• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts, upgrade to remove ads and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your BigSkyFans.com experience today!

WSU Basketball, 2014-2015

Randy wouldn't even talk to Collette's family unless he had the blessing from Stew, let alone talk to the kid himself. I am sure that if David were to come knocking on the door, that we would be interested. However, we would not be contacting him. It just wouldn't be ethical. :ohno:
 
Totally agree and was not suggesting that we contact him. Honestly I have not heard if he is officially signed for next year with USU. Does anybody know what that situation is? I believe he gets home from his mission in about 2 months?
 
Lots of discussion the last couple of weeks on Damian Lillards impact on the program and how Weber State has taken recruiting to the next level. Is that actually true? Have we seen a lift based on his impact.

Do we have a top class coming in next year? We still are a 15-16 seed program, what does it truly take to get to the next level? I think we are making progress, but look at our recruits and I'm not feeling that we are getting better outside of the Big Sky.

If next year is a rebuilding year, when do we get the full impact of the Lillard effect?
 
Midmajor?? said:
Do we have a top class coming in next year? We still are a 15-16 seed program, what does it truly take to get to the next level? I think we are making progress, but look at our recruits and I'm not feeling that we are getting better outside of the Big Sky.

If next year is a rebuilding year, when do we get the full impact of the Lillard effect?
Click to expand...

Without Lillard there is no way we get Braxton and probably Jefferson. Braxton for sure could gone to a bigger program. Senglin, Gittens & Bolomboy are not your typical Big Sky recruit. The simple fact that we are not bringing in JC kids to have an impact should attest to the fact that we are recruiting a higher level player out of high school.

Just read what Braxtons dad thinks about Dame. Don't try to tell me he is not having an effect on our program.

http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_24905761/zach-braxton-6-foot-9-245-pound-force-highlands-ranch-is-big-man-campus" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Every year is a building year. None are rebuilding years, unless you had some sort of blowup or a new coach. Next year, we will build on what we did this year. Having Damian as an ambassador is a huge plus in recruiting.

What does it take to get us to that next level, of winning at the dance? Right now, we are very close. Our guard line is as good as anyone's in the country. Most teams that get to the sweet 16 have a dynamic big man. I'm hoping that we have found that in Braxton, or that we can get it done by committee next year.
The next element needed against some of the bigger teams is the larger wing player. I've been hoping that Hill would develop into that sort of player. Gittens plays a little bigger than he is because of his athletic ability.

We are very, very close to getting to that next level.
 
Nervous about the center position next year. :yikes:

Tresnak anchored the position for a long time and we go into next season with a freshman, a player returning from his mission and James who was injured almost all season. I wouldn't be surprise if Joel moves over to the center position this summer or we pick up a transfer that can give us some minutes.

I think expectations will be high! Hate to see us take a step back as we look for a replacement for Tresnak. Hard to find tough transfers at this position. I like Joel stepping in! :thumb:
 
I don't have a problem playing Joel at the 5 spot. However, I would really like to see another rebounder step up. Hill only had a couple of good rebounding games and Joel, as good as he is, can't do it all. I feel that James and Kyndahl are good for about 5 per game, each. I just don't see that being enough. I am hoping that Braxton will be good for 8+ per game. I don't really care about scoring. That will take care of itself. Defense and rebounding wins championships. :twocents:
 
I see Braxton being good for 20 - 25 minutes per game. I hope he can get 6-8 rebounds. 8+ is pretty high expectations to put on a Freshman. Joel averaged 20 minutes per night as a freshmen and pulled down 7.1 per game. For the three years that Tres played good minutes he averaged less than 5 per game.
 
Hill averaged 3.3 boards per game in conference, and post-season play on 17 minutes per game. Expand that to 30 minutes per game and we're looking just over 5.5 boards per game. I would guess that at 30 minutes a game next year Hill will easily pull down 6-7 per game. The thing I liked about his rebounding this season was that got a good number of offensive rebounds. In fact, he was second on the team in that category (conference play)
I'm not worried about Hill on the glass.
With Bolomboy and Hill on the floor, Weber should be fine rebound-wise -- although it always helps if a guard or small forward can get 5 a game like Berry did this year. I'm thinking Gittens could do that.
 
