[jcmanson]

We lose three starters in TeeJay, Rell, and Alex, and we also lose Russ.

We will have 6 incomers: Seth Curry, Mike Lewis, Brolin Floyd, Carter McMasters, Austin Smith, and Sammy Jackson.

Also, hopefully Baker will have a healthy season and be able to play.

My projected starting lineup:

• BJ Jenkins
  Seth Curry
  Anthony Smith
  Tyler Baker
  Carter McMasters

IMO others who will see minutes:

• Jeremy Anderson
  Kyle Ohman
  Austin Smith
  Brolin Floyd
  Sammy Jackson

I expect BJ/Seth to get all minutes at PG, but Justin and/or Mike Lewis may get some time here also.
Seth/JA/KO/Brolin Floyd will get all minutes at the 2
AS/JA/KO/Floyd will see time at 3
Baker/Jackson/Carter at the 4
Carter/Austin at the 5

Obviously a lot hinges on the incomers but with Anthony, Tyler (hopefully), BJ, JA, & KO we have a solid nucleus. I expect Anthony to have a breakout senior campaign and make first team all conference.

I think we will be in the hunt for a conference championship, but it will be tough since we will be relying on freshman so much.

[Ed Dantes]

When was the last time we started two freshmen?

[olldflame]

When was the last time we started two freshmen?

Blair and Dees started a few games together in 03-04, but Dees usually came off the bench. The last pair of freshman starters listed in the media guide were Jeremy Day and Nic Wright in 97-98.

[grm]

I still think Nic Wright would have been tough (was tough).

[BJWilliams]

That seems like a pretty fair assessment JC. I would not be surprised if there were times when we have TB, JA and KO on the floor together. We have shown some real good things with KO and JA together, and knowing that COach McKay lies to shoot the perimeter shot, that would be a dangerous thing if we had all three of those guys together because all three get hot, teams aren't really going to be able to key on just one of them.

Now of course with a lineup of Baker, Smith, Ohman, Anderson and McMasters, you could potentially have 5 guys who can all shoot from the perimeter and that would toss a whole different dynamic into gameplanning defensively

[SuperJon]

Now of course with a lineup of Baker, Smith, Ohman, Anderson and McMasters, you could potentially have 5 guys who can all shoot from the perimeter and that would toss a whole different dynamic into gameplanning defensively

Who would bring the ball up the court? I don't want any of them dribbling more than they have to.

[BJWilliams]

I would have Smith bringing it up in that particular lineup but BJ has shown he can "shoot the rock" from the perimeter as well. Another possibility is having BJ, Smitty, Anderson, Ohman and McMasters. There again you have a lineup with 5 guys that all can shoot from the perimeter but you'd have BJ there to also bring the ball up.

[jcmanson]

If you are trying to put our best 3 pt shooting team out there BJ, it would be Seth, JA, KO, TB, & CM. You could also sub AS in for either JA or KO to get someone who can take the ball to the basket on the floor as well.

[SuperJon]

BJ, I thought the complaint about this year's team was that they only shot the 3?

I think you need a combination of players than can post, shoot, and drive (thank you John Madden).

BJ - can drive, is becoming a better shooter from outside
Curry - unknown on how he'll be in college, but he can drive and shoot in high school
Smitty - can drive on anyone, can get very hot from deep, and hopefully will develop some post game to post up smaller players
Tyler - can post up, can shoot the three
McMasters - like Curry, unknown how he'll be in college, but he can shoot in high school and can hopefully post up as well

[jmdickens]

Starters
BJ Jenkins
Jeremy Anderson/Seth Curry
Anthony Smith
Sammy Jackson
Carter McMasters

I think Jackson could be a really good forward for us...especially if he can rebound

[SuperJon]

I know nothing about the other freshmen other than the two big names.

[jcmanson]

I think Jackson can be really good too, kinda like a Rell Porter type. Hopefully he will be more of a threat with his back to the basket on offense than Rell was though.

[jmdickens]

Next Season:

Although I will more than likely be out west, I will predict LU to win the BS title. Coach McKay won 16 games this year....We had 18 wins in the 2003-2004 season....I predict a 20 win season, something that has not happened in some time at LU. We have so many good things to look forward to. More later

We have a great coach and several talented players coming in next season; however, TeeJay and Alex will be gone

TeeJay will be tough to replace b/c he was so good at setting people up and Alex was a good option on offense.

[ToTheLeft]

BJ (JA, Lewis, J Holl)
Seth (JA, Lewis, J Holl)
Smitty (Brolin, KO)
Baker/Jackson (Brolin, KO, Soup)
Carter/Austin (Jackson, Soup)

Anderson is the 6th man filling in for whichever combo guard goes out. Mike Lewis and J Holl come in for foul trouble/goon squad.

Brolin and KO come in for Smitty and the 4, with Jackson going anywhere from 3-5 depending on the matchups (I think he will do well against Lynch-Flour and Breeze, he won't get pushed around.)

Soup will do his thing coming in when needed at the 4 or 5.

I think that covers everyone... except the end of the bench, who will continue to do what they did this year.

[paradox]

McKay said that Anthony Smith will be the Big South's best returning player next season. Any objections?

