Love the Macon, Barford and Beard seniors - this year will be so much fun.
Didn’t get to see all the games this weekend but wonder who we are developing in the younger classes as guards who will contribute this year and take over next year to keep this rolling.
Or maybe we have some in next recruiting class.
Next year’s class seems to be stacked at guard with Sills, Embery, and Joe. And then you have Jalen Harris sitting out this year, and Garland if he ever gets cleared to play. I definitely expect some drop off next year at guard losing Barford and Macon, but the future still looks bright.
Good to know thank you
Yeah those are two big time Guards who now have some quality D-1 experience under their belts. Beard is not bad either, and CJ is coming on. CJ may be playing at their level next year. Just breaks my heart about Khalil. For his sake more than mine. He’ll be another good one if and when he’s cleared to play. I really like Isiah Cotton Eye Joe’s game. I think of him as a longer slightly taller version of Dusty Hannahs. He’s got that kind of range and will also be a better defender than Dusty. Haven’t seen enough of Desi Sills to comment and I can only go by our Insider’s opinion of Embery and Harris.
Reports are that Phillips is flexible enough to potentially play #1 - #3 and maybe #4 as well.
Maybe my old brain is getting even more calcified, or I missed something entirely, but isn’t Justice Hill a highly regarded point guard?
Hill will be 2019 Class and a great point guard if we can keep him off the football field
There are at least 4 guys who I think can be primary ballhandlers next year and 3 others who will definitely play, too. Identifying which of those lead ballhandler types emerge is going to be very interesting.
Jalen Harris is going to need to play a major role next year. C.J. told me last week he’s looked really good in practice. Him learning the system and practicing against the seniors this year will be valuable. Interested to see if he turns into more of a scorer.
I really like Keyshawn Embery. He should play and have the ball in his hands a lot. Bouncy, great scoring instincts, tight handle and can get his shot off the bounce and in creative ways.
Jordan Phillips is another who looks like he may be comfortable handling and creating. He’s 6-7 and versatile, which is big.
Desi Sills is a combo guard type who I think will fit what they’re trying to do. Not quite as big as Embery, but has a strong frame like him. Gritty guy. Everyone I talk to about him raves about how he impacts winning.
As far as the others, I really like Isaiah Joe. Long, great shooter, underrated handle and feel for the game. He’ll play PG in high school this year, which should be beneficial. Maybe he can add some playmaking off the bounce.
C.J., to me, is still a ways from being someone who can create for himself. That said, in this system he doesn’t have to be able to in order to flourish. He can come off pindowns or dribble handoffs and rise up or get into his mid-range pull-up game. Adding the ability to get all the way to the rim consistently is the next evolution of his game.
Darious also still needs to improve his handle and shot, but obviously he does so much else to impact the game. He has a really high ceiling.
Those seven guys will make up the backcourt. Not all of them will be able to play big minutes, so the summer and fall will be pretty competitive.
Thanks, philhog!
Well, at least there are some synapses still working in there. I knew that he was a year later but was thinking of the original question as addressing more than 2018 players.
Jimmy it doesn’t sound like you expect Khalil to play again.Am I reading that right?
I think it would be viewed as a pleasant surprise at this point.
Against Bucknell I thought CJ showed some ability to create off the dribble. Not saying all SEC at this point just some development
Yeah, he took 3 dribbles to snake across the top of the key to get a quality mid-range shot at one point and handled it more than he has overall. Baby steps. He wasn’t doing that last year.