(09-27-2020 02:14 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  I really like the versatility of this season's Aggie roster.

However, admittedly, I wish NMSU had more size/muscle in the post; considering the center's heights on the other WAC teams. But Jans has already stated he prefers more mobile, slightly undersized, post players (rather than slower, taller, big man); in order to execute his style of play. So 6'9, maybe 6'10, will be about as tall as NMSU will ever be under Jans. Based on the make up of this roster, 6'7 Johnny McCants will probably start at center this season.

Tennessee Owens... 5'10... 165... SR
Evan Gilyard... 5'10... 170... SR
Bryce Rewalt... 5'11... 165... GR
C.J. Roberts... 6'1... 190... JR
Kalen Williams... 6'2... 170... SO
Jabari Rice... 6'4... 180... JR
Darreus Brown... 6'4... 180... JR
Clayton Henry... 6'4... 200... SR
Jason King... 6'4... 200... JR
Marcus Watson... 6'6... 215... FR... eligible mid-December
Rashaun Agee... 6'7... 210... FR
Donnie Tillman... 6'7... 225... GR
Johnny McCants... 6'7... 235... SR
Wilfried Likayi... 6'9... 210... JR
Mayan Kiir... 6'9... 220... JR... eligible mid-December
William McNair... 6'10... 265... SO

The other WAC centers...

Russell Barlow... 6'10, 235, JR... Cal Baptist - TCU Transfer
Gorjok Gak... 6'11, 245, JR... Cal Baptist - Florida Transfer
Isaiah Simpson... 6'9, 240, JR... Chicago State - JC Transfer
Solomon Hunt... 6'9, 272, SR... Chicago State
Lou Demuth... 7'0, 235, FR... Chicago State
Jarod Greene... 6'8, 235, SR... Dixie State
Mikey Frazier... 6'10, 250, SO... Dixie State - JC Transfer
Alessandro Lever... 6'10, 235, SR... Grand Canyon
Asbjorn Midtgaard... 7'0, 270, SR... Grand Canyon - Wichita State Transfer
Sean Rhea... 6'8, 230, JR... UT Rio Grande Valley
Jeffery Otchere... 6'11,240, GR... UT Rio Grande Valley - Stony Brook Transfer
Evan Cole... 6'10, 230, GR... Utah Valley - Georgia Tech Transfer
Fardaws Aimaq... 6'11, 245, SO... Utah Valley - Mercer Transfer

Neither Seattle nor Tarleton State have a "true" center on its roster. I expect both schools to play uptempo basketball.

Seattle and Tarleton matchups will be fun. Fast paced and shots from beyond the arc.

The only low post players Seattle U. has are Jared Pearre, a 6'9, 200-lbs, rail thin forward who transferred from CSUN and Emeka Udenyi, a 6'6 225-lbs undersized power forward from City College of San Francisco. The rest of Seattle U's roster are perimeter oriented players. Seattle U. will be able to spread the court playing one in and four out or all five out all facing the basket. It appears Seattle has an abundance of good three point shooter. The Redhawks could be a dark horse in the conference if Hayford can get his rotation to play good defense; something lacking at Seattle during Hayford's tenure.

As for Tarleton State, as of yet, I'm not sure what will be the Texans strengths. I suspect BCG will have them playing good hardnose defense. But I'm not sure how good they will be offensively. Can they hit the three from multiple positions? Will they generate easy baskets off turnovers? Will they run clean high IQ offense?

(09-27-2020 11:31 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  The only low post players Seattle U. has are Jared Pearre, a 6'9, 200-lbs, rail thin forward who transferred from CSUN and Emeka Udenyi, a 6'6 225-lbs undersized power forward from City College of San Francisco. The rest of Seattle U's roster are perimeter oriented players. Seattle U. will be able to spread the court playing one in and four out or all five out all facing the basket. It appears Seattle has an abundance of good three point shooter. The Redhawks could be a dark horse in the conference if Hayford can get his rotation to play good defense; something lacking at Seattle during Hayford's tenure.

As for Tarleton State, as of yet, I'm not sure what will be the Texans strengths. I suspect BCG will have them playing good hardnose defense. But I'm not sure how good they will be offensively. Can they hit the three from multiple positions? Will they generate easy baskets off turnovers? Will they run clean high IQ offense?

