Future needs for Weber State Basketball

[Da Bears]

I think we're all disappointed with this years team! They've underacheived and frankly has not played the aggressive competitive basketball that we've come to love and expect at Weber State. The question is/was our expectations too high and what should we expect the next 4 years? My issue isn't the losses, it's the effort on the court. Defense is poor and offense is a mess. There needs to be a concerted effort to get started in the offseason and not wait to install the offense/ defense in October!

NEEDS

1) Skilled physical Big
2) knock down shooter
3) Confident PG
4) Defensive stopper
5) Deeper Bench

As I look to the next 4 years,, I'm worried that we don't have the right talent in place to restore the glory to our program. Other teams in the BSC are improving and right now our program seems to be in a rapid decline. The JC experiment was a huge flop and Golden seems more focused on getting shots than getting wins.

1) Bigs - next year we have the following bigs scheduled to return, Bolomboy, Hill, Johnson- Coston, Braxton, Van Pelt and Dallas. Bolomboy has taken a step back this year and seems to be comfortable at the 4, not the 5. Hill seems to be lost in translation and is a superior athlete, but an average basketball player at best. Braxton is a red shirt and we will not know what he can contribute until next year. JC is just not tall/big enough to help at the 4 or 5 and doesn't have the skill to contribute at 3. Van Pelt seems to be in Rahe's dog house and never got the chance to compete this year, but maybe can help in a back up role next season. Dallas is going to need some time in the weight room.

2) Guards- Senglin might be our best player right now, but I think will contribute more at the 2 slot than as PG. Hunter can make us better at the PG spot, but needs to get stronger and more confident in the off season. Golden hasn't come close to being the player we thought he was going to be and Jefferson, like Braxton is a Red Shirt that we'll see what he can do next season. Richardson has tremendous upside, but sitting behind Golden isn't going to help in his development. Gittens needs to learn that sometimes passing is a better option than shooting! He's turn into a "me" guy which is very disappointing. Can McKay help us next year when he returns from his mission?

I think it's not fair to expect anything out of the Freshman next year. Most might red shirt, the others will not contribute a lot. Rahe cannot afford another down year and will be conservative in putting us in a position to win next year.

There's also the little issue about having more players than scholarships next year. I'm not sure who's coming and who's going, but was a little shocked at the recruitment of Dusty Baker. If it's true and not a media fantasy, it means that we have 2-4 players outside of Hajek not returning. No matter what, program is going to go through some significant upheaval this offseason. I'm not confident that we are positioned to compete for a championship next year, but I have to believe that Rahe will get us on the right track. I do wonder if we might need a coach to help with Bigs...... A lot of next year and the next 4 years seems to depend on Braxton, Richardson, Jefferson and Senglin. I'm looking forward to seeing what our new freshman can contribute!

 

[SWWeatherCat]

I think we're all disappointed with this years team! They've underacheived and frankly has not played the aggressive competitive basketball that we've come to love and expect at Weber State. The question is/was our expectations too high and what should we expect the next 4 years? My issue isn't the losses, it's the effort on the court. Defense is poor and offense is a mess. There needs to be a concerted effort to get started in the offseason and not wait to install the offense/ defense in October!

NEEDS

1) Skilled physical Big
2) knock down shooter
3) Confident PG
4) Defensive stopper
5) Deeper Bench

I could care less who stays and who goes over the Summer. There's not much doubt Weber is stock-full of talented athletes, they may not all have the greatest basketball skills but they are solid athletes.

NEEDS

1) Teach fundamentally sound basketball.
2) Teach fundamentally sound mechanics.
3) Have position coaches who know the positions.
4) Put the right players on the floor in the right positions.
5) Coach (especially in-game) for hell's sake!

Weber has enough talent and experience to be more competent than they are. The lack of wins, and the awful home record, isn't reason for panic but how they look on the floor and how they are losing is.

Montana is a great example of what the better teams in the BSC are doing, taking the talent you have, playing to that skill set with fundamental basketball. Undersized or not, players can be taught to box and position for rebounds instead of running up the floor as soon as a shot goes up. Players can be taught to move without the ball instead of standing outside the 3pt line watching the 1-on-1,2, or 3 game. Players can be taught to pass out of a double team, and for that matter they can be taught to not pass into one! Players can be held accountable for a desire to rebound, moving without the ball, sharing the ball, and defensive effort.

