In the meantime, let's give some quick takes on USU basketball's current forecast of how next season could play out with personnel. Obviously things could change a little bit between now and maybe the middle of summer, but my guess is it would be minimal.
On paper, USU looks to be in pretty decent shape for next year, assuming they can stay healthy this next time around. It's worth taking a quick look at, so let's hit these positions really quick.
Point guard
- Marcel Davis was playing on TWO bum ankles for the bulk of the year. Before that late-season fatigue set in for him, he was playing some dynamite basketball. Get him injury free and an offseason smarter, kid will be a star as a sophomore. Zero doubts about this!
- After a really rough start to the year, Tenale Roland really came on strong down the stretch. He might be more comfortable in the shooting guard role he got to play in for a lot of this year, but his progress as a player overall and especially with his 3-point shooting, it's pretty encouraging.
Shooting guard / small forward
- Last year's preseason WAC Player of the Year will return in Preston Medlin. Only this time around, he'll have other experienced scorers around him unlike the last two seasons when most everyone around him were unproven commodities and/or new to the system.
- Spencer Butterfield can just flat-out score in all sorts of ways. Sure, he's small, but that hasn't stopped him ever before. He routinely scored on bigger, more athletic defenders in the WAC as the focal point of opposing defenses. With offensive help around him, his star is going to continue to shine.
- The rest of this position is a bit of a wild card, particularly with how Danny Berger will bounce back into playing competitive basketball. If he can be the glue guy and outside threat that he's been in the past, he'll be just fine.
- Marvin Jean should get the chance to play in the role I've always though he was best suited for; Defensive stopper/3-point threat off the bench.
- This one is also a wild card, but Jalen Moore could very well end up as that fourth guy in the mix on the wings too. If he does, I'd guess that Jean redshirts. If not, a redshirt year for Moore would be great for his future as well.
Power forward
- Ben Clifford had himself a really promising finish to the season with his two highest scoring games of his career. Lots of people seem to feel he shouldn't be a starter, but his play lately has to have people second-guessing that. Worst case, he's a very good bench guy to have, valuable to any roster.
- One injury from last year is still maybe the biggest question mark on the roster. If Sean Harris is able to stay healthy, he should definitely contend for a starting role. Plenty of work would need to be done on his part though to unseat a guy entering his fourth year in the program like Clifford though.
- Kyle Davis is the other question mark here, but could be a star in the making. He had a great freshman season at SUU, especially later in the year when he was a starter, but will be facing much better competition in the MWC. Being fresh off a mission could throw a wrench in things as the season wears on though.
Center
- Obviously Jarred Shaw should be the go-to guy here. I'm anticipating somewhat of an improvement like we saw in Kyisean Reed from year one to year two. In other words, more consistent intensity in Shaw's game, which showed could pay off in big ways. If other team's can't ALWAYS double and triple team him, he'll thrive!
- Jordan Stone improved mas much as any Aggie in all of 2013, turning into a solid option off the bench, despite often playing out of position. He's big, he can defend, and he can rebound. He even showed a tiny bit of offensive ability too, with everything seeming to calm down for him around the basket and allowing him to finish some of those gimme buckets.
- Maybe the most unrealized potential still is Matt Lopez. For him to end up contributing here, he's going to need to have one hell of an offseason, plain and simple.
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