I know it is a little early to be talking about cause I think we're going to knock off Utah tonight and our season will continue, but what is next year going to be like? I know we lose three huge contributors, but the MWC is very senior laden this year.
For the top teams -
BYU loses:
Cummard
Morgan
Rose
New Mexico loses:
Dandridge
Toppert
Faris
San Diego State loses:
Amoroso
Davis
Spain
Thomas
Wade
Williams
Utah loses:
Borah
Green
Kepkay
Nevill
UNLV loses:
Adams
Darger
Rougeau
Wyoming loses:
Ewing
Ogirri
Johnson
The only two players returning that are on the all-conference teams (not honorable mention) are Tavernari and Fredette. Unfortunately, BYU looks to be the front-runner for next (again), but I think the rest of the spots are wide open. If Manzano, Sylla, and Luster can fill in sufficiently for the departed, then I think we can be right up there. Thinks look really good for 2011 though.
Next Year and the MWC
The Pokes won't be competing for a conference title next year. I think they win somewhere in the neighborhood of 21 games and get an NIT bid. I would guess around a 5th place finish in the conference. Will we have more talent next year? Yes. It just won't translate into many more wins until these guys get their feet wet. Manzano will be a huge help on the offensive end of the court, but most JC transfers take a half season to really get going in Divison 1 basketball. M'Baye is one hell of a defender and crashes the offensive boards with reckless abandon. Fans are going to love this guy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get Quinton Thomas. This guy might as well be called Afam, but he is better. He is a tremendous athlete. Luster will most likely take over the PG spot. I don't expect much offensive output out of him, but his passes are simply amazing. I do worry about him having to defend some larger PG's though. Sylla will see significant time as well. He isn't the type of gamebreaker we need down low but neither is Waddell. I say get rid of Linskens and concentrate on getting another PG and a beast down low in this next recruting class. If that happens, a conference title will be on the horizon in the next 2-4 years. Just not next year. I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised by the look of the players coming in.
Look at the MWC tournament. Defense was the name of the game. The better the defensive team, the further it moved up. Utah was definitely the best at defense. The two best defensive teams met in the final - look at the low score.
So is Shroyer going to wake up to this fact? You can't always put the ball in the hoop on any given day, but you can always play pressure defense.
So is Shroyer going to wake up to this fact? You can't always put the ball in the hoop on any given day, but you can always play pressure defense.
Defense is all about effort. Any defensive scheme will work as long as the work ethic is there. Switching, no switching, man to man, zone, whatever. It doesn't really matter as long as the effort is there. Some of the guys just didn't have that fire in their belly. I guess they are OK with losing. Maybe I am too harsh but my view is either work your ass off or feel free to take that Wyoming jersey off and get the hell out of town. That, or either pony up your own tuition money. That jersey represents so much more to me than just a sports team. It represents a way of life to me. It represents a work hard, answer to nobody approach. I want teams to feel as if they just woke up after a long night of drinking and fighting after they play us. We need to be more brutal. We need to represent a vulgar display of power. f-word BYU.