Wright State Coach Brad Brownell has decided to go the juco route with this year's recruiting class. This will give the Raiders a big (6) junior class
(Duggins, Brown, Gardner, Thomas, Lewis, Cooperwood) counting the two new junior college transfers Lewis and Cooperwood. In the past, this would be a big
problem with unbalanced classes, causing problems down the road when all six players are replaced with new guys. The good news for the WSU coaching staff is
that these six players are balanced evenly with 3 guards and 3 big men. Why is this good news? Because the remaining players on the team to also balanced with
3 guards and 4 forwards. If this balance is continued after losing two seniors (Will Graham and Gavin Horne), then in two years when WSU loses its large class
of juniors from next year, the remaining team will be able to field entire lineup of experienced players at all positions.
I think what this shows is that the WSU coaches have decided that it is more important to balance the front- and backcourt players, then it is to balance the actual classes of the athletes. By doing this they have assured the team of not being forced to throw new players into roles they may not be ready for. Balancing classes was much more important in the past when you could only bring in a limited number of players in a two year span. Now, without a set limit on the number of new players a coach can bring in, in any certain year, maintaining experience in all positions on the court seems to be where balance is the most important, rather than in classes. I applaud Wright State's coaching staff for doing a good job of balancing the positions, even though they brought in no freshman this past year, except for redshirt freshman Kyle Pressley from last year.
I think what this shows is that the WSU coaches have decided that it is more important to balance the front- and backcourt players, then it is to balance the actual classes of the athletes. By doing this they have assured the team of not being forced to throw new players into roles they may not be ready for. Balancing classes was much more important in the past when you could only bring in a limited number of players in a two year span. Now, without a set limit on the number of new players a coach can bring in, in any certain year, maintaining experience in all positions on the court seems to be where balance is the most important, rather than in classes. I applaud Wright State's coaching staff for doing a good job of balancing the positions, even though they brought in no freshman this past year, except for redshirt freshman Kyle Pressley from last year.
Last edited by: bballraider 04/18/08 18:25:17.
Edited 4 times.
Comments
Posted: 04/21/08 09:32:42
Interesting perspective on the roster? I was concerned about six player junior class but you bring up a legitamate point that when they do graduate we will still have seven returning players with a nice mix of guards and post players.
Posted: 04/22/08 08:18:31