Didn't this season play out pretty much as many of us projected? That doesn't mean us posters are smart, it just means the strengths and weaknesses were pretty obvious from the first practice to the loss to Duke.
Point guard was a concern and we never really found a quarterback for the offense. AQ has a great attitude, and can stand up to Winston, but he's not skilled enough to carry us deep into the post-season. The fact that he started and was a key contributor speaks more about the vacuum at the position than his strengths. The freshmen PGs generally disappointed, though Trey showed potential. He unfortunately suffers from an inability to finish with consistency, a trait that plagued the team all season long. He'll be better next year, and might be the answer ... or maybe Zabo.
Has anyone ever seen a team of this caliber talent-wise that could miss so many layups, runners, putbacks, and jumpers inside 4 feet? JJ became more proficient as it became increasingly obvious he needed to shoulder a greater burden, but he's never been a great scorer. Winston's shooting percentage inside 4' is abysmal, and it only looks good when compared with Skylar. No one was a consistent offensive threat around the basket, with the exception of Malik and Angelo, and both of those guys were lacking defensively ... at least compared with the players they were subbed for.
Xavier was both our quarterback and Go To scorer last season. No one adequately filled either of those roles this season. I believe that was an aberration and not a flaw in our recruiting. Our coaching staff, while pretty obviously more adept at game planning D than O, is terrific. Fish is a fabulous motivator and leader, the coaches are positive and adaptive ... and they bring in great talent.
If Winston doesn't return, it's because he wants to travel to Europe. No way he gets drafted. Malik is 25 pounds of muscle from being a monster. The scouts know that, and it wouldn't surprise any of us if he declared. After all, the training programs in the NBA are even more effective, and then he'd be getting paid to eat.
Zylan Cheatham will be a revelation for those of you who aren't able to attend practice. Very high motor, strong, athletic, and the kid has a decent, intuitive jump shot. And an AQ-type attitude ... very positive approach.
We had a tremendous depth of talent this year, and I'm hopeful everyone remains part of the family. Fisher used a longer bench this year than he ever has. We'll be just as deep next year, maybe even deeper. It would be a mistake to attribute our offensive inconsistency to playing more players. If kids deserve minutes, give them the minutes. Our depth won us a few games this year, and I can't think of one it lost.
I think we'll see one more player join the team before the Summer. The coaches say it will be a transfer who can score. I'd rather us bring in a 5th year PG, but that presupposes that one will be on the market. If I were a talented PG with a final year of eligibility, I'd want to guide this team deep into March.
We suffered this year from the miserable showing of our conference before the New Year. Boise didn't gel until mid-January, and Colorado State didn't play anybody. The Rams' fate was sealed when WY crawled to the finish line ahead of the Aztecs in Vegas; and everybody knew WY was a two man show. Not sure the conference will be much better next year either, though Boise will have some quality, and maybe Dave Rice will learn to coach half as well as he recruits. If Noodles doesn't turn things around in Albuquerque, I'm thinking he won't stick (pun intended, though a poor one).
We'll knock on the door again next year. JJ's contribution will be hard to replace, but whoever starts in his stead will be more athletic. Shrigley will contribute more offensively; if he adds eight points on dunks, FTs and a few mid-range jumpers, he could lead the team in scoring. Does anyone other than me wonder how much that intentional foul on a breakaway contributed to his unwillingness to dribble drive as the season wore on? I suspect we'll see quite a bit more of Dakarai, and we'll be okay in the middle next season. For me, the 15-16 season will hinge, once again, on whether any player currently on the roster, or soon to join us (Hemsley or ?) can lead the team from the point. We should be rated or nearly so at the beginning of the season, and by the end, we'll be back competing for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.
That's all any of us should hope for. We're in the Mountain West, and to develop the national reputation we have earned from that starting point is an incredible accomplishment. Had we beaten Duke, everyone would have been thrilled. It would have taken an offensive effort that we didn't display very often this year, but no one on this board would have been surprised ... because our team is GOOD. Just flawed, like the other 335 teams that are now watching on TV. With just a SLIGHT improvement at the point, we'll be favored in our Sweet Sixteen match up next year.
To go 27-9 with a team that was as obviously flawed as this one is nearly miraculous, isn't it? I'm sure many of us wished we could have been better, but to produce at that level with such a heavy bias toward one end of the court was incredible. (Pomeroy has us as #4 in O, and #168 in D ... sort of the anti-BYU). I'll bet when we look back in a month, most of you will agree that the Aztecs made a lot of lemonade out of offensive lemons this season.
Final thought ... Jeremy Hemsley will be an important contributor at the point next year, and my bet is that Buddah redshirts. He's got a decent game and, like Malik, he might help on offense, but he's not as prodigious of a talent, he needs mass, and the competition will shock him.
GO AZTECS!!!!
