Some thoughts on the season, which should continue in a lesser tournament, and the future: The second seed and 20 wins are commendable accomplishments considering that Antonio Campbell couldn’t play for most of the conference schedule. And do not sleep on the season-long unavailability of Khari Harley, Wadley Mompremier and James Gollon; we may have made it to the Big Dance anyway if we had those guys. We really can't judge them by what you last saw of them (think Mike Laster).

The loss of personnel created the opportunity for accelerated growth from Laster and Jason Carter; this should really pay off big-time next season. A key aspect to me for next season is whether Jordan Dartis and Doug Taylor will have the type of proficiency spurt, in accordance to their skill sets, that we’ve seen from many previously Bobcats going into their junior season.

I don’t have any inside knowledge on this topic, but I think five players currently on the roster won’t be on the team next season. If this happens, Coach Phillips will have two more scholarship to utilize that aren't available right now. I still contend a post player, who is a rim protector, is needed if we want to make any noise beyond the MAC tournament, which we should be very much in the mix to win.

I have seen Gareri play. He will not be as impactful as Carter was but he will play for us off the bench and be a nice piece, maybe 10 minutes per game. I also see, from what I read and see online, that Butler will be a solid backup PG which will be huge for us to give Jaaron some time off. Vander Plas just looks like a specimen athletically. And you have to think that Gollon, who played some minutes as a freshman, will be stronger and mentally tougher. He looks like he's having fun all year and learned from some solid guys in Kenny and Tone.

I don't see that as our starting 5. Going to have to plug in a "big"...hopefully Taylor takes a giant leap or one of the freshman.

Always love the unknown of how any individual player may develop over the off-season. For example, when Culver arrived I think most had assumed Laster's days on the court at OHIO were over, only to find out he was a very important piece of this years puzzle and much improved. I also hear that Vander Plas is a bigger version of Carter and Butler will be a serviceable back-up PG. Is Gollon another serviceable back-up PG option? Will someone help develop Culvers shot and overall offensive game? Those are the unknowns to a random fan like me.

But in my estimation not knowing the unknowns of the impact of the recruits; the improvement of any given player; and without going through each conference teams roster to see who they lose and what their recruiting classes are like--just based on this past year--I'd be VERY concerned going into next season with the current roster. If this were a pro league where I could trade in the off-season, I'd say I have 2 untouchables on my roster (Simmons/Carter) and I'd be open to free agents signing or trades for any of the other 3 starting positions. I'd be hitting transfer list/JUCO scene hard looking for someone who could play the 2 or 3 who could add instant offense. A slasher, someone who could create for themselves, a play maker. I'm sure every coach is searching for the same thing, but I look at this roster and I feel I've got 2 building blocks moving forward and all other positions are open competitions.

Desperately need a JUCO big....hope it happens.

Buffalo had a lot of athletic depth. I hope you are right.

As I'm sure you're aware, there's not a spot open as things stand now. I'm sure you're also aware that it's highly unlikely that this coaching staff is going to seek out a JUCO player.

I think I've heard this since the Reagan administration, dating back to the Nee/Hahn coaching regimes. Usually includes some sort of the following: "Ohio will be so deep that we should employ fullcourt pressure and just run every chance we get."

Then, November/December rolls around and Ohio is going with a 7- or 8-man rotation.

This annual projection almost rivals the "Ohio is the team nobody wants to face in the MAC tournament" posturing from BA posters.

I really like where we're at as a program talent wise and what kind of players we're recruiting. Yes, we lack in straight athletes, but we're going to have a team that will be consistently in the top for years to come. Our pipelines in the state continue to be great and the kids we will continue to go mine out of the Wisconsin region will benefit us greatly moving forward. That said, the only concern I have is our apparent lack of a true center in this year's recruiting cycle and next year's. That said, I am happy with the style of players we're recruiting. Recruiting folks is what wins championships, and because of our inroads in Central Ohio, I feel like we will be top 4 in the MAC every year no questions asked. At that point it will come down to one weekend in Cleveland.

Another thing I hope we do is start pushing the needle in terms of non-league games. This is something our program needs to begin getting back to. While we have home and home series with Cleveland State, Marshall, Western Kentucky (all of these help the gates despite what folks think), we need to begin getting Power 5's on the schedule. I know Purdue doing a home-and-home will be huge, but one more series like that a year to go with our annual matchups I think can make ourselves very attractive for at-large opportunities pending W's. Nonetheless, I am very happy with where the basketball program is.

Kaminski
Gollon
Block
Carter
Vander Plas
Gareri

I think a lot of the questioning of, and hand-wringing about, Saul's recruiting efforts can be found in the commonality of these 6 recruits. But I'm guessing no one will admit it and all will feign offense to its suggestion.

If you don't want to deal with reality than go and lay an egg. If Harley can't play, than we should find other grants for him to stay in school. If Wadley is really transferring than we should look at adding more talent. You definitely should not have any plans to be a coach. Go watch X Men or something, we are keeping it real in this thread. There is something called contingency planning or business continuity.

Trust me, your so called reality, and that of the majority of the rest of those on here is vastly different.

I think we could get more from another player that we're getting from Khari, yes. But my reasoning is simply related to his physical health. If healthy, Khari would have been a contributor this year. If you want to "keep it real", look at the recruiting chart. Unless someone leaves, or we get a scholarship back because of an injury waiver, we're full on scholarships, so saying we need to bring someone in if Wadley leaves isn't truly "reality" good sir.

http://www.bobcatattack.com/basketball/recruiting.asp

As for the movie choice, I've never been into X-Men. Maybe you have another selection that's more based on reality?

I've seen nothing the past few years that says Harley would have/will be a contributor if healthy. Although, what exactly defines a contributor is subjective.

Gollon and Dozier being future contributors is also open to debate. When I saw Culver throw down a put-back rebound and an alley-oop pass early in the non-con season I thought he was going to be a MAC all-freshman candidate. As the season wore on, however, I found myself greatly tampering those expectations. That leaves next year's team with Simmons, Dartis, Carter, Taylor, Block and Laster and 3 frosh. I still don't see us matching the athleticism of Kent, UB, and Akron.