Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Gaucho roster overview with Coach Bob Williams

Enclosed is an overview by Coach Bob Williams of the 2010 - 2011 Gaucho basketball roster.

Jaime Serna is still as strong as ever, is 6'7" in height, but has increased his quickness and is leaner. He has extended his shooting range to 15 - 16 feet.

Jordan Weiner will continue in his role as a perimeter shooter and defensive specialist. The former walk-on is on scholarship for his senior season.

Kyle Boswell may or may not redshirt. The freshman's status will be determined before the season starts. He's a shooting guard with range beyond the 3 - point line.

Justin Joyner
's ankle is fully healed and his conditioning is 100%. His wrist is as good as it ever will be.

Will Brew worked very hard on his perimeter jumper over the summer. As a point guard, he also worked on making better decisions with the ball, including penetration, coming to a jump stop, and finding the open teammate.

James Nunnally worked on is ball-handling, especially in the open court, in order to limit his turnovers. He also is looking to maintain concentration on defense. At 6'6", he will again play the 4, but will also play the 2 at times, as he is quicker this year (he's a natural 3). This gives the Gauchos options on who will play the 4 when Nunnally plays the 2 (i.e., we can go with a bigger lineup). Because he is quicker, when he is at the 4, he creates match up problems as he can play pressure defense, and can isolate his defender on the perimeter on offense.

Lucas Devenny's biggest improvement is his higher confidence level, as he is more comfortable with the offense and defense. With renewed confidence, he is learning to play within himself, and playing much better this summer.

Jon Pastorek does best when he doesn't try to do too much, and lets the game come to him, and hence, eliminates mistakes. As long as he doesn't try to over-penetrate or shoot the 3 ball too quickly, his ability as an active rebounder and good passer could earn him more minutes.

Orlando Johnson, like Nunnally, has improved in all areas, including ball-handling as he attempts to limit turnovers. His lateral foot speed has also improved, as has his concentration on defense. His athleticism and conditioning have improved, thanks to the strength and conditioning program, and his dedicated work ethic. The guy is a gym rat, and also hits the weight room during his spare time. He is one of the hardest working players Coach Williams has ever coached. Even though he is the reigning Big West Player of the Year, it is his desire that separates him from the rest.

Troy Leaf can play either the point guard or shooting guard positions. He has range on his jumper out to the 3-point line, and his mid-range (10 - 18 feet) game is especially deadly. Like Boswell, this freshman's redshirt status is unknown at this point in time.

Greg Somogyi came back from his summer trip to his native Hungary refreshed. His strength and conditioning have improved, but this year needs to be his break out year. He needs to get tougher and more active in the paint. Interestingly enough, he performs better against high-major teams, because he is matched up against opposing legitimate centers. But if he can withstand the constant bumping and pounding by shorter, but bulkier mid-major centers, and not get pushed out of position, he will perform well against them, also. The Gaucho coaches would love to play him until he fatigues, and are targeting 22 - 25 minutes per game for him.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why would Kyle and Troy be red shirted for the freshman year? I thought players get red shirted when they transfer. Just an inquiry, not a statement.

Gaucho Greg said...

Sometimes freshmen are redshirted if they are not physically ready (strength-wise) for Div. 1 competition, or if they need to adjust to the speed of the game. Or they need to adjust to being a student-athlete academically and socially. Or perhaps there aren't enough minutes to go around, so they can redshirt and still practice with the team, and focus on their academics, without wasting a year of eligibility sitting on the bench. However, with Powell graduated, I would imagine at least one of the freshmen will NOT redshirt, as the Gauchos will need some perimeter shooting to offset some of Powell's lost production.

The reason why transfers must sit out a year is to discourage its frequency. And since they have to sit out a year from competition, they usually take that year off as a redshirt. That's why few players who have already redshirted transfer out, because they would have to sit out another year, losing another year of eligibility. If they transfer to another division, they do NOT have to sit out a year, so in that case, they would not have to take a redshirt year.

Anonymous said...

Oh ok. Thanks Greg, makes sense.

Gaucho Greg said...

No worries--thanks for reading. Go Gauchos!

Anonymous said...

Our team has a good amount of depth, but I think Big West is gonna be tougher compared to last year. Our team is stacked, Long Beach is stacked, I think Irvine has a decent team. I can't wait to see what happens this year.