I'm NOT OK with being an OK or good rebounding team! If we,truly, want to take the next step and win some games at the dance, we will need to be a GREAT rebounding team. You are not going to do that with your 4 man getting 5-6 and your 3 man getting 4-5 per game. Your 4 and 5 spots need to be producing 10+ per position per game. We've been getting that kind of production out of our 4s for several years now. We have not been getting that out of our 5s for that same period of time. To go to the next level, we will need to do just that, and that is why I am hoping that Braxton or the committee of three can get it done from that position. There is not a problem getting it out of the 4 spot if Joel is there. Without Joel, I'm not so sure. Unless we bring in a strong rebounder at that position. :thumb: :thumb:
 
There is one alternative to being a GREAT rebounding team and moving to the next level. That would be having a great defensive team that created turnovers in the +10 range per game. I believe that we would have the quickness and depth at guard to do it. It also helps to have a great shot blocker on the other end of a pressing defense and I think we have that as well. I'm not sure that our coaches want to go for that. It is a lot less dangerous to just be a great rebounding team if you have the horses. :twocents: :twocents:
 
Rebounding is as much about desire as anything and is certainly a coachable team skill. As for the bigs, the only reason Bolomboy, Hill, and Braxton should have any difficulty cleaning glass is if they struggle to stay out of foul trouble. If Rahe and Co. make it a priority, this committee should be able to answer the call.
 
I'm really hoping that you are right. I hope that Braxton comes in and rebounds with the same efficiency that he did in HS, and that Hill/Fuller/recruit develop a strong desire to get the job done. Our guards are going to get their fair share simply by being the aggressive, active athletes that they are. However, I would really like to see our guards out on the break as often as possible.

The reason I care so much about rebounding and turnovers is that they equate to possessions/scoring opportunities. We want more opportunities and higher quality opportunities. If we can do this, we can get to that next level. If not, we will be darn good anyway, but still not quite there. :coffee:
 
The only issue I can see with putting Braxton as our big man is he is 6'9" which isnt the tallest for a center. Tres was 6'10" and held his own ok but If anything we need to stay 6'10" 0r taller. We dont want to have to double a center every game because he has that advantage over us.
 
Wildcat_fan;

It's not 1 or 2 inches in height that determines what position a player fits into. In the past, we have had very effective wing players who were 6'9'', and centers who were 6'6''. A couple of our very best power forwards were 6'3'' and 6'4''.

When Kyle and James were brought in they were listed as 6'11'', 250 lbs. Now they are listed at 6'10'', but they are probably closer to 6'9''. I have seen Braxton listed anywhere from 6'8'' to 6'10''. It doesn't really matter. He is a center because he plays like a center. 1 or 2 inches means nothing. :coffee:
 
Sorry 6'6" for a center? I know Im young but not a new weber fan and I dont recall a 6'6" center ever playing in the past decade or even before that. Were we D1 cuz I dont think JC counts..
Yes 1 to 2 inches isnt the end of the world but it helps and if we snag some 6'10, 6'11 imagine Braxton moving to the 4 at times, when Joel is out. We would have two trees in the game. Our interior presence would be undeniable. Boards and D wins championships and that would certainly help
 
Andy Jensen played center for us the year we beat North Carolina at the dance. They listed him at 6'7'' but he was 6'6''. I remember 6'5'' Jimmy D playing center, on occasion, one year when our only other big guy would get into foul trouble. He did a decent job guarding some much larger players. Arguably, our best center of all time was Willy Sojourner, he was 6'9''. We have had some 7'+ guys over the years, but none of them came close to Willy.
 
Here are some of our centers under 6'10

Most of these guys played the 4 or 5 depending on the line-up.
Trevor Morris 6-9
Steve Panos 6-8
Valeika played some center in 2007 6-9
Clint Burris 6-6 (that wonderful 2006 season)
Pat Danley 6-8 (He played the 4 & 5 in 2004)
Talmadge Eyre 6-9
Andy Jensen 6-7
Eric Ketcham 6-9
Joey Haws 6-9
 
There are so many things that go into being an effective post player. 1 or 2" certainly doesn't matter if you have a 7' wing span. If you're 6'8" with a 6'5" wing span you will struggle to be an effective big man against D1 teams with multiple players over 6'10" (and no I am not saying Braxton has a short wing span). Adrian Dantley beat some of the best post players of his day at maybe 6'5" but I am sure the Jazz wished he was 7'. There are also some 7' players that are soft as a marshmallow.

Foot work, jumping ability, court vision, strength, speed down the floor, reaction time, toughness, rebounding, shot blocking ability, are a few things that come to mind, and yes ... height does matter. The thing I like about our team next year is that it appears we may have more options than ever before to excel in the post, both on offense and on defense.

Isn't this potentially the deepest we have ever been at the post position?
 
Boyette was 6'00'' and would play in the post on offense. He used to score on those 6'10'' guys all the time. Plus, he was so quick that he got them in foul trouble often. That's why he got the nickname 'Superman'. Other teams would try to post him up on the other end of the floor and try to get him in foul trouble.

Some of us can remember Charles Caradine. He was a very effective post player at 6'3''. He mostly played the 4 spot, but in the post, none the less. :coffee:

Size does matter. However, it's more the size of the fight in the dog than it is the size of the dog in the fight. :thumb: :thumb:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top