn’t word that right. I place a higher value on retaining him now since we are still short on play makers at this point. I don’t know who we will put the ball in their hands late clock if we lose him

 

[Queens_NYC]

So we punting on Lil Paul and McCaffery? No way I take another guard unless DDJ is done. We only need add 6’6+ guys.

I would take the McGinnis addition as all but confirmation that DDJ is gone.

How are you going to split up 80 minutes/game between these players when two should only be on the floor at the same time?

DDJ (30 mpg last season)
Saunders (16 mpg last season)
MAW (30 mpg last season)
Madsen (20 mpg last season)
McGinnis (15 mpg last season)

That's 111 mpg.

 

[TheRealMick]

Wouldn’t Newman and Davenport be starting wings?

 

[kskenyon4]

Wouldn’t Newman and Davenport be starting wings?

The more this roster is built out - the more I think Davenport needs to be at the 4 for most of his minutes.

 

[Queens_NYC]

Wouldn’t Newman and Davenport be starting wings?

Ideally.

At this point though, it's looking like Newman will be the starting 3 and Davenport the 4.

Need to land a significant frontcourt talent at this point to change that.

 

[Loser Mentality]

I don't think we have a starting 5 or guys that are for sure locks to start this upcoming season.

Which I think is great!

There will be competition at almost every position, which sets up a solid team potentially for the season.

We have a new coach, so we can keep putting out hypothetical starting lineups, but from what he's bringing in....May the best men start.

Every players offseason will be critical to their future and playing time, or we may see some Brannen recruits in the portal next season.

We haven't seen the transfers play, but all 4 could be starters at UC. Let see how it plays out.

I Love it!

 

[sedziobs]

I don't know what to think anymore.

PG: DeJulius 20 / Saunders 20
SG: MAW 25 / McGinnis 15
SF: Newman 25 / Mason 15
PF: Davenport 25 / Hensley 10 / Transfer1 5
C: Koval 20 / Transfer1 10 / Lakhin 10

Transfer 1: defensive/rebounding big

 

[Queens_NYC]

My minutes update (excluding DDJ as my hunch is that he's gone):

PG: MAW 20 / Saunders 20
SG: McGinnis 20 / Mason 15 / MAW 5
SF: Newman 25 / Davenport 10 / Mason 5
PF: Davenport 20 / Transfer1 10 / Hensley 10
C: Koval 20 / Transer1 10 / Lakhin 10

Totals

Davenport 30
MAW 25
Newman 25
Koval 20
Mason 20
McGinnis 20
Saunders 20
Transfer Big 20
Hensley 10
Lakhin 10

 

[sedziobs]

McGinnis can take the role of scoring wing I wanted, just in different form. I was hoping for an experienced taller SF who can slash. Maybe a young small SF who can splash will work.

 

[sedziobs]

My minutes update (excluding DDJ as my hunch is that he's gone):

If DDJ does leave, we'll only have one player slated to graduate in each of the next two seasons. We already have five players with 4 years of eligibility left. Bringing in any more young players will give us extremely unbalanced classes. We might be looking at a somewhat active incoming and outgoing transfer portal over the next several years.

 

[sedziobs]

McGinnis shot 53% from three in his prep year. Seems to be a pure shooter and a gym rat like Mason. So right now at the 2/3 spots, we have a couple of defense first players in MAW and Newman, paired with a couple of shooting threats in Madsen and McGinnis. Hopefully Wes has a winning combination there.

 

[waterhead]

McGinnis shot 53% from three in his prep year. Seems to be a pure shooter and a gym rat like Mason. So right now at the 2/3 spots, we have a couple of defense first players in MAW and Newman, paired with a couple of shooting threats in Madsen and McGinnis. Hopefully Wes has a winning combination there.

Sounds like McGinnis is no defensive slouch

 

[skyblade]

I think that DDJ is going to transfer. The longer it takes for him to make a decision, the more likely it seems he will transfer. Wes can't recruit as if DDJ is staying if he hasn't committed, because then there would be no replacement on roster if DDJ leaves. He has to recruit as if DDJ is going to transfer and by doing so, makes it more likely DDJ transfers. Same is true for Lakhin.

That said. MAW, DDJ, Saunders, Mason, Newman and McGinnis is 6 players for 3 positions if we assume JD is staying at the 4 (and Hensley is a 4). That's not too many minutes to go around.