I have a feeling Tarleton State is gunna have some Press Virginia vibes, as for Seattle U they have always had guys who can shoot but like you mentioned their defense is never above average and when they go cold on offense it gets ugly.

(09-28-2020 10:24 AM)Lopes87 Wrote:  

(09-27-2020 11:31 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  The only low post players Seattle U. has are Jared Pearre, a 6'9, 200-lbs, rail thin forward who transferred from CSUN and Emeka Udenyi, a 6'6 225-lbs undersized power forward from City College of San Francisco. The rest of Seattle U's roster are perimeter oriented players. Seattle U. will be able to spread the court playing one in and four out or all five out all facing the basket. It appears Seattle has an abundance of good three point shooter. The Redhawks could be a dark horse in the conference if Hayford can get his rotation to play good defense; something lacking at Seattle during Hayford's tenure.

As for Tarleton State, as of yet, I'm not sure what will be the Texans strengths. I suspect BCG will have them playing good hardnose defense. But I'm not sure how good they will be offensively. Can they hit the three from multiple positions? Will they generate easy baskets off turnovers? Will they run clean high IQ offense?

I have a feeling Tarleton State is gunna have some Press Virginia vibes, as for Seattle U they have always had guys who can shoot but like you mentioned their defense is never above average and when they go cold on offense it gets ugly.

Tarleton State doesn't have much size on its roster (only 3 players 6'7 or taller). I expect BCG to implement an uptempo style this season; full court press and trapping on defense and pushing the ball hard to the rim on offense... Turning the game ugly with a helter-skelter style of racehorse basketball... Billy Ball! The question is, "does this Texans roster have enough talent and maturity to impact the WAC standings?"

As for Seattle U, Hayford is an offensive minded coach. His defense will only be so good. If the Redhawks ever become a WAC contender, it will be because Hayford has assembled the right offensive make up (chemistry) to become a high scoring offensive juggernaut.

(09-27-2020 11:31 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  Will they run clean high IQ offense?

What is this "clean" thing you speak of?

(09-28-2020 12:42 PM)edinburger Wrote:  

(09-27-2020 11:31 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  Will they run clean high IQ offense?

What is this "clean" thing you speak of?

Un-sloppy; uncluttered; good spacing; precision ball movement. The make up of the Tarleton State roster would indicate otherwise... only three returning players and too many freshmen. But BCG is a good coach. He might get them organized and bought into his system early.

(09-28-2020 01:04 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  

(09-28-2020 12:42 PM)edinburger Wrote:  

(09-27-2020 11:31 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  Will they run clean high IQ offense?

What is this "clean" thing you speak of?

Un-sloppy; uncluttered; good spacing; precision ball movement. The make up of the Tarleton State roster would indicate otherwise... only three returning players and too many freshmen. But BCG is a good coach. He might get them organized and bought into his system early.

Just kidding. Some WAC teams have been accused of playing "dirty".

Well, if you are going there. Cal State Bakersfield and UT Rio Grande Valley have (had) the reputations for the roughest style of basketball in the WAC; mainly on defense. Cal State Bakersfield fouled (hacked) at a high rate; believing the refs couldn't call everything and eventually swallowing their whistles. Whereas UTRGV is more chippy. The trying to get into their opponents heads with smack talk. They don't foul nearly as much as the Roadrunners but they give hard fouls at the rim to try to intimated. Not necessarily dirty but rough. They put opponents heads on a swivel. Now that Cal State Bakersfield is gone, I think Tarleton State will fill the vacuum and slide right into the "aggressive" defense reputation. I don't think they will foul like Cal State Bakersfield but they will be a pesky defensive team; evading opponents space. And, once they sign more length and athleticism, they will be in the thick of the WAC Championship hunt.

This is the best crop of basketball coaches in the WAC since the conference dropped FBS football. Jans is a rising star. Gillispie has built a winning reputation. Drew has proven to be a good recruiter and successful at the mid-major level. Croy is an up and comer. Hayford has won everywhere he has coached. Judkins is the winningest basketball coach in Dixie State history. Although Hill's win/loss record is currently abysmal, he has slowly moved UTRGV up the WAC ladder; adding more talent each season. The jury is still out on Madsen but he has shown he knows how to recruit. And, Irvin is simply playing with a stacked deck against him, no budget, dwindling fanbase, low paying job.

