Preview
Katz will be entering his third year as HC and there is a lot of optimism surrounding this program. The Hornets will be coming off of a 9-21 (3-13 BSC) season and the program seems to be steadily improving. Katz has recruited a wide range of athletic players who should fit into his coaching scheme and improve the quality of play. It’s safe to say that Katz is still building this program, however this is the first season in which he will have some athletic players to build off of so there is reason to be excited.
Roster:
The Hornets will be returning five players, three of whom are returning starters. Katz and Co brought in nine new players, 4 of which are true freshmen while the other five are transfers from the JC ranks (4) and one from UC Riverside. The following is my shot in the dark of the starting line-up. I loosely used the box score from the Menlo game to determine this, but I also went with the assumption that the 3 returners will be starters. I also assumed anyone that did not play in the Menlo game will be redshirted.
Starters
Bench
Redshirt
It’s obvious from the Menlo box score that Katz will have 3 go to guys off of the bench who should be able to come into the game and give the Hornets a jolt. This should be fun to watch this season as in recent years there was a significant drop off in talent when Katz used the bench. I’m curious as to who will run the point when TB is resting or in foul trouble. My guess is it will be Proctor. I am also guessing by the low playing time by McCarver that Duro will slide over to center when AN’D is resting/in foul trouble and Jackson or Dickson will come in as the other forward…or Proctor is brought in and a 3 guard set is used. Basically the possibilities are endless with this revamped roster so the various lineups will be something to watch for.
Stats:
Three of the returning players had a lot of playing time last season. I expect them to continue to perform but their number may take some hits with the addition of more athletic players who can help carry the load. Here are the returners stats from last season:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/saa/stats
The Hornets will need to improve in some very crucial categories this season. Here is where they were at last season:
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics/team/_/stat/scoring-per-game/group/5
The Hornets will need to become more efficient at scoring. The other stat that jumps out at me the most is the turnovers. Those will need to be reduced and we should see that with the increase in talent. Rebounds should also increase as more height was added to the roster. We should see improvement across the board as Katz continues to build this program.
Schedule:
This was touched on quite a bit when the schedule was released. Here is a link to the predictions that multiple posters provided:
http://hornets.bigskyfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=881
The Hornets will be traveling far and wide this season as they will face opponents that are sprinkled across the western US. Given that this Hornet program has struggled on the road, it is a concern that this team will be traveling quite a bid. The good news is that Katz scheduled a lot of teams that are in a similar situation as the Hornets, and that is one of recent struggles and in the early stages of a rebuilding cycle. There are a lot of winnable games on the schedule and my prediction is a 13-14 (6-10 BSC) on the season.
Outlook/Expectations:
I am a bit optimistic with how this season will play out. I feel that Katz will continue to build off of last season’s limited success and will have this Hornet team competing at a high level. I expect the Hornets to be around the 500 mark with respect to win-loss record and I feel that they have enough on hand to compete for a BSC Tournament berth. If the Hornets are to reach this expectation, they will need to execute the fundamentals (passing, shooting, and defense) and limit their mistakes (turnovers and dumb fouls). We should see much improvement in this aspect of the program as all indications are that improved talent has been brought on board.
GO HORNETS!
Hornetsports also posted an outlook article, looks like they beat me to the punch:
http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/mbball/release.asp?release_id=9201
Other references I used:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=teamreports-2010-ncaab-saa
http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/mbball/release.asp?release_id=9131
Katz will be entering his third year as HC and there is a lot of optimism surrounding this program. The Hornets will be coming off of a 9-21 (3-13 BSC) season and the program seems to be steadily improving. Katz has recruited a wide range of athletic players who should fit into his coaching scheme and improve the quality of play. It’s safe to say that Katz is still building this program, however this is the first season in which he will have some athletic players to build off of so there is reason to be excited.
Roster:
The Hornets will be returning five players, three of whom are returning starters. Katz and Co brought in nine new players, 4 of which are true freshmen while the other five are transfers from the JC ranks (4) and one from UC Riverside. The following is my shot in the dark of the starting line-up. I loosely used the box score from the Menlo game to determine this, but I also went with the assumption that the 3 returners will be starters. I also assumed anyone that did not play in the Menlo game will be redshirted.
Starters
- • PG – Sultan Toles-Bey, SR, 5’-10”, 170 lbs.
• SG – Jackson Carbajal, true FR, 6’-3”, 180 lbs.
• SF – John Dickson, SO, 6’-6”, 185 lbs.
• PF – Duro Bjegovic, SR, 6’-7”, 245 lbs.