Currently we have (roughly, since some players play multiple positions):

PG: DDJ (SR), Saunders (SO)
SG: MAW (JR), Mason (SO)
SF: Newman (JR), McGinnis (SO), Banks (JR)
PF: JD (JR), Hensley (SO)
C: Koval (SR), Lakhin (SO)

The two big concerns are the lack of a freshman class and the lack of an strong interior big man (or two). Koval is going to be pushed around in the American, Lakhin is an unknown and the JD/Hensley combo at the 4 probably isn't going to be grabbing a ton of boards.

If we assume DDJ and Lakhin aren't coming back, there is still room to add another guard and a couple of bigs.

 

[sedziobs]

The two big concerns are the lack of a freshman class and the lack of an strong interior big man (or two). Koval is going to be pushed around in the American, Lakhin is an unknown and the JD/Hensley combo at the 4 probably isn't going to be grabbing a ton of boards.

Agreed about rebounding. I laid out my concerns here: bearcattalk.com/showthread.php?p=216225

For class balancing I think the problem is we have too big of a freshman class. Saunders, Madsen, McGinnis, Hensley, and Lakhin each have four years of eligibility remaining, the same as an incoming freshman would have. It's a big problem at guard, since we have four guys (Saunders, Madsen, McGinnis, MAW) who ideally play the two guard spots and have 3+ years left. That's going to make it tough to recruit new guards in the next couple years, and we'll have to replace all of them after that. If DDJ leaves and we bring in another young wing or PG, the problem just gets worse.

I agree that Wes needs to plan for DDJ's departure though. Ideally we have a senior transfer in mind who can play point, unless Wes is confident enough that MAW or Mason can handle it.

 

[skyblade]

Agreed about rebounding. I laid out my concerns here: bearcattalk.com/showthread.php?p=216225

For class balancing I think the problem is we have too big of a freshman class. Saunders, Madsen, McGinnis, Hensley, and Lakhin each have four years of eligibility remaining, the same as an incoming freshman would have. It's a big problem at guard, since we have four guys (Saunders, Madsen, McGinnis, MAW) who ideally play the two guard spots and have 3+ years left. That's going to make it tough to recruit new guards in the next couple years, and we'll have to replace all of them after that. If DDJ leaves and we bring in another young wing or PG, the problem just gets worse.

I agree that Wes needs to plan for DDJ's departure though. Ideally we have a senior transfer in mind who can play point, unless Wes is confident enough that MAW or Mason can handle it.

I'm considering those guys as sophomores, not freshmen. A lot of players probably aren't going to use the extra year and I'd bet quite a few schools don't even honor it. A lot of guys will either graduate and go on with their career elsewhere or grad transfer. In general, staying for a year 5 doesn't help guys with their pro careers.

I guess it will come down to individual circumstances, but I don't think we should assume they will all (or even most) use the extra year.

 

[waterhead]

I think that DDJ is going to transfer. The longer it takes for him to make a decision, the more likely it seems he will transfer. Wes can't recruit as if DDJ is staying if he hasn't committed, because then there would be no replacement on roster if DDJ leaves. He has to recruit as if DDJ is going to transfer and by doing so, makes it more likely DDJ transfers. Same is true for Lakhin.

That said. MAW, DDJ, Saunders, Mason, Newman and McGinnis is 6 players for 3 positions if we assume JD is staying at the 4 (and Hensley is a 4). That's not too many minutes to go around.

Currently we have (roughly, since some players play multiple positions):

PG: DDJ (SR), Saunders (SO)
SG: MAW (JR), Mason (SO)
SF: Newman (JR), McGinnis (SO), Banks (JR)
PF: JD (JR), Hensley (SO)
C: Koval (SR), Lakhin (SO)

The two big concerns are the lack of a freshman class and the lack of an strong interior big man (or two). Koval is going to be pushed around in the American, Lakhin is an unknown and the JD/Hensley combo at the 4 probably isn't going to be grabbing a ton of boards.

If we assume DDJ and Lakhin aren't coming back, there is still room to add another guard and a couple of bigs.

Rebounding seems like a big issue right now unless CWM teams crash boards with guards. IDK. I still think we need to find a 5 who is going to play 25 minutes and can rebound and switch a little bit. Koval and Davenport as the starting 4 and 5 aren't going to get enough rebounds.

