What's our bball team gonna look like this year?

I'm thinking this is a tournament team. We are finally going to have some depth this year and we added a crap ton of shooting. We lose Releford, but i feel that the talent we added in the 4 frosh and 2 transfers more than makes up for that loss.

Starting 5 guesses?

PG: Tarrant
SG: Varidel
G/SF: Randolph
F/PF: Kessens
PF/C: Taylor


Bench: Obasahon (utitlity 6th man coming off bench similar to Releford) at PG or SG
Hale for Taylor/Kessens/Randolph
Cooper for SG or SF
3 Freshmen coming off the bench in certain situations Coleman, Mitchell, Norris

Dont like the foreigners aye? haha

Varidel will be the best shooter on the court no matter who we play, so I dont see a way we cant not have him out there for 25-30 minutes. I thought about starting Hale over Kessens, but I would think we would try more of a physically imposing PF/C combo this season.

We are gonna suck. Even by some god-forsaken miracle allows us to make the NCAA tournament, we are gonna suck. We count rebound. And I am not talking about boxing out, height, or strength. I am talking about catching the basketball. Our bigs the last couple of years cannot jump and extend 2 hands to catch a basketball. I despair at the thought of those bigs actually scoring points. And T - Relly is the best PG we have had since Mo Williams (or arguably ever). We are supposed to be better without him. Good luck with that. I expect a losing season. I expect Auburn will embarrass the hell out of us by an aggregate score of 30 points as well. Doom and gloom. I still don't know why we didn't move on from Grant last year. We just ensured that the next coach will have a tougher row to hoe by keeping him another year.

Last year was such a huge disappointment and letdown I'm keeping my expectations low this year. If we do happen to be a good team, I'll be pleasently surprised.

Here's my prediction:

A very average start before SEC schedule starts. We'll go .500 or so in the SEC. Win one game in the SEC Tournament. We'll either make the tournament and lose in the first round or make it to the third round of the NIT.

Battle gives Grant another year.

quote:

---

I could be wrong, but didn't the SEC do away with divisions in basketball?

---

Yep

Well I have some down time so I guess I'll give my full guess as to our rotation to start the year.

PG: Tarrant
SG: Randolph
SF: Cooper
PF: Hale
C: Taylor

My guess is that Retin and Varidel will split the backup 2-guard duties and Randolph will slide to the 3 a lot to allow for more minutes for them there. I believe Retin will get some minutes at PG, but I think the majority of the backup minutes will go to Coleman. I also think we will see some of Coleman and Tarrant on the floor at the same time. I could also see Varidel getting some minutes at the 3 just to get him on the floor. I keep hearing that Garrett could surprise some people and make it into the rotation at the 3 or 4. I hate to have him as the odd man out, but Mitchell would be my guess as he supposedly has some defensive issues. Great kid though, and his confidence and shooting ability could actually turn him into a key player later in the season (sort of like Hale). I think Kessens is starter worthy, but it makes more sense for him to rotate in as he can play both the 4 and 5 (about 25 min/gm). I think Norris will see some inconsistent minutes at the 4.

I think Levi will garner about 12-13 ppg as will Hale. I'm not sure what to expect from Tarrant, but people keep raving about him which makes me think he could lead the team in scoring. I think Taylor will give us a steady 7-8 ppg while Kessens give about 9 or 10. Cooper and Retin are my X-factors for this year. I could see both blowing up this year and I could see them continue their incredibly inconsistent play. FWIW Grant did say that Cooper has become much more consistent in the off-season though from what I've seen/heard Cooper only has trouble when the real games start. For Retin he just has to play smarter. He still needs to attack because he is great at getting to the freethrow line, but maybe just have a plan of what you're going to do once you get to the lane.

This is by far the hardest rotation to predict in recent memory. We just have so much good depth and a lot of boom or bust guys.

quote:

---

We are fixing to,be second fiddle to Auburn for some time.

---

It might not happen, but I think its a real possibility. While Pearl is out selling his program, Anthony Grant is nowhere to be found. Just like every year, Coleman will be 1/3 full until we start SEC Play.