CHANDLER (AZ) -- With non-Midnight Madness quickly approaching, I really don’t have a locked in feel for what to expect from the 2008-2009 men’s Flyer basketball team. Is this going to be the year? Or is this going to be another one of those, ”Wait ‘till next year”, years? For the first time in my life, I will be too far away to evaluate the team in person, so I am going to have to go by other’s views and whatever I can catch on TV and the internet. Not my idea of the perfect situation, but when the rest of you are shoveling out 15 inches of snow, I’ll be drinking a Margarita in my back yard as the waterfall on my pool splashes water on my laptop.
For the first time in a long time, one of the top players ever to wear a UD uniform has left the program. Replacing the contributions of Brian Roberts will be an interesting proposition for
Brian Gregory and his staff.
You notice, I say ‘contributions’ and not Brian himself. In my opinion, Gregory asked Roberts do be something he was not and that was a point guard. Statistically, his assist to turnover ratio bears that out, but it was deeper than that. I just never felt that he saw the floor very well. As a result, we never saw that crisp pass to a barely open player under the basket. He generally handled the press well, but his overall decision making process, as a point guard, left a little to be desired. Still a great player, just not a great point guard.
As with most teams, this group of players will not succeed without good point guard play. Since his arrival,
London Warren has been a lighting rod for disagreement on his value to the program. There are many that love his play, but there are equally many that shiver when he enters the game. Sadly, I find myself in the latter group.
If basketball had a platoon option like football where you could just play defense, I would love to see him on the floor. Although Warren does occasionally lose his jock strap while defending the opposing point guard, his quickness and tenacity generally make him a valued asset. However, as soon as you put the ball in his hands, you have to wonder if it will end up moving in the right direction. He is often out of control and tends to dribble the ball too high. If he plays 30 minutes per game, it will be a disastrous season for the
Flyer Faithful. Great kid, just not a great point guard.
If you buy into that belief, the entire season will ride on the abilities of newcomer Rob Lowery. Although he sports the same hair style as Warren, I hope he does not have the same tendencies on the court as his look alike. No one in Flyer country has seen Lowery play aside from pick-up games, but his numbers tell a story. Because of the style of play that his junior college team played, his numbers are overstated from what we will see at UD. Yet, what you see is a player that can shoot the ball and distribute it in an upscale offense that we will hopefully see more of this year. This doesn’t mean that Warren can’t be a factor, I just see him in a supportive role verses leadership.
The rest of the new players will also make an impact with Paul Williams being at the top of the list. Williams is a shooter but has an all-around game that will allow him to slide closer to the basket if needed. With Williams and Lowery in the line-up, there will be the ability to shoot from the outside that we haven’t seen in a while. He is also a player that doesn’t shy away on the defensive end. Gregory loves defense. The more he shows up there, the more we will see him on the court.
The one player that seems to be forgotten in the group of five newcomers is Chris Johnson a 6’5” forward from Columbus. If there is one thing I regret from last basketball season it is that I failed to catch one of his games. I have heard glowing reports about the kid from some that have seen him play and I think he will remind some of Ryan Perryman. Don’t read too much into that, but he will gain more playing time than most think and he will bring the ability to rebound and score from the small forward spot. Very athletic, he has been forgotten by many because of Williams. He will be the surprise contributor this season.
I would not expect a great deal from either Benson or Fabrizius. I would be surprised to see either of them officially redshirted before the season starts as Gregory needs to win now, not in 4 years. Despite weight gain by both players, they will need to bulk up to make a difference. Fabrizius has a nice 3 point shot, but he will have to play on the other end of the court and we’ll have to see if he can keep up with bigger, stronger players. Benson will be very good, it just won’t be this year.
Let’s talk about the givens. If
Chris Wright can stay healthy all season and continues to improve on all areas of his game like he did the previous year, the Flyers will be very good. He goes down again this year; you might as well start thinking about Spring Training. This team was terrible last year without Wright. The talent level has improved but it is all young and untested. They need a lynchpin and Wright is the man. If he goes so does the season.
Wright will be the first UD player drafted in two decades. The real question is will it be after this season or next? Should he stay for a fourth season, it will only because God wears gear from Flyer Attire. He is the real deal that UD hasn’t seen since Roosevelt Chapman.
The second level of starter at UD is led by Marcus Johnson who is really in a class by himself. Johnson is one of those players that you just know is going to explode, you are just not sure when. If you look at his stats you have to be impressed with his versatility. He can play the big guard or the small forward, although he will probably spend far more time in the backcourt this year. He was third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding. He shot 48% from the field, 39% from the three point line and 76% on free throws. His biggest problem was that he only took about seven shots per game. He needs to be featured now that Roberts is gone. He needs to use his ability to get to the rim better, not just from the wing. Probably one of the top five all time athletes at UD, Gregory needs to feature him more.
Finally you have your collection of returning big men in Huelsman, Little and Searcy. Huelsman showed a little improvement last year but nothing to get too excited about. Gregory loves the kid, but he needs to get more aggressive. The fact that he screens out his man to keep him from getting the rebound does not ensure that UD gets the ball. Just go get the ball. Enough of being a “team player” who makes everyone else look better. Go get the ball. Searcy will grab some minutes, but do not expect a scoring machine. If he can swat a few balls now and then, he will be an asset.
It is time for Charles Little to step up. It is truly put up or shut up time for the former A-10 Sixth Man of the Year. Little took a huge step backward last year. Unless there is a complete turn around in desire, I expect more of the same this year. He will not start and I doubt he will be a factor. If you look at his stats, they don’t look too bad except for the fact that they didn’t improve. Both scoring and rebounding were down. Some of that can be explained away because of his injury, but he just never seemed like the sophomore Charles Little. Little seemed gun shy and was terrified of the foul line. It was almost as if he stayed away from contact just so he wouldn’t make the trip to the line. As the only senior on the team, he needs to decide if he wants to go out in a blaze of glory or watching the kids from the bench.
On paper, this team has potential. My biggest fear is that it is still a year away. There are just too many unknowns. Gregory has made some mistakes in his recruiting in the past and it continues to haunt him. He has always been in love with the “athlete” and has forgotten that you still need to put the ball in the hoop. The need for shooters will never go away no matter how the game is played. The fact that the point guard is unsettled is probably the biggest problem that he faces.
Talk all you want about replacing Roberts. It was the combination of Wright and Roberts that made this team go last year. Scoring wise, there are enough young guns to make up for Roberts. It just scares me to death to know that Warren could be in the game at crunch time with the inability to hit a free throw. How can a player at this level be a ball handler and hit 50% of his free throws some of which were banked in? If he didn’t shoot 100,000 free throws since last season, it will be more of the same.
As they said in “2010”, “something wonderful” will have to happen for this team to make it to the NCAA tournament. One of the newcomers will have to catch fire above expectations. In my book, you never expect a freshman/newcomer to get as many at 10 points per game. If one of them can exceed that or Lowery becomes an assist machine, then they may be able to nose their way into the NCAA. However, my thinking is NIT this year and NCAA in 2010.
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