Next year's starting five.

[JettFlight5]

Is the assumption that Gillmann will redshirt?

What I'd like to see: Reynolds, Ash, Crawford, Lancona, Manning

What I think will happen: McBroom, Ash, Crawford, Glaze, Manning

The "Like to see" scenario gives us McBroom, Roby, Bartley, Yarbrough off the bench in the backcourt and Jolly, Glaze, and Agbeko up front.

[slufan13]

Is the assumption that Gillmann will redshirt?

What I'd like to see: Reynolds, Ash, Crawford, Lancona, Manning

What I think will happen: McBroom, Ash, Crawford, Glaze, Manning

The "Like to see" scenario gives us McBroom, Roby, Bartley, Yarbrough off the bench in the backcourt and Jolly, Glaze, and Agbeko up front.

Agree. 100%. I'd maybe want Agbeko starting if Ash and Crawford can stretch the defense enough. Either way, I agree with all of this. I feel like Reynolds is being underestimated by many on here.

[Bizziken]

Out of the 3 freshmen, who is likely to get major minutes at the PG position? I don't really see McBroom as a viable PG option over the course of the entire season (hope I'm wrong). I was under the impression that Reynolds was more of a 2, so that leaves Roby and Bartley if that is a correct assumption. I'm concerned about Bartley being able to initially handle the physicality of Division I since he is a slight player. Roby looks like a slasher. To me, the PG position is the biggest question mark about next year's lineup.

C- Manning (20-25 minutes)/Jolly (5-10 minutes)

F- Lancona (20-25 minutes)/Agbeko (20-25 minutes)/Glaze (10-15 minutes)

G/F- Crawford (20-25 minutes)/Agbeko/Yarbrough (5-10 minutes)

G- Yacoubou (25-30 minutes)/Crawford/Freshman Guard (5-10 minutes)

G- McBroom (20-25 minutes)/Bartley(?)/Roby(?)/Reynolds(?) <10-15 minutes for the Backup PG>

[JettFlight5]

Out of the 3 freshmen, who is likely to get major minutes at the PG position? I don't really see McBroom as a viable PG option over the course of the entire season (hope I'm wrong). I was under the impression that Reynolds was more of a 2, so that leaves Roby and Bartley if that is a correct assumption. I'm concerned about Bartley being able to initially handle the physicality of Division I since he is a slight player. Roby looks like a slasher. To me, the PG position is the biggest question mark about next year's lineup.

C- Manning (20-25 minutes)/Jolly (5-10 minutes)

F- Lancona (20-25 minutes)/Agbeko (20-25 minutes)/Glaze (10-15 minutes)

G/F- Crawford (20-25 minutes)/Agbeko/Yarbrough (5-10 minutes)

G- Yacoubou (25-30 minutes)/Crawford/Freshman Guard (5-10 minutes)

G- McBroom (20-25 minutes)/Bartley(?)/Roby(?)/Reynolds(?) <10-15 minutes for the Backup PG>

I've seen different things that have Reynolds as more of a 1 or a 2 depending on who you ask. When I was watching the Illinois State Tournament, the ball was in his hands a lot; so I think he can be a PG pretty easily.

[RUBillsFan]

Out of the 3 freshmen, who is likely to get major minutes at the PG position? I don't really see McBroom as a viable PG option over the course of the entire season (hope I'm wrong). I was under the impression that Reynolds was more of a 2, so that leaves Roby and Bartley if that is a correct assumption. I'm concerned about Bartley being able to initially handle the physicality of Division I since he is a slight player. Roby looks like a slasher. To me, the PG position is the biggest question mark about next year's lineup.