• C – Alpha N’Diaye, JR, 6’-8”, 210 lbs.
Bench
- • G/F – Walter Jackson, JR, 6’-5”, 180 lbs.
• G – Antoine Proctor, JR, 6’-3”, 200 lbs.
• F – Zach Nelson, JR, 6’-6”, 215 lbs.
• C – Josh McCarver, JR, 6’-9“, 230 lbs.
• G/F – Heath Hoffman, JR, 6’-3”, 195 lbs.
Redshirt
- • F – Magd Owayed, FR, 6’-7”, 195 lbs.
• C – Pete Rakocevic, FR, 6’-11”, 220 lbs
• G – Kendell Groom, FR, 6’-3”, 170 lbs.
• C- Konner Veteto, JR, 6’-8”, 270 lbs. (Transferred from UCR so he has to sit a year.)
It’s obvious from the Menlo box score that Katz will have 3 go to guys off of the bench who should be able to come into the game and give the Hornets a jolt. This should be fun to watch this season as in recent years there was a significant drop off in talent when Katz used the bench. I’m curious as to who will run the point when TB is resting or in foul trouble. My guess is it will be Proctor. I am also guessing by the low playing time by McCarver that Duro will slide over to center when AN’D is resting/in foul trouble and Jackson or Dickson will come in as the other forward…or Proctor is brought in and a 3 guard set is used. Basically the possibilities are endless with this revamped roster so the various lineups will be something to watch for.
Stats:
Three of the returning players had a lot of playing time last season. I expect them to continue to perform but their number may take some hits with the addition of more athletic players who can help carry the load. Here are the returners stats from last season:
- • Toles-Bey: 29.1 mpg; 10.3 ppg; 33.1 FG%; 34.6 3PT%; 86.9 FT%; 2.6 rpg; 3.3 apg; 2.7 topg; 1.6 spg
• Dickson: 24.8 mpg; 9.7 ppg; 44.1 FG%; 40.6 3PT%; 60.4 FT%; 3.6 rpg; 0.7 apg; 1.4 topg; 0.6 spg; 1.0 bpg
• Bjegovic: 18.4 mpg; 7.4 ppg; 48.7 FG%; 46.8 3PT%; 69.1 FT%; 4.0 rpg; 0.6 apg; 1.3 topg
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/saa/stats
The Hornets will need to improve in some very crucial categories this season. Here is where they were at last season:
- • Scoring: 64.7 ppg (9th BSC); 41.1% FG’s; 34.8% 3PT’s, 72.1% FT’s
• Assists: 12.8 apg (5th BSC)
• Turnovers: 14.2 topg (7th BSC)
• Rebounds: 32.5 total rpg (6th BSC); 9.2 o-rpg (T-6th BSC); 23.3 d-rpg (5th BSC)
• Blocks: 2.76 bpg (T-6th BSC)
• Steals: 7.17 spg (2nd BSC)
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics/team/_/stat/scoring-per-game/group/5
The Hornets will need to become more efficient at scoring. The other stat that jumps out at me the most is the turnovers. Those will need to be reduced and we should see that with the increase in talent. Rebounds should also increase as more height was added to the roster. We should see improvement across the board as Katz continues to build this program.
Schedule:
This was touched on quite a bit when the schedule was released. Here is a link to the predictions that multiple posters provided:
http://hornets.bigskyfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=881
The Hornets will be traveling far and wide this season as they will face opponents that are sprinkled across the western US. Given that this Hornet program has struggled on the road, it is a concern that this team will be traveling quite a bid. The good news is that Katz scheduled a lot of teams that are in a similar situation as the Hornets, and that is one of recent struggles and in the early stages of a rebuilding cycle. There are a lot of winnable games on the schedule and my prediction is a 13-14 (6-10 BSC) on the season.
Outlook/Expectations:
I am a bit optimistic with how this season will play out. I feel that Katz will continue to build off of last season’s limited success and will have this Hornet team competing at a high level. I expect the Hornets to be around the 500 mark with respect to win-loss record and I feel that they have enough on hand to compete for a BSC Tournament berth. If the Hornets are to reach this expectation, they will need to execute the fundamentals (passing, shooting, and defense) and limit their mistakes (turnovers and dumb fouls). We should see much improvement in this aspect of the program as all indications are that improved talent has been brought on board.
GO HORNETS!
Hornetsports also posted an outlook article, looks like they beat me to the punch:
http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/mbball/release.asp?release_id=9201
Other references I used:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=teamreports-2010-ncaab-saa
http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/mbball/release.asp?release_id=9131
