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Okay, I am going to start a thread that may surprise some people that I have been in disagreement with Coach Jake's overall coaching success/failure (depending on your point of view).
This was mentioned in the Marquette thread but I think needs to be a separate thread.
Let me preface by saying this is what I see as of right now. I am hoping that using James this year means that he will get enough playing time to justify having him active AND that that playing time is able to add significant contributions to the team's overall success.
I like what I saw in James in the exhibitions in terms of athleticism and potential to add a different dimension to our offense. I disagree with people that say he needs to get bigger. If you look at his legs, they are very solid. His arms are more wiry, but some people are just built that way. I think he would be fine physically. I am more worried about his understanding of our offensive system, tough for any freshman (or JC) to pick up and I think we will see Johnny and Ali make mistakes during the year with it as well, and even more worried about his grasp on the defensive side of the game. I think a year redshirting would be beneficial in both of those aspects.
As for pulling the redshirt. Who is going to have PT cut in order for James to see the floor? That is where I have the biggest problem. James is not really a PG, so I don't see him eating in KA's or Brian Haak's time. Johnny and Ali can play PG and the 2. James is too short to play the three, so he would be stuck behind both Johnny, Ali,a nd Travis there. Kerwin has the added height advantage that allows him to play taller 3's and even some 4's.
That leaves Jon Montgomery. Well, if was going to play over Montgomery, maybe we should have red-shirted Jon this year. Given a choice between the two players, I like what Montgomery brings in terms of defensive intensity. On offense he is sporadic, but he does go after offensive boards decently.
For those that are saying James was in a play me or I'll leave mode. Jake should have called his bluff on that. How many other D-I offers did he have, anyways? In addition, if he plays, even only sparingly, and still decides to transfer; he has the redshirt year available to him if he chooses to transfer to another D-I school and he would still have three years of eligibility left for that school. (Obvisously doesn't matter if he transfers lower or to a Juco). But if he redshirts this year and then decides to transfer. He would be forced to go lower or to a juco if he wants to play next year, or he would HAVE to sit out a year, per NCAA rules, and only have 3 years of eligibility to play. I don't say that to be mean or anything, it's just that the coach really has more options at his disposal in this situation than to accept any kind of "play me or I'll leave" option.
Again, I am really hoping that this all works out for the best and James and everyone else on the team is able to contribute to a winning season.
This was mentioned in the Marquette thread but I think needs to be a separate thread.
Let me preface by saying this is what I see as of right now. I am hoping that using James this year means that he will get enough playing time to justify having him active AND that that playing time is able to add significant contributions to the team's overall success.
I like what I saw in James in the exhibitions in terms of athleticism and potential to add a different dimension to our offense. I disagree with people that say he needs to get bigger. If you look at his legs, they are very solid. His arms are more wiry, but some people are just built that way. I think he would be fine physically. I am more worried about his understanding of our offensive system, tough for any freshman (or JC) to pick up and I think we will see Johnny and Ali make mistakes during the year with it as well, and even more worried about his grasp on the defensive side of the game. I think a year redshirting would be beneficial in both of those aspects.
As for pulling the redshirt. Who is going to have PT cut in order for James to see the floor? That is where I have the biggest problem. James is not really a PG, so I don't see him eating in KA's or Brian Haak's time. Johnny and Ali can play PG and the 2. James is too short to play the three, so he would be stuck behind both Johnny, Ali,a nd Travis there. Kerwin has the added height advantage that allows him to play taller 3's and even some 4's.
That leaves Jon Montgomery. Well, if was going to play over Montgomery, maybe we should have red-shirted Jon this year. Given a choice between the two players, I like what Montgomery brings in terms of defensive intensity. On offense he is sporadic, but he does go after offensive boards decently.
For those that are saying James was in a play me or I'll leave mode. Jake should have called his bluff on that. How many other D-I offers did he have, anyways? In addition, if he plays, even only sparingly, and still decides to transfer; he has the redshirt year available to him if he chooses to transfer to another D-I school and he would still have three years of eligibility left for that school. (Obvisously doesn't matter if he transfers lower or to a Juco). But if he redshirts this year and then decides to transfer. He would be forced to go lower or to a juco if he wants to play next year, or he would HAVE to sit out a year, per NCAA rules, and only have 3 years of eligibility to play. I don't say that to be mean or anything, it's just that the coach really has more options at his disposal in this situation than to accept any kind of "play me or I'll leave" option.
Again, I am really hoping that this all works out for the best and James and everyone else on the team is able to contribute to a winning season.
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