This may sound a bit radical, but Smith may be the only lock heading into next season as far as returning starters go. Ty Baker's resiliency is in question, Jenkins has talent, but there's enough inconsistancy there to make him a question mark . Anderson and Ohman should see minutes, but how many depends on many factors. If Stephene is here, he has a real chance of starting in the backcourt with Seth. It should be interesting to say the least.

We should have tons of depth next year.

My initial guess now would be that Anthony, Seth, and Carter would be the only certain starters at this point. Newcomers like Brolin Floyd, Sammy Jackson, Johnny Stephene, and Austin Smith---all have the potential to start and could see 20 or more minutes as part of a rotation.

[BJWilliams]

BJ, I thought the complaint about this year's team was that they only shot the 3?

I think you need a combination of players than can post, shoot, and drive (thank you John Madden).

BJ - can drive, is becoming a better shooter from outside
Curry - unknown on how he'll be in college, but he can drive and shoot in high school
Smitty - can drive on anyone, can get very hot from deep, and hopefully will develop some post game to post up smaller players
Tyler - can post up, can shoot the three
McMasters - like Curry, unknown how he'll be in college, but he can shoot in high school and can hopefully post up as well

That is a valid point SJ. That is a pretty solid lineup you put up there Im not gonna lie.

[jcmanson]

Dox, BJ will start. He will be our PG going into the next year. You can't throw a freshman in immediately to be your pg. Maybe by conference play, but not from the get go. I don't know what you have agaisnt BJ. Sure he had his ups and downs this year but he's only a sophomore. IMO BJ and Smitty are the only definite starters.

[jcmanson]

I wouldn't be surprised if Mike Lewis redshirted. Also, don't sleep on Brolin. He is in the same mold as Smitty just not as long.

[hurricane fan]

everybody keeps forgetting about johnny stephene. he is going to be a STUD and get a lot of playing time.

[SuperJon]

I did forget about him completely.

If the freshmen make the adjustment, we could be very good next year.

[BJWilliams]

With as many guys coming in or coming back that we have, I think I agree with those that think this could be a very special team in 08-09. We are losing 3 very solid contributors in RP, TeeJay and Ace, but I think we have enough ammo to fight with the best of em next year.

[TDDance234]

BJ, I thought the complaint about this year's team was that they only shot the 3?

I think you need a combination of players than can post, shoot, and drive (thank you John Madden).

BJ - can drive, is becoming a better shooter from outside
Curry - unknown on how he'll be in college, but he can drive and shoot in high school
Smitty - can drive on anyone, can get very hot from deep, and hopefully will develop some post game to post up smaller players
Tyler - can post up, can shoot the three
McMasters - like Curry, unknown how he'll be in college, but he can shoot in high school and can hopefully post up as well

It may have been a complaint this year but that's RM's offense. It's going to get worse (or better, depending on your style) next year without a true post guy on the roster. I think TB and even McMasters could do some back to the basket work but we're going to want them shooting the rock on the wing. We're prob. looking at a lot of motion and smaller lineups to try and create those uncontested shots off a lot of screens.

[jcmanson]

everybody keeps forgetting about johnny stephene. he is going to be a STUD and get a lot of playing time.

Do we know he's going to be here? I didn't see him on the bench all year as far as I could tell and I would have thought he would have at least been on the bench. And if he is here, then someone currently on our roster will not be back next year and possibly 2. That's assuming Armon and Oz aren't brought back on scholarship.

[paradox]

Dox, BJ will start. He will be our PG going into the next year. You can't throw a freshman in immediately to be your pg. Maybe by conference play, but not from the get go. I don't know what you have agaisnt BJ. Sure he had his ups and downs this year but he's only a sophomore. IMO BJ and Smitty are the only definite starters.

I like BJ too. In fact, I would have started him as a freshman. A quality freshman starting is not an issue at all for me. My point is that we have some guys coming in that may or may not be better. Curry's gonna start in the backcourt. Stephene and BJ also have the potential to start. Regardless of how many years you have in the program, the best player needs to see the majority of minutes. Curry, McMaster's, and Smith should start. Stephene is good enough to start at PG next season. Right now BJ has the edge going into next season as the incumbant starter, so JS is gonna have to go in and win it outright (assuming he's even here).


BJ has the talent and potential to be all-conference, however, he's demonstrated enough inconsistancy to make him vulnerable with so much talent coming in, especially Curry & Stephene. It should be interesting. I'd expect BJ to see at least 20 minutes per game, whether he starts or not. Either way, I'm guessing that we'll see a combination of Curry, Jenkins, and Stephene in our backcourt next season. A healthy Jeremy Anderson coming in, could complicate things even further. But, a nice position to be in, nonetheless.

[olldflame]

The idea of not starting or playing someone at PG (or anywhere else for that matter) because he is a freshman is IMHO passe. If Rose, Conley and Augestine can play the point for national champianship contenders, a kid like Seth Curry can certainly be an instant impact player at our level like his brother was at Davidson. These kids play ball year round now with AAU, camps etc. (especially if they have "resources" ) and in many cases come to college prepared to compete from day one. The best players need to be on the court, period.