This weekend I watched the 2 semi-final and the championship game for the MWC and a huge dose of reality hit me hard. I think we all know that Wyoming isn’t very good but until this weekend, I didn’t realize just how extremely far behind we are in our own conference and the rest of the nation. It is HUGE!!!!!!!!!
We all know the stats from this year. Lowest attendance in AA, worst record in 30 plus years, most losses at home in forever, etc… blah, blah, blah,….!! But I am going to take it one step further and try to go outside the box. I know that this might upset some people but let’s just throw it out there.
This season I have not said anything negative about any of our kids and their play. I have said that it is Heath’s fault and I am not a fan of his but I haven’t said anything about the players. With that said, let’s take a look at the top 4 teams in our conference.
I get the fact that at the end of the tourney everyone up’s their games about 4 notches. The intensity and speed rises and the basics (boxing out, free throws, rebounding) really stand out. But watching those 3 games, it was obvious to me that Wyoming is soooo far behind N. Mexico, SDSU, UNLV, and BYU, I don’t see how we can catch up for a long time to come. Right now (and I will go ahead and say it, even if I get killed about it), not looking through brown and gold glasses, I don’t think that we have a single player on our basketball team that would START on one of those 4 teams!
Jackson – I would say that he would be the second or third guy off the bench for these 4 teams. He does stand out for our team but I think that is because their isn’t much else for us to rely on. Who could he replace off those 4 teams to start:
BYU – Fredette, Emery, Haws
NM – Hobson, Gary
SDSU – Gay, Davis
UNLV – Willis, Stanbeck, Bellfield
Luster – Our captain, I think would see very little time on the court if at all. With his size and lack of shooting skills, minutes would be very hard to come by.
Waddell – again, maybe the 2nd or 3rd guy off the bench and come in for relief. I think he would be a good complement to those teams as a garbage guy, getting rebounds and put backs but not allowed to take a shot outside of the paint. His engine goes 100 mph but no way he takes a place in the starting lineup for those teams.
Thiam – Shocking but might be the only guy on our team that might have a chance to start. Would not be allowed to shoot but might be able to stay in the middle for rebounding and defense as long as he didn’t go to far out of the paint and with his being inconsistent, it might cost him a starting nod for those 4 teams.
Afam – With this knee injury, I don’t know what to expect. I think we can all come up with people that have not been the same when they came back from that type of injury. I would have to see where he is before I would estimate if he would start for any of these guys.
M’baye, Bouedo, Dermody, Harrison, - only choices would be sitting at the end of the bench or not making the team. Guarenteed not to see the floor.
Sylla – would not make the team, not even close.
So with the possibility of making the case for only 1 kid who MIGHT, MIGHT, start for one of the 4 top teams in our conference, where does that put us?? How can we expect to have any different results for the next few years? I don’t care who we add to this team, the talent on this team compared to everyone else is not even close.
I know that there will be some that strongly disagree with this and I might get killed for not being positive but I don’t see much to be positive about. A lot of people on these 2 boards are saying that it will get better and I hope it does but the future sure looks bleak to me.
We all know the stats from this year. Lowest attendance in AA, worst record in 30 plus years, most losses at home in forever, etc… blah, blah, blah,….!! But I am going to take it one step further and try to go outside the box. I know that this might upset some people but let’s just throw it out there.
This season I have not said anything negative about any of our kids and their play. I have said that it is Heath’s fault and I am not a fan of his but I haven’t said anything about the players. With that said, let’s take a look at the top 4 teams in our conference.
I get the fact that at the end of the tourney everyone up’s their games about 4 notches. The intensity and speed rises and the basics (boxing out, free throws, rebounding) really stand out. But watching those 3 games, it was obvious to me that Wyoming is soooo far behind N. Mexico, SDSU, UNLV, and BYU, I don’t see how we can catch up for a long time to come. Right now (and I will go ahead and say it, even if I get killed about it), not looking through brown and gold glasses, I don’t think that we have a single player on our basketball team that would START on one of those 4 teams!
Jackson – I would say that he would be the second or third guy off the bench for these 4 teams. He does stand out for our team but I think that is because their isn’t much else for us to rely on. Who could he replace off those 4 teams to start:
BYU – Fredette, Emery, Haws
NM – Hobson, Gary
SDSU – Gay, Davis
UNLV – Willis, Stanbeck, Bellfield
Luster – Our captain, I think would see very little time on the court if at all. With his size and lack of shooting skills, minutes would be very hard to come by.
Waddell – again, maybe the 2nd or 3rd guy off the bench and come in for relief. I think he would be a good complement to those teams as a garbage guy, getting rebounds and put backs but not allowed to take a shot outside of the paint. His engine goes 100 mph but no way he takes a place in the starting lineup for those teams.
Thiam – Shocking but might be the only guy on our team that might have a chance to start. Would not be allowed to shoot but might be able to stay in the middle for rebounding and defense as long as he didn’t go to far out of the paint and with his being inconsistent, it might cost him a starting nod for those 4 teams.
Afam – With this knee injury, I don’t know what to expect. I think we can all come up with people that have not been the same when they came back from that type of injury. I would have to see where he is before I would estimate if he would start for any of these guys.
M’baye, Bouedo, Dermody, Harrison, - only choices would be sitting at the end of the bench or not making the team. Guarenteed not to see the floor.
Sylla – would not make the team, not even close.
So with the possibility of making the case for only 1 kid who MIGHT, MIGHT, start for one of the 4 top teams in our conference, where does that put us?? How can we expect to have any different results for the next few years? I don’t care who we add to this team, the talent on this team compared to everyone else is not even close.
I know that there will be some that strongly disagree with this and I might get killed for not being positive but I don’t see much to be positive about. A lot of people on these 2 boards are saying that it will get better and I hope it does but the future sure looks bleak to me.