I am not too worried about how many guards we have. That will work itself out somehow. I only worry about playing small if Koval is the only big to rebound.

 

[skyblade]

Rebounding seems like a big issue right now unless CWM teams crash boards with guards. IDK. I still think we need to find a 5 who is going to play 25 minutes and can rebound and switch a little bit. Koval and Davenport as the starting 4 and 5 aren't going to get enough rebounds.

I am not too worried about how many guards we have. That will work itself out somehow. I only worry about playing small if Koval is the only big to rebound.

It seems that Wes is still offering to guards to. It seems like it's getting close to the point where even if DDJ says he wants to come back, Wes may say sorry, we don't have a scholarship for you.

Biggest concern is definitely big men. If Koval is more than a 15-20 minute guy, we have problems. Who knows with Lakhin, perhaps Wes really likes him. But he doesn't seem to have the foot speed to deal with some of the bigs in the American. I'm starting to get a bit worried about facing Houston or Memphis and just getting dominated on the boards to the point where we have no chance.

Koval is at best equal to Vogt in rebounding and quite possibly a downgrade. Lakhin I'd say best case around Vogt level as well. Hensley downgrade from Eason on the boards. JD may end up leading us in rebounds and while I love JD, that's not ideal. We need a big or two who can get after it on the boards.

Worst case scenario we get a freshman and develop him. Maybe we are a bad rebounding team next year, I can deal with that (not expecting a ton). But I want to at least have a guy on the roster who can become a top rebounder, even if he needs work before he gets there.

 

[sedziobs]

None of us can predict the future, but it seems like most players without pro potential are using their extra year. I don't think any of our guards have pro potential, they're all undersized. Redshirts usually stick around and play for four years afterwards. This situation isn't much different than that. Anyone can transfer now, not just graduates. So any incoming freshman will be in the same situation as the guys who just played their first year. From a rules/eligibility standpoint, they're all in the same class.

Regardless of how you want to classify them, we have five players (three guards) with 4 years of eligibility. Even if last year's freshmen do leave after their 4th year, we are still loaded with guards for the next several years. It's going to be tough to recruit to that position. We're talking to another guard with 4 years. If we used our remaining scholarships (incl. Banks) to bring in a typical 3 man freshman class we would have eight!

This roster construction points toward transfers being pushed out in a couple years, or huge turnover in 4 years with not much room for incoming freshmen until then (especially guards). It can work, but it's not ideal. Right now it seems like it could work because we're assuming a SG will get significant minutes at SF. And since these guys are all young, we're probably going to have to continue doing that for several years. If DDJ leaves but we want to bring in McMillan at point, we're right back to the same situation.

 

[waterhead]

None of us can predict the future, but it seems like most players without pro potential are using their extra year. I don't think any of our guards have pro potential, they're all undersized. Redshirts usually stick around and play for four years afterwards. This situation isn't much different than that. Anyone can transfer now, not just graduates. So any incoming freshman will be in the same situation as the guys who just played their first year. From a rules/eligibility standpoint, they're all in the same class.

Regardless of how you want to classify them, we have five players (three guards) with 4 years of eligibility. Even if last year's freshmen do leave after their 4th year, we are still loaded with guards for the next several years. It's going to be tough to recruit to that position. We're talking to another guard with 4 years. If we used our remaining scholarships (incl. Banks) to bring in a typical 3 man freshman class we would have eight!

This roster construction points toward transfers being pushed out in a couple years, or huge turnover in 4 years with not much room for incoming freshmen until then (especially guards). It can work, but it's not ideal. Right now it seems like it could work because we're assuming a SG will get significant minutes at SF. And since these guys are all young, we're probably going to have to continue doing that for several years. If DDJ leaves but we want to bring in McMillan at point, we're right back to the same situation.

I agree with your concern about recruiting future guards so you probably don't take many unless they are named Paul M...etc.

But even though CWM talks about players not transferring I would imagine we could still see 1 or 2 rather than 4 or 5. Especially from the guard stable. And even more especially if we land another guard/wing this year.

I am also quite sure Wes has had a conversation with DD about how he's going to have to keep recruiting until he hears about two feet in. If he hears two feet in from DD then we probably start focusing on bigs and maybe still a wing/guard but not a PG.