Share some enthusiasm
I share some of the enthusiasm on the post for two reasons:
1. Some of the news guys may be able to shoot the ball.
The 2010 squad was full of athletic guys that that threw up a shocking number of airballs. Next year, Oto, Andre & Julian are supposedly good outstide shooters. That's two more than we had this year (Blake). Coleman sounds like he has a good mid-range game. That's one more than we had this year. Walker has a nice touch for a big man. That will make at least two next year (along with Ralph), and Walker shouldn't get pushed around like Ralph. I don't know if Mav, Chip, or Austin will ever develop good outside shots, but it sure would be a plus if one of them did. I was shocked to see Austin miss badly many times from the outside this year, so I don't know what to think about his shot.
Our flat out inability to shoot the ball allowed defenses to sag off our players in a way I don't ever remember seeing. On any one possession, we could have two or three guys (guards) literally standing with the ball near the three-point line with nobody anywhere close to them. The other teams just DARED them to shoot, and for good reason. They were awful shooters (look at the percentages). How can you expect to work the ball effectively inside when nobody cares about guarding any of your guards (ther than Blake)? Pretty tough.
2. Our inside play has a chance to be better (if Trevor comes back)
Let's face it: Ralph has no effective inside moves, other than an occasional jump hook, and he is afraid of mixing it up inside. Colton has some inside moves and he is tough, but he is the head of the MN Bricklayers' Union. I couldn't believe how many bunnies he missed this year on decent post moves. He just doesn't seem to have any touch, which baffles me as he showed some last year. It is too bad, because I love his toughness and attitude. He seems like a great kid who works hard. However, Walker has both size, and touch. It would be nice if he could jump just a little bit next year.
Also, nobody seems to be too high on Eliason. I only saw him at the Tubby's Tipoff (not much of an audition), but I saw him make a few nice moves inside. From what Tubby has said, he may be the best big man from a skill standpoint. He will have to gain a lot of strength, but I'm excited to see two guys that may actually have a clue what to do when they get the ball inside. Of course, Trevor is the key to our inside play next year. If he doesn't come back, Eliason and Walker will have to grow up quickly, and they have a chance to leap past Colton and maybe even Ralph in the depth chart if they can score and play a little defense.
