I'm really excited to see what we will become next year. We lose 4 Sr's off of a great class, and no doubt we will feel their loss. You just don't replace kids like that. But with players like Noah Gurley, Tre Clark, Andrew Taylor, Michael Bothwell and Jalen Slawson moving into the lineup our length and athleticism will improve, especially on the wing and in the frontcourt.
I think Alex Hunter and Jordan Lyons start in the backcourt. With a major contribution from both Fr Andrew Taylor and Mike Bothwell. I expect Jon Jean to see some more time, especially if either Fr has a hard time adjusting to playing defense at this level. Assuming some incremental improvement by both Hunter and Lyons this could be a solid, if small, backcourt. As it stands now, I could see Fr Jalyon Pugh red-shirting.
At the wing positions, I'd imagine Andrew Brown and either Clay Mounce or Noah Gurley are the starters. Regardless who wins the battle between Mounce and Gurley, those three can be a solid rotation. Gurley could be the difference maker here, at 6-8, athletic and with the ability to shoot the 3 he brings a dimension that this years team lacked. The Wild card here is Tre Clark. Probably the most athletic Paladin, the 6-5 Clark could give us that long, quick twitch athlete that can rebound, play defense and maybe even score some points, even if his outside shot is still a work in progress. Mounce needs to work on his shot and add some strength in the offseason to be more of a factor but his improvement during the year was palpable. And maybe Bothwell gets some minutes a the wing as well.
In the post, we have basically the same rotation with Rafferty and Jalen Williams. The light seemed to come on for Jalen at about mid-season, if we can develop some more from there, this will again be a good lineup vs most of our competition, especially if Rafferty can add some strength. The wild card here is Jalen Slawson. Will he come in and contribute immediately in the post and stretch 4 or will he be a red-shirt candidate? The coaches described his potential as "imagine Kris Acox, a couple inches taller, with an outside shot". Sounds good to me if he's close to that.
While it would be irrational to EXPECT the 2018-19 Paladins to be as good as this years team, I think we'll be fun to watch and definitely more athletic. However, if Taylor and Bothwell can come in and make an impact as shooters and scorers, Lyons improves his shooting and shot selection and uses that strong body of his to get the basket effectively, and Noah Gurley lives up to the hype, this team has the potential to finish again in the upper echelon of the SoCon with 10-12 SoCon wins.
I think Alex Hunter and Jordan Lyons start in the backcourt. With a major contribution from both Fr Andrew Taylor and Mike Bothwell. I expect Jon Jean to see some more time, especially if either Fr has a hard time adjusting to playing defense at this level. Assuming some incremental improvement by both Hunter and Lyons this could be a solid, if small, backcourt. As it stands now, I could see Fr Jalyon Pugh red-shirting.
At the wing positions, I'd imagine Andrew Brown and either Clay Mounce or Noah Gurley are the starters. Regardless who wins the battle between Mounce and Gurley, those three can be a solid rotation. Gurley could be the difference maker here, at 6-8, athletic and with the ability to shoot the 3 he brings a dimension that this years team lacked. The Wild card here is Tre Clark. Probably the most athletic Paladin, the 6-5 Clark could give us that long, quick twitch athlete that can rebound, play defense and maybe even score some points, even if his outside shot is still a work in progress. Mounce needs to work on his shot and add some strength in the offseason to be more of a factor but his improvement during the year was palpable. And maybe Bothwell gets some minutes a the wing as well.
In the post, we have basically the same rotation with Rafferty and Jalen Williams. The light seemed to come on for Jalen at about mid-season, if we can develop some more from there, this will again be a good lineup vs most of our competition, especially if Rafferty can add some strength. The wild card here is Jalen Slawson. Will he come in and contribute immediately in the post and stretch 4 or will he be a red-shirt candidate? The coaches described his potential as "imagine Kris Acox, a couple inches taller, with an outside shot". Sounds good to me if he's close to that.
While it would be irrational to EXPECT the 2018-19 Paladins to be as good as this years team, I think we'll be fun to watch and definitely more athletic. However, if Taylor and Bothwell can come in and make an impact as shooters and scorers, Lyons improves his shooting and shot selection and uses that strong body of his to get the basket effectively, and Noah Gurley lives up to the hype, this team has the potential to finish again in the upper echelon of the SoCon with 10-12 SoCon wins.