(09-24-2020 02:50 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  

(09-24-2020 08:54 AM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 04:31 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 04:19 PM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  

(09-23-2020 04:00 PM)edinburger Wrote:  There was that Mississippi State game. It's undeniable that it was a major win and that Gilyard was a major factor.

However, what mainly happened after Gilyard became eligible was you went to conference play. IIRC, about half the NMSU fans here were predicting a 16-0 conference record even before Gilyard was a possibility.

He's good but I fear McCants and Rice much more.

Excellent points. But we were predicting 16-0 with a healthy Harris, Henry, Ivan and Brown (4 starters). Harris played 2 1/2 games, Henry played 1 game and Ivan and Brown were hobbled for the first few weeks of the season encompassing all of our rivalry games and a good chunk of the OOC schedule.

Ivan and Brown eventually came around during the 19-0 run, Rice elevated his game to compensate for the loss of Henry and Gilyard took the place of Harris. In my humble opinion, Gilyard was the most important piece. Jans has touted the importance of the PG position in his system and Buchanan just was not getting it done.

In the midst of all that Trev Queen also played major factor... and he had a minor knee surgery that caused him to miss five games during the conference season to boot. It's amazing that NMSU finished 16-0 in the WAC... Or, it spells how bad the WAC was last season.

Despite the loss of Queen, expect NMSU to be very strong at the wing... with the return of Clayton Henry. He is not quite as dynamic as Queen defensively but he was a better on-the-ball defender two season's ago. And, also the additions of Jason King and Marcus Watson. Both are athletes. Before Henry's preseason injury last season, Jans felt Henry was NMSU's most consistent three point shooter; which says a lot when you consider NMSU's perimeter games with Gilyard, Brown, Rice, Queen, McCants, Bobbitt and Harris (if he had played).

What is your context for stating Queen played a "major factor"? That he held the team together through the adversity? That he was injured and the team had to rally without him? Queen was our best player and he carried us offensively early in the season. But we were not winning. It was not until Gilyard was eligible that we took off.

What do you mean by Queen's "dynamic" defense? Comparing Queen defensively to Henry is interesting. Henry is our best defender. As you state, he is an excellent on the ball defender. He is also an excellent help defender. And Jans has stated several times that Henry can guard the 1-4. Queen was an adequate defender but not a defensive stopper. Nor could he guard 4 positions. He occasionally got a highlight reel steal or block (dynamic?), but defense is not made on highlights. I would not compare Henry's defense to Queen (Henry is much better) nor would I compare their offensive games (Queen's is much better).

By dynamic I mean... Queen tended to gamble on steals; sometimes for breakaway dunks. And, Queen was athletic enough that he could get caught out of defensive position but still recover just enough to get a trailing block or deflection. Henry is not as flashy athletically but he is much more technically sound defensively. As a junior, Henry was our best "big" guard defender and usually drew the toughest defensive assignment.

With regards to major factor, Queen was our most versatile offensive player. He led the team in scoring for a good part of last season; before his injury. And, despite Queen's injury, NMSU still had enough weapons to pick up the slack. But obviously Gilyard was the greatest impact on the team last season. In Jans system, the point guard is the most important player regardless of individual offensive output. Gilyard is expected to orchestrate the game on Jans behalf; much like Harris did the year prior.

As Jans describe Queen is pretty much what I mean by dynamic. I think Queen is a player that makes things happen... most of them good. But I think Henry is more consistent and fundamentally sound defensively. But we do lose a lot with Queen gone.

Uncontested three point shooter... Henry is more accurate than Queen
On ball defender... Henry is stronger than Queen
Contested three point shooter... Queen is more clutch than Henry
Off the ball defender... Queen is more active than Henry
Dribble driver... Queen is more aggressive than Henry
Mid-range shooter... Queen is better than Henry
Passer... Queen has better court vision than Henry
Ball Handler... Queen has more moves than Henry

Henry is a better defender than Queen. I never said he was a better player. Anyone can see that Queen is a better all around player. But Henry is a much better defender.