Official Scholarship and Roster Outlook 2012-13 Thread

[shoxlax]

Post your predictions and analysis here.

I predict pain and lots of it.

[1972Shocker]

What we know is that we currently have a "potential" roster of 16 players.

4 Seniors: Williams, Hall, Armstead, Orupke
3 Juniors: Early, Wiggins, Mitchell
4 Sophomores: Cotton, White, Wessel, Vautravers
1 Redshirt Freshmen: Baker
4 True Freshmen: VV, Green, Hawkins, Uwadiae

3 of these players will either not be on athletic scholarships or will not be on the roster next year.

We now Vautravers won't be on scholarship. Mitchell probably will retain his walk-on status.

If that's the case then there is one more player who won't be on scholarship or on the roster. Not sure what Armstead's circumstance are. As previously mentioned either Uwadiae or Hawkins may not qualify.

Is Evan confident he can play at this level? He's a kid that is used to being on the floor and will want to be on the floor. If he hangs around he might want to think about taking that redshirt year he turned down last year. Although that doesn't do anything for the extra schollie issue, although there is a good possibility the problem is already handled and resolved. We just don't know the answer for sure.

No prediction. To many possibilities and too little knowledge of the facts on my part.

[BOBB]

@1972Shocker: this is the same count I have. How it shakes is anyone's guess.

[pinstripers]

Somebody mentioned on another thread about Hall and an eligibility problem.

[Aargh]

Somebody mentioned on another thread about Hall and an eligibility problem.

Let's try to stay out of rumor control.

Since Hall got mentioned as an "eligibility" issue, I haven't seen or heard anything to indicate that. There has been mention of a possible medical red shirt, which doesn't make sense. He can just take a red shirt year if there is a medical issue that is not career-ending. That's absolute rumor mill material, but the can or worms was opened, so I thought I'd try to clarify.

As to the scholarship count, Uwadiae and Hawkins may be NCAA clearinghouse casualties. We don't know - there has been nothing said about either in 3+ months. I don't discount the possibility that Wessel may make his scholarship available if it's needed. Sort of like Morningstar at KU or McDermott at CU.

That's not saying anything negative about Wessel. He's local, he gets in-state tuition rates, and his family bleeds black and yellow. If his family can afford an extra scholarship for WSU, I don't see anything wrong with that. It is absolutely legal for a family to pay a legit D1 player's tuition and give the school n extra player that way.

For those of you already in panic mode, the coaches are still out recruiting. It appears they're looking for a post player.

[shockmonster]

Wessel will be back and on scholarship. Count on it.

[WSUwatcher]

Wessel will be back and on scholarship. Count on it.

That would be my expectation as well, monster.

I also believe Armstead is already accounted for in some way that doesn't count against the 13 max, some way that's more familiar to highly paid coaches whose job it is to figure out such things than it is to us, and that Wiggins will bring WSU back up to 13 assuming both Uwadiae and Hawkins qualify and choose to come. If WSU signs someone else, I'll guess that Uwadiae turns out to be the solution by ending up in prep school for a year -- not because I have any inside knowledge, which I certainly don't, but simply because that's a plausible scenario both for WSU's numbers and to ensure that his qualification is in order another year from now.

[SubGod22]

Seniors: Ehimen, Hall, Williams, Armstead
Juniors: Early, Wiggins
Sophomores: Cotton, White, Wessel
Freshmen: Baker, FVV, Green, Hawkins

That's what I expect to see as far as those on 'ship go. Armstead could still be a ? as we've never heard a definite either way. I am concerned about the Hall issue. If we sign another big, I'll be even more concerned. Maybe it wouldn't mean anything, but maybe it would. But the above roster is a hell of a team. The starting lineup itself could go a number of ways.

Williams
Wiggins
Early
Hall
Ehimen

That's my personal favorite right now. Long and athletic and will get after you on D. Except for maybe Wiggins, but I think he'll do just fine once he gets here and realizes how important it is.

Depth is also great.

PG: Williams, Armstead, Cotton, FVV, Baker
SG: Williams, Wiggins, Cotton, Baker, Wessel
SF: Early, Wiggins, Baker, Wessel, Green, Hawkins
PF: Hall, White, Early, Green, Hawkins
C: Ehimen, Hall

Center is the only one that doesn't go more than two deep and I'm OK with that. You need at least a 3 man rotation inside and we have that with Hall, Ehimen and White. Early could slide there at times and Green/Hawkins could fill in some minutes. Not a major issue.

A couple of redshirts are probable. Possible candidates would include: Hawkins, Green, Wessel and FVV.

