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hoopmanx wrote:I find it interesting people think of Jarrey as a guard. He smaller he gets in the line up, the less effective he becomes. Kid has played some,of his best ball for us at the 4

Agreed. He's just listed as a guard, but yeah, he was more effective down low than Semi last year, I thought.

Hopefully Gu can get his stroke back from his freshman year at VT. I think he'll start and play solid minutes for us now that Semi is gone. Once McMurray is eligible in late December, I think he'll be the change of pace guy off the bench that can provide a scoring spark and play starter minutes

PonyBait wrote:

RI Stang wrote:Obviously Shake, Whitt and Jarrey and probably McMurray as soon as he's eligible. Also think we can adjust based on who we're playing and the gameplan. Wouldn't be surprised to see more full court and zone next year certainly. I think we will add one like Agau and then could see it being him with Shake, Whitt, Jarrey and Gu or Douglas for the first semester.

If somehow we didn't replace Semi at all (which would really surprise me) then I still go those four with either Ray or Chargois if necessary, but would be more inclined to go small. I just don't see either of them being ready to start from day one. Like them both, but expect both to take some time. I expect Douglas to contribute with major minutes right away, at least until McMurray is eligible.

Hopefully irrelevant though as seems to me to be a pretty good sign Agau is coming here right after the Illinois visit (assuming he makes it here of course!) and scheduled it right after the Semi news broke...

I would LOVE to see McMurray coming off the bench all year to be "the guy" when the starters aren't out there. Obviously he would need to get close to starter minutes, but he could be a super sixth man for us. I'm not sure if he has the mentality to come off the bench, but I hope so!

Many of our best runs last season came at the expense of the other team's bench players. Our top six shredded players 6-9 on many teams. Our first six were VERY good together.

It's different now. Right now we bring back 2.5 of that six plus Whitt, who has been in the system for a year. We also bring the potential ( albeit unproven) for greater depth. Let's hope McMurray and Douglass give us scoring spark and out frosh bigs contribute on both ends with boards, defense, made free throws and the non-stat stuff. If that happens we should be ok. If Landrum progresses.... look out!

Shake
Whitt
Gu?
Jarrey
Grad transfer

We will be deep. Too many question marks right now though to know: who will transfer in? how will freshmen adjust? Can both Shake and Jarrey step up even more from last year? Will Whitt be reliable and a spark? I think McMurray will be very interesting to watch. I foresee Douglas probably being the best freshman.

I've heard Whitt looks great in practice. He's not an outside threat like Shake but he can slash and get to the rim, plays good D and boards well for a 6-3 guard

East Coast Mustang wrote:I've heard Whitt looks great in practice. He's not an outside threat like Shake but he can slash and get to the rim, plays good D and boards well for a 6-3 guard

Whitt has an outrageous wingspan have heard it is at least 6'9, but some say its close to 7'0. He is a real good athlete. The staff is super excited for Whitt.

I bet we start with the lineup you mentioned Oja. Lots of question marks on this team, but there usually are in college hoops these days. But expect Shake, Jarrey, and Whitt to all be solid players next year. I expect Shake to take the next step based on skill and progression, but Jarrey might be the key to next years team taking over Semi's athletic 4 man role. If he can take another step forward we could be real tough. McMurray can score no doubt. The interesting thing to watch with him will be how he is defensively and how he fits into our style.

Not based on inside info, but from what i've seen and read, I think Douglas is the best freshman, but that Ray will be the most impactful next season.

So with​ our roster set, here is how I see the lineup going into next season. And this is assuming we don't get McIntosh which I think is a very long shot and assuming none of the freshmen come in and set the world on fire.

Shake/Landrum
Whitt/McMurray/Douglas
Gu/Ray
Jarrey/Ray
Agau/Chargois

Shake
Whitt
Jarrey
Ray
Agau

I think we need to start 2 big men. Jarrey is not a natural 4 and we can play the 1 big and 4 guard set but it's tough to do that against big elite teams. And Gu isn't consistent enough to be a starter. He is good off the bench but shouldn't start.