C- Manning (20-25 minutes)/Jolly (5-10 minutes)

F- Lancona (20-25 minutes)/Agbeko (20-25 minutes)/Glaze (10-15 minutes)

G/F- Crawford (20-25 minutes)/Agbeko/Yarbrough (5-10 minutes)

G- Yacoubou (25-30 minutes)/Crawford/Freshman Guard (5-10 minutes)

G- McBroom (20-25 minutes)/Bartley(?)/Roby(?)/Reynolds(?) <10-15 minutes for the Backup PG>

I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think Manning will average 20+ minutes a game primarily because of foul trouble. He averaged 11.9 minutes per game this year and struggled with foul trouble in multiple games. His .142 fouls per minute easily led the team ahead of Lancona .117 and Loe .106. Rob Loe who was/is a much better player and less foul prone only averaged 27.7 minutes. Jolly will get his chances, but I would imagine we will see Lancona or Agbeko at the 5 for at least 10 minutes or so a game.

[slufan13]

From what I understand, I think Roby might be the least likely to play PG out of all the incoming freshmen guards.. McBroom isn't the strongest ball handler to be honest so maybe we need to get a true PG out there in Bartley. From what I've heard from people though, it'll be hard to keep Reynolds off the court. He's a leader and makes the play that needs to be made.

[STL Hoops Insider]

People seem low on McBroom. We not only need him to start, but also likely be explosive and lead us in scoring. If you are convinced hes not a pg, which I disagree with, he could play sg with Bartley or Reynolds at pg, and Ash at the 3. I cant imagine a scenario where Ash and Austin arent the top scorers

[slufan13]

People seem low on McBroom. We not only need him to start, but also likely be explosive and lead us in scoring. If you are convinced hes not a pg, which I disagree with, he could play sg with Bartley or Reynolds at pg, and Ash at the 3. I cant imagine a scenario where Ash and Austin arent the top scorers

What makes you believe he is a PG? I just worry about how good he'll be as a focal point for teams to stop. He was shut down at the end of the year this year and he was always the 3rd or 4th option. We need him to come up big and really improve though. He's the PG until someone overtakes him and I don't see that happening until January at the earliest.

[Zink]

After three years of stability, lineup combinations will be a big topic in the offseason and throughout the season. I expect lineup combinations and playing time will be shifting throughout the year. Going to a 10-11 man rotation like Dayton may not be a bad idea, because I don't think there will be much difference between our top players and bench players.

5 - Manning is the clear choice to start. Back-up, Jolly could get some minutes, but I expect it is more likely we play stretches with no true center - with Agbeko or Lancona.

4 - Good battle between TL, GG and RA. I expect all three to get plenty of minutes and I think two of the three will often be on the floor together at the same time.

3 - IMO, the most interesting position battle - MC, MY and DR would seem to be the most likely candidates. This is the spot where we are most likely to have a freshman starter, although MC may be the guy. MY seems to have the size to be the prototypical 3, but is his defense good enough? Crawford has more experience, but does he have the size or defense? If JC wants to go with more defense at the position, Roby might be the guy. It's nice that we have a lot options with different skillsets.

2 - AY is our most likely starter this year. At backup, the three freshmen and possibly Crawford could see time there.

1 - AM is the starter almost by default. His experience gives him the edge initially. Ideally AM is a 6th man. Hopefully a month or two into the season, MB can take over as the starter. I think point guard play is potentially our biggest weakness. I have gone back and read some scouting reports on MR and he is described as a combo guard - capable of playing the point, so I feel a little bit better about it, however, in the few times I saw him on the tube, he looked more like a 2 guard than a point.

Great points, especially regarding the big man rotation. I think the four returnees will split minutes at the 4/5 with Jolly getting a few minutes here and there.

[brianstl]

I don't expect to see much of a 3 guard look. If the team's recent recruiting is any indication, Crews is going to place a premium on size now that it is his program.

[STL Hoops Insider]

What makes you believe he is a PG? I just worry about how good he'll be as a focal point for teams to stop. He was shut down at the end of the year this year and he was always the 3rd or 4th option. We need him to come up big and really improve though. He's the PG until someone overtakes him and I don't see that happening until January at the earliest.

He's 5-9. You usually have to play pg unless you play with a big pg. What makes him incapable of playing it? He doesnt have to be an All-Conference pg, just good enough for us to win. He will be needed to score a lot this year and you will need that speed in the starting 5

[slufan13]

I'm expecting our top 5 (not necessarily starting 5) to be pretty different in March than it will be in November.

