Eric Coleman's development

[BCPanther]

That's the thing, Gonzo. All 4 of them can help us win next year. Its going to be up to the returning guys to prove that they are better than what is coming in. All 4 of them are Valley ready right now.

[Panthers to the Bone]

It's way early, but my guess is that Kwadzo and Koch will not redshirt. They bring something to the table that UNI doesn't have. If Eglseder can beat out Santos in the post, then Jordan might not redshirt either. Kerwin could use the redshirt to bulk up, but his scoring skills are dang good. One person that continues to get left out is a healthy Adam Viet. When he is healthy, he is very solid.

[BCPanther]

Dunham does need some weight, but the skills are going to be too impressive to keep him off the floor. All 4 are ready!!

[UNIAlum95]

It's way early, but my guess is that Kwadzo and Koch will not redshirt. They bring something to the table that UNI doesn't have. If Eglseder can beat out Santos in the post, then Jordan might not redshirt either. Kerwin could use the redshirt to bulk up, but his scoring skills are dang good. One person that continues to get left out is a healthy Adam Viet. When he is healthy, he is very solid.

What about Mason Stewart? Haven't heard much about him recently. Do we think he will have an impact next year? It is a lot to expect a true freshman to have a huge impact on the game. Thinking that three or four freshman would see significant minutes and be able to contribute might be a bit of a stretch. It is a big leap up in the level of competition and not everyone grasps it as quickly as we would like. Just something to keep in mind so that expectations aren't unreasonable.

[Hime_Peterson]

PanthersToTheBone,

Does Adam Viet bring anything more to the table than being a stand-still shooter?

I have a hard time believing that Mason Stewart and Kerwin Dunham aren't already better players than Viet. We know that Travis Brown is already.

I may be completely off, but do you think Viet can ever be more than a guy who comes in off the bench in spots and shoots threes?

Agreed that next year's UNI team will be more deep and more athletic than this team. It may be a case like Wichita State this year where they lost some experienced perimeter players, but an influx of young talent actually has them as good or better the next season

[Panthers to the Bone]

We have yet to see a healthy Adam Viet. When that happens, Viet will be able to help the team all around. It's no secret he's not a driver, but hey, if Ryan Paulsen can find time on the floor as a standstill shooter, then Adam Viet can find time, b/c he is more skilled on a more competitive team. If you can shoot the rock at 50% for three, then in Mac's system you can play. Maybe not huge minutes, but enough.

[Ozzie Guillen]

There is no way Eglseder redshirts. When you can make an impact in primetime league games at 16, you can play, and be effective in the Valley right away.

With the players coming in it is going to be hard to redshirt any of them. For the first time since Mac has been here, some of those guys returning are going to have to work real hard if they want to play and keep the new kids on the bench. I have gotten to see Dunham play 4 or 5 times and the kid is DI ready now. It is exactly like watching Benny play in high school, except this kid is three inches taller, a solid 6-6. Ahelegbe can provide the quickness Michael Williams was supposed to, and is a true PG, which would allow Brooks to move to the 2. Koch is a 6-8 athlete, not many of those in the Valley. And as I said before Eglseder is special.

Next Years Lineup and Rotation:
PG- Ahelegbe- Mac has shown in the past he is not afraid to play a freshman
SG- McKowen- Will have a big year, while not having to play the point
SF- Brown- Another scoring threat
PF- Stout- Will make a run at POY
C- Coleman- Another year of work makes him a beast down low

Bench-
C- Eglseder- 7'1" 260- big body in the Valley
SF/PF- Koch- In the highlights I've seen he brings great energy
SG/SF- Dunham- Will give the Valley fits trying to match up
PF- Pedescleaux- Remember he almost came here to play baskeball only
PG- Josten- He is OK in short spurts
PG/SG- Mason Stewart- quick as can be
C- Santos- another year to get stronger

Next year will be so different because it will be a deep team. You can go 12 deep next year and be pretty comfortable and I did not even include Viet and Howard. WOW!!

bcrawf wouldn't you prefer a shooting guard who could well I don't know shoot? Mckowen has not proven that he is any kind of offensive threat in three years. His career averages are as follows 5.5pts a game in 22.8min, he has only been in double digits scoring 12/93 games he has played along with shooting 30.2% from three point land and 36.6% overall. The only thing he seems to have going for him is plenty of experience and since he will be a senior realistically I do seem him starting at either the 1 or 2. To expect him to change positions and all of the sudden turn these stats completely around seems ludicrous. As much as I would like to see this happen it doesen't seem realistic. In response to UNIALUM's question about Stewart I am from the Chicago area and got some great chances to see him play after I heard UNI was looking at him. He is a very athletic guard who can shoot it, take it to the rack off the dribble, and is a shut down defender. I also heard he played on a great AAU team with Bobby Frasor (starts at UNC), Brian Mullins (starts at SIU and gave us a lot of trouble with his defense last week) and Sead Odzic (USC) so he should be more than ready for playing in the Valley.

[Lovie Smith]

What is going on with an Ozzie Guillen on this site?? All we need now is Scott Skiles, Dusty Baker and whoever coaches the Blackhawks (I lost track after Mike Keenan in the 80's) and we will have all the Chicago coaches. I am also a fan of Mason Stewart but I try not to push to hard as I know I am biased towards Illinois basketball. Bryan Mullins from SIU is a stud and would have looked great at the point for us but I am not sure if we recruited him or not.

[merkpanthers]

Why aren't we playing Viet now? He isn't listed as an injured player and we have been struggleing. We need someone to come in and give us a spark. I'm just not understanding why he hasn't been playing if he isn't on our injury list.

[BCPanther]

McKowen will be a completely different player and better shooter when he gets more than 2 or 3 shots a night. He has started for 3 years he is not going to fall off the face of the earth. He is next year's starter at the 2.

[UNIAlum95]

Why aren't we playing Viet now? He isn't listed as an injured player and we have been struggleing. We need someone to come in and give us a spark. I'm just not understanding why he hasn't been playing if he isn't on our injury list.

Because he hasn't been able to come back from his injury. When he has made it on the court, he is two steps to slow to guard anyone on defense.

[ejacobson]

I think that is a correct statement, as Viet was never known for his quick footspeed having been hobbled by injuries and not able to play/practice for awhile and having knee and back issues has slowed him down, making him a liability on defense, and if people on here think Brooks is too slow on, a hurt Veit would be scary slow.

I would like to see him come in sit in the corner while Ben drives and dishes to he, Brooks, and Crawford for jumpers, but thats just me.

[lightnin49]

If Mac leaves (God forbid!), do you see any player(s) going with him?

[BCPanther]

Maybe Eglseder, buy nobody else.

[ejacobson]

So long as Coach Ben takes over, so that the program will still be on the same track I think that all of the players will stick around. Jordan is a wild card because he was coming to play for Mac, but I think that a lot of these guys are coming because they have seen how much UNI has improved and if a Coach from that turn around is still here,ie Ben Jacobson, then they will still come wear the purple and gold.