[Cider Jim]

I saw this on Facebook, posted by a former student: we may be getting a 6'9" transfer from San Diego State whose 2 sisters go to LU:

[James] Johnson was unavailable for comment, but he is expected to visit Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., where both his sisters studied. Liberty, which plays in the Big South and went 11-21 last season, lost most of its front line, including leading scorer Antwan Burrus.

Lynchburg is 60 miles from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where Johnson began his college career. A four-star prospect rated the No. 8 center in the class of 2010 by Scout.com, he chose the Cavaliers over Arizona, Cal and Oklahoma.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/Apr ... ticle-copy

[SumItUp]

That would be a nice addition for next year's team. He would arrive in a position to pick up minutes that he did not get at his other stops.

https://www.flamefans.com/forums/viewto ... es+johnson

[olldflame]

IMHO if he decides to come he needs to accept the fact that we have a roster full of other guys who can play the 3 and 4. Doesn't matter how many other things he can do on the court, we need him to be a beast in the post. Beef up from his current 235 to 240 or 245 and work his butt off perfecting a few solid post moves and he could really make us better.

[jcmanson]

Ogukwe is headed to Limestone

[BJWilliams]

The big question to me is who plays the center/third forward position. I think Retic and Bonds will be the two guards with Smith and Gielo at the first two forward positions. Maxwell could be the 5 but he needs to muscle up some lice I said about the 7 foot kid.

PG- Braxton Bonds or Joe Retic
SG- Retic or Wesley Alcegaire
SF- Tomasz Gielo or AC Reid
PF- Andrew Smith or Stavian Alen
F/C- James Johnson or Evan Maxwell

Kemrite or Talbert would be off the bench guys so id run an 8-10 man rotation

With the official word Johnson coming to Liberty, I figure he will be at the 5 along with Maxwell, who can learn while backing him up for when he probably becomes the primary big man next year (since Johnson has only one year left)

[olldflame]

The big question to me is who plays the center/third forward position. I think Retic and Bonds will be the two guards with Smith and Gielo at the first two forward positions. Maxwell could be the 5 but he needs to muscle up some lice I said about the 7 foot kid.

PG- Braxton Bonds or Joe Retic
SG- Retic or Wesley Alcegaire
SF- Tomasz Gielo or AC Reid
PF- Andrew Smith or Stavian Alen
F/C- James Johnson or Evan Maxwell

Kemrite or Talbert would be off the bench guys so id run an 8-10 man rotation

With the official word Johnson coming to Liberty, I figure he will be at the 5 along with Maxwell, who can learn while backing him up for when he probably becomes the primary big man next year (since Johnson has only one year left)

You don't even mention either Peter Moller or David Andoh BJ. Both of those guys will be in the mix for major minutes, and Moller could very possibly start at SG. I would also highly question putting both Reid and Allen ahead of Ezra Talbert. There is a reason he is the most highly rated prospect in that early signing class.

[BJWilliams]

I did forget about those two. With the team likely set Id probably go with this:

PG- Braxton Bonds or Joe Retic
SG- Wesley Alcegaire or Peter Moller (Im interested to see how quickly he assimilates to the American game)
SF- Tomasz Gielo or AC Reid

I'll take a second here before going to the PF and mention that Andoh and Talbert both could fit in at the #2 spot at this position behind Andrew Smith. Allen and Reid give us some flexibility if we decide to go small to challenge more uptempo style teams so that's why I had them on the two deep before these recent signings.

PF- Andrew Smith or David Andoh or Ezra Talbert
C- James Johnson or Evan Maxwell.

Andoh at 6-9 could be a third option at 5 for matching up with uptempo lineups as well

[olldflame]

Andoh is 6'7", not 6'9". I doubt he will play the 5 at all. If we want to go more athletic, we can move Drew to the post.

