newmexicuse
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- Aug 15, 2011
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My frustration with how this season ended is far from gone. The loss, and the way we lost, was totally foreseeable. I was hammered by so many on this board for clamoring for Roberson and also saying that Buss and BJ deserved a look even in the midst of the 25 & 0 run that it made my head spin. The decline started before the first loss. This team lost it's mojo after the first Duke game and never got it back. The ND game was maybe the final turning point because Cooney lit it up and single handedly won that game, so if Jimmy needed any convincing that we had to keep riding the Trevor pony, that game was it. Maybe if Trevor did not have that game things might have opened up a tad more, but I doubt it.
The biggest question about next season is what will the roster look like ?
I think Grant comes back because I think his back issues will affect his draft status. Even wo back issues he really needs a year to develop both his game and his body. If he declared, I think he would go back third of the first round at best. He has too much upside to go prematurely and he certainly will have the proper family guidance to let him know when the time is right. I do not believe that that they will think that time is now.
Tyler is a much bigger question mark as to whether or not he returns. Yes, another season will help in terms of his physical maturity and the consistency of his outside shooting. But really, in terms of adding another dimension to his game I do not see where a year back would really help. If he has reason to believe that he will go in the lottery then I think he will be gonzo as he should be for his own sake.
The dirty T word - I think somebody will depart, but hopefully only one & not more than one. My best guess is that it will be BJ. I say this because this was a season that he should have shirted. Everybody knew that pre-season, and the fact that he did not take an obvious shirt tells me that he and/or his family is impatient. I think he will want to go somewhere where he has a very high likelihood that he will play early on. If he really loves the Cuse it is still not too late to take the shirt here, but either way I do not see him back as a part of next season's active roster.
The newbees - We add McCullough, Joseph, and Chino. We also get DC2 back. All three should or could be rotation players. Assuming I am correct on my roster assessment, Grant will start at one forward spot. The other will be a battle between Mac & Roberson. Since both are young players who will make mistakes in Jimmy's eye, I think they both will play significant minutes, though the minutes will diminish for one of them as the season progresses. That sets us up for a very nice forward rotation that will have even more length than we had this season.
The center position will belong to Rak. Last year I was hoping that DC2 would make a big to fairly big jump. His injury has set him back. Clearly that won't happen. Hopefully, he can just come back healthy and just gradually improve to a point of being serviceable against better foes. DC2's health will be a question mark, so I hope Jimmy will get Chino some run just in case DC2 doesn't hold up. Even in the world of Jimmy, Rak can't play all 40 minutes.
The guards - I will assume Ennis to be gone and the reigns handed over to Joesph. From all I hear this kid will be a player, but it is very unlikely that we get a repeat of the Ennis scenerio where he is the real deal from day one. There will be growing pains and there is nobody else to play the point. The good thing here is that Kaleb will probably grow as the season progresses so this give us an opportunity to actually be an improving team come March. The 2G position is much more tenuous. Obviously Cooney will start, but I hope Jimmy has learned a lesson and gives him a shorter leash. G should improve, but I do not see him as having the type of game where he will have "breakout" potential. His role should probably be similar to this season's role. We will definitely need another 3 point threat. If I am correct on my personnel analysis, that should open up a door of opportunity for Bus. He will have to show some stuff in practice or he will never get a chance. I hope the kid can it step up enough to get some opportunity minutes.
So my bottom line is this, we will have a lot of early questions. Our early season will obviously not be as successful as it was this season unless Ennis should happen to return.
We lose CJ, but if Jerami returns and improves we should actually be better overall at the F position.
At the C position, I would expect some more incremental improvement from Rak and I would like to think that between Coleman and Chino that we would not miss BMK too much.
At the guard position, Trevor will improve because he really can't play much worse. The question is how much he improves ??? I have said before and I say again, Trevor's game is too one dimensional, but he could be a perfect sixth man (yes, I know that won't happen at least until Malachi arrives). G has his role, and he appeared to be gradually improving his O as the season progressed. I would give him a shot at starting if Ennis leaves. If by some chance Ennis returns, then our best backcourt might well be Ennis and Joseph.
The coaching - you know it will be same old, same old. Jimmy is too stubborn and you know the rotation will tighten as the season progresses. We will see seven, maybe 7 1/2 when it counts.
