Playing performance projections; this season versus last

[23won]

To start some discussion on this year’s team, I’d like to ask

1) are we really in a worse spot talent wise than last year

2) can Fran work his magic early in the season with chemistry in particular to position the team to be more successful in the A10?

I realize there is no apples to apples bracketing on how fluid positions can be compared year to year and folks can debate this all day long. However, for simplicity, here are some bracketing concepts worth considering. I realize pt may leak from one position to others





McKeithan V Brickus
Jones

White. V Brantley / Gill
Eric


Shep / Marrero v Marrero/ Shep.

Tunde/Zan. V tunde /Zan

Lilley /Etienne v Rokus / Zan


We have a lot of sharp hoop minds here so I will open it up for your thoughts first. We all have incomplete information and you can revisit this as the year goes


Personally, I am optimistic that we have greater depth, a real jump starter in Jones, some added length and athleticism in White, a big who can make the most of his shot at high PT and a group of other transfers who have been productive and could step up.

Thus, we have a decent shot to finish 10 like last year and improve on that if the stars align. What do you think?

[explorer88]

I think we finish 10th just because Dunphy is the coach. He will get the most out of the team.

Question is where are improvements versus losing the contributions of Brickus, Brantley, and Joscius who after a very slow start played very well late in the season.

I like what I have heard about Lilley. Dunphy has gone out of his way at least three times to mention him this offseason. If he really can shoot it like Dunph claims, he will be a big help. If we get rebounding from him. Then wow.

I am worried about our guards mostly because of them just being unknow to me. The transfers I have never seen but both produced for smaller programs. Can Dunphy get more out of them? Question 1 for me.

I would temper the excitement for Deuce. As talented as he is, he is only a freshman. Law of averages says he plays a minor role early. The sweet spot is for him to gain a bigger role and be a more consistent producer at the end of the year.

I have no idea what we have in Mac. Highly rated but hasn't produced for various reasons. Can he use the Dunphy coaching to springboard him to more production?

I expect more consistency from Shep. If we get that and a little more rebounding from him he could make an all-league team. He has benefited from Dunphy's coaching.

Finally, a positive I am banking on is Jahlil White should be a big help. If he can stay healthy he has shown he can play and produce at this level. Signing him was a bigger deal than I think many realize.

Other than the guards, which are my main concern. Next on my list, we absolutely need Tunde to take a next step up and provide help more consistently and we need Ryan Zan to continue his improvement.

As usual a lot of questions for the Explos. How many of them turn positive for us will shape the season. Just 18 days to go. Can't wait.

[lasallejohn]

Without going into detail, I like how this team is shaped up much more than last year. I kind of like the new makeup. Like the frontcourt much more than last year, and hoping the backcourt proves capable. Love the jahlil white, daeshon, tunde, zan group of wings.

[1801olney]

I honestly have no idea, but am looking forward to November 4th.

[las71]

I like the overall roster more than last year's. We seem to have more depth everywhere which is unusual for us. Not much preseason info coming out so banking my hopes on being a little bigger and possibly more athletic. Without any info on specific skill sets guys may have, difficult to project how we might do this year. Go 'splorers!