Lineups

[StLouBlue]

With losing Morris & McClain and having Ian out 1st 10 games & Bryant out 1st 3 games, I cannnot believe how short handed we are going to be. I figure there is almost no chance we sign another player, but does anyone know if there will be any new walk-ons on the team. Another walkon or two would help for practice and at least give some depth if we have any injuries or foul trouble. I would hate to not red-shirt Husak, if he needs a red-shirt year, just because we are short handed at the beginning of the season. Well here is a guess as to positions for those first three games.

5-Frericks--Husak

4-Sloan--JJ

3-IO--Varner

2-AD--Clarke

1-Fischer--Hunt

I think we are really short at the guards, there is almost no way we can go to a 3 guard set with this lineup, unless you are going to call Sloan a guard. I would also guess that we will see these other schools with 3 guard sets alot. Also, Varner & Hunt will be looking at significant minutes in these games. As I posted earlier I hope Varner can step up and be a contributor in his senior season, now it looks like we will need him, especially if we red-shirt Husak.

[billiken_roy]

brad has stated on numerous occasions that he only wants to use 8 players per game. so i fail to see the problem when you listed 10 players. the question is will hunt or varner also not get to play?

you have varner, fericks, sloan, johnson, and ohannon to man the 2 inside spots. you have clarke, fisher, drejaj, hunt, sloan and ohannon to man the 3 guard/wing positions. i see no reason to question husak being redshirted and he is still there for practice purposes as well as ian and bryant. thus there are 12 able bodies for practice.

[jjray]

I really do not think we will be short-handed at guard this year. The first 3 games until Bryant is eligible are the only issue and those games are cupcakes. It will be a chance for Clarke to get extra minutes. Also, Philip Hunt got extensive minutes early in the season last year and, if need be, he can certainly give you 5-10 minutes for those 3 games (outside of Bryant, he might be the best 3 point shooter on the team).

Not having Ian the first 10 games as the backup center gives me more of a pause for concern. If Husak is going to see significant minutes the first 10 games as the backup center, then maybe it is worthwhile not to redshirt him. It would be my hope that our program progresses each year such that 2-3 years down the road we would be able to recruit over a player like Husak (thus making the utility of an extra year for him not all that vital for the team).

[Taj79]

While the suspensions may hurt at game time, they won't be affecting the practice time ... suspended players can still practice. So too will the redshirts.

As noted, the first three games without Reggie are cupcakes and they are also at home if memory serves. It might give those playing a chance to get more time and turn that time into some positive contributions later on. Say Hunt and Varner play and play well. It might provide some needed experience for later when they are needed for some minutes against bigger bruisers like Louisville and Marquette.

I am not sold on this Greek kid. I heard all the great stuff before about Latimore, and Nondas, and IO. I have yet tosee that international stud-type player emerge. Forgive me if I take a wait-n-see attitude with the Greek kid ... 10 game suspension not withstanding.

[StLouBlue]

Looking at the 1-2 positions, since Sloan and IO are the 3/4 spots. At 1-2 we have Fischer, AD, Clarke & Hunt. Two starters with a true freshman and a walk-on--not a good situation. We should win all three of these games, but this lack could cause problems if any of the games are close.

I agree that Brad wants an 8-9 rotation of players, but I would guess he wants to work into that not start the season that way, especially with so many new players on this team.