Next season depends on whether Drummond comes back, in my opinion. There is no reason Drummond can't at the very least be what Oriakhi was in his sophmore season if he returns.
Assuming nothing completely unexpected happens, we know we have a junior PG, which, in itself, bodes well for the team, especially because Bazz has been through all the wars at this point in his career. People forget how good Bazz was at times last year. I think he's very similar to a junior/senior AJ Price.
The unfortunate part about the way this team is madeup is that our two best players seem to both be undersized PG's. Boatright has all the makings of a great college player who can score in a variety of ways. I just worry him and Bazz both need the ball in their hands a lot. However, if they can work it out, that could be a lethal backcourt on offense and most teams won't be able to take advantage of it defensively.
Roscoe Smith will likely return to his more comfortable position at the power forward spot, even if he thinks he's a small forward. There he can set screens, grab some boards, and play lockdown defense like he did during his freshman year. If he can become more consistent with his jump shot and learn to stop knocking people over whenever he dribbles, he'll be an excellent player.
Deandre and Giffey are both question marks. I definitely think they can contribute, but neither showed us much this season.
My final verdict is that we're top 10 if Drummond returns and top 3 if Drummond and Lamb both return. If neither return, probably top 30ish. Don't kid yourself. This is still a very talented team. Last year youth did them in.