[jcmanson]

With the roster pretty much set, here's an early look at how the roster breaks down including a possible starting lineup & rotation http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/2014 ... r-musings/

[olldflame]

My revised starting lineup:

PG Braxton Bonds
SG Peter Moller
SF Thomaz Gielo
PF Andrew Smith
C James Johnson

I think the front line is a no-brainer. 3 talented 6'9" Seniors, each with a different set of skills. Andoh will get the most minutes off the bench, followed by Talbert. More than likely when Johnson gets a rest, most of the time Drew will slide over to the 5. I don't see Maxwell playing a lot, and in fact he may redshirt. If not Maxwell, possibly Allen or Reid, but I expect at least one of our true Freshman to sit out this year. Layer made a mistake playing Drew Smith something like 2 minutes a game 4 years ago and wasting a year of eligibility for a talented player. I don't think he wants that to happen again.

The starting backcourt is harder to pick. I think the early competition for the PG position will be close between Retic and Bonds. IMHO that favors the young player, because you expect he will improve and win the job eventually, so if it's a close call, why not go with the future? Poor Joe also loses out on the starting SG position. I gave Moller the nod because he can provide both a 3 point shooting threat and a solid secondary ballhandler. I don't think either Kemrite or Retic give you both of those things. The good news for Retic is that he will get a lot of minutes backing up both guard positions (and maybe even some time at the 3 against teams like Chuck South) with Kemrite getting some minutes at the 2 as well.

Before you can say it Medic........................................
Yes, kinda pale.
I'm not big on stereotypes.

[PAmedic]

ha. yes now that you mention it.

i actually didnt notice because i dont know the incoming class like you guys that follow more closely

[Purple Haize]

My revised starting lineup:

PG Braxton Bonds
SG Peter Moller
SF Thomaz Gielo
PF Andrew Smith
C James Johnson

I think the front line is a no-brainer. 3 talented 6'9" Seniors, each with a different set of skills. Andoh will get the most minutes off the bench, followed by Talbert. More than likely when Johnson gets a rest, most of the time Drew will slide over to the 5. I don't see Maxwell playing a lot, and in fact he may redshirt. If not Maxwell, possibly Allen or Reid, but I expect at least one of our true Freshman to sit out this year. Layer made a mistake playing Drew Smith something like 2 minutes a game 4 years ago and wasting a year of eligibility for a talented player. I don't think he wants that to happen again.

The starting backcourt is harder to pick. I think the early competition for the PG position will be close between Retic and Bonds. IMHO that favors the young player, because you expect he will improve and win the job eventually, so if it's a close call, why not go with the future? Poor Joe also loses out on the starting SG position. I gave Moller the nod because he can provide both a 3 point shooting threat and a solid secondary ballhandler. I don't think either Kemrite or Retic give you both of those things. The good news for Retic is that he will get a lot of minutes backing up both guard positions (and maybe even some time at the 3 against teams like Chuck South) with Kemrite getting some minutes at the 2 as well.

Before you can say it Medic........................................
Yes, kinda pale.
I'm not big on stereotypes.

Good analysis. I would only say that IMO a tie goes to the upper classman. Experience is a big thing and if 2 players are evenly matched I'd go with the guy that's been around because he knows what I want and trust what he will do more than a new player

[BJWilliams]

With the news of Wes Alcegaire transferring (who I had in the mix at the 2 guard), here is my updated rotation:

PG- Joe Retic or Braxton Bonds
SG- Peter Moller or Osandai Vaughan (if he signs) or Ryan Kemrite
SF- Tomasz Gielo or Ezra Talbert
PF- Andrew Smith or David Andoh
C- James Johnson or Evan Maxwell

AC Reid can plug in at the 3 or 4 positions as a third option, Stavian Allen probably redshirts and Retic could plug into the #2 spot as well.

[flamesfanatic_1971]

I believe our staring five could be Braxton Bonds at point guard, Joe Retic and shooting guard, Tomas Gielo at center, Andrew Smith at power forward and David Andoh at small forward. Liberty will have a lot of depth at every position and should contend for a Big South title. Expect contributions also from Evan Maxwell, AC Reid, Stavian Allen and Ezra Talbert as well. Coach Layers' club will go ten deep and should be an offensive nightmare for opposing defenses in the Big South. If Liberty can improve defensively, then a top three finish should await, depending on how Radford and Coastal Carolina play.

