I didn't want to do this (again), but I'm not smart enough to figure out how to change last year's thread title following the recent forum upgrade. Mod(s), any chance we could have the couple of recent posts in the old thread moved here? If so, it'd be much appreciated. Thanks!
The 2015 Roster Breakdown:
Who's departed:
F LaDontae Henton (19.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG) -- Graduated
F Carson Desrosiers (6.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG) -- Graduated
F Tyler Harris (9.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG) -- Transferred *Auburn
C Paschal Chukwu (2.6 PPG, 2.4 RPG) -- Transferred *Syracuse
Who's returned (key players):
G Kris Dunn (15.6 PPG, 7.5 APG) -- Jr. *NBA bound
F Ben Bentil (6.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG) -- So.
F Rodney Bullock (No stats) -- RS So.
F Jalen Lindsey (3.8 PPG, 1.5 RPG) -- So.
G Kyron Cartwright (3.5 PPG, 2.6 APG) -- So.
G Junior Lombada (1.7 PPG, 1.4 APG) -- Jr.
G Tyree Chambers (No stats) -- RS Fr.
New additions:
F Quadree Smith -- 6'8", 285, Temple Hills, MD -- Fr.
F Ryan Fazekas -- 6'8", 205, Chesterton, IN -- Fr.
F/G Isaiah Jackson (8.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG) -- Transfer from George Mason; RS So. available next season
G Ricky Council, Jr. -- 6'5", 200, Durham, NC -- Fr.
G Drew Edwards -- 6'3", 185, Perry Hall, MD -- Fr.
Projected Starting Lineup to start the year:
PG Kris Dunn
SG Jalen Lindsey -- Will also see time at SF; *Suspended 1st 4 games?
SF Ryan Fazekas
PF Rodney Bullock
C Ben Bentil
Bench:
F Quadree Smith
G Junior Lombada
G Kyron Cartwright
________________
G Ricky Council, Jr.
G Drew Edwards
G Tyree Chambers
2015-16 Schedule:
Sat. Nov. 14 Harvard Providence, RI
Wed. Nov. 18 Illinois Providence, RI
Sat. Nov. 21 Brown Providence, RI
Thurs. Nov. 23 NJIT Providence, RI
Thurs. Nov. 26 Evansville Titan Gym
Fri. Nov. 27 Arizona/Santa Clara Titan Gym
Fri. Nov. 29 TBD Honda Center TBD
Wed. Dec. 2 Hartford Providence, RI
Sat. Dec. 5 Rhode Island Kingston, RI
Wed. Dec. 9 Boston College Providence, RI
Sat. Dec. 12 Bryant Providence, RI
Sat. Dec. 19 Rider Providence, RI
Mon. Dec. 21 Massachusetts Amherst, MA
Thurs. Dec. 31 Butler Indianapolis, IN
Sat. Jan. 2 St. John’s Providence, RI
Tues. Jan. 12 Creighton Omaha, NE
Sat. Jan 16 Seton Hall Providence, RI
Tues. Jan. 19 Butler Providence, RI
Sat. Jan. 23 Villanova Philadelphia, PA
Tues. Jan. 26 Xavier Providence, RI
Sat. Jan. 30 Georgetown Washington D.C.
Tues. Feb. 2 DePaul Chicago, IL
Sat. Feb. 6 Villanova Providence, RI
Wed. Feb. 10 Marquette Madison, WI
Sat. Feb. 13 Georgetown Providence, RI
Wed. Feb. 17 Xavier Cincinnati, OH
Thurs. Feb. 25 Seton Hall Newark, NJ
Sat. Feb. 27 DePaul Providence, RI
Wed. Mar. 2 Creighton Providence, RI
Sat. Mar. 5 St. John’s New York, NY
What I'm Excited About?:
Kris Dunn: There's really not much to say here; the kid's a stud in every way imaginable. He's gotten plenty of POY hype, which is well-deserved. The lone concerns are 1) Health and 2) His tendency try and to do too much. Which leads me to ...
