[Eaglesfan27]

I don't touch the schedule that our AD gave us.. looks easy with only 1 or 2 tough non-conference games. Our toughest probably will be George Washington.


Player Progression During the Offseason: Graves didn't gain any more points. Cornette, Collins, Hannan, Waters, Ortiz, Willis, Clifford, and Ziri each gained a point.


An overview of the roster:


PG:

Junior Gus Waters. He is now 5'10 170. He is the fastest guy on the team. Isn't a great passer for a point guard, but is good enough. He has become a good shooter. He is a great defender. I think he'll help us play better defense with my starters. He is the clear starter. Overall is now a 75.

Freshman Christiano Bitee is not the great player I was hoping for as a 4 star player, but he is a solid player. He is a better 3 point shooter than Gus. He isn't as fast, but has a better first step, something that has been lacking in our point guards. He is a bad passer for a point guard, but has great dribbling ability to penetrate the lane. He is an above average defender. Our staff thinks he has the potential to improve significantly. His 3 point shooting makes him the clear backup PG. His size will be a difficult issue for him, potentially. He is only 5'8 175.


SG's:

Senior Nate Graves is ready to have a big year. While his overall didn't go up at all from the end of last year, his 3 point shooting did improve. He is extremely fast with a great first step. Very good on ball defender. His biggest weakness is his poor consistency. Rated 80 overall. 6'4 205 now.

Senior Reyshawn Ortiz is technically listed at SF, but he played SG all year last year. He is 6'5 188. Doesn't excel in any area, but can make a few shots when he is feeling it. Rated 73 overall.

Redshirt Freshman Chen Li is now 6'3 200 pounds. Doesn't excel in any area and will probably be a backup who will only play in blowouts. He is rated 67 overall.

SF's:

Junior T.J. Hannan is now rated 76 overall. He improved his shooting another point in every area and is now rated very good in midrange jump shooting as well as post play. Is an excellent shooter in traffic. Has improved his first step. Now 6'8 240 pounds.

SR Friedrich Collins is becoming huge.. now 6'5 260! He is still a very good midrange shooter, but doesn't do well in traffic. Best attributes besides his shot is his handlin ability and strength. Rated 76 overall mainly due to his 84 midrange shooting. Will backup at SG and SF.


PF's:

Whitney Cornette is now 6'10 226. He improved quite a bit during the last season and is now a 77 overall. He has become a very good post scorer, and we'll probably go to him there more this year. Very good passer out of the post. His shot blocking and rebounding are both drastically improved from his freshman year.

We got a surprising walk-on. Marko Cox is from Australia. I didn't pursue him at all. He is a 6'4 211 pound "PF" who is an efficient post scorer, a great dunker, and has quick hands. His vertical is off the charts. He also is a great hustle player. He'll likely play some backup SF/PF for us in some games. He is rated 73 overall.

Sophomore Gilson Willis has improved his 3 point shooting and should be very good out there for a PF. He is a solid rebounder and a decent defender. He is now 6'8 225.

JR Alphonso Bowers is now 6'8 255. He is now the best 3 point shooter on my team and he will get more PT than he did last year, either at PF or SF. He is a good shot blocker and a much better defender than 2 years ago. Rated 69 overall.

Vitor Ziri is the odd man out with the new walkon and my determination to get Bowers more PT. He probably won't play much. The 6'9 250 pound JR is rated 68 overall.

Redshirt Freshman Walkon Jeffrey McClinton is rated 60 overall. He won't play for us this year.


C's:

SR DeShaun Simon gained 12 more pounds and is now 7'1 318 pounds. He also has gained some strength and should be pushing people around in the post even more. He isn't that refined in the post, but he is much better than his first 2 years. I expect to go to him more this year. Rated 74 overall as he seems to be maxing out on his potential.

JR Mamery Clifford is now an excellent shot blocker. He is 6'11 265 and is also a good post scorer. However, he lets himself get pushed around in the post a bit too much. Rated 70 overall. He'll be our backup center.


We have 4 scholarship players graduating this year: Collins, Ortiz, Simon, and Graves. I'll be looking to recruit a center, 1-2 SG's, and either a SF or PG.