Coeur d' Alene said:
If trey Washington is one of the best 5-6 players on this team then we have a 6th place team with 1 good player.
If mcmanaman is a better player than Justin James and Norris Marshall this teams in trouble.
I don't doubt you guys are right about this idea that the older guys will get first chance. I'm just hoping that talent says James, moemeka, Marshall all see the floor. Imo that means the program is headed in the right direction. Shouldn't they have out recruited trey Washington and mcM by now?
1. If we finish 6th, we would have out performed preseason expectations (picked 8th) by about as much as we ever have in the MWC era. IOW, it will be a good year. Remember we finished T-4th last year with 4 senior starters. Only dropping to 6th would be very, very, solid.
2. Who is better: Adam Waddell or Larry Nance, Jr? Guess who started when Nance was a freshman? Hint: It wasn't Nance.
3. In terms of Morris Marshall, I hope he turns out to be a nice player for the Pokes, but I don't think it should be an article of faith that a JC player whom we beat our Norfolk State and IPFW for is automatically better than a 4th year junior who has hit game winning shots in the border war and the MWCT. He may be, but I don't think that we can say we know that.
4. I am confident Justin James will see the floor. Keep in mind that he has an ankle injury and did not play in the scrimmage.
5. Since Shyatt has returned to Laramie we have not started the season with a freshman starter. Larry Nance, Jr. (future first round NBA draft pick) did not start for a team coming off a 10-21 season, starting a veteran big man whose injuries limited him and turned him into a ground bound center (Waddell had one of the lowest rebounding percentages you will ever see for a big man as a result). The only player that really saw significant starts as a freshman was Josh Adams, but that was a result of the Luke Martinez issue. So, even 1st team All-MWC level talents like Nance and Adams were not able to break into the starting lineup at the beginning of the season as true freshman. Failure to do so can hardly be considered an indictment of Conway, Naughton, Moemeka, or James (who I wouldn't rule out yet) or Coach Shyatt.