In response
1) Ski, I think has always known his role, his shots are falling now though. He has made the adjustment to square up to the basket before most of his shots and it is paying off. We need his fearlessness when it comes to shooting.
2) Spencer has shown he can take over a game when he wants too and that doesn't mean more shots. I wish he would do it more often, he could be averaging 25pts a game if he wanted to.
3) Scott needs to keep up the hot shooting from the stripe, he becomes a lethal weapon when he can score from the field or from the line.
4/5) The freshman need to get better and more consistent, time for learning is up. Time to step up and make an impact.
6) Johnson just needs to play his game. He is a monster when the lights are brightest, I hope he can become more consistent with conference play beginning
Conference Schedule
OSU W
OU W
@WSU W
@UW W
USC W
UCLA W
@UA L
@ASU W
UU W
WSU W
UW W
@UCLA L
@USC W
ASU W
UA W
@UU L
@Stanford W
@Cal L
I could see us going 14-4. Obviously probably a little too optimistic, but I just can't see us losing at home. Also this year there seems to be a clear definition between the upper half and the lower half of the conference so some picks are easier than others. I think that road stretch at the end of the season hurts us a bit and we lose a couple we shouldn't to finish out the season.
That conference record would put us at 25-6 and probably set us up for a 2 or 3 seed in the Pac-12 tournament and likely a top 5 seed in the NCAA.
14-4 is really optimistic considering how much Boyle's teams have struggled on the road against mediocre to bad teams. We are still super young at most positions, and our offense is heavily reliant on free throws, which we won't get as many on the road.
Even playing the bad teams, we have trouble with (at Utah last year). I would take 12-6 with losing one at home (probably Oregon or Arizona) and going 4-5 on the road. Anything more than that would be sweet but should not be expected with our youth issues and lack of 3pt shooting.
As for the original poster's thoughts:
1) If Ski can stay balanced and take good shots, I think we all can agree that Ski is what we want. He has been doing a better job of that in the last two games, hopefully it continues.
2) Spencer will do whatever the team needs, but he is a team first guy and his stats reflect that. He would rather get everyone involved and then if needed, he would take over a game. Nothing wrong with that IMO.
3) Scott is our best offensive player, and I really want our players to feed him more because it will open up our offense even more because of other teams double teaming him.
4) I like each of those guys, but none have risen up and seperated from the pack.
5) King can definitely rebound better than any frosh, but the rest of his game needs improvement. I really like his potential, and I wish he could have redshirted, but alas, being thrown in the fire is good for his development next year.
6) XJ is a enigma, a true X factor. If he is on, we are really tough to beat because he can do so many things well. Rebound, defend, make threes, dunks, tenacious, etc. He is still adjusting to his role, but he thrives on the big game stage.
6)
