Mike Gillian has a lot of new toys in his arsenal for the upcoming year, but what will the starting lineup look like on opening day? Here is a projection just based on what we’ve seen, heard, and read:
G- Lucas Woodhouse, 6’1, Freshman: Starting a freshman point guard to steer the ship is certainly a risk, but Woodhouse should be the best distributor for the Lancers next year. A baptism by fire may be in the cards for the youngster.
G- Nik Brown, 6’3, Freshman: Odds are that Brown will be starting after practicing with the team for the latter half of last season. But the question is will it be at the one or two. Brown can certainly handle the ball but he may benefit more as being a wing scorer as someone takes care of the ball, ala Martiz Washington.
G- Tristan Carey, 6’4, Junior: Carey will be the primary scoring threat for the Lancers this year and is likely the only sure-thing in terms of starting right now.
F- Karl Ziegler, 6’6, Freshman: Ziegler is ready to start and start now. He can guard anyone on the floor and can be a scoring threat for the Lancers. The beautiful thing about Ziegler is that fact that he could potentially handle the ball in a pinch.
F- AD Banks, 6’7, Junior: Let’s face it, we were spoiled by Antwan Carter and now we look to move on without a true “big man”. This lineup has a lot of flexibility and look for Holloway, Banks, and maybe even Havenstein to battle for a starting spot. Mike Gillian will benefit from a small, athletic lineup for most of his matchups this year, especially in the Big South.
Bench
6- David Robinson, 6’4, JR: I love Robinson’s game and he can very easily start, but I think he could be a better weapon coming off the bench as the sixth man. This is not a knock on Robinson rather just a philosophy.
7- Frank Holloway, 6’6, SO: Look for Holloway to be the first guy to spell a forward off the bench. He can also challenge for a starting spot.
8- Jeff Havenstein, 6’8, JR: Havenstein can continue to give valuable minutes as the primary big man off the bench.
9- Mark Parker, 6’7, JR: Parker will be the primary shooter off the bench and will be a great weapon for the Lancers this year.
10- Anthony Taylor, 6’2, SO: Taylor can continue to develop and possible handle the ball off the bench every now and then.
11- Kirk Staine, 6’6, FR: Staine can come in and bring some valuable minutes as well as shot blocking ability and wing scoring off the bench for the Lancers.
12- Stephen Shockley, 6’0, SR: The lone senior can handle the ball when need be for the Lancers.
13- Jeylani Dublin, 6’6, SO: We have to see how Dublin recovers from injury and where he fits. It’s still unclear in his two years as a Lancer because he has rarely played. Perhaps he can be valuable portion of the forward rotation for Coach Gillian?
I like this line up, but offensively I think we will be fine, as far as points are concerned. Defense is the problem, we were ranked worst in Defense PPG and towards the bottom in many other defensive categories. With that being said, I’d like to see David Robinson come off the bench preferrably as the 7th man (Holloway, 6th). I hope Gillian stresses some defense this offseason.
I agree, we need to D-up and can’t take the VMI approach. A lot of the guys coming in, Ziegler in particular, are supposed to be very solid defenders.
Brown will undoubtedly be the primary ballhandler. This kid is skilled and is my darkhorse pick for “Newcomer of the year” in the Big South Brown is not a scoring guard or two guard. He is a point guard that can score( there is a big difference) Super athletic, with a nasty streak. Just what we need at the PG position. Wait till you see him play