Scholarship Chart Update
by Grady Clapp on May 24, 2010 10:28 PM PDT
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PrintIn between work, getting situated in my temporary new home and daydreaming about becoming a billionaire just for the purposes of buying the Mariners and ramping up the payroll, I had time to update the scholarship chart tonight.
You can also click on it any time under our new 'special features' tab on your left. This way you have quicker/easier access to the scholarship chart and our new (insanely awesome I might add) football recruiting page. I wish I could take more credit for the latter.
It looks like the Cougar scholarship situation is set for 2010-11, and currently for 2011-12 as well. But we all know how things are subject to change.
The theme developing on the roster currently is that WSU is going small. Well, sort of. There's a definitive lack of size, especially at the 4 and 5, where Steven Bjornstad is currently the only old-school big man on the roster. However, there is a lot of height, and with Andre Winston and Dexter Kernich-Drew the Cougars now seem to have no shortage of taller guards/forwards who can shoot the ball and create matchup problems against shorter teams.
Tonight's final commitment means the roster should be set (please hit those books hard, James). The nagging question is: what will Ken Bone do with it?
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At the WSUFootballblog
They are wondering if Aden is actually coming. Apparently at the Yakima Coug Coaches Dinner last week, Bone never mentioned Aden when talking about incoming recruits. I guess there is also a rumor going around for the last month that he may not be coming. I had never heard of any of this till now and until we get more definitive information, it is just a rumor, but still…….
That's interesting that Bone didn't talk about Aden in Yakima
Could be a big sign, but doesn’t he have until August to get things in order? Hopefully he can get things on track by then, but if he’s borderline at a JC I do worry about him at WSU.
But staying positive, we should have a lot of good pieces for next year. New pieces aside, ultimately what drives the success of this team next year is the ability of our CORE players getting stronger – mentally & physically, and improving their ability to score and hit the big shots down the stretch. So if Klay, Capers, Casto, Motum, Lodwick & Moore all improve we’ll be OK. If 2-3 more players from among Bjornstad, Watson, Aden & Simon contribute solid minutes we’ll be very good.
If Aden doesn't come we've really painted ourselves into a corner
If he is here I’d be willing to bet he’s starting by the Pac-10 if not day 1, with Capers coming in as 6th man to spell he or Klay (unless Capers can develop that jumper over the summer…man oh man do I wish he could develop that jumper). I think Motum is one of our biggest keys to success next year, and I’m really hoping Bjornstad can take a big step forward and take sizable minutes at the 5. Simon is definitely a wildcard…if he can put another 10-15 lbs of muscle on and can adapt to the speed of the game he’ll be pushing Brock and Abe for minutes in a big way.
I don't think we've painted ourselves into a corner at all
Aden’s an unknown commodity at this point. What I do know is that we’re probably going to go small and quick with our lineups. We still have plenty of talent, even without Aden. Bone will be fine.
by Brian Floyd on May 25, 2010 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions
So we'll have Moore, Capers and Winston to play the 2 guard positions?
I guess Klay could slide over but that assumes Simon could play the 3. I think we’re real tough spot with no Aden, coupled by the loss of Thames and Harthun.
There are no set positions
We have a bunch of guards and wings right now that can play anything from the 2 to the 4.
by Brian Floyd on May 25, 2010 12:09 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
As far as perimeter players
We’ve got Moore, Winston, Klay, Capers, Kernich-Drew, Motum (3/4), and Abe (3/4) without Aden.
by Brian Floyd on May 25, 2010 12:17 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
But you're banking on unknown quantities
Winston is a major project; same with Kernich-Drew. Simon is talented but making a huge jump, so not sure he can deliver at this level yet. Motum is still unproven, and definitely NOT a 3 – far from it. Abe can play the #3 on O’, but would be burned by most 3’s in the PX on D’ although he’s a scrapper. So you’d need to play a zone most likely in that situation.
So we’re basically banking on the following:
PG: Moore, Capers & hoping Winston is ready for this level, so not too worried about the point.
SG/Wing: Thompson, Capers, & hopefully Aden, with Abe possibly playing the wing on occasion offensively, and then pray K-D is further along than anyone thinks and Simon can also convert to a #3 defensively. I’ve never seen him, but I’ve heard Winston is good, but still a project (much more so than Thames). However, if he proves he can contribute right away then Moore could fit in here on occasion as well, like last year.
Ultimately – proven guards: Moore, Capers & Klay for 3 positions. Aden was unproven, but at least more physically mature than the young kids. With Aden the transition should be easier; without, might be more growing pains, especially early.
A lot of unknowns. Losing Thames basically meant we had to ASSume Aden would contribute right away or this team takes a huge dropoff on the perimeter.
I have faith that we’ll see significant improvement from Motum & Capers this year, and Klay & Moore should be more consistent.
