The roster looks balanced, deep and ready to challenge for the title.

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Cowboy Junky
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Seniors: Hayden Dalton, Alan Herndon, Louis Adams, Aka Gorski

Juniors: Justin James, Jordan Naughton, Ny Redding

Sophomores: Buddha Jones, Andrew Moemeka, Cody Kelly, Sam Averbuck

Freshmen: Hunter Thompson, Anthony Mack, Hunter Maldonado, Austin Meuller, Jermaine Haley(won't be eligible this season and will be a sophomore the following season).

What do you think Poke fans? How good can we be?
Last edited by Cowboy Junky on Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:59 am, edited 3 times in total.
Wyoming Cowboy basketball:

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I think we can be as good as winning the conference and possibly as bad as 6th or 7th. If the players are utilized right the sky could be the limit going forward with this team. If players like Aka Gorski are leaned on for major minutes, we're limiting ourselves right off the get go unless said players have made major major strides in the offseason.
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FarmerPoke wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:13 pm I think we can be as good as winning the conference and possibly as bad as 6th or 7th. If the players are utilized right the sky could be the limit going forward with this team. If players like Aka Gorski are leaned on for major minutes, we're limiting ourselves right off the get go unless said players have made major major strides in the offseason.
The good news: two of the guys that fans were unhappiest about getting minutes left voluntarily.

We have a deep rotation of guys that can excel in the MWC: Dalton, Herndon, Adams, James, Naughton, and Gorski are all upper classmen. With some contribution from the new guys: Buddha Jones, Hunter Thompson, Austin Meuller, Anthony Mack, Ny Redding, and Hunter Maldonado we have a chance to be really good.

We'll see who redshirts, but the two deep is ACTUALLY 2 deep, if not 3 deep in most cases.
Wyoming Cowboy basketball:

National Champions 1943.

Helm's foundation National Champions 1934.

NCAA tournament MVP and two time College Basketball Player of the Year Kenny Sailors, who is credited with inventing the jump shot.

Do you remember Cowboy Basketball?

I do.
Vt poke
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I'm hoping that this year's 6th man isn't our best player who only gets 22 mins a game, when he should be playing 35
NowherePoke
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Decent depth for sure, but basketball is always more about your best players than about your depth. It will be an interesting team for sure. What does Edwards do with the frontcourt minutes? A lot of bodies (Herndon, Dalton, Naughton, Moemeka, Jones) for only 80 minutes. Does he go for offense with Herndon/Dalton (maybe Jones too), or does he look for a little more defense/rebounding and play Naughton/Moemeka at the 5 alongside one of the skinny guys.

Justin James will start, lead the team in scoring, and make 1st or 2nd team all-MWC depending on how the team fares overall. He has all the tools and a leadership mentality.

I assume Redding is the starting PG. Not sure how I feel about it (can you win in 2017/2018 with a perimeter player who can't shoot the 3?), but if he can be a steady ball handler and challenge the defense off the dribble that will really help a team who defaults to passing it around the perimeter far too easily.

The other interesting spot is at the 2. To me, Lou Adams is the wild card. He has big time talent on both ends of the floor, but didn't maximize it at times. Not due to lack of effort, but decision making. It is easy to type on a message board, but incredibly difficult in real life, but he won't be able to reach his potential until he can attack off the bounce with his options open. Last year, he made up his mind before he ever put the ball on the floor that he was going all the way to the rim. He is capable of some amazing finishes and can get to the line at a high rate, but it doesn't help the offense flow. He also had a tendency to look for contact moreso than the shot. Focus on the finish and he will get the calls.

The other alternative would be to play Gorski alongside James on the wing (I wouldn't necessarily call Gorski the 2 in that scenario). On offense that will really help spacing especially considering that there is a non-shooter playing the PG. However, I think most would agree that Gorski's game is pretty one-dimensional. Does his shooting and the threat of his shooting offset the lack of playmaking and defensive limitations?

Of course, maybe one of the freshmen step right in and play at the wing. Everyone has high hopes long term for both Maldanado and Mack. Maybe they make their presence felt early in their career.

