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Message: [QUOTE="CardiacAndre7, post: 2056881, member: 5132"] Our backcourt has the potential to be one of the best in the country next year. I've had my reservations about Vital after his run of late, I wasn't ready to call him a starter next year, but the last two games have changed my mind. He is driving to the basket much stronger and finishing very well, and has also turned into a very good rebounder, he has a very underrated vertical/quick jump on the boards. His shooting seems to already be very,very good and will only get better. AG, in the little we saw this year, looks to be a game changer, if he can get that shoulder fully healed. Has the same level quickness as Boat and Kemba, if not more. Showed flashes of being a very good distributor as well, will develop his shot, and was killing it in the steals category. He's gonna be a highlight reel next year, super excited for him. Jalen, not much more has to be said. If he comes back, and we have a good year, that's our next All-American. With the weapons we will have next year, hopefully everyone being healthy, kid could be a double-double threat every game. He's improved his shooting so much too, that mid-range is deadly and he needs to be guarded out to the 3 pt line now, he's a triple threat. Needs to spend the offseason working on his defense hard, his on-ball is mediocre at best right now, and continue to work on his shooting, and he'll be scary next year. We've got 3 wings for next yr, Larrier, Jackson and Polley. Wouldn't mind possibly getting another, maybe a reclass or a solid transfer/juco, but I wouldn't be too worried if we went in with just those three. If Larrier can stay healthy, just like AG, he can be a potential game changer with his athleticism, shooting touch, and length. That is a big IF though, but I have confidence in the kid. Jackson, we've seen flashes this year that he can be a knockdown shooter, but im not 100% convinced in him as a starter on this team. Teams will, and looks like they have started, to figure him out a bit. We all know he is in slow-mo a bit. I personally think he would be best as a stretch-4, has some good post moves and can pop out to the elbow/3-pt line and can be an obvious threat there. Polley looks to be a candidate for stretch-4 too, but looks to be more athletic and less of a sharpshooter than Jackson, so we'll see what his role will be. We can all agree, I'd assume. that we need some help in the post. Going into the season with no big man that has ever started a game (I think, maybe Steve has once or twice) with Durham, Enoch and Carlton is worrisome. They all have potential, Steve has some great, great post moves, but struggles to finish sometimes and is more often than not lost on defense, causing him to foul so much. Durham, has also shown flashes of the beast he seemed to have been in High School, just seems to be a little nervous. A year under his belt in the college game is gonna do him so much good though, but he definitely needs to add some strength, and I think his frame will allow that. Im excited to see what Carlton provides, he looks to be the first post player we've gotten in a while that can distribute from the paint, that is vital to a successful In-and-out offense that I think we should strive for. Also has some solid post moves from what I've seen in highlights, and looks to have underrated athleticism, but is still more of a landlocked big than a Facey-type bouncy post. But, even with all the positives they bring, we need to add an experienced big man. I personally don't want an under-the-radar development player, I want a big bruiser, either juco or grad transfer. [USER=3376]@Matrim55[/USER] has done amazing in showing us the options we could possibly go after in those categories for a big man, and there are some intriguing ones for sure. Hope KO and the staff go after a couple, and I think they will. We seem to go into every season thinking we are a potential top-20 team, granted this year we've had some awful luck with injuries, but next season was the one I was thinking could be very special, if the development of our players continued steadily. We hope that AG and Larrier can get to the level we think they can play at (also forgot to mention Diarra, not sure on him being an immediate contributor next year, but I think he can be huge for us once he gets used to the college game), and if they can, that just gives Jalen more options to distribute to, which could open up driving lanes for him even more. With the misfortune we had early in the season, it forced Vital to grow up quick, Jalen said it best, "I don't even consider them freshmen anymore". And that is such a blessing, because Vital is gonna kill it, whether it be in a starting role or the first guy off the bench. [/QUOTE]

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