I expect both seniors to start. Not sure that says anything about them though. Glaze started 2 years ago and played less than 10 mins a game. I expect slightly more minutes from him next season. Although I'd be fine with less if it meant Agbeko and Lancona got more time.

Not to be a downer here, but I'm tempering my expectations on Yarbrough. He self admitted to not really playing defense in high school. I know he can score, but I'm not sure I see him carving out a definite spot in the rotation if this is his first year of really playing defense.

[slufan13]

He's 5-9. You usually have to play pg unless you play with a big pg. What makes him incapable of playing it? He doesnt have to be an All-Conference pg, just good enough for us to win. He will be needed to score a lot this year and you will need that speed in the starting 5

So his height tells you that he can play PG? I'm 5'9. I can't play PG. McBroom looked shaky against VCU. Looked shaky against a lot of pressure. He was 4th on the team in turnovers despite playing the 6th most minutes.

Yes he'll be needed to score this season, but that doesn't mean he will. He fell off dramatically as the 4th option this past season. Not sure he'll shine as the top option.

[Bills By 40]

McBroom-Yacoubou-Yarbrough-Lancona-Manning

That seems pretty likely to me.

But my biggest question is why must we have a consistent starting 5? Let's have an even 9-10 man rotation and start whomever matches up best that day. We have the options, no one player stands out from the rest, so I think the best option is to play to the advantages of our opponents - that way they won't have any big advantages.

[slufan13]

Just curious here.

All year, the majority of this board wanted Crawford to play over Barnett. Now we sign Yarbough and so many people expect him to come in and start over Crawford at the 3. Just wondering why?

Both were big time scorers against weaker competition in high school. Crawford has a full year under his belt in Crews' system and has proven to be serviceable. For the majority of the season, he was the best of the freshmen.

Yarbrough admitted in an article when he committed, that he didn't play defense in high school. What makes people believe that he'll come in and be strong enough defensively to start?

Again just curious here. I'm high on Yarbrough, but seeing people think he is gonna start was surprising to me.

[HoyaBilliken]

Bartley or Reynolds may start out the gate or by conference play

Yacoubou

Agbeko (if he is back to 100%)

Lancona

Manning

Have seen in McBroom in practice, pickup and games; have never seen him as a PG, and don't believe he is one. If he is starter it may mean we are struggling at that position.

Bench: Crawford, McBroom, Jolly, Yarbrough or Toby, Glaze.

[STL Hoops Insider]

McBroom doesnt have to be the pg to start because Bartley and Reynolds are big enough to guard shooting guards, but if you start Ash and Crawford, McBroom is your pg.Hes the most proven scorer on a team looking to replace all if its scoring.

[bauman]

McBroom doesnt have to be the pg to start because Bartley and Reynolds are big enough to guard shooting guards, but if you start Ash and Crawford, McBroom is your pg.Hes the most proven scorer on a team looking to replace all if its scoring.

Getting past your apparent man crush on AM, if he is main "proven scorer" then we are in real trouble. I think in an earlier post you referred to his speed, now he is a proven scorer? I don't discount that he had a good streak in the middle of last year when we needed someone to score from the perimeter, however, he also was clearly part of the reason we had the late season decline. Overall, he was not a proven scorer, just someone who had a mid season hot streak. With regard to his "speed", I think you didn't watch him too closely last year. You would certainly think someone his size would, in fact, be fast or quick. Instead, what I saw last year was his inability to stay with man on drives to the basket.

If he can stabilize his outside shot, I see him as an early season starter, but only until MR or MB learn the system.

[RUBillsFan]

Getting past your apparent man crush on AM, if he is main "proven scorer" then we are in real trouble. I think in an earlier post you referred to his speed, now he is a proven scorer? I don't discount that he had a good streak in the middle of last year when we needed someone to score from the perimeter, however, he also was clearly part of the reason we had the late season decline. Overall, he was not a proven scorer, just someone who had a mid season hot streak. With regard to his "speed", I think you didn't watch him too closely last year. You would certainly think someone his size would, in fact, be fast or quick. Instead, what I saw last year was his inability to stay with man on drives to the basket.