It will be an interesting year. Main things I want to see are some toughness on the glass (sorely missing since Nance and Cooke graduated) and ball/player movement on offense. This team has shooting and versatility on offense, there is no reason they can't be a plus offensive team. Not sure we have the personnel to truly be a good defensive team, but I think we are well coached on that end of the floor. Just haven't been able to finish off a defensive stop with a rebound.
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learning and growing pains but I foresee good things from this squad, esp getting all that extra pt last year on the CBI run
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NowherePoke wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2017 6:56 am Decent depth for sure, but basketball is always more about your best players than about your depth. It will be an interesting team for sure. What does Edwards do with the frontcourt minutes? A lot of bodies (Herndon, Dalton, Naughton, Moemeka, Jones) for only 80 minutes. Does he go for offense with Herndon/Dalton (maybe Jones too), or does he look for a little more defense/rebounding and play Naughton/Moemeka at the 5 alongside one of the skinny guys.

Justin James will start, lead the team in scoring, and make 1st or 2nd team all-MWC depending on how the team fares overall. He has all the tools and a leadership mentality.

I assume Redding is the starting PG. Not sure how I feel about it (can you win in 2017/2018 with a perimeter player who can't shoot the 3?), but if he can be a steady ball handler and challenge the defense off the dribble that will really help a team who defaults to passing it around the perimeter far too easily.

The other interesting spot is at the 2. To me, Lou Adams is the wild card. He has big time talent on both ends of the floor, but didn't maximize it at times. Not due to lack of effort, but decision making. It is easy to type on a message board, but incredibly difficult in real life, but he won't be able to reach his potential until he can attack off the bounce with his options open. Last year, he made up his mind before he ever put the ball on the floor that he was going all the way to the rim. He is capable of some amazing finishes and can get to the line at a high rate, but it doesn't help the offense flow. He also had a tendency to look for contact moreso than the shot. Focus on the finish and he will get the calls.

The other alternative would be to play Gorski alongside James on the wing (I wouldn't necessarily call Gorski the 2 in that scenario). On offense that will really help spacing especially considering that there is a non-shooter playing the PG. However, I think most would agree that Gorski's game is pretty one-dimensional. Does his shooting and the threat of his shooting offset the lack of playmaking and defensive limitations?

Of course, maybe one of the freshmen step right in and play at the wing. Everyone has high hopes long term for both Maldanado and Mack. Maybe they make their presence felt early in their career.

It will be an interesting year. Main things I want to see are some toughness on the glass (sorely missing since Nance and Cooke graduated) and ball/player movement on offense. This team has shooting and versatility on offense, there is no reason they can't be a plus offensive team. Not sure we have the personnel to truly be a good defensive team, but I think we are well coached on that end of the floor. Just haven't been able to finish off a defensive stop with a rebound.
This is a spot-on assessment. I couldn't agree more about Lou Adams.

Every few years we get a true, impact Freshman. I'm not talking like a Justin James or Larry Nance, who looked like they had potential to be good during their Freshman seasons, but someone like Afam, who was one of the better players in the conference as a freshman. I'm hoping we have one or more of those guys this year.
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There are a lot of questions with this team.

How good is Ny Redding and what is his game like? He's a better defensive option at point guard then we had last year. On offense, who knows what he can do?

If you look at what we lost last year and what we brought in, it shouldn't be hard to replace Marshall, Lieberman, Barnes and Mcmanamen. I think Redding is a better point then Lieberman and Barnes has no place in an Allen Edwards team(Naughton might not either).

It's hard to tell what type of player Buddha Jones is going to be. From reading some old SDSU threads, it seems like they really liked his shot blocking ability, rebounding ability, and his potential in the post. He's supposed to have an inside outside game, so we'll see if he's a reliable consistent shooter. Trading Barnes for Jones seems like an easy one to say we upgraded that position.

Morris Marshall was always hurt. He hardly got any minutes. Anthony Mack(barring injuries) will play more than Morris Marshall did in Laramie and will have a bigger impact. Weather or not he's ready to do that as a freshmen remains to be seen. Anthony Mack is an uprade on Morris Marshall.

McManimal is being replaced in the wing rotation by Malonado, Meuller, or Mack. I think we'll get an equal defensive/rebounding impact from the new guys, but don't know if any are ready to replace the offensive production of Mcmanimal, even when Mcmanamen struggled last year.

The biggest question for me is the coaching. I couldn't figure out Allen Edwards rotation plan at all last season. I don't think the minutes he gave out or made sense to anyone. I thought he shouldn't have played certain guys and he did. It helped us in the post-season as the depth and bodies kept us fresh for a lot of post-season games in short notice.