Rodney Bullock: This kid has gotten a lot of local hype early on, but some "party trouble" his first year and a knee injury last year delayed his Friar start. Last night's Harvard game marked the first of his college year, and he didn't disappoint -- 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He's quick, athletic, and has a scorer's skill set. I think he's this year's #2 scorer alongside Dunn.
Ryan Fazekas: I wasn't able to watch last night's game live, but I'm watching the replay now. Fazekas doesn't look like a freshman. Unlike a lot of tall, first-year wings, he's got a So./Jr. build already; and he didn't look overwhelmed at all playing in his first game. Additionally, he moves laterally better than I expected. He could be an average defender as early as this year. Not sure if he'll get out-muscled by stronger teams; I'm hoping he's got some toughness to him.
The Newcomers: Quadree, Council, and Edwards are logged some minutes last night and looked like they belonged. Smith's got to play, but it'll be interesting to see who emerges among the Edwards/Council/Chambers group. They'll have a chance early on with Lindsey unavailable the next few games.
What I'm Concerned About?
Size and Front Court Depth: This is a no-brainer. The Chukwu transfer (fuck you, 'Cuse) and the Alex Owens debacle has left this team relatively small and absolutely shallow up front. Any foul trouble or injury to Bentil or Bullock, and the Friars are fucked.
The #2 Spot: I now expect Fazekas to log a good # of minutes at SF. That being said, who's going to emerge as the man at the 2? Lindsey came to PC with a rep' as a scorer, but last season he couldn't put the ball on the floor and he shot just 36% from the floor and 33% from 3. Meanwhile, Lombada's supposed to be a "lock down" defender; and he's going to have to be to log serious minutes. He shot 32% from the floor and 18% from beyond the arch last year. I'm hoping one of the freshmen can emerge later in the year and serve as a pleasant surprise as a scorer.
The Early Going: To have a chance at an at-large bid, the Friars can't afford to stumble in the early going while they build chemistry and figure out player roles. Dunn and Bullock look ready to roll, so if Bentil and Fazekas can be decent, I think the wins will come.
The 2015 Roster Breakdown:
Who's departed:
F LaDontae Henton (19.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG) -- Graduated
F Carson Desrosiers (6.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG) -- Graduated
F Tyler Harris (9.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG) -- Transferred *Auburn
C Paschal Chukwu (2.6 PPG, 2.4 RPG) -- Transferred *Syracuse
Who's returned (key players):
G Kris Dunn (15.6 PPG, 7.5 APG) -- Jr. *NBA bound
F Ben Bentil (6.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG) -- So.
F Rodney Bullock (No stats) -- RS So.
F Jalen Lindsey (3.8 PPG, 1.5 RPG) -- So.
G Kyron Cartwright (3.5 PPG, 2.6 APG) -- So.
G Junior Lombada (1.7 PPG, 1.4 APG) -- Jr.
G Tyree Chambers (No stats) -- RS Fr.
New additions:
F Quadree Smith -- 6'8", 285, Temple Hills, MD -- Fr.
F Ryan Fazekas -- 6'8", 205, Chesterton, IN -- Fr.
F/G Isaiah Jackson (8.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG) -- Transfer from George Mason; RS So. available next season
G Ricky Council, Jr. -- 6'5", 200, Durham, NC -- Fr.
G Drew Edwards -- 6'3", 185, Perry Hall, MD -- Fr.
Projected Starting Lineup to start the year:
PG Kris Dunn
SG Jalen Lindsey -- Will also see time at SF; *Suspended 1st 4 games?
SF Ryan Fazekas
PF Rodney Bullock
C Ben Bentil
Bench:
F Quadree Smith
G Junior Lombada
G Kyron Cartwright
________________
G Ricky Council, Jr.
