Next Year's Team

[Goose85]

Ok - I am so very happy things turned out the way they did. With that being said, time to move forward - I trust Buzz, Larry and Fr. Pilarz are doing the same.

Losing DJO and Jae. That is 36 points to replace.

Is this a realistic look at how those points are replaced?

Otule - Gardner (ave about 10 - combine for 16 per game) +6
Jamil Wilson ( ave 7 - He needs about 14 per game) + 7
Mayo (ave 8 - can he and TJ Taylor get 15 combined) + 7
Vander (ave 9 - he get to 12) + 3
Junior (ave 7 - ok, I'll say 8) +1
Returning Bench - Wilson/Jones/Anderson (ave 2, increase to 6) +4
Other Newcomers (0 last year - I'll say 8 due to Thomas's 3 ability) +8

Ok - that is 36 points that I think might be realistic on average. Which targets won't be hit, which am I underselling?

[Tmreddevil]

I think we miss Jae's rebounding and...for lack of a better term, everywhereness. The taking charges, steals, huge rebounds, IQ leading to easy baskets, etc. I think people will focus on the scoring, I just hope that Cadougan and the Juniors all step up their games in all the other areas too to replace the hole that Jae's leaving will be.

I think both Jamil and Vander have the potential to do so, and I also think we have the potential to be an even stronger defensive team with more Mayo and Vander on the court together and Otule back. I am very intrigued to see how this team develops going into next season as I think there is a wide range of performance that the team could fall under.

[835schroeder]

Which team would win?

Probables:

Otule
J. Wilson
Blue
Mayo
Cadougan

New guys:

Durley
S.Taylor
T. Taylor
Ferguson
Thomas

This will be interesting!! Especially if Durley is good.

[Markedman]

I didn't see Buzz's last TV show but from comments from people who did it sounds like Otule's 6th year may impact Durely. Sounded like Buzz said something like "We will have to find out what's best for Aaron" or something similar to that.

[The Reptile]

Which team would win?

Probables:

Otule
J. Wilson
Blue
Mayo
Cadougan

New guys:

Durley
S.Taylor
T. Taylor
Ferguson
Thomas

This will be interesting!! Especially if Durley is good.


What I'm curious to see is how the guys that have gotten marginal PT respond in the off season. Jones has been through the cycle twice now and knows what to expect. Buzz has only said nice things about him but we have not seen much of him on the court. Could he make a run for an expanded role over the new guys?

Anderson is another guy whom we all believe has a ton of potential but just has not found a role or distinguished himself enough to get consistent PT. A year of experience may help and some extra time in the weight room should help a lot.

Finally there's D Wilson. He'll get his time because we need to give Junior rest and he plays solid D (no matter what the BE refs think). What happens if he's suddenly able to hit a J?

Three changes from 3 players could be huge. Next year there will be more bodies but lots of opportunity. It should be interesting to watch.

[HillcrestConnection]

Ok - I am so very happy things turned out the way they did. With that being said, time to move forward - I trust Buzz, Larry and Fr. Pilarz are doing the same.

Losing DJO and Jae. That is 36 points to replace.

Is this a realistic look at how those points are replaced?

Otule - Gardner (ave about 10 - combine for 16 per game) +6
Jamil Wilson ( ave 7 - He needs about 14 per game) + 7
Mayo (ave 8 - can he and TJ Taylor get 15 combined) + 7
Vander (ave 9 - he get to 12) + 3
Junior (ave 7 - ok, I'll say 8) +1
Returning Bench - Wilson/Jones/Anderson (ave 2, increase to 6) +4
Other Newcomers (0 last year - I'll say 8 due to Thomas's 3 ability) +8

Ok - that is 36 points that I think might be realistic on average. Which targets won't be hit, which am I underselling?

You omitted Steve Taylor, whom I expect to contribute right away. I'd guess he'll average 6-8 and hopefully a handful of boards.

[IWB]

When it comes to the new guys, I think Juan will be a different person. The first week of the Pro-Am last summer I remember seeing him kind of limp in. I asked him how the individual workouts were going and he had the look on his face like he wanted to die. Said he had never lifted weights before arriving at MU. He was always bigger and stronger than everyone in high school, so he didn't need to. Said his whole body was sore, didn't have a single area that didn't ache. That is one of the hardest adjustments for these guys, and I expect Juan to look completely different next year.

[warriorfan4life]

Cadougan, Mayo, T.J. Taylor, Blue, D. Wilson (even just for D/energy), J. Wilson, Gardner, and Otule will all play. For the next couple of spots in the rotation, it will be between Steve Taylor and Juan Anderson, Jamal Ferguson versus Jamail Jones. Even with Buzz's past tendencies, I am going to favor the newcomers, though it could be none of these four guys play more then spot minutes. If this team (Mayo, T.J. Taylor, J. Wilson, Cadougan) can knock down open perimeter shots, we should be pretty darn good come the middle of conference play. There will likely be a few bumpy spots before that, as you do not replace DJ-O and Crowder hiccup free (at least not without payroll of Kentucky).

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

I think Juan will play over Steve Taylor next year, however I do see J. Ferguson playing over Jamail Jones... I've heard good things about Fergusons scoring ability so I'm exciting to see what he can do for us over the next 4 years.

I think next year we will be a bit down though, I think more than anything we will miss the intangibles of Jae. We can quantify numbers but it's hard to quantify his toughness... That being said I think Davante will be huge. I really think we will be better in the 2013-2014 season than we will be next year.

[MUfan12]

I've only seen Steve Taylor in clips, but I can see him filling the role that Jamil had to play when Davante went down. Kind of the face-up 4, with some range. Would not surprise me at all if he got 20 mpg next season.

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

I've learned to expect almost nothing from Freshman, it often times takes kids a year or two to get their use to the pace and how things are done. The Amigos and even Mayo even with his slump this year were exceptions to the rule more than they are the norm. We have been spoiled the last few years I think.

I think the guys we need to look for the biggest jump from are guys going from year 2 to year 3. I'm thinking Blue, Gardner and Jamil Wilson are the guys we can realistically expect the biggest jump from. Those three plus JC and O'tule need to carry the load for us on both ends.

[warriorfan4life]

Steve Taylor has major upside, and we could go smaller at times with Jamil and Taylor in the frontcourt against quicker, smaller teams. If we struggle to rebound the ball again, Taylor will get increased minutes as he has a very good nose for the ball and should be a very good rebounder for us. I like Jamil Wilson better at the 4 for us, but we could even see him, Taylor, and Otule/Gardner all out there together at times as well.