I voted Xeyrius Williams. 5th(?) year senior with experience playing at this level.
For me, Greg Tribble and Camron Reece are tied for #2. X will make an immediate impact. But I think these two will be up to speed before conference play begins. I remember following Tribble's recruiting in high school. He's a serious talent. And Reece looks like a monster; our next Ultimate Warrior, a'la Jeremiah Wood or Demetrius Treadwell.
Then again, I don't think any of the above mentioned players will matter if our returning core doesn't improve their shooting percentage from behind the arc.
Just ran into Jeremiah Wood at the gym. The dude is absolutely huge. Still looks strong as an ox but cut as hell. He's a legit 6-6, as I came up to about his armpit. Lol. Nice guy. We talked for about 2 minutes. (I could have visited for an hour but didn't want to interrupt his workout.) I told him that when he, Rome & Dru were on the team was my favorite era of Zips basketball. Without any prompting from me, he brought up the Doug Penno buzzer-beater & the slow-starting game clock. We commiserated. Lol.
He's living in Ellet in the off-season and playing overseas.
Go Zips!
I’m guessing...
PG: LCJ
W: Tyler Cheese
W: Channel Banks
P: Xeyrius Williams
P: Deng Riak
Greg Tribble & Camron Reece will be the first off the bench.
Jaden Sayles & Jeremy Roscoe will flesh out the rotation.
Dark Horse: Freshman Tre Edwards
Redshirts: Ali Ali and Maishe Dailey & Bryan Trimble (obviously).
ABJ: Winless Zips fall 37-29 at UMass
UMass (1-4) was without nine starters on offense and defense combined, including its top two quarterbacks, one in concussion protocol and the other apparently suspended before the game.
And here are the heights and weights of our current OL & DL verbal commits:
OL
Nathaniel Williams, 6-5, 301
Deacon Allen, 6-3, 305
Ronan Chambers, 6-5, 270
Tony Georges, 6-3, 295
DL
Jalen Jordan, 6-3, 240
Janirr Wade, 6-4, 280
ABJ/GT: Lack of consistency continues to plague Zips
"UA coach Tom Arth will likely be the first to offer no excuses for the dismal stats that revealed themselves once again in the Zips' running game. The Zips rushed for 39 yards on 18 carries for 2.2 yards per attempt."
"For the game, [the Zips] managed 3-of-12 third-down conversions."
If they'd build a mini "Green Monster" wall in left field they could create a little more room for the grandstands & concourse as well as give it an old-school urban stadium feel.
Were our guys cocky and lazy this offseason? The slogan "Unfinished Business," may suggest they thought they'd simply stroll to the College Cup this year?
Do we miss Marco Micaletto & Abdi Mohamed that much? I know we sorely miss Marcel Zajac's finishing skills.
That was a great press conference. I really appreciate both the fact that GT was asking the difficult questions (concerning risking injury to Alvin Davis as our return man & the obvious OL issues) and the fact that Arth got fiery and stood up for his players. Good stuff!