A brief look ahead as we await the MVC tournament

[wufan]

Having watched Darius and Tekele play their last game in Koch arena (an exceptionally memorable one), how will next year's team look?

Fred will again be the best PG in America
Ron will be one of the best SGs in the country

Evan Wessel will STILL be tough and able to contribute as a starter at either forward position

Shaq will be the go to in the post. Big things ahead for this young man!

What about the rest of the team?

Kelly and Brown have shown potential, but haven't quite put it all together. Both will be in the rotation and battling for the 5th starter position next year. Kelly occasionally gets lost, and the offensive end of the game was too fast for him this year. If that slows down, he has the talent to be a big time scorer as an upperclassman. Brown looks to be a little further along. His defense was very good in conference play. He shoots the rock. Needs to get a little bit better handles, but I see him taking big strides this off season.

Glass and Wamukota are raw, and unfortunately they will be seniors next year. It's hard to know if they will improve enough to be major factors next season. With Carter on his way out, I think one or both will be relied upon to fill the frontcourt gap.

Henderson/Holland/Nurger all have serious work to do if they want to be contributors. They are all capable, but time may be critical for these guys to get their careers under way before it's too late.

Newcomers:

Frankamp is eligible starting in late December. I'm excited about his ability to spell VanVleet and Baker a bit; and as a transfer, he should be ready from the get-go.

I'm excited to see what Taylor can do. He could be the back-up PG very early in the season or a total non-factor. Quickness, strength, and defense give him an early edge at PT.

Shamet reminds me of Murry. He needs to add strength, but if he picks up the offensive/defensive schemes early in the season, he will be a mainstay in the rotation and a three year starter.

What's not to love about Markis McDuffie? His strength! I'm sure he has toughness and he definitely has skill and length. We will need him as a PF next year more so than at SF, but I don't know that he will be strong enough to bang down low. I would not be surprised to see him start his career at the end of the bench and grow with time.

The difference between winning the MVC in 2016 and winning the National Championship could be Eric Hamilton. He's a 6-9, 230 lb run and jump athlete that can stroke it from 3. Can he defend a center? Does he have a single post move? Can he drive the hoop with a smaller defender on him? If the answer to all three is yes, then the Shockers are going to have another HUGE year.

[jocoshock]

Shamet is actually more like Baker than Murry on offense, amd yes he needs to get stronger. He doesn't look like either one of them on defense yet. His PT, like everyone else will be earned by his defense.

The biggest problem all of our newcomers had this year is defense and the short leash on them, when they are playing behind all-americans in the backcourt, and when we have a front court relying on people playing out of position like Evan and DC had to do.

Our newcomers did not have the luxury of HAVING to play like Toure and Ron Baker had. And with HCGM's proclivity to play everyone, PT becomes unpredictable. We were able to get them PT in the noncon, but that was greatly reduced when the Valley kicked off.

Anyone thinking that Hamilton will be difference maker at this point is jumping the gun. A difference maker is more likely going to be one of the guys already on the bench that we have scratching our heads over.

X was not an obvious difference maker his freshman year either.

[wufan]

Anyone thinking that Hamilton will be difference maker at this point is jumping the gun. A difference maker is more likely going to be one of the guys already on the bench that we have scratching our heads over.

I don't think Hamilton is going to tare it up from day one (or at all during his freshman year). Just saying that if all of the questionable things about his game (ability to play offense and defense with his back to the basket) turn out to be strengths rather than weaknesses, then suddenly we go from having a questionable frontcourt to having an elite frontcourt. A bit Kool-Aid drinking optimism in the face of no obvious options in the frontcourt.

[Royalno5]

Wessel will start at three next year.

[Manhattan_Shocker]

I'm interested to see how Frankamp fits into the lineup. I think we will be too small for him to start, but I can't wait to see the lineup with FVV, Baker and Frankamp on the floor together. The offense will probably be better than the undefeated team. The defense on the other hand...

