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Message: [QUOTE="RF2044, post: 2218005, member: 40"] Won't have a great sense of this team's upside / potential until a few more things are known. Namely: [LIST] [*][B][COLOR=#ff8000]Howard [/COLOR][/B]-- is his attitude straightened out? Will he provide consistent shooting / scoring, or not? Can he be counted upon to run the team? Can he be a top-flight starter? [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B][COLOR=#ff8000]Battle [/COLOR][/B]-- can he be a dominant force? We basically need him to be the collegiate version of Michael Jordan next year. The potential is there -- will he actualize it? [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B][COLOR=#ff8000]Thompson [/COLOR][/B]-- will he rebound better? Can he show improved defense? Can he man the pivot defensively in our system? Can he be a dominant inside scorer? [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B][COLOR=#ff8000]Chukwu [/COLOR][/B]-- is he better than what he showed last season? Or is he little more than a bit player... if that? [/LIST] And now for the newcomers: [LIST] [*][COLOR=#ff8000][B]Thorpe [/B][/COLOR]-- he was part of a lousy USF squad -- is he an impact player? Will the double figure scoring translate from the AAC? Can he be an adequate 1 if Howard falters? [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B][COLOR=#ff8000]Brissett [/COLOR][/B]-- sleeper of the class. Is he a dominant force? Can he start at 4 if TT starts in the middle? Is he a 3? How well will he shoot the rock? [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B][COLOR=#ff8000]Dolezaj [/COLOR][/B]-- how good is this guy? Will his scrawny physique hold up against ACC competition? How well will he shoot? [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B][COLOR=#ff8000]Moyer [/COLOR][/B]-- how much better will he be after a redshirt season? Is he a 4 or a 3? Can he rebound well enough? How well will he shoot the ball? [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B][COLOR=#ff8000]Washington [/COLOR][/B]-- is he better than "just" a 3-star? How well will he run our halfcourt offense? Is he ready as a function of playing at Monteverde, or will he need a year? [/LIST] [LIST] [*][B][COLOR=#ff8000]Sidibe [/COLOR][/B]-- kid played big time competition, and held his own. Will his physique hold him back in year one, or will he be able to battle ACC level bigs from the jump? [/LIST] We're a very young, inexperienced squad. I'd guess that we need at least three and probably four of the incoming class to emerge as contributors. That's a dangerous spot to be in. My biggest fear is that while frosh like Brissett / Dolezaj might have NBA potential, that their physical development at this stage of their developmental curves will make it tough for them to be consistent contributors, especially in conference play. [B][COLOR=#ff8000]BUT [/COLOR][/B]if a couple of things break positively, this team might be a lot better than most of us dared to hope even just a month ago. Do we have any consistent scorers besides Battle / Thompson? Can Moyer / Brissett / Dolezaj be an effective forward tandem? Can the team defense be better than last year's sieve? Will we have enough outside shooting -- Battle / Thompson are proven commodities in that regard, but how will Thorpe's game translate? Will Howard redeem himself and show improvement? Does a 5 like Sidibe beat out the incumbents, and give us the flexibility to shift TT to the 4? Tons of question marks. I could see Brissett / Dolezaj -- or both -- proving to be studs, and the team being dangerous offensively. I could also see a few things not developing positively in terms of the question markes listed above, and the team struggling. [/QUOTE]

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