LA_Mustang wrote:So with​ our roster set, here is how I see the lineup going into next season. And this is assuming we don't get McIntosh which I think is a very long shot and assuming none of the freshmen come in and set the world on fire.

Shake/Landrum
Whitt/McMurray/Douglas
Gu/Ray
Jarrey/Ray
Agau/Chargois

I hope we stop getting players with this class. It will allow us to develop the freshman for next year as well as put 11 scholarship players this year and next. We need to give up 4 scholarships in the next two years, we currently have space for 2. That will give us at least 2 person class in '18 (with the graduation of Gu and Shake going to the NBA)

BleedSMUPride wrote:Shake
Whitt
Jarrey
Ray
Agau

I think we need to start 2 big men. Jarrey is not a natural 4 and we can play the 1 big and 4 guard set but it's tough to do that against big elite teams. And Gu isn't consistent enough to be a starter. He is good off the bench but shouldn't start.

Disagree about Jarrey not being able to play the 4. We will need some solid mins out of Ray at the 4, but also Jarrey. Jarrey was solid at the 4 during stretches last year, played there some in HS, and is physical and athletic enough too. Offensively he would play Semi's role which is primarily perimeter based (he could do with ease) and would be a matchup problem. Defensively I think he could hold his own as he did last year. Not saying he plays all of his 30 ish mins a game at the 4 but 15-18 mins a game sounds like our best lineup given our guard depth and talent.

Point being 1) Jarrey can hang at the 4, play small ball 4 like Semi or a Josh Jackson at KU or tons of other examples; 2) you gotta play your best players and unless Ray exceeds expectations (which I am a big fan of Ray's and think he could play good mins for us) think you would wanna go with Gu, McMurray or Douglas.

Shake
Whitt
Other Guard (McMurray, Gu, or Douglas)
Foster
Agau

That would be my guess. But Ray could exceed expectation and start wouldn't be shocked, but think we need Jarrey to play some solid minutes at the 4 next year regardless.

PLE is right. Jarrey played really well at the 4 last season. He's long and athletic enough to defend the 4 and on offense other 4s have a hard time staying with him when he drives and crashes the boards.

When McMurray becomes eligible, I can see him in the starting lineup with Shake, Whitt, Jarrey and Agau. It's just tough to say with the freshmen so unknown. One thing is certain, if given starter's minutes, McMurray has the ability to score as much as anyone in the AAC.

deucetz wrote:

LA_Mustang wrote:So with​ our roster set, here is how I see the lineup going into next season. And this is assuming we don't get McIntosh which I think is a very long shot and assuming none of the freshmen come in and set the world on fire.

Shake/Landrum
Whitt/McMurray/Douglas
Gu/Ray
Jarrey/Ray
Agau/Chargois

I hope we stop getting players with this class. It will allow us to develop the freshman for next year as well as put 11 scholarship players this year and next. We need to give up 4 scholarships in the next two years, we currently have space for 2. That will give us at least 2 person class in '18 (with the graduation of Gu and Shake going to the NBA)

If we can get MiKyle McIntosh, grad transfer from Illinois State, I think we go 12 ships this year and 10 in 2018-19 (with potentially just a one man class for 2018).

LA_Mustang wrote:PLE is right. Jarrey played really well at the 4 last season. He's long and athletic enough to defend the 4 and on offense other 4s have a hard time staying with him when he drives and crashes the boards.

When McMurray becomes eligible, I can see him in the starting lineup with Shake, Whitt, Jarrey and Agau. It's just tough to say with the freshmen so unknown. One thing is certain, if given starter's minutes, McMurray has the ability to score as much as anyone in the AAC.

My best guess is Gu starts but when McMurray is eligible, we keep the rotation intact but he plays starter minutes off the bench with the ability to spell all of our guards. Bold prediction: McMurray wins 2018 AAC Sixth Man of the Year

The games against Uc and Wsu are going to be really good. Can't wait.

A recent interview with Everett Ray

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RT9ysKvyLAk

Loved the interview, hope he gets some minutes freshman year and is able to develop into a starter for the team eventually.