2011-12 Men’s Hoops Preview
Head Coach Katz will be entering his fourth year as HC but there is still a lot to accomplish as Katz and this team needs to find success to keep the Hornet fans interested. The Hornets will be coming off of a 7-21 (5-11 BSC) season but the Hornets lost 2 of 3 leading scorers to graduation as well as center Alpha N’Diaye to poor grades. There are a lot of holes to fill and this program needs to make some serious strides in improvement. The hype has been that this program is returning 9 experienced players, but the reality is only 2 of those players (Dickson and Jackson) are capable of making an impact on the court. This could turn into a very long season if some of the new players Katz brought in do not make an immediate impact.
Roster:
The Hornets will be returning nine players, some of whom saw significant playing time a season ago. Katz was able to recruit a few players who have some upside, but will have to prove themselves as the season progresses. Based on the reviews from the exhibition game, it’s a mixed bag of recruits. The following is my shot in the dark for the starting line-up. I leaned heavily on Kadeezy’s assessment from the exhibition game coupled with a look at the box score. Based on who played, it doesn’t appear that anyone will be redshirted this season. The only two locks for starters are Jackson and Dickson with Eberhard probably playing himself into a starting spot. There isn’t a returning player with experience at PG so whoever gets the nod there is anyone’s guess.
Starters
Stats:
The only returning players stats worth posting are Dickson’s and Jackson’s, but I’ll also include Carbajal’s and Hoffman’s for entertainment purposes. Dickson needs to abandon the idea of putting up shots from three range. The Hornets haven’t had anyone with the ability to drive to the hoop, maybe Jackson can live up to that task this season. Last season’s returners stats:
There is plenty of room for improvement by the Hornets from last season’s team stats. Turnovers need to be cleaned up and this team needs to find a way to score some points. The Hornets will also need to find a way to rebound the ball now that Alpha failed his way out of the program. The Hornets have plenty of size so this should be remedied. Here is where the Hornets stood last season:
Schedule:
This was touched on quite a bit when the schedule was released. Here is a link to the predictions that multiple posters provided as well as my overly optimistic prediction of a 15-14 (7-9 BSC) season. As always, the sports book…I mean Kadeezy’s predictions will probably be more in line with what actually happens:
http://hornets.bigskyfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1334
The Hornets have a lot of games in The Nest this season so that should give them a slight advantage in a lot of these matchups. Plus a lot of the programs the Hornets will face are fellow struggling programs so a lot of OOC games are winnable. Couple that with what looks to be a down BSC (talent wise) and if this team can get hot, they have a shot at bringing down some wins.
Outlook/Expectations:
Although I picked this Hornet team to win a lot of their games this season, I’d be shocked if they came close to it. Katz really needs to show some steps towards improvement this season or there really won’t be much reason to pay attention to Hornet hoops so long as he remains here. This will be the fourth season under Katz and this program has been plagued by mistakes and overall poor play on the court and things need to turn around. The talent level has marginally increased over the years which are cause for concern. For the sake of the Hornet hoops program, I hope this team shows signs of life and gives fans reason to continue their support. If I had to describe my feelings about the outlook of this season, it would be cautiously pessimistic.
GO HORNETS!
Other links I used for reference:
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/16/sacramento-state-hornets
http://www.bigskyconf.com/custompages/mbball/2010/stats/confstat.htm?path=mbball
Head Coach Katz will be entering his fourth year as HC but there is still a lot to accomplish as Katz and this team needs to find success to keep the Hornet fans interested. The Hornets will be coming off of a 7-21 (5-11 BSC) season but the Hornets lost 2 of 3 leading scorers to graduation as well as center Alpha N’Diaye to poor grades. There are a lot of holes to fill and this program needs to make some serious strides in improvement. The hype has been that this program is returning 9 experienced players, but the reality is only 2 of those players (Dickson and Jackson) are capable of making an impact on the court. This could turn into a very long season if some of the new players Katz brought in do not make an immediate impact.
Roster:
The Hornets will be returning nine players, some of whom saw significant playing time a season ago. Katz was able to recruit a few players who have some upside, but will have to prove themselves as the season progresses. Based on the reviews from the exhibition game, it’s a mixed bag of recruits. The following is my shot in the dark for the starting line-up. I leaned heavily on Kadeezy’s assessment from the exhibition game coupled with a look at the box score. Based on who played, it doesn’t appear that anyone will be redshirted this season. The only two locks for starters are Jackson and Dickson with Eberhard probably playing himself into a starting spot. There isn’t a returning player with experience at PG so whoever gets the nod there is anyone’s guess.
Starters
- • PG – Dylan Garrity, true FR, 5’-10”, 170 lbs.
• SG – Joe Eberhard, JR, 6’-6”, 210 lbs.
