I see a lineup of the following next year:

PG - DJ
SG - Nick

I have not seen him play against the size he will have to encounter as a collegian but it would be an absolute shock to me if he is any type of "physical" presence.  He is very athletic though perhaps not as much as Washington.  That is also a very misleading statement since in my opinion Washington had no clue how to use his leaping athleticism to his advantage other than by catching an alley oop.  Smith will get a lot more out of his gift in this area.

That being said, if you have not yet seen Smith in a uniform be prepared to see someone that is arguably thinner than DJ (scary thought isn't it?) and we're talking 5'11 DJ being as thick of a build as 6'7 Smith.  I see him being bullied by Kent St. and anyone else that has real beef in the paint.  Unfortunately he isn't as long Zeke Marshall to compensate.


Offensively, he does have at least adequate ball skills but again I have no idea how he will fair against someone with beef while trying to execute his moves.  He blew out his knee early in his high school career so that has always been a concern even though he obviously overcame that to land a division one scholarship and several other D-1 offers.


To sum up, if you're thinking or hoping he will be the physical presence we all realize the Cats need, don't hold your breath.  I fully expect him to be in the top 5 (in the MAC)  in blocks though assuming his minutes are plentiful.  the problem is that blocks shots still have to be gathered by one team or the other and often it comes down to strength and physicality as in rebounding so we'll have to see how it plays out.

Well given that Offutt and Nick are both listed t 6'3 --- I would have no problem with those two starting alongside DJ as long as they make up the best 5 man unit to start the games with.  I don't think of Villanova, I think of Marquette with Wes Matthews, Dominique James and the 3rd guard whose name escapes me.  It's not as though we would have to be fretting other teams posting up their small forwards against us.


Conversely, on offense and in transition we would have 3 players that can initiate the offense from any position on the floor.  You have to think that if we can isolate our "3" against theirs then we will force several "help" situations for the defense that would not only lead to ball rotations to an open 3 point shooter but also dishes to unguarded post players and even more important better offensive rebounding opportunities as our post players will often find themselves not being boxed out due the the help situations and resulting scrambling by the defense.


The number 1 key will be the pace of the game not how big our "3" will be in my opinion.  As long as we can have at least 2 active post players in terms of rebounding then we should be better than I expect the media to project us to be.

Although I think it should be pointed out that Goard does have the ability to bring the ball up the court even at 6'7 but I'm not sure he's ready to make the jump in competition level playing where he played in West Virginia.  It may take him a year

I agree that Offutt is a guard but that doesn't stand in the way of him or Kellogg playing the "3" as a starter anymore than not having any other center besides Jacobs prevented Washington or Keeley or Baltic from playing the "5"  this year as starters

You do realize that you have Hall starting and Kellogg completely out of the 12 man rotation  :-)


I'm guessing that you intended to list Kellogg as the starting 5 instead of Hall.  From what I have seen Goard is a 3 due to his ability to handle the basketball -- he played the post merely because where else are you going to put a 6'7 high schooler that plays on the team that he was on.  He played often on the perimeter and is no stranger to grabbing a defensive rebound and then leading the fast break himself rather than looking for an outlet pass.


Those skills combined with his wiry build is why I have him as a 3 and not a post player like Smith.


Obviously we are of the same mind when it comes to the last available scholarship as my initial posting in this thread mentions my belief that it will go to a Juco post player. Unless Alex Kellogg returns.

Someone posted about Cooper and Taylor being on the court together with Mitchell or Offut or Kellogg.  There's your 3 at an average of six feet.  Less if you use real--not roster-stated--heights.

We beat in the MAC and Georgetown in the NCAA because we got 3-pointer hot.  Isn't that how most of the MAC sees us--long shot shooters who win if we're on?  When was the last Ohio team that you could point to that hat two tough guys?  One?

We'll have talent next year.  I'm still not convinced that we'll have the ideal mix of ballplayers, though.

With Washington gone we are thin & weak on returning centers. We must find someone to help in that regard or we will have great difficulty next year.
My concern has always been whether Groce can recruit a good big man. He seems to do better @ the guard position.







GO BOBCATS

The reincarnation of Patrick Flomo.

What are trying to say about Leon? 

He was known as a tough guy actually who did assert himself around the rim. He was top 100 in the country in Defensive Rebounding % all four years as a Bobcat, and he peaked his senior as #2 in the country in Offensive Rebounding %.

I'm at a loss as well. If you had to pick one word to describe Leon I think "tough" would be it.

I think Nick would make a fantastic sixth man, but he seems to play better out of the starting lineup.  We'll see if that changes.