Inside – lots of options at the #4 (Abe, Simon, Motum, Watson), and same players at the #5, which means we should definitely see improvement.
i don't know if i'd dismiss Simon's defense out of hand
from what i’ve seen of him, he’s quick enough. . he may not be the ideal 3 defender, but i’m struggling to think of a 3 in the pac-10 that would routinely beat him off the dribble but not be able to get by someone like klay. his length will make up for the fact that he may be a step behind an elite 3.
i’d agree that his ideal spot may be similar to motum’s (a four that creates matchup problems), but i think he can play wing minutes too.
case in point, didn't he play SG in high school?
you’d think if he’s guarding a 2 in high school, that could translate to being quick enough to guarding a 3 at the next level.
Simon never guarded the 2 in HS
He may have in AAU ball, but that wasn’t my perception. He played the back center in a ZONE defense throughout HS; never once saw him guard the perimeter. He’s smooth for a big guy, and runs pretty well, but wouldn’t call him quick. Especially when compared to most 6’4-6’7 guys. I can think of a BUNCH of 3’s who are significantly quicker than him IMO (Lockett at ASU, Honeycutt at UCLA, Cunningham at OSU, Longmire, etc. I’d think Holiday as well. My perception is based on watching him play 1 game – a good one at that, and word of mouth, and I know he’s been working to improve his footspeed.
agreed
and I wasn’t saying that Lockett, Honeycutt et al wouldn’t be able to beat him off the dribble. I just struggle to think who on our team could stop them.
I don’t think it’s ideal, but I think the idea of Simon at least spelling a 3 (especially if we try and go big) should be dismissed out of hand.
Was it a game this year?
I know he’s been working on rehabbing his foot and working on his speed along with it. I’ve heard some of the same things as you from word of mouth around that area of the state. I’ve also heard very positive reviews of him as a player and praise of his work ethic.
Yes, his senior game in HS
Drove over from Pullman for the game; at the end of his senior year (last home game). He played well (think he put up 40 Wapato), moved well, but he’s not “quick.” Quick for a big man, definitely. But Klay is much quicker defensively; Capers would be better on the #3 than Simon. But not saying he WON’T be good; just that I’ve never seen him play MTM, and don’t know if his technique is any good or if he anticipates well. I think he’ll be a big time player for us but until he actually crosses that bridge we won’t know or sure.
True, and it's hard to tell with him playing 2A ball
I’m just curious to see if he’s quicker after more time has passed since the foot injury. I don’t think he’ll be burning it up or anything, but I do hope he’s shows a bit more speed by the time the season starts.
It’ll also be interesting to see how he mans up, like you said. I’ve got to think he plays man on the AAU circuit, but I’m not sure.
Let's put it this way
I watched Brent Cummings — 6-7, silky smooth outside shot — dominate 2A at Pullman High School, wondered why in the world he wasn’t getting a look from Eastman, then watched him struggle to get off the bench for four years at Montana. Real tough to evaluate against that competition.
SD-- Exactly as I was seeing it
But thanks for typing it out for me nonetheless :-)
I really think the staff believes Aden will come in and make a big impact. He’s the #6 ranked JC in the nation so I am very eager to see what he can do. UCLA is counting on Lazeric Jones to come in and run their point and he’s ranked #19.
Also agree we can’t count on Lodwick or Motum to guard a pac-10 three, they just don’t have the foot speed. I’m really looking forward to see who emerges at that battle for the 4.
Hopefully Aden is just a rumor magnet (wasn’t he also supposed to have been backing out of signing his LOI?) and shows up ready to go this fall.
You replied to the right comment, I think.
I wasn’t even looking at it as defensive matchups, although I probably should have been. I think Bone is going to put scorers on the floor and tailor a defense to what he has out there, whether it be zone or otherwise. Then again, we have a ton of unknowns and I’m not sure any of us know how things will shake out by the time they get into actually playing games.
To get this out of the way
I blame CKB for not alloting a scholarship spot for next year. I can’t believe this roster is set in stone for two full years with absolutely no wiggle room and zero chance of anyone leaving.
Phew, glad we got that taken care of
Back to the sky falling, again.
by Brian Floyd on May 25, 2010 11:30 AM PDT up reply actions
Somebody want to tell me the last time...
… somebody didn’t leave at the end of a season?
by Coug Friendly Canuck on May 25, 2010 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions
i figured i'd reel in someone new
never thought i’d hook a regular.
Jeez, its been a rough week for the sarchasm here a CougCenter
The memes are running amok.
by Brian Floyd on May 25, 2010 6:16 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Bragg
BTW, I thought I read somewhere he was transfering, like Allen? Not sure, but remember hearing something like that. Can anyone confirm?
I thought I read that, too
I wasn’t able to find anything on it last night, though.
by Brian Floyd on May 25, 2010 1:03 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Love the posts on all the guys
I was wondering how fans felt about not really having anyone who can guard the little quick guards. Seems to me that Porter, IT and guys of their ilk have really hurt the Cougs in recent seasons. Anyone know if the 6’0 recruit (sorry name escapes me right now- long day) is a slick defender? Seems like the length issue is covered w/ Aden, the Aussie, Capers and Klay — Moore is ‘adequate’ but do the Cougs have a stopper on top for the “littles”?
If you can't Go Cougs... don't go.
probably not but...
Lost our best option for that, but Winston is quick and, from what we’ve been told, likes d. Capers is always a good option.
by SDCoug on May 25, 2010 11:27 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
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