If he can stabilize his outside shot, I see him as an early season starter, but only until MR or MB learn the system.

PPG during their Soph Years:

Evans 7.9

McBroom 7.3

McCall 7.0

Jett 6.5

McBroom is the only returning player to ever average more than 3.8 ppg at the Div I level (Grandy had 3.8 ppg last year, Ash had 2.9 ppg at Nova). Therefore, it seems pretty accurate to call McBroom our only proven scorer.

IMO it will be a pretty big shock of McBroom does not lead the Billikens in scoring next year.

[STL Hoops Insider]

There are plenty of quick guys that cant stay in front of their man. He is the top returning scorer, so he is the most established scoring option on this team. They WILL lean heavily on his scoring this. Its possible some of the recruits pass him up down the road, but you all should be hoping for some small college guard magic.

[Zink]

My position by position breakdown:

1- McBroom (18), Bartley (12), Reynolds (10)

2 - Yacoubou (22), Roby (6), McBroom (6), Reynolds (4), Yarbrough (2)

3 - Crawford (20), Yarbrough (10), Roby (6), Yacoubou (4)

4 - Glaze (14), Lancona (16), Agbeko (10)

5 - Manning (20), Agbeko (8), Jolly (8), Lancona (4)

Player by player:

Yacoubou (26)

McBroom (24)

Lancona (20)

Manning (20)

Crawford (20)

Agbeko (18)

Reynolds (14)

Glaze (14)

Bartley (12)

Roby (12)

Yarbrough (12)

Jolly (8)

I will be curious to see if any of the freshmen really step up and force someone else out of the rotation, particularly among the three guards. I think we will see Crews employ a deep bench, because as other posters have mentioned, the difference between our most and least talented players has diminished. The big man rotation will also be interesting, as we could stick with just the four returnees and play without a true 5 if Jolly isn't up to speed.

All in all, I expect a pretty fluid rotation.

[Cowboy]

-if AMc has the equivalent of this past season's assist to turnover ratio (56/43) while shooting 35% from the floor and from 3 with the rest of his game next season while getting major minutes as a pg I am not sure that is a recipe for team success

-I am not down on him, just hoping we have a better option getting major minutes at the point

[STL Hoops Insider]

Is it possible he forced shots to get his points because he didnt know how many he would get behind McCall and Jett? 35% from three is respectable, and I dont have the numbers in front of me, but im thinking the majority of his attempts were from three

[Bizziken]

The truth of the matter is that we don't have a proven scorer returning. McBroom is probably the closest thing we have to a 'returning scorer' but I'm not all that confident that he can create his own shot and be our 'go-to' guy.

I'm also not too concerned about offensive production from the PG position...what I care about is McBroom (or anybody else) being able to handle the ball, run the offense, and distribute the rock, in addition to being able to knock down an open shot.

[GOSLU68]

What i would like to see is AY, MC, JM, RA, TL with traditional two guards center two forwards: i realize RA saw little game time due to injury but he is the quickest big I ever saw in a SLU uniform since maybe Edwin who was a bust in the classroom; Crews seems to predictably platoon the same man instead of playing 8-9 guys the way Majerus could: I think that is unfortunate as it leaves real talent on the bench. Biggest question I have for Manning is fouls.

I like AM as a hot shooter off the bench I believe end of season he was being coached to be a play maker when his real court vision is to get his shot not to distribute. I saw the kid from Memphis area play on TV and he was not a go to guy nor a point guard. I thought he had lots of upside but as a junior not freshman. I think TL are probably the most talented on the team and sure hate thought that they get 20 minutes each.

It will be very interesting and if first semester schedule is not tough enough we could be playing the wrong guys in league play. Crews and staff have too many new faces and I hope the high schoolers show up for summer school.