It's a wee bit early for this right now, but I wanted to set the stage for what the staff should be looking toward for personnel during this offseason, heading into next season.
A couple premises first:
-- Isaiah Mobley may or may not be leaving for the NBA (both contingencies are covered below).
-- Boogie Ellie and Drew Peterson ultimately decide to return for another year of basketball at SC; if things go the other way, then the chart below gets substantially changed.
-- We don't see any transfers from the core group of Max, Reese, Kobe and Joshua Morgan.
-- The rotation structure will look something like this: 5 starters, 3 primary reserves, 2 secondary reserves, a final/occasional rotation player, and then the end of the bench guys who are not routinely going to be used.
Now here are some opinions of mine on personnel for next season:
-- We badly need a true point guard out of the portal, who is ready to start on Day 1 and play 30 minutes per game.
-- Given our riches (and length) at wing/forward spots, and our struggles in conference with two big lineups, we should planning to start just one Big, and then rotate in a second big from time to time.
-- If Isaiah is back, he should start at the 5; if he's not back, we need to recruit another Big from the portal who is ready to start and play 20+ minutes at the 5; I do not believe that Joshua Morgan, Kijani Wright or Vincent Iwuchukwu will be ready for starters minutes next season (although I do have all 3 in the rotation).
.
.
Based on the above premises and opinions, here is a chart for how our rotation should look next season:
.
.
Notes:
So, the basic idea here is that our top 7 players will be a transfer PG, Boogie, Drew, Max, Reese, Kobe or Tre White and either Isaiah or another Big from the portal. Depending on who's available form the portal, this could very well be a powerful Top 7.
The next concept is that, while we need to have two of Joshua Morgan, Kijani Wright and/or Vincent Iwuchukwu in the rotation, none of those three of really ready to be starting to a high level team next season.
This now leads us to the big issue we will be facing during the offseason: SCHOLARSHIP NUMBERS! We have 13 scholarships available. Boogie, Drew, Max, Reese, Kobe, Tre, Joshua, Kijani and Vincent account for 9 scholarships. A transfer point guard and Isaiah or a replacement for Isaiah account for another two -- gives means 11 scholarships accounted for ... and ONLY TWO REMAINING SCHOLARSHIPS.
And now the problem reveals itself. If we got by what's above, we have two open rides -- and FIVE other players either on scholarship or committed: Ethan Anderson, Malik Thomas, Harri Hornery, Boubabacar Couliabaly, and Oziyah Sellers.
The key to next season rests not on personnel acquisition, but on management of personnel departure.
A couple premises first:
-- Isaiah Mobley may or may not be leaving for the NBA (both contingencies are covered below).
-- Boogie Ellie and Drew Peterson ultimately decide to return for another year of basketball at SC; if things go the other way, then the chart below gets substantially changed.
-- We don't see any transfers from the core group of Max, Reese, Kobe and Joshua Morgan.
-- The rotation structure will look something like this: 5 starters, 3 primary reserves, 2 secondary reserves, a final/occasional rotation player, and then the end of the bench guys who are not routinely going to be used.
Now here are some opinions of mine on personnel for next season:
-- We badly need a true point guard out of the portal, who is ready to start on Day 1 and play 30 minutes per game.
-- Given our riches (and length) at wing/forward spots, and our struggles in conference with two big lineups, we should planning to start just one Big, and then rotate in a second big from time to time.
-- If Isaiah is back, he should start at the 5; if he's not back, we need to recruit another Big from the portal who is ready to start and play 20+ minutes at the 5; I do not believe that Joshua Morgan, Kijani Wright or Vincent Iwuchukwu will be ready for starters minutes next season (although I do have all 3 in the rotation).
.
.
Based on the above premises and opinions, here is a chart for how our rotation should look next season:
.
Point Guard | Shooting Guard | Wing / Forward | Wing / Forward | Big | ||
Starters: | Need from Portal | Boogie Ellis | Drew Peterson | Max or Reese | Isaiah Mobley or Portal | |
Primary 1 | Primary 2 | Primary 3 | Secondary 1 | Secondary 2 | Final Rotational Player | |
Rotation Reserves: | Max or Reese | Tre W or Kobe | Morgan or Kijani or Vince I | Morgan or Kijani or Vince I | Tre W or Kobe | Morgan or Kijani or Vince I |
Notes:
So, the basic idea here is that our top 7 players will be a transfer PG, Boogie, Drew, Max, Reese, Kobe or Tre White and either Isaiah or another Big from the portal. Depending on who's available form the portal, this could very well be a powerful Top 7.
The next concept is that, while we need to have two of Joshua Morgan, Kijani Wright and/or Vincent Iwuchukwu in the rotation, none of those three of really ready to be starting to a high level team next season.
This now leads us to the big issue we will be facing during the offseason: SCHOLARSHIP NUMBERS! We have 13 scholarships available. Boogie, Drew, Max, Reese, Kobe, Tre, Joshua, Kijani and Vincent account for 9 scholarships. A transfer point guard and Isaiah or a replacement for Isaiah account for another two -- gives means 11 scholarships accounted for ... and ONLY TWO REMAINING SCHOLARSHIPS.
And now the problem reveals itself. If we got by what's above, we have two open rides -- and FIVE other players either on scholarship or committed: Ethan Anderson, Malik Thomas, Harri Hornery, Boubabacar Couliabaly, and Oziyah Sellers.
The key to next season rests not on personnel acquisition, but on management of personnel departure.
Comment