Who's next year's surprise bench player?

[worthington]

Ok. Based solely upon the bench players that we have next year, who do you see being able to be a lil' surprise for us (i.e. Mooney, Bennett, etc...)? Naturally, I've never seen these guys play so to all you rec center guys...help me out a little. You never know when a bench player may turn the tide of a game ala Hunt and Houston.

[bauman]

I'm sorry but who is Houston?

[tseugnekillib]

.

[Major Majerus]

Forget the walk-ons; the depth is too great. I'll get back to you in late October.

[Iggy]

Husak. Plus he'll be a lot of fun to watch with all that height.

[worthington]

Other than height, what skills does the big man have? I'm not totally dogging Heinrich but it would be nice to see a big man do something much more other than cut someone's head off with their elbows.

[ACE]

This should be one of the deeper teams I can remember SLU having. It seems to me, we could go 10 deep. I think Meyer and Husak will be 11 and 12 and not see much time.

I see the starting lineup as Polk, Bryant, IO, Newbourne and Frericks. The bench in order of contribition 6. Vouyoukas 7. Alexander 8. Drejaj 9. Johnson 10. Clarke

Johnson and Clarke are kind of the wild cards. How much will they improve from freshmen to sophs?

[thetorch]

Husak is much more mobile than Heinrich ever was. Heinrich was a good post defender but he was not exactly a shot blocking machine. Husak will alter many more shots than Heinrich ever did.

[worthington]

That's good news. You can't always coach footwork. It looked as if Heinrich's feet was cemented to the floor at times. He did play hard and it's always good to have a tree on your team.

[kshoe]

If Husak is ever as good as Heinrich...offensively or defensively. The one word I would never use to describe him as is mobile. I hope I am wrong though.

[Majerus Magic]

I think Meyer is going to surprise everyone this year. He may be a less thought of recruit but I think he is going to contribute right away.

[nostatic]

Consider this: What if this increased depth causes a change in AD. With all the players that could play 1, 2 or 3, maybe this forces him to hit the weights hard, get himself in the best condition possible and spend hours working on his shot. Not only would he play a significant role because he has the heart and courage of a lion, and his leadership and defense are solid, but now he would have a jump shot we could depend on, along with the ability to play JF-type minutes (if necessary).

And I'm wondering if this whole scenario (of added depth) might not get a couple other players to commit this offseason to becoming the best they can be. This could really turn into a win-win situation.

Not sure if Husak will be ready this year, but he gets my vote for the following year. I think DC will be the guy this year.

[3star_recruit]

I hope so. Meyer has the ability to shoot the mid-range jumper off the dribble, which gives him an advantage over Clarke in my mind. Clarke is more of a spot-up shooter.

[tseugnekillib]

I agree that Drejaj needs to work on his jump shot and free throws, but a key to his results will be having healthy ankles for the entire season.

[thetorch]

Husak may be more of a Mark Eaton than a Ben Wallace but Heinrich just could not get off the floor. Husak can. I would not call Husak a gazelle either but he can run the floor. Basketball skillwise Husak still has a long way to go.

[Quality Is Job 1]

If Johnson is healthy, his athleticism is an asset. Additionally, it will be his third year under Brad Soderberg's direction, and Brad will find and flip the switch that JJ has hid in the off position so far.

[StLouBlue]

It is really hard to figure out who will be on the bench & who will be starting. My two big questions on playing time are (1)will Newbourne & IO both force themselves into the starting lineup & (2) Polk vs AD at the point. My possible lineups are:

Small lineup

5 Tom--Ian & Husak

4 IO or Newbourne--JJ behind both

3 AD--Alexander & Meyer

2 Bryant--Clarke & Alexander

1 Polk--Clarke

Big Lineup

5 Tom--Ian & Husak

4 Newbourne--JJ

3 IO--Meyer

2 Bryant--Alexander & Clarke

1 Polk or AD

Big Lineup II

5 Ian--Husak

4 Tom--JJ

3 IO or Newbourne

2 Bryant--Alexander & Meyer

1 Polk or AD--Clarke

My thought on AD is that he will probably take over Fisher's role as our defensive stopper & this will keep him on the floor as either a 3 or as a point guard. I am not handing the starting point guard job to Polk yet--I hope he earns it & excells, but I think AD might be the starter especially early in the season. Polk would still see minutes but not starter minutes like 20+. IO is still a question mark after two seasons and I don't know what kind of role he will have--if he will be more of a post type player at 4 or more of an away from the basket player at 3. Also I am not sure Newbourne is Sloan-like enough to easily switch between the 3 & 4, it seems like he may be more of a post player only. I am also not sure if Ian is much more developed than Husak, I think they may see equal minutes at least at the beginning of the year.

Well those are some guesses. Top guy off the bench--Polk as a kind of spark plug, but wouldn't mind seeing him starting if he earns it.

[jjray]

>I hope so. Meyer has the ability to shoot the mid-range

>jumper off the dribble, which gives him an advantage over

>Clarke in my mind. Clarke is more of a spot-up shooter.

And Meyer is a legit 3 in stature ... maybe the only one on our roster. He could really be valuable if he is able to defend and generate some of his own offense.

For me, I think Alexander is the huge wild card and, if he does not start, becomes automatically the most important bench player. However, given Tom's injury and health issues, Ian will be logging big minutes and also is an important bench player.

[Schasz]

If that switch is not turned on next year then JJ will be buried on the SLU bench for most likely the balance of his career as I figure Coach Soderberg will be recruiting another 4 with the remaining scholie he has.

[slu72]

Just a feeling, but look for Meyer to be a Sloan type with a better shot. I think he'll work hard for his time and we will all be pleasantly surprised at how much he helps us.

[Quality Is Job 1]

To a degree I'm expecting Luke to redshirt in 2004-05.

[bauman]

Torch, did you see many practices last year? I went to about 6/7 and never saw BH get more than 1 inch off the floor. I know he was a true FR last year, but he has a LONG way to go to give us as much as Heinrich. (By the way, so does IV, who moves just as slow as BH and doesn't get off the floor much higher.)

Notice how often Brad kept IV on the bench at the end of the season after giving him a chance to play significant minutes earlier? He either needs to improve his foot speed and jumping ability (both tough to do) or JJ will be our backup at the 1.

[willie]

I posted this once before. Luke is entering SLU as a soph. What type of graduate degree he wants will have a major impact on whether he wants to red shirt.

[jjray]

>To a degree I'm expecting Luke to redshirt in 2004-05.

Thicks, are you basing that thought on seeing Luke scrimmage with the current Billikens? If so, I'm disappointed as I respect your evaluation of players. As Luke is already physically mature, I don't see the point though. He's not going to be an inside player so bulking him up is not that critical. He won't become more skilled just playing in practice for a year so, if he lags behind now, I don't the point of a redshirt.

Did redshirting Drew Diener help us?

[Quality Is Job 1]

My thought that Luke Meyer might redshirt is not based on watching scrimmages, because the only scrimmages I've watched are "my" own -- at MS-Berkeley. I just think that, because of the team depth, Luke may be offerred and may accept the opportunity to redshirt in order to maximize his eligibility.