I'm hopeful Brown and Kelly make big steps forward to make up for the huge loss of Cotton. I see both as athletic, defense specialists. Brown has the potential to be a legitimate threat on both ends of the floor and maybe even our go to scorer in a couple years. Kelly needs to spend the entire off season working on his shooting, specifically free throw shooting. I'm hoping he can come close to averaging 9-10 pts/game next year.

The scary part is our post. Outside of Shaq I'm not sure what we have. Hopefully Bush can build on he play from yesterday and continue to show more. Right now Nurger doesn't have the speed or athleticism to be a consistent guy for us, but I'm hopeful he can develop just like Stutz or Miller did.

As far as the new guys go I think Shamet might be asked to spend a year at Sunrise if Baker comes back. If I'm not mistaken, the rest of the incoming freshmen are currently in prep academies. I think Eric Hamilton will make the most impact next year.

[jdshock]

I think we're going to be darn good next year. This year, it feels like we're starting to gel. We've been a good team all year, but I think at the beginning of the year in particular it felt like we weren't a great team. I think we'll look better earlier in the year next year than we did this year. Our 1-3 is still going to be the best back court in the country. We'll miss Cotton at the three, but Wessel is going to prevent it from being a major drop off.

I think the 4 and 5 are so up in the air. Shaq seems like a shoe-in for starting. I think the 5th starter could be Bush (similar to Orupke starting for only a couple minutes - we get the tip and an extra possession and a strong defensive start). Our juco's almost always have good senior years, so there's no ruling out Glass either. And a starting line up of FVV, RB, EW, Kelly and Shaq would be fun: athletic and fast 1-4 and then a real big at the 5. Nurger hasn't seen much floor as of late, but I love the idea of Nurger at the 4 and Shaq at the 5.

I would be surprised if Brown starts. I think he'll be an excellent 6th man next year, though.

[jdshock]

Wessel will start at three next year.

That definitely seems like the most obvious scenario. If Brown steps up big in the off-season, though, and is a better 3 than Nurger, Kelly, and Glass are 4's then that's the only scenario I see Wessel starting at the 4.

[jocoshock]

It shouldn't be about who starts. We need quality depth and balanced PT, scoring, rebounding and defense.

All of our guys need to come bigger, stronger, more assertive, and ready to make an impact..

[Aargh]

It's fairly easy to speculate about a reasonable 2-deep roster with 13, not 16 players. I'm going with one at Sunrise, one transfer, and Frankamp still paying his own way.

Starters: Morris, Brown, Wessel, Baker, VanVleet

Backups are a little tougher.

There are multiple options to backup Morris. I don't think either Wamukota or Nurger are likely to transfer.

Kelly backs up Brown with Nurger getting some minutes there as well.

Brown gets some minutes backing up Wessel at SF. I've got Brown penciled in as a busy guy next year. Baker is another possibility to give Wessel some rest. Baker can also take some minutes at PG to give Fred a rest.

That leaves Taylor, Shamet, Henderson and (second semester) Frankamp to fill in as needed in the back court. Back court backup minutes will be as rare next year as they were this year.

[Manhattan_Shocker]

I think we're going to be darn good next year. This year, it feels like we're starting to gel. We've been a good team all year, but I think at the beginning of the year in particular it felt like we weren't a great team. I think we'll look better earlier in the year next year than we did this year. Our 1-3 is still going to be the best back court in the country. We'll miss Cotton at the three, but Wessel is going to prevent it from being a major drop off.

I think the 4 and 5 are so up in the air. Shaq seems like a shoe-in for starting. I think the 5th starter could be Bush (similar to Orupke starting for only a couple minutes - we get the tip and an extra possession and a strong defensive start). Our juco's almost always have good senior years, so there's no ruling out Glass either. And a starting line up of FVV, RB, EW, Kelly and Shaq would be fun: athletic and fast 1-4 and then a real big at the 5. Nurger hasn't seen much floor as of late, but I love the idea of Nurger at the 4 and Shaq at the 5.

I would be surprised if Brown starts. I think he'll be an excellent 6th man next year, though.

I see next years line up as FVV, Baker (PLEASE STAY), Wessel, Kelly, and Shaq. Brown coming off the bench as the 6th man.

