Many good, rational thoughts, IMO so far. I took a peak and just realized we finished the season with only 8 scholarship players Utomi, Ivey, Cheese, Banks, Poke, LCJ, Riak, and Roscoe. Williams sitting out, Toles injured, Gueye a waste, Marc transferring, and Sayles injured.
I think if we're being fair, that isn't a lot to work with. Sure Groce is partly at fault. I saw the biggest need this year to be back up PG, consistent big man play, and a knock down 3 pt shooter. to create room for others. Do any of our newcomers give us that? I still hold out faith that one of Poke/Sayles/Riak can be at least a solid, consistent 5. It seems like Reece and Xerious can contribute to the inside game as well based on highlights. Williams is also a 3pt threat. Him, Utomi, and LCJ collectively may be able to get the job done in that regard even if we don't have a Kretz or McAdams level shooter. I firmly believe LCJ and Utomi are better than what they shot this season.
I'm pretty high on Mikal Dawson and think Ali Ali is in line for a redshirt. I see the core of our team next year being LCJ, Utomi, Cheese, and Williams. LCJ flashed in the OOC and seemed to come along better towards the end of the season. He will always have to deal with his size, but he was also adjusting to "moving up" this year. If he can make smarter decisions and starts to shoot better, which i feel he can, I feel comfortable with him the next 2 seasons. Cheese is an off-ball guard, not a PG
2019-2020:
PG: LCJ/??
SG: Cheese/Banks/Roscoe/Toles
SF: Utomi/Dawson/Ali Ali (redshirt)
PF: Williams/Reece
C: Riak/Sayles/Poke
It seems clear to me where we can afford to lose someone and where we need to fill a hole. This season probably didn't meet a lot of our expectations. I still feel confident in Groce, but he needs able to get next year's squad to be MAC competitors, barring unforeseen circumstances. We need a true backup PG and i think we're on the right track.