G Drew Edwards
G Tyree Chambers
2015-16 Schedule:
Sat. Nov. 14 Harvard Providence, RI
Wed. Nov. 18 Illinois Providence, RI
Sat. Nov. 21 Brown Providence, RI
Thurs. Nov. 23 NJIT Providence, RI
Thurs. Nov. 26 Evansville Titan Gym
Fri. Nov. 27 Arizona/Santa Clara Titan Gym
Fri. Nov. 29 TBD Honda Center TBD
Wed. Dec. 2 Hartford Providence, RI
Sat. Dec. 5 Rhode Island Kingston, RI
Wed. Dec. 9 Boston College Providence, RI
Sat. Dec. 12 Bryant Providence, RI
Sat. Dec. 19 Rider Providence, RI
Mon. Dec. 21 Massachusetts Amherst, MA
Thurs. Dec. 31 Butler Indianapolis, IN
Sat. Jan. 2 St. John’s Providence, RI
Tues. Jan. 12 Creighton Omaha, NE
Sat. Jan 16 Seton Hall Providence, RI
Tues. Jan. 19 Butler Providence, RI
Sat. Jan. 23 Villanova Philadelphia, PA
Tues. Jan. 26 Xavier Providence, RI
Sat. Jan. 30 Georgetown Washington D.C.
Tues. Feb. 2 DePaul Chicago, IL
Sat. Feb. 6 Villanova Providence, RI
Wed. Feb. 10 Marquette Madison, WI
Sat. Feb. 13 Georgetown Providence, RI
Wed. Feb. 17 Xavier Cincinnati, OH
Thurs. Feb. 25 Seton Hall Newark, NJ
Sat. Feb. 27 DePaul Providence, RI
Wed. Mar. 2 Creighton Providence, RI
Sat. Mar. 5 St. John’s New York, NY
What I'm Excited About?:
Kris Dunn: There's really not much to say here; the kid's a stud in every way imaginable. He's gotten plenty of POY hype, which is well-deserved. The lone concerns are 1) Health and 2) His tendency try and to do too much. Which leads me to ...
Rodney Bullock: This kid has gotten a lot of local hype early on, but some "party trouble" his first year and a knee injury last year delayed his Friar start. Last night's Harvard game marked the first of his college year, and he didn't disappoint -- 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He's quick, athletic, and has a scorer's skill set. I think he's this year's #2 scorer alongside Dunn.
Ryan Fazekas: I wasn't able to watch last night's game live, but I'm watching the replay now. Fazekas doesn't look like a freshman. Unlike a lot of tall, first-year wings, he's got a So./Jr. build already; and he didn't look overwhelmed at all playing in his first game. Additionally, he moves laterally better than I expected. He could be an average defender as early as this year. Not sure if he'll get out-muscled by stronger teams; I'm hoping he's got some toughness to him.
The Newcomers: Quadree, Council, and Edwards are logged some minutes last night and looked like they belonged. Smith's got to play, but it'll be interesting to see who emerges among the Edwards/Council/Chambers group. They'll have a chance early on with Lindsey unavailable the next few games.
What I'm Concerned About?
Size and Front Court Depth: This is a no-brainer. The Chukwu transfer (fuck you, 'Cuse) and the Alex Owens debacle has left this team relatively small and absolutely shallow up front. Any foul trouble or injury to Bentil or Bullock, and the Friars are fucked.
The #2 Spot: I now expect Fazekas to log a good # of minutes at SF. That being said, who's going to emerge as the man at the 2? Lindsey came to PC with a rep' as a scorer, but last season he couldn't put the ball on the floor and he shot just 36% from the floor and 33% from 3. Meanwhile, Lombada's supposed to be a "lock down" defender; and he's going to have to be to log serious minutes. He shot 32% from the floor and 18% from beyond the arch last year. I'm hoping one of the freshmen can emerge later in the year and serve as a pleasant surprise as a scorer.
The Early Going: To have a chance at an at-large bid, the Friars can't afford to stumble in the early going while they build chemistry and figure out player roles. Dunn and Bullock look ready to roll, so if Bentil and Fazekas can be decent, I think the wins will come.