[jocoshock]

It's fairly easy to speculate about a reasonable 2-deep roster with 13, not 16 players. I'm going with one at Sunrise, one transfer, and Frankamp still paying his own way.

Starters: Morris, Brown, Wessel, Baker, VanVleet

Backups are a little tougher.

There are multiple options to backup Morris. I don't think either Wamukota or Nurger are likely to transfer.

Kelly backs up Brown with Nurger getting some minutes there as well.

Brown gets some minutes backing up Wessel at SF. I've got Brown penciled in as a busy guy next year. Baker is another possibility to give Wessel some rest. Baker can also take some minutes at PG to give Fred a rest.

That leaves Taylor, Shamet, Henderson and (second semester) Frankamp to fill in as needed in the back court. Back court backup minutes will be as rare next year as they were this year.

McDuffie to Sunrise?

[forevershockerfan]

Positions 1-2-3 may be our best ever if Baker returns. Wessel can move back to the 3 if needed and I hope he does. I know I know I know we are around 3 ships over. Even so, I think if we can find another big that can contribute right away, I hope we sign him. Hamilton will take time before he is that player I just described IMO but I believe in time he will do well for us. If all these things happen, watch out!!!!!!! Last but not least, think back of the team with Carl Hall and Cle that did make the Final 4. Hall worked so hard the prior summer to be in his best shape ever and improved his 15 foot jump shot. Hall was a beast inside and Cle the following Dance outscored every Kentucky star.

This summer, I hope FVV and Baker take all our players including our young bigs under their wings and get them in the very best shape ever. Maybe some of them can attend a Camp for bigs. If Shaq can improve his stamina and keep developing along with our other bigs, we will have something special with this team with this very talented influx of new recruits getting here. We too might sometimes just sub 5 for 5 just to show we can. Last but not least (I already said that but here goes), I hope our players work on their shooting like never before which includes free-throws and 3-pointers. Shooting is not a lost art but as I watch teams drain 3's and make 75% plus of their throws, I know that will be a team that is very hard to beat. Speaking of the word beat--the beat goes on here at 21st and Hillside. Take that to the bank.

[Dan]

I see Glass getting big minutes at the 4 next year. The dude's a freak athlete that just needed a year to learn the system.

[wufan]

I'm interested to see how Frankamp fits into the lineup. I think we will be too small for him to start, but I can't wait to see the lineup with FVV, Baker and Frankamp on the floor together. The offense will probably be better than the undefeated team. The defense on the other hand...

I'm hopeful Brown and Kelly make big steps forward to make up for the huge loss of Cotton. I see both as athletic, defense specialists. Brown has the potential to be a legitimate threat on both ends of the floor and maybe even our go to scorer in a couple years. Kelly needs to spend the entire off season working on his shooting, specifically free throw shooting. I'm hoping he can come close to averaging 9-10 pts/game next year.

The scary part is our post. Outside of Shaq I'm not sure what we have. Hopefully Bush can build on he play from yesterday and continue to show more. Right now Nurger doesn't have the speed or athleticism to be a consistent guy for us, but I'm hopeful he can develop just like Stutz or Miller did.

As far as the new guys go I think Shamet might be asked to spend a year at Sunrise if Baker comes back. If I'm not mistaken, the rest of the incoming freshmen are currently in prep academies. I think Eric Hamilton will make the most impact next year.

McDuffie (the other top 100 freshman) is at a prep school, but it's a four year prep. Technically he could take a 5th year somewhere.

[wufan]

It's fairly easy to speculate about a reasonable 2-deep roster with 13, not 16 players. I'm going with one at Sunrise, one transfer, and Frankamp still paying his own way.

Starters: Morris, Brown, Wessel, Baker, VanVleet

Backups are a little tougher.

This is what I see as well with my only minor change being a 50/50 on Brown/Kelly as fifth starter. I feel very good about our potential backcourt reserves. There should be more talent than minutes.

Our frontcourt bench is a total question mark. I like BWam, Glass, Nurger, and Hamilton, but there are as many or more reasons to question their ability to break through as there are to believe they will breakout. This could lead to more minutes for Wessel and Brown at the 4.