I know a lot of people think our point guard athleticism is a weakness. We'll see if Ny is better than Lieberman. A lot of our fan base thinks Cody Kelly can't play at this level. I think he'll be fine as a back up point that hits clutch shots when he's on the floor.

I still think one of our stretch fours might redshirt. At the traditional center spot we have Moemeka and Naughton. That leaves Dalton, Herndon, Thompson, and Jones at that spot, maybe even Meuller who's a tweener 3/4. Jones isn't going to redshirt. Meuller just did. Herndon and Dalton are seniors and won't redshirt. It wouldn't surprise me if we redshirt the four star in state product: Thompson. That may not happen though. Both Moemeka and Naughton were recruited before Edwards took the head job. I'm not sure if he'll recruit anymore traditional centers. His guys need to be able to play at the three point line and shoot from the outside. He might not redshirt any of them. It seems likely though, if any of that freshmen class will redshirt we have an abundance of players playing that stretch four roll.

There's a lot of new faces and it's going to take a while for everyone to mesh, but I like the senior leadership and amount of upper classmen this team has. We've got an abundance of upper classmen this upcoming season and hopefully we'll have plenty of leadership.

I don't think there's anyway this team will finish lower than 6th and the sky is the limit on how good they can be.
Wyoming Cowboy basketball:

National Champions 1943.

Helm's foundation National Champions 1934.

NCAA tournament MVP and two time College Basketball Player of the Year Kenny Sailors, who is credited with inventing the jump shot.

Do you remember Cowboy Basketball?

I do.
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Cowboy Junky wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2017 12:45 pm There are a lot of questions with this team.

How good is Ny Redding and what is his game like? He's a better defensive option at point guard then we had last year. On offense, who knows what he can do?

If you look at what we lost last year and what we brought in, it shouldn't be hard to replace Marshall, Lieberman, Barnes and Mcmanamen. I think Redding is a better point then Lieberman and Barnes has no place in an Allen Edwards team(Naughton might not either).

It's hard to tell what type of player Buddha Jones is going to be. From reading some old SDSU threads, it seems like they really liked his shot blocking ability, rebounding ability, and his potential in the post. He's supposed to have an inside outside game, so we'll see if he's a reliable consistent shooter. Trading Barnes for Jones seems like an easy one to say we upgraded that position.

Morris Marshall was always hurt. He hardly got any minutes. Anthony Mack(barring injuries) will play more than Morris Marshall did in Laramie and will have a bigger impact. Weather or not he's ready to do that as a freshmen remains to be seen. Anthony Mack is an uprade on Morris Marshall.

McManimal is being replaced in the wing rotation by Malonado, Meuller, or Mack. I think we'll get an equal defensive/rebounding impact from the new guys, but don't know if any are ready to replace the offensive production of Mcmanimal, even when Mcmanamen struggled last year.

The biggest question for me is the coaching. I couldn't figure out Allen Edwards rotation plan at all last season. I don't think the minutes he gave out or made sense to anyone. I thought he shouldn't have played certain guys and he did. It helped us in the post-season as the depth and bodies kept us fresh for a lot of post-season games in short notice.

I know a lot of people think our point guard athleticism is a weakness. We'll see if Ny is better than Lieberman. A lot of our fan base thinks Cody Kelly can't play at this level. I think he'll be fine as a back up point that hits clutch shots when he's on the floor.

I still think one of our stretch fours might redshirt. At the traditional center spot we have Moemeka and Naughton. That leaves Dalton, Herndon, Thompson, and Jones at that spot, maybe even Meuller who's a tweener 3/4. Jones isn't going to redshirt. Meuller just did. Herndon and Dalton are seniors and won't redshirt. It wouldn't surprise me if we redshirt the four star in state product: Thompson. That may not happen though. Both Moemeka and Naughton were recruited before Edwards took the head job. I'm not sure if he'll recruit anymore traditional centers. His guys need to be able to play at the three point line and shoot from the outside. He might not redshirt any of them. It seems likely though, if any of that freshmen class will redshirt we have an abundance of players playing that stretch four roll.

There's a lot of new faces and it's going to take a while for everyone to mesh, but I like the senior leadership and amount of upper classmen this team has. We've got an abundance of upper classmen this upcoming season and hopefully we'll have plenty of leadership.