• SF – Walter Jackson, SR, 6’-5”, 180 lbs.
• PF – John Dickson, JR, 6’-6”, 195 lbs.
• C – Konner Veteto, JR, 6’-8”, 265 lbs.
- • G – Jordan Estrada, JR, 6’-1”, 190 lbs.
• G – Jackson Carbajal, SO, 6’-3”, 185 lbs.
• C – Pete Rakocevic, SO, 6’-11”, 225 lbs.
• G/F – Heath Hoffman, SR, 6’-3”, 200 lbs.
• C – Josh McCarver, SR, 6’-9“, 240 lbs.
• F – Magd Omayed, FR, 6’-7”, 215 lbs.
• G – Kendell Groom, SO, 6’-3”, 170 lbs.
• G – Julian Demalleville, JR, 6’-2”, 190 lbs.
- • None
Stats:
The only returning players stats worth posting are Dickson’s and Jackson’s, but I’ll also include Carbajal’s and Hoffman’s for entertainment purposes. Dickson needs to abandon the idea of putting up shots from three range. The Hornets haven’t had anyone with the ability to drive to the hoop, maybe Jackson can live up to that task this season. Last season’s returners stats:
- • Jackson: 26 gp, 26.8 mpg, 6.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.9 bpg, 1.2 tpg, 48.9-FG%, 67.9-FT%, 13.6-3%
• Dickson: 28 gp, 24.2 mpg, 10.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.6 bpg, 1.9 tpg, 42.2-FG%, 76.3-FT%, 12.8-3%
• Carbajal: 28 gp, 23.6 mpg, 6.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.5 spg, 1.5 tpg, 40.9-FG%, 59.6-FT%, 30.9-3%
• Hoffman: 27 gp, 20.4 mpg, 4.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.9 tpg, 37.9-FG%, 76.5-FT%, 30.6-3%
There is plenty of room for improvement by the Hornets from last season’s team stats. Turnovers need to be cleaned up and this team needs to find a way to score some points. The Hornets will also need to find a way to rebound the ball now that Alpha failed his way out of the program. The Hornets have plenty of size so this should be remedied. Here is where the Hornets stood last season:
- • Scoring Offense: 61.8 ppg (9th BSC, 313th D-1)
• Scoring Defense: 69.6 ppg (6th BSC)
• Scoring Margin: -7.8 (9th BSC)
• Offensive Field Goal %: 593/1479, 40.1% (9th BSC, 313th D-1)
• Defensive Field Goal %: 688/1562, 44.0% (6th BSC)
• Free Throw %: 388/570, 68.1% (5th BSC)
• Offensive 3-Point %: 155/507, 30.6% (9th BSC)
• Defensive 3-Point %: 198/556, 35.6% (6th BSC)
• Rebounds: 993, 35.5 pg (2nd BSC, 144th D-1)
• Rebounds Allowed: 969, 34.6 pg (6th BSC)
• Rebound Margin: +0.9 (5th BSC)
• Assists: 344, 12.3 pg (5th BSC, 216th D-1)
• Blocks: 96, 3.4 pg (4th BSC)
• Steals: 172, 6.1 pg (T-4th BSC)
• Turnovers: 413, 14.8 pg (9th BSC)
• Turnovers Forced: 332, 11.9 pg (T-8th BSC)
• Turnover Margin: -2.89 (9th BSC)
Schedule:
This was touched on quite a bit when the schedule was released. Here is a link to the predictions that multiple posters provided as well as my overly optimistic prediction of a 15-14 (7-9 BSC) season. As always, the sports book…I mean Kadeezy’s predictions will probably be more in line with what actually happens:
http://hornets.bigskyfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1334
The Hornets have a lot of games in The Nest this season so that should give them a slight advantage in a lot of these matchups. Plus a lot of the programs the Hornets will face are fellow struggling programs so a lot of OOC games are winnable. Couple that with what looks to be a down BSC (talent wise) and if this team can get hot, they have a shot at bringing down some wins.
Outlook/Expectations:
Although I picked this Hornet team to win a lot of their games this season, I’d be shocked if they came close to it. Katz really needs to show some steps towards improvement this season or there really won’t be much reason to pay attention to Hornet hoops so long as he remains here. This will be the fourth season under Katz and this program has been plagued by mistakes and overall poor play on the court and things need to turn around. The talent level has marginally increased over the years which are cause for concern. For the sake of the Hornet hoops program, I hope this team shows signs of life and gives fans reason to continue their support. If I had to describe my feelings about the outlook of this season, it would be cautiously pessimistic.
GO HORNETS!
Other links I used for reference:
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/16/sacramento-state-hornets
http://www.bigskyconf.com/custompages/mbball/2010/stats/confstat.htm?path=mbball
