One of the biggest frustrations of the last few seasons has been having players in the rotation that just can't play their position. Most of the time it was the total lack of a pure PG. Last season it was "bigs" that weren't big enough for their position. Let's review the 2017-2018 team.
Trent Frazier - Freshman PG that eventually learned how to score and then how to pass. Probably could be a SG too. (KEEPER)
Te'Jon Lucas - Sophomore PG that couldn't shoot. Being pass-only limited our offense (GONE)
Mark Smith - Combo guard that couldn't do anything after November (GONE)
Da'Monte Williams - Combo guard that had all-around skills but couldn't shoot, probably wasn't 100% healthy and had missed a year. The hope is that he'll be better with a healthy offseason (KEEPER as a backup)
Mark Alstork - Combo guard that couldn't shoot. Fouled too much on defense. (GONE)
Aaron Jordan - Small forward that was a role player. (KEEPER as a backup)
Matic Vesel - Forward that wasn't physically ready to play. (???)
Greg Eboigbodin - Center that was still learning the game of basketball, developed into a serviceable role player. (KEEPER as a backup)
Michael Finke - Center that couldn't play defense. Got injured by bigger guys. Would have been a nice backup PF. (GONE)
Leron Black - Solid PF that couldn't guard centers. Ineffective on defense without another big man. Would have been a great PF. (keeper, but is GONE)
Kipper Nichols - Solid SF/PF that made lazy plays when he got tired. Probably was overworked as a big man. Could develop into a legit PF in this system. (KEEPER)
If we kept the roster we expected during the season (trade Alstork for Ayo and bring everyone else back), then here's what we had to work with.
Starting PG - Ayo
Starting PG/SG - Frazier
Starting SF - Nobody
Starting PF - Black & Nichols
Starting C - Nobody
Backup PG - Nobody
Backup SG - Williams
Backup SF - Jordan
Backup PF - Finke
Backup C - Eboigbodin
Duds - Smith, Lucas, Vesel
So we had a roster with three holes (two in starting roles), two starters with the same natural position, and three duds. Filling the center spot with Finke just turns him into a fourth dud. Maybe you could play Kipper at SF.
Here's what we have now:
Starting PG - Ayo
Starting PG/SG - Frazier
Starting SF - Nobody (Jones)
Starting PF - Nichols
Starting C - Nobody
Backup PG - Nobody (Feliz)
Backup SG - Williams, Griffin
Backup SF - Jordan
Backup PF - Nobody (Giorgi)
Backup C - Eboigbodin, Kane
Duds - Vesel (?)
You could also add Trice or Hinson as the backup PF if Giorgi really isn't ready. Vesel could still go and that would be ok. You have insurance for Eboigbodin and Williams since both of them have potential but could still be duds. Lock down Giorgi, Feliz, and Jones as scheduled and they can plug right in as shown above.
The only missing piece is a starting center. Outside of a one-and-done type, you generally can't find freshman centers that are starter-quality. Big men develop slowly and some of them redshirt if they aren't physically ready. That makes them ideal candidates for 5th-year transfers. Black and Finke couldn't guard centers so they couldn't fill that spot even if they were here. So we need a true center as an incoming 5th year transfer.
Now, none of our incoming players last season were any good. It was shocking and disappointing. We're counting on that not happening again. Until we see these guys produce in Big Ten play, we won't really know what we have. Even if they are all legit we will still have a very young roster. Still, from a roster construction perspective we at least have round pegs going in round holes for once.
Trent Frazier - Freshman PG that eventually learned how to score and then how to pass. Probably could be a SG too. (KEEPER)
Te'Jon Lucas - Sophomore PG that couldn't shoot. Being pass-only limited our offense (GONE)
Mark Smith - Combo guard that couldn't do anything after November (GONE)
Da'Monte Williams - Combo guard that had all-around skills but couldn't shoot, probably wasn't 100% healthy and had missed a year. The hope is that he'll be better with a healthy offseason (KEEPER as a backup)
Mark Alstork - Combo guard that couldn't shoot. Fouled too much on defense. (GONE)
Aaron Jordan - Small forward that was a role player. (KEEPER as a backup)
Matic Vesel - Forward that wasn't physically ready to play. (???)
Greg Eboigbodin - Center that was still learning the game of basketball, developed into a serviceable role player. (KEEPER as a backup)
Michael Finke - Center that couldn't play defense. Got injured by bigger guys. Would have been a nice backup PF. (GONE)
Leron Black - Solid PF that couldn't guard centers. Ineffective on defense without another big man. Would have been a great PF. (keeper, but is GONE)
Kipper Nichols - Solid SF/PF that made lazy plays when he got tired. Probably was overworked as a big man. Could develop into a legit PF in this system. (KEEPER)
If we kept the roster we expected during the season (trade Alstork for Ayo and bring everyone else back), then here's what we had to work with.
Starting PG - Ayo
Starting PG/SG - Frazier
Starting SF - Nobody
Starting PF - Black & Nichols
Starting C - Nobody
Backup PG - Nobody
Backup SG - Williams
Backup SF - Jordan
Backup PF - Finke
Backup C - Eboigbodin
Duds - Smith, Lucas, Vesel
So we had a roster with three holes (two in starting roles), two starters with the same natural position, and three duds. Filling the center spot with Finke just turns him into a fourth dud. Maybe you could play Kipper at SF.
Here's what we have now:
Starting PG - Ayo
Starting PG/SG - Frazier
Starting SF - Nobody (Jones)
Starting PF - Nichols
Starting C - Nobody
Backup PG - Nobody (Feliz)
Backup SG - Williams, Griffin
Backup SF - Jordan
Backup PF - Nobody (Giorgi)
Backup C - Eboigbodin, Kane
Duds - Vesel (?)
You could also add Trice or Hinson as the backup PF if Giorgi really isn't ready. Vesel could still go and that would be ok. You have insurance for Eboigbodin and Williams since both of them have potential but could still be duds. Lock down Giorgi, Feliz, and Jones as scheduled and they can plug right in as shown above.
The only missing piece is a starting center. Outside of a one-and-done type, you generally can't find freshman centers that are starter-quality. Big men develop slowly and some of them redshirt if they aren't physically ready. That makes them ideal candidates for 5th-year transfers. Black and Finke couldn't guard centers so they couldn't fill that spot even if they were here. So we need a true center as an incoming 5th year transfer.
Now, none of our incoming players last season were any good. It was shocking and disappointing. We're counting on that not happening again. Until we see these guys produce in Big Ten play, we won't really know what we have. Even if they are all legit we will still have a very young roster. Still, from a roster construction perspective we at least have round pegs going in round holes for once.
