(11-12-2015 04:13 PM)Buho00 Wrote: Ugh. That's big. Two torn meniscus injuries already, hmm. This one is particularly big, as he's our best scorer and possibly best player. I'd be surprised if we can do much better than last season with what we've lost. Marcus Evans needs to be an immediate impact player, I think he can be, we'll see.
Not sure I agree with you here. We discussed this some in the exhibition game thread. Even without Jackson, assuming Koulechov basically replaces Gearhart in terms of total contributions, Rice is still looking at likely upgrades across the depth chart, with the possible exception of SG. But Cashaw and Evans would be picking up Jackson's minutes, and they are well-regarded. Comparison of 2014 roster (guys who played meaningful time) compared to the expected 2015 rotation, with Jackson and Lott both out:
Guercy -->Guercy (slight upgrade as Guercy has another year in Rhoades's system)
Mency -->Mency (upgrade, as Mency has been highlighted by coaching staff as a guy who has taken a step forward)
Drone -->Drone (upgrade, Drone also highlighted by coaching staff)
Gearhart -->Koulechov (unknown, but Koulechov sounds pretty good)
Jackson -->Cashaw (unknown. I would call it a downgrade just to be conservative, since Cashaw is a freshman)
Peera -->Evans (upgrade)
Green -->Letcher-Ellis (upgrade)
Jones/Rivers -->Pollard (unknown, Jones/Rivers played sparingly, though Jones was playing a lot more the last few weeks of the season)
Pollard -->Smith (likely push, Pollard played sparingly last season)
Obviously, I agree that losing Jackson for a big chunk of the season is a huge loss. But I still expect the team to take another step forward.