A rebuilding year it is. Not my preference, but we were due for one anyways, and the trajectory of the program is up and its overall health is still good. I will take that right now.
That was supposed to be last year until Morris and Mitrou-Long returned, for that matter.
Missing on Malou last year still hurts. He would have been the starting five for most/all of the season and would likely pair with Solomon in the post this year. Eh, this kind of thing happens.
Prohm got Shayok, had Malou until circumstances went awry, and almost had Juiston until UNLV got its checkbook out. I figured that, plus his remaining scholarships and proof that he can land some high-quality freshman players, removes (most) of the doubt in my mind right now.
Then again, not hitting on one impact big man recruit has stung the program. It would be nice to have Stokes or even Feazell or something like that right now to add some depth.
I was just thinking through our roster right now. We could play this next year...
Wigginton
Jackson
Weiler-Babb
Lewis
Young
---
McNeill
Long
Lard
...and probably not be all that great. However, if all goes well,* it could be...
Wigginton
Shayok
Lewis
Thompson
Young
---
Green
Weiler-Babb
Lard
...the year after that, where several starters might not even start again, or we might even be bringing guys who could be big-time contributors into bench roles instead.
*assuming we land Race Thompson and A.J. Green, which 247 has as "warm"
Just looking at the roster going forward -- that 2018-2019 team that I have sketched out there looks pretty good. I hope that would redeem the program pretty quickly. It might lack some shooting, but it would be big and mean on defense in a way we have not in awhile.