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Who to watch this year

oldrunner

oldrunner

Active member
There are a lot of options. This team is stocked with high fliers, shooters and outright monsters. This is a truly exciting year in many ways. We don't have an obvious star coming back. There is no Lillard or Berry. Who or how many will emerge as the marquee guys?

The obvious choice is Joel. I think he is going to be a complete monster. Jeremy, Richaud, Kyndahl, and a few others are also poised to have breakout years.

Chime in.
 
Clearly Joel will continue to be a beast on the glass and defensive end. But I do wonder about how much of an improvement we'll see on the offensive end.
I'll go with Gittens as my player to watch. Based on how he played at the end of last season, I think he has a very high ceiling this year. Plus, looking back at last year's stats I was surprised to see that he shot 48% from 3. Granted he didn't take a lot of 3s, but if his outside shooting has improved over the summer, and with his ability to get to the rim, he'll be a "tough guard" as Rahe likes to say.
 
I agree with you about Gittens. He is ready to have a great year. I would throw Senglin into that mix as well. He was the freshman of the year in the BSC last year and looks to be even more confident this year. He will be the starting point guard, so his assist totals should go up. He is already a great shooter and scorer. Hill is poised to be our next best rebounder and his comfort level seems to be on the rise. In the few times that I have watched them play, I can say that everyone is going to be surprised by Joel's offensive ability. He has really put in some great work over the off season. One or two of our newcomers will show well, but the stars are the returning players.

Bring on November!
 
I agree that Joel will be a monster on the boards and the defensive end I think the key for him will be if he is able to create his own opportunities in the post. If he his able to do that lights out because know one in the BSC can match him as an athlete in the post. I have 2 to watch Jeremy and Kyndahl. I don't think that Jeremy is going to have that sophomore drop that quite a few college player have had because he is going to be pushed by the talent we have on our bench that will be ready to take some of his minutes. Kyndahl because of what I am hearing from the staff. He came back in the best shape of anyone on the entire team, he is stepping up as a leader in the workouts with the young guys, and an improvement in his ball handling and much improved jump shot. Word is Kyndahl and Jeremy along with one of the freshmen were the first to complete the 3 point shooting deal that Coach Rahe has and they did it in the first week. Last year it took Kyndahl 3 to 4 weeks to finish.
 
I think there will be 8 or 9 guys who will earn a 3 point shooting license. I'm sure that Bolomboy and Johnson-Coston will earn theirs as well. Scoring will not be an issue with this team. It's stacking up to be a stronger defense and rebounding team as well. Teams are going to try to defend Joel with a double team and I think they will get burned worse by doing that. They might as well let Joel get his 20 to 25 and try to defend the rest of us. That is why having guys like we have that can put it on the floor and create is so important. We are going to be hard to guard and we can play big or small.
 
oldrunner.....if Bolomboy averages over 20 pts a game this year I will drive to Ogden and buy you the best steak in town.......what will you do if he doesn't??????
 
I am not saying that Bolomboy will average 20 or more. I'm saying that if teams play him man up, he can go off for that. I expect teams will scheme to stop him with double teams and tight zones. What I am saying is that if they do that, we will hurt them in other ways and that it might be more effective to play him straight up while trying to guard everyone else. Kyle was a handful; Bolomboy is a monster. There isn't anyone in the BSC that can handle him one on one. I expect that we are going to see a lot of zone and gimmick defenses. We are better equipped to handle zones this year than last.
 
Old, while I certainly hope that Bolomboy will be capable of 20-25 points per game this year, he has yet to demonstrate that he has anything near the offensive arsenal that Tresnak had. Tres shot 59% from the field last year, while facing many double teams and packed in zones. Bolomboy shot 49% with defenses focused on Tres inside. Again, I sure hope Bolomboy has developed a Tres-like inside game over the summer. But to say that Bolomboy is capable of 20-25 a night at this point is going a bit too far, I think.
 
I love the enthusiasm Olds!! It would be awesome to see Bolomboy average 20ppg, but that just isn't going to happen. I would love to eat crow for that comment though!! Anyway, with that being said, I am excited to see what will happen next season. Joel is primed for a break out season. A double-double average is, however, very likely. Wild to imagine this, but a 14ppg, 2bpg, and 13rpg average is possible for Joel. That would put him on a lot of peoples radars for the NBA Draft. As for me, I am kinda excited to see how the two JC guys do. Chris Golden has the ability to become the next Weber State great. He is an excellent shooter, great ball-handler, solid teammate and leader, and can pass. He creates, drives, dishes, everything expected of a star. He is highly under-rated by this forum and that is to be understood with the freshmen talent joining the program. Great time to be a Wildcat.
 
talhadfoursteals said:
... Chris Golden has the ability to become the next Weber State great. He is an excellent shooter, great ball-handler, solid teammate and leader, and can pass. He creates, drives, dishes, everything expected of a star. He is highly under-rated by this forum and that is to be understood with the freshmen talent joining the program. Great time to be a Wildcat.
Click to expand...

I doubt the majority of this forum has seen Golden play or really knows too much about him, so it's difficult to rate him, period. Additionally, until any of these players, returning or not, get on the floor on a post-Dev/Tres Wildcat team, it's tough to know how any will gel and perform. I am certainly excited to see how all this potential talent comes together, and more importantly, how quickly. Regardless, it's a great time to be a Wildcat fan!
 