[jcmanson]

I believe our staring five could be Braxton Bonds at point guard, Joe Retic and shooting guard, Tomas Gielo at center, Andrew Smith at power forward and David Andoh at small forward. Liberty will have a lot of depth at every position and should contend for a Big South title. Expect contributions also from Evan Maxwell, AC Reid, Stavian Allen and Ezra Talbert as well. Coach Layers' club will go ten deep and should be an offensive nightmare for opposing defenses in the Big South. If Liberty can improve defensively, then a top three finish should await, depending on how Radford and Coastal Carolina play.

Welcome to the board!

[TDDance234]

If we're playing Gielo at center, it's going to be a long, long season.

[Purple Haize]

If we're playing Gielo at center, it's going to be a long, long season.

You got that right. He's a nice 3 or stretch 4. UNLESS we are running a UCLA high post offense and zone defense this year

[jcmanson]

While flamesfanatic may have the positions wrong, he could very well have the correct starting 5: Bonds, Retic, Gielo, Andoh, Smith

Edit: Thanks for the reminder oldflame, Johnson will definitely start over Andoh.

[olldflame]

I believe our staring five could be Braxton Bonds at point guard, Joe Retic and shooting guard, Tomas Gielo at center, Andrew Smith at power forward and David Andoh at small forward. Liberty will have a lot of depth at every position and should contend for a Big South title. Expect contributions also from Evan Maxwell, AC Reid, Stavian Allen and Ezra Talbert as well. Coach Layers' club will go ten deep and should be an offensive nightmare for opposing defenses in the Big South. If Liberty can improve defensively, then a top three finish should await, depending on how Radford and Coastal Carolina play.

Are you aware we signed James Johnson?

[olldflame]

While flamesfanatic may have the positions wrong, he could very well have the correct starting 5: Bonds, Retic, Gielo, Andoh, Smith

I agree, but only if James Johnson turns out to be just as small a fish in a small pond as he was in the big ones. I have to believe he will start, considering that to go with Drew at the 5 (which is what it would be with this lineup) we are really athletic, but could get pushed around by bigger teams. Andoh would play the 4 and Gielo would stay at the 3.

[jinxy]

I don't understand why you guys think he's a guaranteed starter. Have you watched him play?? I'm not saying he won't contribute and maybe he will start. He coule easily be Clifton Richardson in my opinion since he's already flamed out twice. I wouldn't have such high expectations for him.

[jcmanson]

While flamesfanatic may have the positions wrong, he could very well have the correct starting 5: Bonds, Retic, Gielo, Andoh, Smith

I agree, but only if James Johnson turns out to be just as small a fish in a small pond as he was in the big ones. I have to believe he will start, considering that to go with Drew at the 5 (which is what it would be with this lineup) we are really athletic, but could get pushed around by bigger teams. Andoh would play the 4 and Gielo would stay at the 3.

I momentarily forget about Johnson and edited my previous post. I think our frontline is set for opening night starter: Gielo, Smith, Johnson.

As for the backcourt, I think Retic will start, either at the 1 or the 2. Right now, I'd give the edge to Bonds as the other starter, but wouldn't be shocked if that goes to Moller.

[olldflame]

I don't understand why you guys think he's a guaranteed starter. Have you watched him play?? I'm not saying he won't contribute and maybe he will start. He coule easily be Clifton Richardson in my opinion since he's already flamed out twice. I wouldn't have such high expectations for him.

I hear you, although I'm not so sure the comparison with Richardson is fair. Different people, different sport, different situation. I'm optimistic about Johnson mainly because of how highly both Tony Bennett and Steve Fisher speak of him. Both seem to feel he is a great kid and can play, but was just not in a position to get minutes on their team. On our roster, he is really the only player with the muscle to play the 5 and not get pushed around. We shall see.

Andoh didn't exactly light the world on fire in his only D1 experience as a Freshman at San Jose State either. He did have a good year in JUCO as a Soph., but JUCO is not D1. I expect both to be major contributors.

[LocklearGT2]

This years recruiting class looks really good,how do it rank against other big south school's

[BJWilliams]

Hard to say...we do have a lot of guys who are going to be be very solid contributors next year or the year after. The only one I think may not play this year with just about all the names in, is AC Reid. I had him in my rotation early on but with all the changes, I think he may end up being the odd man out and I wouldn't be surprised to see him redshirt this season.