I don't think there's anyway this team will finish lower than 6th and the sky is the limit on how good they can be.
I think it is almost a guarantee that Hunter Thompson redshirts.
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NowherePoke wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:07 pm
Cowboy Junky wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2017 12:45 pm There are a lot of questions with this team.

How good is Ny Redding and what is his game like? He's a better defensive option at point guard then we had last year. On offense, who knows what he can do?

If you look at what we lost last year and what we brought in, it shouldn't be hard to replace Marshall, Lieberman, Barnes and Mcmanamen. I think Redding is a better point then Lieberman and Barnes has no place in an Allen Edwards team(Naughton might not either).

It's hard to tell what type of player Buddha Jones is going to be. From reading some old SDSU threads, it seems like they really liked his shot blocking ability, rebounding ability, and his potential in the post. He's supposed to have an inside outside game, so we'll see if he's a reliable consistent shooter. Trading Barnes for Jones seems like an easy one to say we upgraded that position.

Morris Marshall was always hurt. He hardly got any minutes. Anthony Mack(barring injuries) will play more than Morris Marshall did in Laramie and will have a bigger impact. Weather or not he's ready to do that as a freshmen remains to be seen. Anthony Mack is an uprade on Morris Marshall.

McManimal is being replaced in the wing rotation by Malonado, Meuller, or Mack. I think we'll get an equal defensive/rebounding impact from the new guys, but don't know if any are ready to replace the offensive production of Mcmanimal, even when Mcmanamen struggled last year.

The biggest question for me is the coaching. I couldn't figure out Allen Edwards rotation plan at all last season. I don't think the minutes he gave out or made sense to anyone. I thought he shouldn't have played certain guys and he did. It helped us in the post-season as the depth and bodies kept us fresh for a lot of post-season games in short notice.

I know a lot of people think our point guard athleticism is a weakness. We'll see if Ny is better than Lieberman. A lot of our fan base thinks Cody Kelly can't play at this level. I think he'll be fine as a back up point that hits clutch shots when he's on the floor.

I still think one of our stretch fours might redshirt. At the traditional center spot we have Moemeka and Naughton. That leaves Dalton, Herndon, Thompson, and Jones at that spot, maybe even Meuller who's a tweener 3/4. Jones isn't going to redshirt. Meuller just did. Herndon and Dalton are seniors and won't redshirt. It wouldn't surprise me if we redshirt the four star in state product: Thompson. That may not happen though. Both Moemeka and Naughton were recruited before Edwards took the head job. I'm not sure if he'll recruit anymore traditional centers. His guys need to be able to play at the three point line and shoot from the outside. He might not redshirt any of them. It seems likely though, if any of that freshmen class will redshirt we have an abundance of players playing that stretch four roll.

There's a lot of new faces and it's going to take a while for everyone to mesh, but I like the senior leadership and amount of upper classmen this team has. We've got an abundance of upper classmen this upcoming season and hopefully we'll have plenty of leadership.

I don't think there's anyway this team will finish lower than 6th and the sky is the limit on how good they can be.
I think it is almost a guarantee that Hunter Thompson redshirts.
Agreed. Although it's hard for me to imagine redshirting one of the most talented players on the team and a Wyoming kid, a lot of the same conditions still exist to make that happen. Yes, he doesn't have to sit a year to wait for a scholarship to open. Still, we have an abundance of good post players(especially those with the stretch four game) and not enough minutes to go around for all of them.

I think Maldonado and Mack have a much clearer path to playing time since they're coming in at a position where we just lost Mcmanamen and don't have a lot of bodies to begin with. Adams and Gorski are guards, although they may play a bit of wing. Aside from Justin James, who plays a lot of point, there really isn't anyone else with that build in the rotation. I think Mack or Maldonado will end up getting some p.t.
Wyoming Cowboy basketball:

National Champions 1943.

Helm's foundation National Champions 1934.

NCAA tournament MVP and two time College Basketball Player of the Year Kenny Sailors, who is credited with inventing the jump shot.

Do you remember Cowboy Basketball?

I do.
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I watched some of Mack's games. Kid can flat shoot. Malds had a great overall game. Reminds me of James more.


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Vt poke wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2017 4:38 am I'm hoping that this year's 6th man isn't our best player who only gets 22 mins a game, when he should be playing 35
+1
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