citay said:
Let's not forget our other three "transfers"--Kyle Owens, Josh Vazquez and D.J. Carter-Hollinger. All three will be "transferring" from being true freshmen to being sophomores.
That these three helped keep us atop the Big Sky as true freshmen is amazing, but remember that the two greatest ever at Montana, Micheal Ray and Krysko, both blossomed as sophomores. Look for vast improvement from these three next year.
Vazquez and Owens have to put on weight and muscle. Teams were aggressively attacking each at the end of the season. It looks to me, Owens can comfortably on 20 lbs. Vazquez can get up to 190 comfortably. DCH is already strong. Physically, he's already where he needs to be. He just needs to focus on his overall game in the off season. Look out Big Sky, if DCH becomes a consistent ball handler. He will be a nightmare to match up against, on both ends of the court.
As for their games, Owens needs to become a reliable post scorer to go with his perimeter game. More strength would help him with positioning, posting up and rebounding. Vazquez, needs to gain confidence taking the ball to the hole, to draw fouls and create for the team. Also, more strength would help him keep guards out of the lane. Timmy Falls is of slight build too, but somehow, he manages to make things more difficult for guards getting position on him in the paint.
Owens just needs to look at Steadman, to get an idea of what he can be physically. Steadman is agile, yet strong too. Steadman will give the GRIZ a combination of Akoh and Breunig, in his skill set and physical tools.
Gaskin is long and rangy. He looks like he can be an elite perimeter/wing defender. I'd love to see what DeCuire can draw up defensively, with him and Egun on the floor at the same time. Both are 6'4" versatile and aggressive defenders. Falls will have a lot of help defensively next season.
Take a look at these potential line ups:
Small- Falls, Vazquez, Gaskin, Egun, DCH or Owens.
Big- Gaskin, Egun, Owens or DCH, Anderson, Steadman
3 point shooting- Brown, Falls(his % was solid this season, despite his release) or Gaskin, Vazquez (huge upside),DCH, and Owens. I'm not sure what kind of range Steadman has.
Add in the incoming Freshmen and possibly Henderson next season. This team looks damn deep and a huge upgrade in size. Surprisingly, Egun does fit in nicely. I really do hope,DeCuire finds minutes for him. Good things happen when he's on the court. Fortunately, Egun has the tenacity to play in the paint, even if he isn't as tall as you'd like. He seems to get a lot of rebounds, with his minutes. Brown is a terrific shooter and solid defender. Brown appears to have already put on 15 to 20 lbs, compared to his true Freshman season.
The future is bright. I hope the team gets in sync, during the off season. There is a lot of SR leadership and talent to replace from this season.