Winthrop center Buechert

[ziptrumpet87]

Winthrop center Andy Buechert is out for the season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.Eagles coach Randy Peele said Friday the 6-foot-9 player from Germany will have surgery next week. He was injured while playing a pickup game last month.Buechert started two of the 32 games he played in last season. He averaged 3 points and 3.5 rebounds to help the Eagles win the Big South Conference tournament and reach the NCAA tournament.Peele said Buechert will receive a medical redshirt year and have one season of eligibility remaining.

sourceSince the Winthrop game comes early in the season, what will this mean for the big guys? An extra game to learn, or are their other big men still a challenge?

[GoZips88]

Winthrop center Andy Buechert is out for the season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.Eagles coach Randy Peele said Friday the 6-foot-9 player from Germany will have surgery next week. He was injured while playing a pickup game last month.Buechert started two of the 32 games he played in last season. He averaged 3 points and 3.5 rebounds to help the Eagles win the Big South Conference tournament and reach the NCAA tournament.Peele said Buechert will receive a medical redshirt year and have one season of eligibility remaining.

sourceSince the Winthrop game comes early in the season, what will this mean for the big guys? An extra game to learn, or are their other big men still a challenge?

"Other big men" seems to be a stretch ...Winthrop rosterThe other center they currently have listed is a transfer and is forced to sit this year. They've got some other 6'7" and 6'8" guys but they are relatively young (F/So). I didn't look at their stats to see if any of them (all forwards) contributed much last year. I would think Bardo and Swiech should be able to have their way inside on both ends. Assuming we match their intensity/determination, we should clean up on the O/D boards. I hope so.

[ziptrumpet87]

Thanks. Looks like he and Valentine (6-8 232 Soph) split time last yr. I agree, our bigs should be able to control the boards and hopefully score over them.

[WinthropBigStuff]

This is a pretty big blow for us...as you can see, he was our only real big man. We can get by with a 6'8" center in the Big South, but it's really going to hurt us out of conference.I'm thinking we're going to go with Valentine at center, but also look for freshman Case Stiglbauer to get some PT.

[GoZips]

The Zips starting front line is most likely going to be three forwards and no true post player. All threestarting forwards are six-eight. The two big men (Bardo and Swiech) will see the floor for 10-15 minutesapiece.Anyone want to guess who the three six-eight forwards are?

[Quickzips]

The Zips starting front line is most likely going to be three forwards and no true post player. All threestarting forwards are six-eight. The two big men (Bardo and Swiech) will see the floor for 10-15 minutesapiece.Anyone want to guess who the three six-eight forwards are?

I know two!Nate LinhartChris McKnightI couldn't tell you who the third one is. It would seem odd to start one of the freshmen (Cvetinovic or Parrish) there and leave what is supposed to be a talented RFrosh Center in Swiech on the bench. Maybe the coaches see something in one of these two guys in practice (or a lack of something in Swiech?) that the rest of us aren't really privy too. Conyers doesn't come close to fitting the bill, neither does B.McKnight.

[Blue & Gold]

Linhart, McKnight and Cvetinovich would be my guess. Has Cvetinovich really impressed people this offseason? And why not start Sweich? I've been looking forward to having a truly big-bodied center for 2 years now! I want to see his 6-10 250 lbs. out on the floor!

[ziptrumpet87]

Maybe the desire to be more up-tempo? Big guys aren't usually known for being that quick. Either way, I'd still like to see them get some minutes early in the season in preparation for all the banging that goes on in conference play.