(03-25-2019 10:26 PM)StevenNIU Wrote: I hope that Tyler Cochran is the real deal at point guard next year but I won't be holding my breath on that one. Of the 4 "point guards" on the roster this year (Trendon Hankerson, Zaire Mateen, Alize Travis and Caleb Oehlberg), they contributed a TOTAL of 43 assists, 40 turnovers and a 5.5 scoring average. I am truly baffled by the inability to develop even a serviceable point guard.
Apologies. I accidently deleted an earlier post that referred to Cochran, which was ...
According to 247Sports: Signed letters of intent for NIU mbb (11/2018):
--Tyler Cochran, Class of 2019, Bolingbrook HS, 6-3, position: point guard
--Keenon Cole, Class of 2019, Streamwood HS, 6-7, position: power forward
I agree, but "developing" a point guard is almost a speciality in itself. I read some articles written about both players, and some of the things Cochran was quoted as saying seem to be the right attitude ... e.g., when he broke his finger last season and missed half his senior season, made him focus more on others and his job as a team coordinator. He got to see where his role fit in. His comments were coherent and on point. As for Cole, sounded like a real "power" forward, a driver with controlled agression on the court.
So much is attitude coming in, and what happens to that attitude after they're in.
Next year's team will have who it has, but it needs a spark. The on-again, off-again situation with German is not helping. I also really do wish the Star et al would not toss out "others" who are thinking of leaving without either being more specific, addressing the reasons or leaving a line like that out of the story until they actually have something to report. It just fuels speculation.