- Jan 6, 2015
- 17,508
- 36,544
As we close out the regular season and head into unknown depths with SEC and NCAA tourneys...let's look at who we get rid of, and who we are expecting to gain next season.
Current 23-24 roster:
SR:
Tyrese Samuel F 6' 10" 239 lbs
Julian Rishwain G 6' 5" 200 lbs
Zyon Pullin G 6' 4" 206 lbs
Alex Klatsky G 6' 4" 206 lbs
EJ Jarvis F 6' 8" 240 lbs
Bennett Andersen G 6' 2" 190 lbs
JR:
Will Richard G 6' 4" 206 lbs
Jack May G 6' 4" 195 lbs
Walter Clayton Jr. G 6' 2" 195 lbs
SO:
Aleks Szymczyk F 6' 10" 250 lbs
Riley Kugel G 6' 5" 207 lbs
Micah Handlogten C 7' 1" 235 lbs
Denzel Aberdeen G 6' 5" 190 lbs
FR:
Kajus Kublickas G 6' 2" 171 lbs
Cooper Josefsberg G 6' 4" 195 lbs - walk on, practice material
Thomas Haugh F 6' 9" 210 lbs
Alex Condon F 6' 11" 230 lbs
Current 24-25 Class (per On3):
Isaiah Brown SG 6' 4" 170 lbs 3* (90.94 On3 ranking)
Olivier Rioux C 7' 6" 275 lbs (unranked)
We are top heavy with SRs for 23-24, but the only impact we will feel is losing Samuel & Pullin. Rishwain and Jarvis may have had some expectations this past year, but I consider replacing them as an obvious plus since neither contributed this season. Andersen is part of the scout team, so I wouldn't count him as any gain or loss, those bodies are always present in the program but not game players. Net from this year we are losing two forwards (Samuel with experience and leadership, dependability; Jarvis was never a factor having left the program early on), and four guards (Pullin was THE ball handler and a dependable player for scoring and assists, low turnover ration; Rishwain was a non-factor, and barring medical is out of eligibility; and two scout team players in Klatsky and Andersen).
Frontcourt will have returning experience in Handlogten (SO), as well as Condon (FR) and Haugh (FR). We will also see what Szymczyk (SO) can bring to the court having a year under Golden while recovering from torn ACL+MCL+PCL. Expecting Szymczk and incoming Rioux to make up for Samuel's presence is probably asking too much of them. We'll have the bodies, but can they fill in rotation like the rest of the bigs have this season? Do we need to lean on some transfers again in this area?
Replacing Pullin in the back court is a HUGE ask of anyone. The current roster offers up Aberdeen (SO) and Kublickas (FR), neither of which got a lot of exposure handling the ball other than Aberdeen in spotty close out minutes. I'm not looking to Richard (JR), Clayton Jr (JR), or Kuegel (SO) to carry that load - only Clayton has anything close to ball handling skills and even that was iffy through the season as he's is much more of a spot up 3pt shooting guard. His decision making is questionable when he isn't pulling the trigger. While Kublickas brings a reputation for good ball handling, I strongly suspect we get 1-2 transfers in to try and fill the void of Pullin leaving.
The bad news...some of the players who caused us fans angst over the season (Kuegel, Richard, and sometimes Clayton) are returning. Maybe Golden can break some of their bad habits, but he's had two years to do it and results are uninspiring that he can change them. The good news... only losing 2 players of importance, but having about 4 roster spots to fill with recruits and transfers combined with Golden's ability to identify and bring in talent, gives us hope that we don't see a drop off. Who knows, maybe we'll actually see the program take that next step forward and upward.
Current 23-24 roster:
SR:
Tyrese Samuel F 6' 10" 239 lbs
Julian Rishwain G 6' 5" 200 lbs
Zyon Pullin G 6' 4" 206 lbs
Alex Klatsky G 6' 4" 206 lbs
EJ Jarvis F 6' 8" 240 lbs
Bennett Andersen G 6' 2" 190 lbs
JR:
Will Richard G 6' 4" 206 lbs
Jack May G 6' 4" 195 lbs
Walter Clayton Jr. G 6' 2" 195 lbs
SO:
Aleks Szymczyk F 6' 10" 250 lbs
Riley Kugel G 6' 5" 207 lbs
Micah Handlogten C 7' 1" 235 lbs
Denzel Aberdeen G 6' 5" 190 lbs
FR:
Kajus Kublickas G 6' 2" 171 lbs
Cooper Josefsberg G 6' 4" 195 lbs - walk on, practice material
Thomas Haugh F 6' 9" 210 lbs
Alex Condon F 6' 11" 230 lbs
Current 24-25 Class (per On3):
Isaiah Brown SG 6' 4" 170 lbs 3* (90.94 On3 ranking)
Olivier Rioux C 7' 6" 275 lbs (unranked)
We are top heavy with SRs for 23-24, but the only impact we will feel is losing Samuel & Pullin. Rishwain and Jarvis may have had some expectations this past year, but I consider replacing them as an obvious plus since neither contributed this season. Andersen is part of the scout team, so I wouldn't count him as any gain or loss, those bodies are always present in the program but not game players. Net from this year we are losing two forwards (Samuel with experience and leadership, dependability; Jarvis was never a factor having left the program early on), and four guards (Pullin was THE ball handler and a dependable player for scoring and assists, low turnover ration; Rishwain was a non-factor, and barring medical is out of eligibility; and two scout team players in Klatsky and Andersen).
Frontcourt will have returning experience in Handlogten (SO), as well as Condon (FR) and Haugh (FR). We will also see what Szymczyk (SO) can bring to the court having a year under Golden while recovering from torn ACL+MCL+PCL. Expecting Szymczk and incoming Rioux to make up for Samuel's presence is probably asking too much of them. We'll have the bodies, but can they fill in rotation like the rest of the bigs have this season? Do we need to lean on some transfers again in this area?
Replacing Pullin in the back court is a HUGE ask of anyone. The current roster offers up Aberdeen (SO) and Kublickas (FR), neither of which got a lot of exposure handling the ball other than Aberdeen in spotty close out minutes. I'm not looking to Richard (JR), Clayton Jr (JR), or Kuegel (SO) to carry that load - only Clayton has anything close to ball handling skills and even that was iffy through the season as he's is much more of a spot up 3pt shooting guard. His decision making is questionable when he isn't pulling the trigger. While Kublickas brings a reputation for good ball handling, I strongly suspect we get 1-2 transfers in to try and fill the void of Pullin leaving.
The bad news...some of the players who caused us fans angst over the season (Kuegel, Richard, and sometimes Clayton) are returning. Maybe Golden can break some of their bad habits, but he's had two years to do it and results are uninspiring that he can change them. The good news... only losing 2 players of importance, but having about 4 roster spots to fill with recruits and transfers combined with Golden's ability to identify and bring in talent, gives us hope that we don't see a drop off. Who knows, maybe we'll actually see the program take that next step forward and upward.