Next years team

[WAITE HOYT 2]

We hear every year how much depth UC has. Numbers don't equate to depth. I'd rather have a stud starting 5 and no depth than an average starting 5 and a lot of depth. Considering how many haven't even played a collegiate game and a lot haven't shown (at least yet) that they are top talent (i.e. Guyn, Sanders, Lawrence), I think it's waayyy too early to call this team deep.

who in the world said we had depth ?
Last year? We had no true post player. Three freshman guards and one was injured and redshirted. One Pg who logged any college minutes at the position.i think you may be over stating your case just a tad.

 

[waterhead]

who in the world said we had depth ?
Last year? We had no true post player. Three freshman guards and one was injured and redshirted. One Pg who logged any college minutes at the position.i think you may be over stating your case just a tad.

Let's take a look at depth at the 4 and 5 spots last year compared to what we have coming in regardless of how they pan out.

Last year:

C...JJ, Nyarcuk, Lawrence, Rubles. One true center (DN) who wasn't great, one PF moved to C who was very very good (JJ) , and two players out of position (at C) and one of them got hurt.

Next Year:

C...Debarry, Strickland, Lawrence, Ellis, Moore. Two true centers, one big bodied PF, one PF who played C at times last year, and another tall guy who can swat shots and is athletic.

We lose JJ but we gain up to 4 new guys to compete for playing time.

Last Year:

PF...Rubles and Lawrence with Thomas in a pinch. I would take Rubles again but the other two are still here and we pick up Moore and Ellis and Clark. We lose Rubles and gain 3 new guys to compete for time.


Now I understand TheLongHauls wait and see approach...but if we trust that Mick can pick decent talent...we should be looking better in the future in the BIGS dept.

It's going to be hard to replace SK but I think we are looking bright at the PG as well. We will need a scorer at the SG/wing position to arise...hopefully two. I am not expecting big things this year but the future I am really excited about.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Rough prediction for scoring next year. Just did this to see people's opinion...
Caupain-8.5 ppg
Guyn-3.8
Cobb-4.4
Johnson-10.3
Morman-4.1
Shaq-9.7
Sanders-5.6
Lawrence-8.8
Ellis-5.4
Clark-2.6
DeBerry-4.6
Strickland-2.2
Moore-redshirt?

Total-70 ppg

 

[Michael Boston]

Rough prediction for scoring next year. Just did this to see people's opinion...
Caupain-8.5 ppg
Guyn-3.8
Cobb-4.4
Johnson-10.3
Morman-4.1
Shaq-9.7
Sanders-5.6
Lawrence-8.8
Ellis-5.4
Clark-2.6
DeBerry-4.6
Strickland-2.2
Moore-redshirt?

Total-70 ppg

I would expect Cobb to score more than 4 a game.

 

[kaplaw]

I would expect Cobb to score more than 4 a game.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Deberry is around 8-9 per game, given his apparent ability to finish around the rim at a high level.

I'm really happy with our team for next year and certainly happy to see Ellis get a second shot. But seriously, when was the last time we had so many unknowns on one roster? We have a bunch of players that showed flashes of brilliance last year but never really put it together on a consistent basis (maybe with the exception of Caupain). And we have a bunch of talented juco and high school kids, any one of which could step up and be an immediate impact player. Feels like its going to be an exciting season & glad all these new kids get a few extra weeks of practice with that early international trip.

 

[TrillCosby]

I'm thinking...

Thomas
Lawrence
Ellis
Strickland
DeBerry




Just Kidding....

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Going to be very interesting to see who steps up defensively and on the glass. It's a huge concern considering the strength of our team last year was defense and SK shooting FT's.

I'm not as concerned offensively and think we will add points from the youngsters and will have more options in the paint to replace Rubles and JJ's points. We also won't be as prone to droughts with many more fouls to give up in the post. When JJ or Rubles were on the bench it really taxed us on both ends.

Very excited to see how all this plays out.

 

[UCalum08]

Going to be very interesting to see who steps up defensively and on the glass. It's a huge concern considering the strength of our team last year was defense and SK shooting FT's.

I'm not as concerned offensively and think we will add points from the youngsters and will have more options in the paint to replace Rubles and JJ's points. We also won't be as prone to droughts with many more fouls to give up in the post. When JJ or Rubles were on the bench it really taxed us on both ends.

Very excited to see how all this plays out.

I agree here. I just really want to see whoever is on the court to be able to finish around the rim. That is number 1 priority IMO. I am also excited to see Cobb's 46% 3-point shot on the floor. We finally have some big guys down low to open up the 3 point shot. After watching a lot of videos of Cobb, he has the form to be a lethal threat behind the arc.

 

[waterhead]

As is customary first dibs will go to our veterans with UC playing experience.

Sanders
Guyn
Thomas

Caupain
Johnson
Lawrence

Because there are no obvious standout studs (in terms of major production) in this group I think the competition will be as wide open as it's been in a long time.

There really is no center in that group so that will be the easiest place to get some minutes. I just hope we get decent production there.

It won't be an easy chore to beat out Thomas, Lawrence, Caupain, or even Johnson IMO. If we have kids who can come in and win positions from these guys...we will be in VERY good shape for the future.

 

[waterhead]

As is customary first dibs will go to our veterans with UC playing experience.

