Losing Knuth hurts us at guard, at small forward and a great scoring threat. With Custer having to sit out a year, we are down to 11 scholarships. I see all of them playing every game. Rajala will make progress as he did last year before he got hurt. He may be a bit soft on rebounding but on offense he can shoot the three from the outside which is a real weapon to have like Butler did with Campbell years ago. Porter likes to keep the minutes under 30 or so as this helps down the stretch where other teams with less depth can't keep up. Kirby will help out particularly on defense where last year any team like Evansville with a really tall center exploited our lack of height. Kirby will negate that advantage even if his offensive game is a little rusty. Playing time will definitely lead to his quicker development. I think the hidden gem is Adegei as he is athletic, muscular and quick. He will eventually make a difference. I think the real key to the team though is the development of Ingram. He scored mostly at the free throw line (might have been all of his points. At one time I had him 6 for 6 at the line.) We are much better than last year. I really like what Porter has put together. I think at a minimum we finish third this year as long as Doyle stays healthy. The new required up tempo is going to help us a lot as well. I think we win Friday by 15 (but will have as much as a 22 point lead) and a 25 point win Saturday as Porter holds down the score and plays everyone including the walk ons.
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