Not planning on an NIT bid so here's my report card. Overall, solid forward progress that was marred by the crash and burn at season's end.
BC - A. Did everything we hoped he would do. If I'm going to quibble, he still gets pushed around in the post. But, an excellent season. We desperately need him to return for next season.
Ben Carlson - C+. Gave us some badly needed size inside. Decent rebounder. Not an offensive threat at this point.
Marco Anthony - B+. Gave us toughness, defense, experience and could score a bit in the high post. We will miss him.
Gabe Madson - B. Our only backcourt scoring threat. His game took a solid step forward from last year to this. Good athlete, good defender. Needs to improve shot selection and cut down on turnovers. he and BC are a solid inside-outside combo. Has had signficant injuries both seasons.
Rollie - B. Tough and reliable. Very good A/T ratio. Shot poorly from the field.
Lazar Stefanovic - C. Volume shooter who is not a good shooter. Below average defender/rebounder. Seems like a nice kid and good teammate, but he needs to get a lot better.
Keba Keita - B. An impressively raw talent. Should be a key roster piece moving forward. He was inconsistent this year. But, has some impressive tools.
Bostyn Holt - C+. Didn't do much positive or negative when on the floor. Needs to become an offensive threat in Marco's mold if he's going to get minutes.
Will Exacte - B-. Very inconsistent this year. Highs made you think "ok, let's go!" but too many lows. Would have like to see more consistently growth during the season. Still, a solid roster piece.
Micahel Saunders - D. He must have been terrible in practice if he couldn't get minutes this year. High level athlete with some offensive pop. But his defense was poor and decision making not much better.
Jaxon Brenchley - C. Didn't expect much from him. Didn't get much from him.
Luka Tarlac - D. Can't shoot at all. His ball rotates sideways. Gave up an and-1 seemingly every first trip down the floor after entering the game.
Coaches - B. Team effort was good. Game plans were good. Need to borrow a page from Whitt and ramp up the recruiting.
For next year, we currently have the SLCC recruit who looks like a role player and one open scholarship. Saunders is all but gone. IMO Tarlac isn't a Pac12 level guy. Brenchley is a loyal Ute, good teammate and good ambassador for the program. Not a Pac12 level guy either but I would keep him if he wants to stay. So, there will likely be a couple more spots open up.
Big off season for the coaches.
BC - A. Did everything we hoped he would do. If I'm going to quibble, he still gets pushed around in the post. But, an excellent season. We desperately need him to return for next season.
Ben Carlson - C+. Gave us some badly needed size inside. Decent rebounder. Not an offensive threat at this point.
Marco Anthony - B+. Gave us toughness, defense, experience and could score a bit in the high post. We will miss him.
Gabe Madson - B. Our only backcourt scoring threat. His game took a solid step forward from last year to this. Good athlete, good defender. Needs to improve shot selection and cut down on turnovers. he and BC are a solid inside-outside combo. Has had signficant injuries both seasons.
Rollie - B. Tough and reliable. Very good A/T ratio. Shot poorly from the field.
Lazar Stefanovic - C. Volume shooter who is not a good shooter. Below average defender/rebounder. Seems like a nice kid and good teammate, but he needs to get a lot better.
Keba Keita - B. An impressively raw talent. Should be a key roster piece moving forward. He was inconsistent this year. But, has some impressive tools.
Bostyn Holt - C+. Didn't do much positive or negative when on the floor. Needs to become an offensive threat in Marco's mold if he's going to get minutes.
Will Exacte - B-. Very inconsistent this year. Highs made you think "ok, let's go!" but too many lows. Would have like to see more consistently growth during the season. Still, a solid roster piece.
Micahel Saunders - D. He must have been terrible in practice if he couldn't get minutes this year. High level athlete with some offensive pop. But his defense was poor and decision making not much better.
Jaxon Brenchley - C. Didn't expect much from him. Didn't get much from him.
Luka Tarlac - D. Can't shoot at all. His ball rotates sideways. Gave up an and-1 seemingly every first trip down the floor after entering the game.
Coaches - B. Team effort was good. Game plans were good. Need to borrow a page from Whitt and ramp up the recruiting.
For next year, we currently have the SLCC recruit who looks like a role player and one open scholarship. Saunders is all but gone. IMO Tarlac isn't a Pac12 level guy. Brenchley is a loyal Ute, good teammate and good ambassador for the program. Not a Pac12 level guy either but I would keep him if he wants to stay. So, there will likely be a couple more spots open up.
Big off season for the coaches.