From my view the coaching is sub-par. You can make less athletic players solid basketball players just as you can make great athletes, lacking certain skill sets, solid players as well. It's time for Weber to assemble a group of well taught, well coached athletes that want and can play fundamental basketball as a team. If the current players aren't that, then find a different set of players who are. If the the current coaching staff isn't capable of teaching fundamental basketball, then bring in coaches who can! The most frustrating things I've been watching this season seem to be the things that can be fixed, despite the type of player on the floor. If they lose but players are engaged and look fundamentally sound, I'm OK with that but when they don't rebound, don't move, don't move the ball, struggle with a double-team, press, or in-bounding the ball this late in the season? hno:

 

[WSUfan4ever]

Couldn't agree more with these posts. We supposedly have the "greatest" athletes in the conference and still get pummeled on the court by teams with players we could have had but passed over. Going small was a disaster this year. Time to find players with the heart to compete, skills to work like a team and get the ball in the hole, and play with intensity on defense. We definitely need a big man coach, or bigs who can take what they learn in practice to the game.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Players on Scholarship:
Hajek
Golden
Bolomboy
Johnson-Coston
Brown
Senglin
Gittens
Hill
Richardson
Hunter
Braxton
Jefferson
Van Pelt

Signed Players:
McKay Cannon (Returning Mission)
Riley Court (Automatic Mission)
Emmanuel Nzekwesi
Juwan Williams
Jordan Dallas

Players currently being recruited:
Dusty Baker 6-5 (3 years of eligibility, has a red shirt available, is mature and a team oriented guy).
Armani Collins 6-5 (big time scorer at a small bay area high school. Not great at defense)
Greyson Smallwood 6-11 190 (solid big, needs a year to bulk)
Isaiah Thomas 6-9 215 (I can't tell, but he might have committed over the weekend. He isn't on our radar anymore either on Scout or Verbal Commits.)

13 = 13. Evidently other players are going to be gone. You have to look at the bottom of the roster, those not getting a lot of mins/PT, to see who will and will not be back next year. It is some what clear who probably won't be on scholarship next year. My worry is that Rahe will "counsel out" a number of players mostly bigs. We all know Hajek will be gone and that Braxton will take his spot. We also know that Dallas and Nzekwesi are both bigs. But most of the others are guards, or wings. If Pelt and Coston both leave too then suddenly the Cats have a short bench for Bigs. Does Rahe try to keep another big as a walkon?

Biggest issues...need a legitimate point guard, team leader and someone who can bind the team together. The team is made up of individuals and not team mates. A bigs coach and an emphasis on basketball fundamentals. A traditional center. Rahe's offense doesn't work without a Panos/Tres type big. It is an inside out offense.

 

[PURPLEFORLIFE]

It might be easiest to look at the potential starters for next season and then go from there.

PG Senglin
SG Gittens
SF Richardson
PF Bolomboy
C Braxton

Since Rahe is obsessed with an 8 man rotation, we know that Hunter, Hill, and Jefferson will be getting the bulk of the bench mins. Is that the team the Cats want to go forward with?

 

[WSUfan4ever]

Players on Scholarship:
Hajek
Golden
Bolomboy
Johnson-Coston
Brown
Senglin
Gittens
Hill
Richardson
Hunter
Braxton
Jefferson
Van Pelt

Signed Players:
McKay Cannon (Returning Mission)
Riley Court (Automatic Mission)
Emmanuel Nzekwesi
Juwan Williams
Jordan Dallas

Players currently being recruited:
Dusty Baker 6-5 (3 years of eligibility, has a red shirt available, is mature and a team oriented guy).
Armani Collins 6-5 (big time scorer at a small bay area high school. Not great at defense)
Greyson Smallwood 6-11 190 (solid big, needs a year to bulk)
Isaiah Thomas 6-9 215 (I can't tell, but he might have committed over the weekend. He isn't on our radar anymore either on Scout or Verbal Commits.)

13 = 13. Evidently other players are going to be gone. You have to look at the bottom of the roster, those not getting a lot of mins/PT, to see who will and will not be back next year. It is some what clear who probably won't be on scholarship next year. My worry is that Rahe will "counsel out" a number of players mostly bigs. We all know Hajek will be gone and that Braxton will take his spot. We also know that Dallas and Nzekwesi are both bigs. But most of the others are guards, or wings. If Pelt and Coston both leave too then suddenly the Cats have a short bench for Bigs. Does Rahe try to keep another big as a walkon?

Biggest issues...need a legitimate point guard, team leader and someone who can bind the team together. The team is made up of individuals and not team mates. A bigs coach and an emphasis on basketball fundamentals. A traditional center. Rahe's offense doesn't work without a Panos/Tres type big. It is an inside out offense.