I'm not sure if Wessel would go for it after passing on it last year. I think he'd be a very valuable 5th year SR. Last year showed he has some things to work on. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll bust his butt to do just that. I still don't think he'll RS though.

Most don't see FVV being an option, but if you look at the guard depth, it's there. Maybe he'll play a bunch as a FR, but he's going to have to come in and take minutes from someone. Williams, Armstead and Cotton are all ahead of him on the chart right now as they all have solid D1 experience. Some like Williams more as a SG, but we also have a lot of depth there with Wiggins and Baker as well as Cotton. Not that players won't play multiple positions, but Williams is going to play 25 minutes or so a game. He will be on the court. Then you consider that two of those guys graduate after this season which opens up PT. A RS wouldn't be a horrible idea.

Green and Hawkins are also possible. Green strikes me as more of a SF that can go inside some. He appears to be a great outside shooter and with his size, can cause a lot of problems. Hawkins strikes me as a bit more of a PF that can go outside. But I could be wrong. I don't think his outside game is near as good as Green. But I'm not sure Green has as good an inside game as Hawkins. At least one of these two will RS if not both. If only one does, it will come down to if we need more potential help inside at the PF or if we need a legit shooter on the outside to open things up. Both have been brought up as concerns.

Potential shooters include: Williams, Cotton, Baker, White, Wiggins, Green.

Those are the guys I think are capable of shooting 35% or better from deep. Williams hasn't been the most consistent but it's there. Cotton doesn't shoot a lot, but he shot a nice percentage. Baker is said to be sniper from deep. White didn't shoot particularly well, but I think he'll end up being around 35% which is nice from a PF. Wiggins has the stats to indicate he can do it and Green lit it up from deep in Houston this year. I don't know what FVVs stats were but all reports indicate he's worked hard to get better and could probably be on this list as well. If you think at least three of those others can hit 35+ and hopefully better than 40% than maybe you can RS Green.

Potential posts include: Ehimen, Hall, White, Early, Hawkins, Green.

I think ideally most would like a four man rotation. You can do it with three. There's more comfort in more though. I believe Hall, Ehimen and White make a great three man rotation. Early can slide there. Is that enough? Or do you go with Hawkins to give more possibilities?

Any reason for simple SF help? Early, Wiggins, Wessel, Baker, Green, Hawkins... Not really. Do you take which ever one offers the most combined for the positions? Which one plays better D? I have no idea, but I could see both RSing.

It's nice to be able to talk about RSing talents like FVV, Green and Hawkins. I believe that all three could play and contribute, but with the depth of the team and the veterans ahead of them, there may not be a huge need to do so. Time will tell and maybe we'll learn a bit more over the summer about their games. It's going to be fun.

Unless the Hall thing goes down. Then we need to find someone who can play the 5 with Ehimen.

[shoxlax]

No inside info but just a hunch. I would look hard at the current transfer list I posted.

[1979Shocker]

I don't think FVV will redshirt. Even HCGM has said that he doesn't need to redshirt.

[SubGod22]

No inside info but just a hunch. I would look hard at the current transfer list I posted.

Players I'd be interested in (Bigs only)

Perris Blackwell, 6'9" F, San Francisco. Averaged 12.7 and 6.1. 1 year left.
Carson Derosiers, 7' PF, Wake Forest. Averaged 4.8 and 4.4. 2 years left.
Anthony Gill, 6'8" F, South Carolina. Averaged 7.6 and 4.7. 3 years left.
Tony Mitchell, 6'6" F, Alabama. Averaged 13.1 and 7. 1 year left...
Alex Oriakhi, 6'9" C, UConn. Averaged 6.8 and 4.8. 1 year left.
Evan Smotrycz, 6'9" F, Michigan. Averaged 7.5 and 4.8. 2 years left
Matt Stainbrook, 6'9" C, Western Michigan. Averaged 11.4 and 6.8. 2 years left.
Kirk Van Slyke, 6'9" F, Houston. Averaged 5.9 and 2.3. 1 year left.
Marvin Williams, 6'8" F, Lipscomb. Averaged 4.1 and 3.1. 3 years left.

That's about it.

[SubGod22]

Nobody said he needs to RS. Just that it's an option as court time could be limited. Will he play enough to provide enough value to make it worth the limited minutes? Is he simply going to put one of the others on the bench to where they only play a couple of minutes? FVV won't be starting. And it's possible he's not the first PG off the bench. Just saying it's a consideration.

[pinstripers]

The big has to play right away.

[SubGod22]

The big has to play right away.

Only if we lose Hall. Otherwise a big doesn't have to play right away.

[pinstripers]

You are correct.