The Annual Redshirt Thread

[wufan]

As I stated "This all assumes everyone stays healthy and all earn those remaining minutes. Some will get a little less, some more, but it should keep everyone happy".

It will be interesting to see which 2 of 4 guard/wings get "most all the minutes" remaining. At the 3, Wessel/Brown. Wessel has the experience/defense, but his shot needs to reappear. Brown has athleticism/probably higher ceiling, but so much is unknown. If Brown buys in to working extra hard on D and shows he has an ready inside/outside game, he'll get his minutes. At the guards, you have Henderson (a PG/SG) and Holland (a SG/PG with experience). Henderson has the D-I body and may be the heir-apparent to FVV, but is a true freshman. Holland has a red shirt year under his belt and is very athletic, but slight of build. Of course, Brown could throw a wrench into everything if he's able to handle the 2, and maybe some 1.

I don't disagree that Glass/Kelly may see lesser minutes than the other 4/5s. However, even 6-7 minutes a piece, as you stated, is just a little less than 8-9, so not that much difference.

Nevertheless, it will be exciting to see how all this comes together. I'd rather have the problem of a deep roster and finding playing time, than having the problems of a short bench.

I'm not trying to disagree with you, just trying to clarify what I already said. Two guards and one forward will see the equivalent of walk on minutes. Not 6 or 7 or 8...basically zilch. We will have a ten man rotation and three guys will be unhappy (unless someone red-shirts).

[shoxtop]

I'm not trying to disagree with you, just trying to clarify what I already said. Two guards and one forward will see the equivalent of walk on minutes. Not 6 or 7 or 8...basically zilch. We will have a ten man rotation and three guys will be unhappy (unless someone red-shirts).

I've had this thought for the last few years, but winning tends to ease unhappiness I suppose.

[ShockTalk]

I'm not trying to disagree with you, just trying to clarify what I already said. Two guards and one forward will see the equivalent of walk on minutes. Not 6 or 7 or 8...basically zilch. We will have a ten man rotation and three guys will be unhappy (unless someone red-shirts).

It's all good. Just discussion. I'm just not that sure of the "10 man rotation" thing and if it is so, who's in and who's out. We have never had a 9-13 on the roster like we have this year, not even close.

[wufan]

It's all good. Just discussion. I'm just not that sure of the "10 man rotation" thing and if it is so, who's in and who's out. We have never had a 9-13 on the roster like we have this year, not even close.

Yeah, no problem. I could be wrong.

[Dan]

I also don't recall us ever going more than 10 deep. We wouldn't be the first team to have talented freshmen sitting the bench and waiting for mop up duty.

[shockmonster]

I could be wrong but I think that during our run to the NIT Championship, we had an 11th player who had a smaller regular role mainly during the first half and then when foul trouble occurred in the second half.

[WSUwatcher]

The NIT champs went 10 deep, with Murry leading in minutes at 26.1, followed by Durley at 25.1 and Kyles and Hatch at about 22 each. Demetric Williams was tenth in minutes at 13.6 (in 34 games), and the long-awaited Orukpe was #11 at just over five minutes per game in 19 appearances (a bit less than 100 minutes for the full season). So that team legitimately played ten.

This season's group is potentially even deeper as well as more talented, especially looking at some of the sizes listed: Rashard Kelly at 234 pounds, which on a 6-7 guy from a school like Hargrave is enough to suggest that he can have an immediate impact; meanwhile, Nurger is listed at 237 even though he hasn't been around long enough to be fully Rosenboomed yet. All that suggests at least one redshirt -- yes, potentially even a juco guy! -- if only because it's easier to keep a player engaged when he knows (and has accepted) from the start that he isn't going to play in games this year but needs to spend it developing. It probably depends quite a bit on how ready some of the new bigs are to play substantial, effective minutes, and one thing that's striking about them is their level of experience coming in (with Nurger having played internationally and Kelly in an elite prep program). Also, if Jared Walker really is talented enough that he could follow the Baker roadmap or a variation on it (and I have no idea whether he is; I've just read about the similarities in their athletic backgrounds), he would be a redshirt from among the non-scholarship players.