Starters
Powell A+
Expectations were enormous and with that comes pressure. To date Powell has handled that like a pro, both on and off the court. Don't know what more he could do.
McKnight A
Powell might be the star, but McKnight is the engine, and I say that on both sides of the court. The offense begins with him, as does the defense.
Mamukalashvili A-
Shooting has been streaky from distance and the foul line, but his overall game has been a revelation. Does so many things on the court, especially on the defensive side that do not show up in the box score.
Cale B+
Offense has been an issue as shown by his shooting percentages from the floor and the arc, although that is starting to improve. But it's on the other side of the ball where Cale's impact has been special. Not an easy task as most teams SF's are scoring machines.
Nzei B
Been a little inconsistent, having standout games and then ones where he isn't much of a factor. Still he is a team leader and a player who is showing more emotion now than he has ever shown in his previous 4 years here.
Bench
Nelson B
Runs the team far beyond what one would expect from a freshmen. Willing and decent defender who does at times get beaten off the dribble. Shooting percentage is the reason his grade isn't higher.
Rhoden C+
Work ethic and toughness second to none. His shooting to date, especially from distance has been very disappointing as that was thought to be a strength. But he's young and better things surely lie in his future
Gill C
This is tough as Gill has not been given a chance to play a lot of minutes. Ro has a special skill set that IMO should be used more. But until it is an average score is fair as I see it.
Reynolds C-
Let's be reasonable. Reynolds is really a walkon on and if judged in that capacity he deserves a higher mark. But since he is on scholarship he should be rated as such and given his poor offensive marks offset with his quality D (except in the Sacred Heart game) a slightly below average mark is legitimate.
Thompson D
TT's expectations were enormous. He might have been considered the second best player on the team in the pre-season. But to date Taurean hasn't come close to realizing his potential and though it pains me to rate him this low, until we see more efforts like we did in the Kentucky game I can't see an alternative.
Brodie INC
Hasn't played much so a rating would not be fair at this time.
Coach
Willard A
To date one of his best performance. As I have often noted Willard does his best job when expectations are low. And when his fellow coaches ranked the Hall 8th in the 10 team league I fully believed that his peers did he and the program a major favor.
Willard is pushing all the right buttons and to date is right up there in the COTY running.
Team B+
Could have been higher and maybe it should be with the upsets of Maryland and Kentucky, but you have to factor in the two home losses (as favorites) to St Louis and Louisville and that to me has them just short of the A category.
COMMENTS
Powell A+
Expectations were enormous and with that comes pressure. To date Powell has handled that like a pro, both on and off the court. Don't know what more he could do.
McKnight A
Powell might be the star, but McKnight is the engine, and I say that on both sides of the court. The offense begins with him, as does the defense.
Mamukalashvili A-
Shooting has been streaky from distance and the foul line, but his overall game has been a revelation. Does so many things on the court, especially on the defensive side that do not show up in the box score.
Cale B+
Offense has been an issue as shown by his shooting percentages from the floor and the arc, although that is starting to improve. But it's on the other side of the ball where Cale's impact has been special. Not an easy task as most teams SF's are scoring machines.
Nzei B
Been a little inconsistent, having standout games and then ones where he isn't much of a factor. Still he is a team leader and a player who is showing more emotion now than he has ever shown in his previous 4 years here.
Bench
Nelson B
Runs the team far beyond what one would expect from a freshmen. Willing and decent defender who does at times get beaten off the dribble. Shooting percentage is the reason his grade isn't higher.
Rhoden C+
Work ethic and toughness second to none. His shooting to date, especially from distance has been very disappointing as that was thought to be a strength. But he's young and better things surely lie in his future
Gill C
This is tough as Gill has not been given a chance to play a lot of minutes. Ro has a special skill set that IMO should be used more. But until it is an average score is fair as I see it.
Reynolds C-
Let's be reasonable. Reynolds is really a walkon on and if judged in that capacity he deserves a higher mark. But since he is on scholarship he should be rated as such and given his poor offensive marks offset with his quality D (except in the Sacred Heart game) a slightly below average mark is legitimate.
Thompson D
TT's expectations were enormous. He might have been considered the second best player on the team in the pre-season. But to date Taurean hasn't come close to realizing his potential and though it pains me to rate him this low, until we see more efforts like we did in the Kentucky game I can't see an alternative.
Brodie INC
Hasn't played much so a rating would not be fair at this time.
Coach
Willard A
To date one of his best performance. As I have often noted Willard does his best job when expectations are low. And when his fellow coaches ranked the Hall 8th in the 10 team league I fully believed that his peers did he and the program a major favor.
Willard is pushing all the right buttons and to date is right up there in the COTY running.
Team B+
Could have been higher and maybe it should be with the upsets of Maryland and Kentucky, but you have to factor in the two home losses (as favorites) to St Louis and Louisville and that to me has them just short of the A category.
COMMENTS