Another option is partial scholarships. 2 players with half scholarships.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Players on Scholarship:
Hajek
Golden
Bolomboy
Johnson-Coston
Brown
Senglin
Gittens
Hill
Richardson
Hunter
Braxton
Jefferson
Van Pelt

Signed Players:
McKay Cannon (Returning Mission)
Riley Court (Automatic Mission)
Emmanuel Nzekwesi
Juwan Williams
Jordan Dallas

Players currently being recruited:
Dusty Baker 6-5 (3 years of eligibility, has a red shirt available, is mature and a team oriented guy).
Armani Collins 6-5 (big time scorer at a small bay area high school. Not great at defense)
Greyson Smallwood 6-11 190 (solid big, needs a year to bulk)
Isaiah Thomas 6-9 215 (I can't tell, but he might have committed over the weekend. He isn't on our radar anymore either on Scout or Verbal Commits.)

13 = 13. Evidently other players are going to be gone. You have to look at the bottom of the roster, those not getting a lot of mins/PT, to see who will and will not be back next year. It is some what clear who probably won't be on scholarship next year. My worry is that Rahe will "counsel out" a number of players mostly bigs. We all know Hajek will be gone and that Braxton will take his spot. We also know that Dallas and Nzekwesi are both bigs. But most of the others are guards, or wings. If Pelt and Coston both leave too then suddenly the Cats have a short bench for Bigs. Does Rahe try to keep another big as a walkon?

Biggest issues...need a legitimate point guard, team leader and someone who can bind the team together. The team is made up of individuals and not team mates. A bigs coach and an emphasis on basketball fundamentals. A traditional center. Rahe's offense doesn't work without a Panos/Tres type big. It is an inside out offense.

Another option is partial scholarships. 2 players with half scholarships.

From what I understand for football and basketball schools cannot split scholarships. Compliance?? Wanna weight in?

 

[Midmajor??]

It might be easiest to look at the potential starters for next season and then go from there.

PG Senglin
SG Gittens
SF Richardson
PF Bolomboy
C Braxton

Since Rahe is obsessed with an 8 man rotation, we know that Hunter, Hill, and Jefferson will be getting the bulk of the bench mins. Is that the team the Cats want to go forward with?

I'm excited about Braxton, there will be growing pains, which is probably why we SHOULDN'T have redshirted him this year. I saw him in practice..... He looks ready. Same with Jefferson. I'm not sure Golden is gone..... He's not a PG, but can probably help if we don't rely on his volume shooting. Hill and Gittens have not developed as expected. Gittens had turned into a me guy and Hill is just awful! Richardson is a shooter, but needs to improve his defensive intensity. I wish there was some way to put Senglin at 2 and have a true point guard! I think Senglin would stifle the offense. He's a shoot first PG and hasn't thrown a good entry pass all season! I agree that we have the talent...... Coaching staff took the year off this season. If you don't block out, hustle, dive for loose balls and play defense with the same joy as offense you shouldn't be on the court!

 

[WSUfan4ever]

Players on Scholarship:

Another option is partial scholarships. 2 players with half scholarships.

From what I understand for football and basketball schools cannot split scholarships. Compliance?? Wanna weight in?

That would be good to know. Is that a conference or a school requirement, because I am quite sure other schools do it?

 

[WSUfan4ever]

One thing is for sure ... I am not buying into ANY of the hype this year. You can talk about how great a player looks in practice all you want but until we see it on the game floor it is all speculation. We need to get something more from Joel, Jeremy, Hill and Gittens next year, or we need someone to step in to do it better. That group underachieved big time this year.

 

[Cats meow!]

I don't see Rahe starting Braxton..... Not because the kid can't produce, but because Rahe still seems in love with small ball and Golden and Hill. I see the following starting 5 next year:

1) Senglin
2) Golden
3) Gittens
4) hill
5) Bolomboy

Braxton, Richardson, Hunter and Jefferson will come off the bench. Do I like this line up? I hate it, but Rahe still is the kind of coach that will not want to change from what he put on the court this year! Bolomboy at 5 is not good for Joel or Weber. He'll also not want to admit that Hill was better suited for football. He probably can't convince Hill and Golden to come off the bench and I'm not sure what to do with Coston...... To big and slow to cover guards and to small and not skilled to handle bigs.....

 

[Webergrad02]

I don't see Rahe starting Braxton..... Not because the kid can't produce, but because Rahe still seems in love with small ball and Golden and Hill. I see the following starting 5 next year:

1) Senglin
2) Golden
3) Gittens
4) hill
5) Bolomboy

Braxton, Richardson, Hunter and Jefferson will come off the bench. Do I like this line up? I hate it, but Rahe still is the kind of coach that will not want to change from what he put on the court this year! Bolomboy at 5 is not good for Joel or Weber. He'll also not want to admit that Hill was better suited for football. He probably can't convince Hill and Golden to come off the bench and I'm not sure what to do with Coston...... To big and slow to cover guards and to small and not skilled to handle bigs.....

