SBU Men's Basketball > SBU Men's Basketball
Looking ahead to 2018-19
Checkmate:
I know we have three conference tournament games, the 16-seed play-in game, and six games until we cut down the nets ;D but let's take a gander of what we have coming back and also the new arrivals.
PG: McKenzie, Cornish, Almonacy, Ceesay
SG: Olaniyi, Latimer, Long
SF: Yeboah, Garcia, Moor
PF: Ochefu
C: Christie
We have at least one more spot to fill; I have no evidence, but I sense though that at least one of these guards will transfer out, so perhaps maybe more. Pure speculation.
Yes, five seniors come off the books, so that's a lot of game experience that we won't have, but the cupboards aren't bare. I view Yeboah and Olaniyi as our two best players right now, but you can see the growth in Ochefu and McKenzie. The latter with Cornish is a pretty good place to start at PG, although both clearly have their flaws (and to be fair, their assets too).
Across the AE, Vermont gets hit pretty hard by graduation – I wonder if Becker gets lured away a la Pikiell – and UMBC loses its two guards. Is Hartford the favorite? It's strange to say, but their nucleus is that good. Albany has a pretty strong core returning also between Cremo, Nichols and Campbell. Otherwise, I can't see us falling behind the rest of the league; a lot of teams just spinning their wheels.
I'm not sure what deals we're locked into in terms of scheduling – at Norfolk State next year? at Bucknell? LIU Brooklyn here? – but at least we're sure about playing at Hofstra.
I'm cautiously optimistic – not a tournament team, but I think we have a good group that will hopefully be flanked nicely by the newcomers.
steveoh:
I'd think we'd probably line up like this, to be honest:
PG: McKenzie, Cornish, Almonacy, Ceesay
SG: Latimer, Long
SF: Olaniyi, Garcia
PF: Yeboah, Moor
C: Ochefu, Christie
Or, rather, I think Boals sees positions in this way (and I don't disagree):
PG: MCKENZIE. Cornish, Almonacy, Ceesay
WINGS: LATIMER, OLANIYI, YEBOAH. Long, Garcia, Moor
BIGS: OCHEFU. Christie
Checkmate:
--- Quote from: steveoh on February 26, 2018, 01:06:04 pm ---I'd think we'd probably line up like this, to be honest:
PG: McKenzie, Cornish, Almonacy, Ceesay
SG: Latimer, Long
SF: Olaniyi, Garcia
PF: Yeboah, Moor
C: Ochefu, Christie
Or, rather, I think Boals sees positions in this way (and I don't disagree):
PG: MCKENZIE. Cornish, Almonacy, Ceesay
WINGS: LATIMER, OLANIYI, YEBOAH. Long, Garcia, Moor
BIGS: OCHEFU. Christie
--- End quote ---
I wanted to avoid Yeboah being our starting 4, but in AE play, I suppose he could manage that. And may have to if we don't address our lack of size.
We really can't say for sure what these freshmen bring to the table, but on the surface, I like your bolded starting five.
sbugold:
Lest we forget: There's still one open scholly spot open. I think we all agree that it preferably would be a big, or at least a SF. The Seawolves have offers out to some fairly good prospects, some of whom have at least expressed some interest in SBU. Current possibilities are:
-- C Carlos Dotson (JUCO)
-- C Jeff Otchere (JUCO) (Highly unlikely get)
-- PF Eli Abaev (JUCO)
-- PF Tre King (From Hargrave Military: same school as Brenton, Moor and McKenzie)
-- PF Alanzo Frink (From Roselle Catholic: same school as Warney)
-- SF Frankie Policelli (From Long Island Lutheran)
-- SF Gaven Pinkley (Highly unlikely get)
There are even others. But, any one of these guys could change the picture significantly.
OldSeawolf:
I'm not nearly up on the new guys coming in as the rest of you, but looking at who's presumably coming back, I think we're in a much weaker position next year than we are this year. Sort of like the Knicks in 2017-18; pretty decent starting 5, but if we lose anyone of importance to injury (or transfer), it could get ugly fast.
No doubt Almonacy will transfer; nothing for him to get excited about coming back. Given his pedigree at Brentwood, I sincerely doubt he's willing to sit on the pine his last 2 years.
Cornish, who has ability, is going to have to learn how to become a controlled quarterback in the off-season. I think Ochefu is a project, but with the right Big coaching, could become a legitimate force moving forward. He's shown some flashes this year, in his limited minutes.
Looking forward to this Latimer kid, and Christie. Haven't seen enough of Long to see his value yet. We definitely need some size; I'd prefer one Juco and one freshman to keep things balanced. Aren't there any 2nd-tier Long Island kids at 6'9" and above that we could convince to stay local? A Petras type maybe?
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