Is there an equivalent of BWahlberg for the Basketball Board, to publish an overview of the upcoming season? I saw a few regulars at the gym during July- it would be great to hear from them, if they are on this board.
I'll provide my observations to get things during started:
Travis wants to play fast, possibly with 2 point guards. Based on that I'd guess our starting lineup will be:
Oguine, Wright, GFeller, Breunig and Krslovic. Dunn will of course be back in the starting lineup as soon as possible.
Oguine fit in immediately and looks to me like he is going to live up to the hype. He's quick, fearless and can score from the point. He handles the ball well, and while it is a big ask to expect a true freshman to run the point- he looks up to it. He will be an immediate fan favorite. While it is early, I do think he has the ability to pick up the early season scoring slack from Dunn, but I'd expect a drop-off in defensive intensity.
Wright can help with the ball handing duties and has shown the ability to score in streaks. Bradshaw could get this starting spot too, but I think Wright's ability to share the ball handling with Oguine makes him a better fit at the beginning of the season. Bradshaw would be a solid 6th-7th man and he has shown the ability to make contributions when he plays with confidence. I can't say whether Wright or Bradshaw helps us more on defense, but that could be a key in determining which one starts. We have a very hard pre-season schedule which might mean TDC experiments with the starting line-up a bit, and I can see these two both getting a chance to earn this spot.
GFeller and Breunig should lead the team in points and minutes. Both have developed a lot in the off-season. Both of these guys present match up troubles for the opposition as they have become versatile scorers. Look for Breunig to improve on his 17 points per game last year, and GFeller to pick up many of the shots and points that went to Gregory last season. GFeller gets my early nomination for Rule's Jordan Gregory Award as the most improved in the off-season. Breunig is as versatile as any player in the league, and I am anxious to see how TDC uses him this season. Moving him to point-forward at critical stretches last season was brilliant, and helped us secure a couple key wins.
Krlsovik is solid in the middle and looks to have developed offensively, with improved footwork. He showed signs of his offensive ability last year, but his biggest contribution is defensively. He looks stronger this year, and anchors us defensively. He isn't as athletic as Breunig, but he is fundamentally solid and has a knack for being around the ball and creating turnovers.
Depth:
We are going to need strong pre-season contributions from 2 players beyond the 6 listed above. Those in line to provide these contributions are Lopez, Boehning and DeJong. Boehning is our only true center and I see him playing key minutes in stretches where we go big (like vs Gonzaga). He looks much stronger than last year, so it appears his red-shirt season helped him. Lopez plays good defense and rebounds well for his size, but I haven't seen him be a scoring threat yet. A good start to the season could provide him more confidence on O, which could help take some of the pressure off of Breunig, GFeller and Oguine. DeJong is athletic and could be a good fit for an up-tempo game.
I don't have any insights as to whether the other players will red-shirt or not, but believe Rorie will really help our new point guards develop which will be critical once we get into the Conference schedule. The competition at the point next year will be intense! I had the impression Moorehead would likely redshirt when he signed, but maybe things have changed due to the loss of Edmonds and the injury to Mario.
There are still almost 3 months until the season starts so things can change between now and then. I'm impressed with the improvements the coaches have developed in the players. Player development appears to be a real strength of our coaching staff, which bodes well for the future of the program.
I'll provide my observations to get things during started:
Travis wants to play fast, possibly with 2 point guards. Based on that I'd guess our starting lineup will be:
Oguine, Wright, GFeller, Breunig and Krslovic. Dunn will of course be back in the starting lineup as soon as possible.
Oguine fit in immediately and looks to me like he is going to live up to the hype. He's quick, fearless and can score from the point. He handles the ball well, and while it is a big ask to expect a true freshman to run the point- he looks up to it. He will be an immediate fan favorite. While it is early, I do think he has the ability to pick up the early season scoring slack from Dunn, but I'd expect a drop-off in defensive intensity.
Wright can help with the ball handing duties and has shown the ability to score in streaks. Bradshaw could get this starting spot too, but I think Wright's ability to share the ball handling with Oguine makes him a better fit at the beginning of the season. Bradshaw would be a solid 6th-7th man and he has shown the ability to make contributions when he plays with confidence. I can't say whether Wright or Bradshaw helps us more on defense, but that could be a key in determining which one starts. We have a very hard pre-season schedule which might mean TDC experiments with the starting line-up a bit, and I can see these two both getting a chance to earn this spot.
GFeller and Breunig should lead the team in points and minutes. Both have developed a lot in the off-season. Both of these guys present match up troubles for the opposition as they have become versatile scorers. Look for Breunig to improve on his 17 points per game last year, and GFeller to pick up many of the shots and points that went to Gregory last season. GFeller gets my early nomination for Rule's Jordan Gregory Award as the most improved in the off-season. Breunig is as versatile as any player in the league, and I am anxious to see how TDC uses him this season. Moving him to point-forward at critical stretches last season was brilliant, and helped us secure a couple key wins.
Krlsovik is solid in the middle and looks to have developed offensively, with improved footwork. He showed signs of his offensive ability last year, but his biggest contribution is defensively. He looks stronger this year, and anchors us defensively. He isn't as athletic as Breunig, but he is fundamentally solid and has a knack for being around the ball and creating turnovers.
Depth:
We are going to need strong pre-season contributions from 2 players beyond the 6 listed above. Those in line to provide these contributions are Lopez, Boehning and DeJong. Boehning is our only true center and I see him playing key minutes in stretches where we go big (like vs Gonzaga). He looks much stronger than last year, so it appears his red-shirt season helped him. Lopez plays good defense and rebounds well for his size, but I haven't seen him be a scoring threat yet. A good start to the season could provide him more confidence on O, which could help take some of the pressure off of Breunig, GFeller and Oguine. DeJong is athletic and could be a good fit for an up-tempo game.
I don't have any insights as to whether the other players will red-shirt or not, but believe Rorie will really help our new point guards develop which will be critical once we get into the Conference schedule. The competition at the point next year will be intense! I had the impression Moorehead would likely redshirt when he signed, but maybe things have changed due to the loss of Edmonds and the injury to Mario.
There are still almost 3 months until the season starts so things can change between now and then. I'm impressed with the improvements the coaches have developed in the players. Player development appears to be a real strength of our coaching staff, which bodes well for the future of the program.
