this year's team

[LA_Mustang]

Okay, I'm jonesing to discuss hoops, and preferably not about teammates hooking up....so, let's talk about this year's squad. Here's what I think………

PG:
starter - Derek Williams
backup - Paul McCoy/Mike Walker

I've never seen either play in person, but PG could very well be our strongest position. Both guys had impressive offers - Williams (UTEP, Dayton, LaSalle and Santa Clara) and McCoy (Kentucky & Virginia). I'm going with Williams as the starter since he has two years of JUCO experience, but I have a feeling McCoy will play starter minutes. If matchups allow, I think Doherty will have both on the court at the same time. Sometimes you have to find a way to get your best players on the court.

SG:
starter - Justin Haynes
backup - Ryan Harp

As I've expressed numerous times, I feel scoring from the 2 is going to be our biggest issue. Haynes is a wild card to me.....not sure what to expect. He’s supposedly athletic and hopefully that will provide some easy buckets in transition.

SF:
starter - Alex Malone
backup - Frank Otis/Robert Nyakundi

I'm hoping Alex added some strength/weight during the summer. He showed flashes of being a nice 3 last season. I’m very excited to see what Mook, with his toughness, and Nyakundi, with his improving outside jumper, will add to the mix. I expect SF to be a pleasant surprise.

PF:
starter - Papa Dia
backup - Mouhammad Faye/Nyakundi

I think Dia is the key to the season. IMO, he's the most talented player on the team and the sky is the limit with him. If he can play within himself and if he works hard.....we've got a great player with Dia. Faye, when eligible, will add ACC-level talent to our frontcourt.

C:
starter - Bamba Fall
backup - Tomasz Kwiatkowski

This is Bamba's year. We have watched him grow...hopefully he can put it all together this year. If he can continue to swat shots in the lane and if he can give us 8-10 pts and 8-10 boards a night....we will be in good shape.

I can't wait. Thoughts.................

[originaloverthehilltop1]

i have never heard faye mentioned as a pf. is this possible? i think we are hoping otis turns out to be charles barkley, maybe?

[HorsePower]

Agreed — I think you've got your forwards flipped. My understanding is that Frank Otis is a tad short, but a power forward all the way, and Faye is a perimeter guy who will play small forward, at least on the offensive end.

Kudos to LA_Mustang for bringing basketball back to the basketball board.

[LA_Mustang]

I'm always happy to get the hoops talk started.

As for Otis, Rivals has him listed as a SF and I assumed we recruited him as a 3. 6'5" is awfully short to play the 4.
http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewprosp ... 37&sport=2

I'm not that familiar with Faye's game, I thought I heard he can and will play the 4 for us. Either way, he should be a welcome addition to the mix in Dec.

[MustangIcon]

As far as I can tell Faye will play as a "big" not as a "wing". Remember that many of the teams in CUSA are small/quick and run essentially 3 guards at a time. Faye will not be able to keep up with smaller guards and taking his hieght and huge wingspan (7'3) away from the basket would be a bad thing for our interior D I would guess. Just bc the guy has the ability to knock down midrange jumpers and is pretty athletic doesn't mean he cannot play down low.

EDIT: Also my guess is that our 3 best bigs will be Bamba, Dia (maybe our two best players), and Faye. I would think we rotate them in a fashion that 2 of them are on the floor at most times, if possible, and wouldn't see many situations where we would play all three together- though it is possible if Faye can handle the ball as well as some people think.

[MustangIcon]

Also, I think you nailed the starting line-up with the exception of Harp. I think Harp starts at the 2 and shoots the ball much better this season. If he does he will get lots of looks with people collapsing on Bamba/Dia in the post and with Williams penetrating and kicking out.

McCoy and one of the bigs (Nayakundi or Mook during 1st semester with Faye out) will then be the first 2 players off the bench and I would not be surprised at all to see some McCoy/Williams backcourt moments as you mentioned.

I am really excited about the season.

[SoCal_Pony]

i think we are hoping otis turns out to be charles barkley, maybe?

Sir Charles averaged over 20 points a game during his NBA career...it's a reach to think Otis will be that productive on the offensive end.

[Corso]

Sir Charles also shrunk.
Coming out of Auburn, he was listed at 6-7.
By the time he retired, people said he wasn't quite 6-4.

[Argyle Pony]

I agree with much that is said...may I add...Otis is the type of player that always gets playing time and they sort of become a coaches favorite because they leave it all on the court...He will rebound well...like at Arkansas... the leading rebounder for them was Beverly....at 6'1"...being in position and fighting for that rebound impresses a coach and they are so much fun to watch....Faye is an outstanding outside shooter with a high percentage in shooting threes...I am so exciting to get out and watch them play...it will be exciting I believe...Go Mustangs!!!

[papawasamustang]

I love opinions from folks that have never seen a player or players play.
I can't wait for some practices & actually watch players play before predictions & comments start flying around about their abilities.

We had a inside advantage last year & didn't take advantage of it because we were a very bad ball handling team.
The number 1 priority is improved ball handling.

After that, we kill ourselves with long periods of not scoring.
We need several players to step up & be able to create their own shot & score. Who knows who will step up. Alot can change in 1 year & its a big transition from HS to college.

I am excited about this team & hopefully we will make HUGE improvements this year.

[PonyDoh]

I love opinions from folks that have never seen a player or players play.
I can't wait for some practices & actually watch players play before predictions & comments start flying around about their abilities.

We had a inside advantage last year & didn't take advantage of it because we were a very bad ball handling team.
The number 1 priority is improved ball handling.

After that, we kill ourselves with long periods of not scoring.
We need several players to step up & be able to create their own shot & score. Who knows who will step up. Alot can change in 1 year & its a big transition from HS to college.

I am excited about this team & hopefully we will make HUGE improvements this year.

I agree w/this, just too many players that we have no what they bring. I like Mook, but some are overrating his athleticism. He'll be a player, but he's no longer a high flyer. On the college level, that could really hurt him at 6-5, if he's playing the post, and isn't superb at getting position. If he's playing the 3, does he have the lateral quicks to play perimeter man. Also, he's an abysmal shooter facing the hoop.

Nobody has mentioned Walker, which I find funny. I wouldn't be surprised if he's high in the rotation.

[Vitale]

I can't wait to see Faye play.
I heard/read that Coach Doherty has referred to him as "a one-man fast break."

[MustangLaxer]

did everyone read that in the blog? but dude, nice insider information.

[mustangklick]

Also, I think you nailed the starting line-up with the exception of Harp. I think Harp starts at the 2 and shoots the ball much better this season. If he does he will get lots of looks with people collapsing on Bamba/Dia in the post and with Williams penetrating and kicking out.

McCoy and one of the bigs (Nayakundi or Mook during 1st semester with Faye out) will then be the first 2 players off the bench and I would not be surprised at all to see some McCoy/Williams backcourt moments as you mentioned.

I am really excited about the season.

Harp will start the 2 because he is/was our best perimeter defender. It would be great if he would start shooting, but last year he was in there to shut down the other team's main guy.

[LA_Mustang]

Harp will start the 2 because he is/was our best perimeter defender.

If we start a guy at the 2 just based on his defensive ability, we are in trouble.