It looks as if this year our inside rotation is going to be Montell James with a dash of Rajala.(Ingram fills in for what should be a power forward. We have not seen MR. Kirby in awhile. Next year MOntell will be gone and it will take tremendous improvement physically and skill wise for Kirby or Rajala to make a major impact. We have seen hardly anything from Adgel. It seems like our two commits are guards and we are recruiting only one big guy( this is based just on Verbal COmmits so this info is partial at best). I am getting somewhat preoccupied with this as it just seems to be a continuing issue. There certainly have been some changes with 3 bigs leaving the program who would have been seniors next year....and some close misses ( JOnes, O Mara and Barker) but it is what it is. One do people see this lack of depth at this position a problem and Two does anyone see or know of a solution

Yes, we clearly need help inside. Mainly rebounding. I for one thought help was on the way, but Kirby has been really disappointing. Julius has done well enough in his limited time. He can still get better too. They are both only sophomores. But I'm not sure right now who I'd be comfortable with starting next year without Montel to take the focus.

As for next year, you're right that VC is an incomplete picture. We have two spots left and we definitely need one big man. Two is possible. I don't know who else we are recruiting, but we will have three new guards (Custer, Satterwhite, Skokna) coming in to replace Turk, Keke, and Earl. I would expect Milt to be back, but there's the possibility that we lose four guards from this year.

Counting Custer who is sitting out, we currently have 7 guards and 6 forwards on scholarship. That feels like the right balance to me as most teams play 3 guard lineups now.

Based on the announced signings, I think we would have 6 guards and 5 forwards if Milt is back. So we definitely need a big man for one spot, and possibly both. But if Milt does leave, then we would only have 5 guards which is clearly not enough.

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MBB Scholarship Chart

Sorry guys, all these combos of what we have and do NOT have does not mean much to me. All I know is that good BIG men beat good little men every time. Last year we got by with Thomas who played three or so inches over what he really was--An exception to the rule above. And how many Thomases are there out there. Until we get some BIGS that we can start, we will be what we are--and THIS is on PM. We are trying to do what last year's team did. Montel is not CT as good as he is--and MILT has disappeared--He can and should come back BUT the rest ???
For me, it is all about WINNING--We are not. We should have but TWO losses this year. Creighton was truly our only quality win-and a quality win it was.
As for those guys who left us--I indict them--they were losers. PM did the right thing, if he indeed pulled the trigger.
I am sorry for writing this but PM and his team are disappointments as of now.

The issue I have is the same one I raised when Coach Moser announced his first staff. Who can work with, evaluate and help recruit big men? I believe Daniyal Robinson had that role, but who is doing it now? If I were a 6-7 to 6-9 low post player being recruited my choice would be a program where there was a coach with similar experiences who could help me refine those skills.

As it stands right now, next year Kirby and Rajala will be the only players with "back to the basket" size and experience. Ingram, Knuth and even Rajala appear much more comfortable facing the basket and playing on the wing. There is a definite need for players who can "mix it up" in the paint.

GR......good point. However I do not know if any of our assistants can effectively work with the big man. Christian Thomas sure was sound fundamentally. His foot work I thought was pretty darn good...but again do not know who was responsible. This does get me back to may main theme this year. If we are going to succeed ALL the components have to be in place. Sports Information, marketing, fan support, training etc and one of those key pieces is enough cash to get the good assistants you need.
As for this year should be interesting to see what PM can do now that he knows what he has and should have a good idea of strengths and weaknesses.

Although he isn't near where we need him for this year or next year, I think Rajala has been looking a lot better the past two games he's played. Before he went down with the injury against SIU he had a couple good baskets and was playing well on defense. Against Illinois State he was good on defense and forced some turnovers. I don't know how much the injury affected his play, but I thought he put in some good minutes. I know he can develop a lot more, but he continues to look better, so hopefully he can turn into a more consistent and reliable big guy.

Brot, obviously you weren't at Chicago Stadium when Walter Robertson drove on Lew Alcindor.

C'mon Man !! As they say. Pablo was great Lew was greater. Even a blind......

I cannot remember tho--- I was at a ton of games . We did beat UCLA from time to time. I still opine--Give me three or four bigs with a good point against a team of 'Smalls" and I would win most of the time.

Brot, it was Walter, not Pablo Robertson. I don't recall if Walter and Pablo were brothers or cousins; both were cousins to Oscar. It was 1968 or 69. Alcindor/Jabbar may have had a slight edge in career statistics but on the one play where they went head to head, Walter took him to school.

Thanks Screamy !! In any case that was ONE play in ONE game. I will take Lew over the long haul--but Pablo et al were great , no question.