Hill, Golden and Costen have hurt this team the most in that order. I am hoping that we don't see them on the roster next season. I know that it is harsh but this team needs a major shake up. You may say that will leave us without a back up at 4 and I will tell you that we don't have a back up at 4 this season. Not sure what position Costen is but he is not really a 4.

 

[Itiger]

I don't see Rahe starting Braxton..... Not because the kid can't produce, but because Rahe still seems in love with small ball and Golden and Hill. I see the following starting 5 next year:

1) Senglin
2) Golden
3) Gittens
4) hill
5) Bolomboy

Braxton, Richardson, Hunter and Jefferson will come off the bench. Do I like this line up? I hate it, but Rahe still is the kind of coach that will not want to change from what he put on the court this year! Bolomboy at 5 is not good for Joel or Weber. He'll also not want to admit that Hill was better suited for football. He probably can't convince Hill and Golden to come off the bench and I'm not sure what to do with Coston...... To big and slow to cover guards and to small and not skilled to handle bigs.....

Gittens just can't shoot and becomes focused on watching others when he doesn't have ball! The whole tear drop move just doesn't work for him. I've been consistent since day one! Play Braxton and let him get experienced in BSC ball! He's ready! He was ready this season! I hate the fact we wasted a year tinkering with our overall strategy. If Rahe goes with the same starting 5, Bovee should tell him if this doesn't work you're gone! Because he totally mismanaged this season!
The others teams in the BSC love our dysfunction. They enjoy the flash cards and they love our athleticism. They also like how soft we've become. We are not the team we talked about in October.

 

[Webergrad02]

If I am coach I put an end to all of the chest pounding that we do. I love how certain players on the team pound their chests after they score and yet we are losing by double digits. One player scored the bucket while getting fouled pounds his chest in celebration and then completely bricks the foul shot. Just show up, play hard and get the job done.

 

[Itiger]

If I am coach I put an end to all of the chest pounding that we do. I love how certain players on the team pound their chests after they score and yet we are losing by double digits. One player scored the bucket while getting fouled pounds his chest in celebration and then completely bricks the foul shot. Just show up, play hard and get the job done.

I agree 100% !!!!! It's embarrassing! I'm ok with on court celebrations, but not when you're down 15!!!

 

[oldrunner]

I don't know who might be with us next year or who might start. However, I feel that our greatest need is for all of us to continue to support and encourage whom ever it is. Honestly, I really hope that if anyone leaves us, they find a great program to join, where they can maximize their success. All of these kids are becoming good men and deserve success wherever they go.

I believe that our coaches will address the issues we have had this season and that we will be right back on track next year. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[SWWeatherCat]

If I am coach I put an end to all of the chest pounding that we do. I love how certain players on the team pound their chests after they score and yet we are losing by double digits. One player scored the bucket while getting fouled pounds his chest in celebration and then completely bricks the foul shot. Just show up, play hard and get the job done.

Amen! Just play the game. Show emotion but recognize it's about the team and understand the situation. Man, I miss the likes of Lillard, Tres, Mook, Berry, Bam, and the list goes on. They were all tough competitors who played for each other and knew how and when to show emotion.

 

[catscratched]

I believe in celebrating wins and learning from defeats. Chest pumping on a made shot in a game when you are behind by double digits is not right. Maybe after a good stop, maybe after we take the lead, maybe when we go up by 20 against a quality opponent, just pick the right circumstance. Our body language, in general, was not proper in a lot of scenarios this year. I'm sure that will be a point of discussion in the off season. :wall:

 

[sacstateman]

If I am coach I put an end to all of the chest pounding that we do. I love how certain players on the team pound their chests after they score and yet we are losing by double digits. One player scored the bucket while getting fouled pounds his chest in celebration and then completely bricks the foul shot. Just show up, play hard and get the job done.

Amen! Just play the game. Show emotion but recognize it's about the team and understand the situation. Man, I miss the likes of Lillard, Tres, Mook, Berry, Bam, and the list goes on. They were all tough competitors who played for each other and knew how and when to show emotion.

I agree with both of you two....all the bravado about plays that they should make is overblown in almost all sports.....I know alot of you don't like me or Sac St but I defy any of you to point out ANY Sac St player, EVER chest bumping or celebrating before the end of the game (thats when you should celebrate)...this post should put Tal into a frenzy trying to prove me wrong....lol

 

[Webergrad02]

I think if you poll wildcat fans, the majority would like to see Sac State win it all and host over the Griz and Eastern. However, regardless of who wins out Travis Decuire should get coach of the year.