The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-21-2020 08:17 AM)KSUforever Wrote:  Hopefully the team is healthy and we can rebound from two lackluster performances. Really need Pippen and Whittington to get back on track. Sendy mentioned that the key is to getting back to playing solid defense. I am sure that means more time for Peterson and Williamson ( I hope we can overcome their offensive deficiencies).

Joel opened up the wallet and the department actually is promoting this game with free Swensons and give aways during the game.

I hope the students come out and the team can feed off the energy. Next home game is Akron U so this could go a long way towards getting a crowd moving forward. Maybe they can pack those bleachers that Joel hates.

Whittington and Pippen at less than 100-percent leads to a long look at the bench. While the lack of time/production from AC points to either a big doghouse or poor scouting/evaluation, or both. Beck has proven serviceable, but frankly it shouldn't take much for Bennett/Bainbridge to beat him out, either, by next season.

I think any equally puzzling player is CJ Williamson.

At the outset I must say he deserves a big benefit of the doubt due to his own injury/recovery issues ... but it is also obvious - from HS up to an including now - he has been vastly overrated for years by scouts and evaluators who have projected him as some elite guard, which make his limited contributions look even smaller.

CJ is a role-playing wing with decent defensive skills and sporadic offense. When Kent's Top 5 are hitting on all cylinders, his contributions are solid. But he is not a guy who can deliver three straight games of 10/5, particularly in MAC play when others are also struggling.

Combined with Mitch, that's two players that have to produce big in the 'intangible' areas. A team certainly can't win big without those kind of guys, but a team is also exposed when it has to realy too much upon them.

CJ has value ... but he is not nearly as valuable as projected to be.

Santiago shows promise, but it will probably be this time next season before he either looks like a PG of the future or a career backup.

Overall, just not a stellar group. The good thing is, at least 10 of 12 MAC team benches look just like them.