Sanders
Guyn
Thomas

Caupain
Johnson
Lawrence

Because there are no obvious standout studs (in terms of major production) in this group I think the competition will be as wide open as it's been in a long time.

There really is no center in that group so that will be the easiest place to get some minutes. I just hope we get decent production there.

It won't be an easy chore to beat out Thomas, Lawrence, Caupain, or even Johnson IMO. If we have kids who can come in and win positions from these guys...we will be in VERY good shape for the future.

Well I guess Lawrence won't be so tough to beat out afterall. LOL!

 

[All we do is Guyn]

Really concerned about next year's team. I really thought after the great season we had last year we would have had a better time adding a some key pieces, instead we lose our top recruit since Lance and add two JuCo transfers. I think our 2015/2016 team could be really good with

Caupain 3rd year
Johnson 3rd year
Shaq 5th year
Clark 2nd year
Deberry/Strickland/Moore 2nd year

However, there are way too many question marks about next year's team. Shaq will be the biggest constant at 22.9 Mins per game and 6.8 points per game last year, that's not saying a lot. JJ stepped up this year which not many people saw coming. We're going to need at least 2 players to to make that kind of JJ jump in production or we're in for a long season. At this point I'll be happy if we make the tournament, but I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised like I was this year.

 

[B-Team]

Yes, Lawrence was our "top" recruit on paper, but if you strictly go by how they looked on the court last year, I can definitely argue that Lawrence was 3rd (behind Caupain and Johnson).

Recruiting rankings aren't necessarily a direct reflection of how a player's collegiate career will turn out.

Yes, losing Lawrence is disappointing, but I think losing Caupain and/or Johnson would have been an even biggest loss.

 

[bearcat18]

Yes, Lawrence was our "top" recruit on paper, but if you strictly go by how they looked on the court last year, I can definitely argue that Lawrence was 3rd (behind Caupain and Johnson).

Recruiting rankings aren't necessarily a direct reflection of how a player's collegiate career will turn out.

Yes, losing Lawrence is disappointing, but I think losing Caupain and/or Johnson would have been an even biggest loss.

My exact thoughts as well. Knowing Ellis is back in the fold helps. Losing Troy, KJ, or even Morman would have stung more for me personally.

I'm not saying I'm happy or not upset about Lawrence. I wish he would have stuck it out and progressed each year. I'm not sure playing half of a season in three years is the greatest thing for his development, but good luck to him.

 

[All we do is Guyn]

I think Lawrence had the most potential if he would have stayed healthy. Didn't Mick say he expected him to be the leading scorer next year? He didn't have a great freshman year, I get that. But I think he had the tools to become a fantastic player. Not often that you find a pretty quick 6'10 guy with descent handles and a descent shot. Obviously we don't know the details of the situation, and he wants to leave then by all means I think he should leave, but I think we're kind of kidding ourselves if we don't admit he had the highest ceiling out of anyone in the current roster

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I'm hoping Ellis is more reliable and consistent starting at the 4 than Lawrence would've been. He may not have as high of a ceiling but I hope he's a steady 6-10 points kind of guy. Lawrence still figuring it out, may have had some games with 0 points and 4 fouls. But might have also had a few breakout 12-17 point games. This really isn't a huge downgrade for next year alone imo. Plus I was wondering last night why we'd leave ourselves with only 2 scholarships for 2015, but now we could still have 3.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

I think Lawrence had the most potential if he would have stayed healthy. Didn't Mick say he expected him to be the leading scorer next year?

No, he said that he expected Jermaine to average double figures.

 

[Robert]

I love optimism, but it's rare that a team with a top returning scorer at 6.8 ppg makes the tournament. There is a lot of potential, but I am tempering my expectations until we get a look at this team on the floor. Right now we have a bunch of good players, but no very good or great ones.

 

[All we do is Guyn]

No, he said that he expected Jermaine to average double figures.

Hate to sound pessimistic but anyone that averages double figures will be close to our top scorer next year. The most I could see someone scoring would be Caupain at around 15ppg and that would be a huge improvement, but damn is that kid impressive sometimes

 

[Robert]

Hate to sound pessimistic but anyone that averages double figures will be close to our top scorer next year. The most I could see someone scoring would be Caupain at around 15ppg and that would be a huge improvement, but damn is that kid impressive sometimes

I'm hoping for 10-12 points and 4-5 assists from Caupain next season. I'm excited to see what an offseason of strength and conditioning at the college level will do for him. He looked very strong after contact for a freshman point guard and has a solid frame.

 

[dp3113]

I think Lawrence had the most potential if he would have stayed healthy. Didn't Mick say he expected him to be the leading scorer next year? He didn't have a great freshman year, I get that. But I think he had the tools to become a fantastic player. Not often that you find a pretty quick 6'10 guy with descent handles and a descent shot. Obviously we don't know the details of the situation, and he wants to leave then by all means I think he should leave, but I think we're kind of kidding ourselves if we don't admit he had the highest ceiling out of anyone in the current roster

when did he ever display decent handles or a decent shot? he put the ball on the floor one time and converted and that was against new mexico. he shot 33% from the field shooting primarily 12 footers.

next year's team was going to be reliant on Caupain and Johnson taking the next step with or without Lawrence.