My projected 7 1/2 will be - Rak, Grant, Roberson, McCullough, Joseph, Cooney, G, with DC2 or Chino as the half depending upon the state of DC2's health. I do not expect Bus to break into that "elite" group, but I hope he can at be viewed as a bit of lightning in the bottle off the bench and at least be viewed as an occasional spark - yeah, right.
The biggest question about next season is what will the roster look like ?
I think Grant comes back because I think his back issues will affect his draft status. Even wo back issues he really needs a year to develop both his game and his body. If he declared, I think he would go back third of the first round at best. He has too much upside to go prematurely and he certainly will have the proper family guidance to let him know when the time is right. I do not believe that that they will think that time is now.
Tyler is a much bigger question mark as to whether or not he returns. Yes, another season will help in terms of his physical maturity and the consistency of his outside shooting. But really, in terms of adding another dimension to his game I do not see where a year back would really help. If he has reason to believe that he will go in the lottery then I think he will be gonzo as he should be for his own sake.
The dirty T word - I think somebody will depart, but hopefully only one & not more than one. My best guess is that it will be BJ. I say this because this was a season that he should have shirted. Everybody knew that pre-season, and the fact that he did not take an obvious shirt tells me that he and/or his family is impatient. I think he will want to go somewhere where he has a very high likelihood that he will play early on. If he really loves the Cuse it is still not too late to take the shirt here, but either way I do not see him back as a part of next season's active roster.
The newbees - We add McCullough, Joseph, and Chino. We also get DC2 back. All three should or could be rotation players. Assuming I am correct on my roster assessment, Grant will start at one forward spot. The other will be a battle between Mac & Roberson. Since both are young players who will make mistakes in Jimmy's eye, I think they both will play significant minutes, though the minutes will diminish for one of them as the season progresses. That sets us up for a very nice forward rotation that will have even more length than we had this season.
The center position will belong to Rak. Last year I was hoping that DC2 would make a big to fairly big jump. His injury has set him back. Clearly that won't happen. Hopefully, he can just come back healthy and just gradually improve to a point of being serviceable against better foes. DC2's health will be a question mark, so I hope Jimmy will get Chino some run just in case DC2 doesn't hold up. Even in the world of Jimmy, Rak can't play all 40 minutes.
The guards - I will assume Ennis to be gone and the reigns handed over to Joesph. From all I hear this kid will be a player, but it is very unlikely that we get a repeat of the Ennis scenerio where he is the real deal from day one. There will be growing pains and there is nobody else to play the point. The good thing here is that Kaleb will probably grow as the season progresses so this give us an opportunity to actually be an improving team come March. The 2G position is much more tenuous. Obviously Cooney will start, but I hope Jimmy has learned a lesson and gives him a shorter leash. G should improve, but I do not see him as having the type of game where he will have "breakout" potential. His role should probably be similar to this season's role. We will definitely need another 3 point threat. If I am correct on my personnel analysis, that should open up a door of opportunity for Bus. He will have to show some stuff in practice or he will never get a chance. I hope the kid can it step up enough to get some opportunity minutes.
So my bottom line is this, we will have a lot of early questions. Our early season will obviously not be as successful as it was this season unless Ennis should happen to return.
We lose CJ, but if Jerami returns and improves we should actually be better overall at the F position.
At the C position, I would expect some more incremental improvement from Rak and I would like to think that between Coleman and Chino that we would not miss BMK too much.
At the guard position, Trevor will improve because he really can't play much worse. The question is how much he improves ??? I have said before and I say again, Trevor's game is too one dimensional, but he could be a perfect sixth man (yes, I know that won't happen at least until Malachi arrives). G has his role, and he appeared to be gradually improving his O as the season progressed. I would give him a shot at starting if Ennis leaves. If by some chance Ennis returns, then our best backcourt might well be Ennis and Joseph.
The coaching - you know it will be same old, same old. Jimmy is too stubborn and you know the rotation will tighten as the season progresses. We will see seven, maybe 7 1/2 when it counts.
My projected 7 1/2 will be - Rak, Grant, Roberson, McCullough, Joseph, Cooney, G, with DC2 or Chino as the half depending upon the state of DC2's health. I do not expect Bus to break into that "elite" group, but I hope he can at be viewed as a bit of lightning in the bottle off the bench and at least be viewed as an occasional spark - yeah, right.