You are right Tal. I don't think Joel will average 20 points a game either. However. I do think that he will have some 20+ point games when teams play him man up. I hope you are right about Golden. The times I have watched them play, Golden has shot the ball well and has played with a great deal of confidence. He is probably leading the fight for the 2 spot. Although, Jefferson is pushing hard. That competition could go to the wire. Those two will probably get similar minutes on the floor. For me, who is the 5th and 6th guard and who is the 4th and 5th big man will be the story. None of that is very clear right now. :twocents:
 
The comments on this seasons team makes it even clearer to me that we don't have a clue on what to expect from the team this year!

It's going to be an interesting season with one returning senior, 4 freshman and 2 JC transfers. I love the post from Oldrunner and look forward to his future comments, only because he brings perspective that's so confusing. Why would we care about the 4th or 5th big? They'll be lucky to see the court! I see Rahe playing at the most 10-11 players.

Weber is going to be fine this year, but I really don't think Joel will be our leading scorer. I also wouldn't be surprised if Rahe played him at 4 in a lot of games this season.
 
Mycats.....you got me laughing so hard....I love enthusiasm as well, but lets keep it believable.....Bolomboy is a monster on the glass and as a shot blocker.......not a real strong offensive threat......10 to 12 pts is probably as much as you can expect but that's not bad.....got to keep the leash on oldrunner before he bites someone on the ankle
 
SWWeatherCat said:
talhadfoursteals said:
... Chris Golden has the ability to become the next Weber State great. He is an excellent shooter, great ball-handler, solid teammate and leader, and can pass. He creates, drives, dishes, everything expected of a star. He is highly under-rated by this forum and that is to be understood with the freshmen talent joining the program. Great time to be a Wildcat.
Click to expand...

I doubt the majority of this forum has seen Golden play or really knows too much about him, so it's difficult to rate him, period. Additionally, until any of these players, returning or not, get on the floor on a post-Dev/Tres Wildcat team, it's tough to know how any will gel and perform. I am certainly excited to see how all this potential talent comes together, and more importantly, how quickly. Regardless, it's a great time to be a Wildcat fan!
Click to expand...

Agreed...I'm basing my hopes on what I have seen and what Golden did as a JC player. Most of our stars have been JC guys. Yes, we have had a handful of 4 year stars, but they are fairly inconsistent compared with our JC talents. No matter, I'm pretty excited to see what will happen this season. Lots of talent and expectations. Lets see how the coaches put it all together. I have heard that Smiley is like Phil, but with a far better personality. :rofl: Even though I am a huge Phil Beckner fan.
 
The only JC star I can remember recently is Bamforth and he was a three year transfer. Please enlighten me as to who these, 'most' of our stars, are. There were some JC guys who did well in Randy's first few years, but since then there have been 3x as many JC flops and most of the stars have been of the 3 to 4 year variety. Berry was a transfer from a 4 year school.
 
I had the privilege of watching a practice late season of last year and Senglins work ethic stood out to me. He was one of the 1st players on the court and the last to leave getting up extra shots with Beckner. If what I was was a consistent picture of his work ethic, Senglin is the man to watch in my opinion. As a true freshman he got a taste of the NCAA tournament as well as playing significant minutes in games against UCLA & Arizona.

Gittens has the best physical tools but he doesn't have the basketball IQ of Seglin. Of course he hasn't hit his ceiling but his problem last year was his inability to play at different speeds, often forcing plays by running people over. If he learns to let the game come to him, WATCH out!

Joel is a BEAST on the boards but he's very limited offensively. I just don't see us being able to dump it in to Joel with his back to the basket the way we did for Tres. Facing the basket Joel has a decent jumper and the athleticism to make a play. He'll average a double double but I don't see him averaging more than 13pts considering he struggles from the free throw line.

I haven't seen any of the new guys yet so my option is biased to our returners.
 
Bossy....

Good post and I agree with your observations. I do believe that Gittens has made the necessary adjustments and will not just try to blow past people this season. His athletic skills can be a blessing and a curse.

Tresnak was a huge part of the offensive strategy....... His style of play is different than Bolomboy. I still don't beleive that Joel is a 5. He's better suited facing the basket. I'm looking forward to seeing what Rahe comes up with to maximize our talent. Joel was the 3rd or 4th option last year. I'm not sure he can carry the load of being the first option. He's also going to need to stay out of foul trouble and on the floor.
 
Everyone needs to see the team as it is comprised now. Watch them play sometime soon. Then, think about how Randy's attack works. The number one option is not a person, it is a position on the floor. The first option is to dump it into the post to try for a layup/dunk. If that is taken away, then the action is to off ball screens to create layups or close in shots. If none of that works out, then an outside shot is in order. The game will flow through the post players. Joel is going to get his looks, and as I have seen recently, he will make the most of them. I think that many people will be surprised by how efficient he will prove to be. I also think that Jeremy will have a sensational year, both scoring and running the team. Gittens and Hill are right there as well. As good as our first guys are, the strength of this team may be its depth at every position. We don't drop off much when our next group comes in the game. :nod:
 
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