Next Years Rotation Questions

[Qman]

I think most of us agree that Haws, Emery, Seljass and Bryant at going to get the bulk of the minutes at the 1,2 and 3.

Also Childs is going to see all the minutes he can handle.

Question number 1: Who is going to step up to take the starting big man spot? And what about the backup minutes?

The contenders in order of minutes played last year:

Shaw- is a physically limited guy who has the most experience playing recently. He does the normal big man things fairly well. But his limited physical strength will limit his minutes. Also he is complementary scorer only.

Dastrup- assuming he has slimmed down might be our best option. As he can shoot the 3 effectively and has enough of post game. The big question here is how effective he could be defensively.

The mismash of the 3 RM's Andrus, Worthington and Nixon. Who is going to be in shape? Who can play? These are open questions with this group. Before his mission Andrus was showing some flashes of ability and Nixon had earned some playing time. We all know about Worthington's pro's and con's.

Question 2: How much will Hardnett play?

When everyone is healthy there will be only a 10-12 minutes of night of backup PG available. So will Hardnett for Coach's hands and take more playing time.

Question 3:How much better with Haws be?

Is TJ one of the guys who can put on good weight or will he forever be 165 lbs? We will once the preseason starts.

So what are your answers? Or do you have different questions?

[Gunk]

Not sure. Other than Childs, we don't really have a sold post scorer. We don't need a big that likes to take three pointers.

What I do know is we'll be back to the bulk of the scoring coming from the perimeter. We won't be playing inside out with the ball flowing through the posts like we did with Mika. Course, once it went in to Mika, it rarely went back out. If I am Haws and Emery, I have to be excited about that...both those guys love to shoot.

In which case, all we need is a center that can hold the post on defense.

And, for the record, I doubt we ever see Haws above 175.

[hawkwing]

I think next year will be a bad year for the Cougars. Probably falling a few games short from this previous year.

[YNot]

[quote="Qman"]Question number 1: Who is going to step up to take the starting big man spot? And what about the backup minutes?

Dastrup was a highly-recruited player. He had offers from Kansas, Arizona, UCLA, Oregon, Florida, Ohio St., etc. You could see flashes last year, but his mission legs were apparent. He has 6'10' size and great court awareness and should be an excellent passer and scorer. He will get his chance, with plenty of playing time. He will be a solid contributor this year.

Shaw will get minutes and play a role, but will never dominate.

I believe Andrus will be the other guy in the main rotation. He has the 6'11 height advantage over Nixon (6'7") and Shaw (6'9") and did show promise his freshman year. He has the size and skill set to make a difference in the WCC. He is home from his mission in Philly in time to get in shape for the season.

Question 2: How much will Hardnett play?

I believe Hardnett will be one of the better defending guards, so his defensive ability might be a major factor in determining playing time.

Also, Hardnett will get plenty of time when Bryant is injured. Seljas may have some ups and downs. He will be coming off should surgery.

Question 3:How much better with Haws be?

I'm concerned that TJ goes through a sophomore slump. If he doesn't increase his strength, he will continue to be a defensive liability.

The good news in the WCC is that Gonzaga loses Williams-Goss, Karnowski and Collins. The bad news is that Gonzaga still has players and will contend. St. Mary's also returns its core and will still be very good. USF, Pepperdine, and even Portland and Pacific likely improve with some decent talent coming back or coming in. While you should still expect BYU to compete, don't be surprised if it's a battle for 3rd and 4th place again. I'd like to see a couple of those schools actually step up, so that 3rd place in WCC is in the NCAA bubble conversation.