PonyFans.com

After watching the seniors play their last game in Moody on Sunday (and with the dead time to kill between now and Friday's game), I started wondering what next year's team is going to look like and wanted to get people's thoughts.

Here is my attempt at next year's depth chart. This assumes that both Nic and Markus return, and that Keith gets eligible again. Losing Yanick and Cannen means that we don't have a true center anymore, so I slotted Kennedy in that role and put Tolbert at the 4. I would expect Ben Moore to get time in the frontcourt rotation as well, but he seems more like a 3/4 combo and so I put him at the 3 with Keith's eligibility concerns.

PG - Nic Moore (SR), Ben Emelogu (JR), Sedrick Barefield (FR)
SG - Sterling Brown (JR), Shake Milton (FR), Jonathan Wilfong (JR)
SF - Ben Moore (JR), Keith Frazier (JR), Jarrey Foster (FR)
PF - Jordan Tolbert (TR-SR), Semi Ojeleye (TR-SO?)
C - Markus Kennedy (SR)

This still leaves us with 3 open spots, which I would assume LB will look to fill with additional transfers. With Ojeleye not being eligible until after the 1st semester, it seems like we're a pretty thin in the post. Also, not sure which (if any) of the freshmen are expected to contribute immediately, but our backcourt seems solid.

Sedrick has a really good chance of being the primary pg back up.

would think Ben plays more int he post with the lack of depth there and shake/sterling/keith/emlogu would get the minutes at the 2/3

Emelogu is a body in a uniform. Nothing more. Shake and Sed will be big time players.

Shake said he came here because LB was going to let him play point guard.

IMO, you're going to get Shake or Sed on the floor with nic pretty much at all times (think napier and boatwright at uconn last year). It's clear LB values two people that can bring the ball up the court. We've seen nic playing off the ball more lately, and I expect that to continue next year with two more actual PG's.

I mostly slotted Emelogu in the backup PG role as a safety net and not knowing if LB will trust Barefield to run the offense when Nic needs a break, but I agree with you on Emelogu not being anything close to what we thought we were getting. That said, I'm a lot less worried about our PG situation now than I was at this time last year, because Nic has done a great job of being a better leader and not losing his cool (particularly with stupid fouls) during our biggest games. It cost us the Louisville game at home last year, and I remember it happening several other times when he would have to sit because of fouls, and then we couldn't break a press to save our lives.

Anyway, I'm definitely more concerned about the post depth next year, especially considering that our tallest player is Kennedy, who is 6'9" but doesn't really play above the rim. Yanick and Cannen are our primary shot blockers, so I wonder what will happen when we face teams with big post players.

I have a feeling that Ben E will be a different player next year than what we saw this year.

Terry Webster wrote:I have a feeling that Ben E will be a different player next year than what we saw this year.

Agreed.

we only have 1 scholarship available-right now not 3- assuming everybody comes back

will Foster be at SMU next year? I thought he was doing an extra year of HS

Terry Webster wrote:I have a feeling that Ben E will be a different player next year than what we saw this year.

I do too. He is thinking too much on the court this year. Wonder if Hobbie is trying to change his shot stroke or something

PonyEnergy wrote:will Foster be at SMU next year? I thought he was doing an extra year of HS

you're thinking of Vick.

PeauxnyUp wrote:I mostly slotted Emelogu in the backup PG role as a safety net and not knowing if LB will trust Barefield to run the offense when Nic needs a break.

Emelogu will be the 4th or maybe even 5th PG option (behind B Moore at that point, seriously). If he's our PG for anymore than 3 minutes at the end of the ECU or USF games, then we're in a lot of trouble

Honestly I also think that if KF is eligible he would likely start. Keith was a very effective offensive player for us this year and he was actually really solid defensively as well could see sterling at the 3 with KF on the floor at the 2 against smaller teams.

As for Emelogu, he has a lot more talent then what he showed this year. I think it is clear that it is all mental at this point as well. His shot has a good stroke it has just been offline all year. My guess is he is "aiming" the ball too much instead of just letting it flow. It's also clear that he is really effective attacking the basket which he has been hesitant to do for most of the year (i think because he is nervous/not confident in his role offensively that he is deferring to much to other guys). Next year there are all of RM minutes up for grabs, and I'd expect nic to go to being more of 28-30 minute player. That leaves plenty of minutes for Sterling, KF, Ben E, Sed, shake, and foster, in a 3 guard line up. I expect Ben more to get more time at the 4 and a bit of time at the 3 depending on matchups (if the opposing team has a lot of length at guard).

Really hope we can get Simeon Carter to close out the class. He is a guy that can walk in and contribute on what should be a Top 15 team.