I hope it works out that our roster stays as it is, but, I figure the chances are 20%.
If Alterique decides to move on, I think we want to limit our risk of having too little depth at point guard. A Gaffney sprained ankle like last preseason, or a game missed with a concussion protocol, and we'd be down to 1 pure point guard. I think the team is best positioned with a third guard capable and comfortable playing the point. More than shooting, I would value not turning the ball over under defensive trapping backcourt pressure, and, hitting foul shots down the stretch in close games at 80% ish. I think next year we may have small leads in the closing minutes of games that we need to protect. Russell, Aikens, ...
If a second roster spot opens, I'd like to hit a frontcourt home run to maximize the potential of a team that might only have Bouknight and Jackson playing together for 1 year. I think the sky is the limit for the team with enough other pieces. I think Sanogo is the only player I have seen so far in the 2021 class that I am sold would provide a talent upgrade to our current roster if he reclassed. The JUCO 6'11 Mading interests me because of his apparent motor, and, his SF skills at 6'11 which I think could create matchup problems for other teams. I think his style offers Hurley another way to gameplan. In stretches, a line up of a PG, Bouknight, Jackson, Mading, and Whaley intrigues me.
In terms of impact for next season, I am less enthusiastic about either Etienne or Santos reclassifying. Both might be good future investments for a second spot but I think Etienne's doubts about whether he is quite ready are well founded. I like that he has a scoring mentality in the frontcourt and he has some range, but he misses as many first attempts around the basket as Carlton. I see Etienne as a solid long term complimentary player. With Santos, I really think Hurley would have to decide that he could get Santos to play much harder. He can shoot well, I have seen him make an athletic play, but he doesn't automatically play with any obvious effort. From what I have seen streaming a couple of games live,; Guarding a chair, maybe, if it's not a rolling chair. I will be properly supportive of either if that's the way Hurley goes.
Keep in mind Sid hit a big pressure 3 to send Wichita State to OT and can jump to the moon. I'm routing for him to stay and progress.
