My List:
-Guinyard is an all-conference A-10 player & a better playmaker than his stats & highlights from last season suggested. 3rd team seems like a lock. 1st or 2nd team are totally possible even though DU players aren't usually shown that kind of love by the coaches.
-Hugley could also be an all-conference A-10 player, but is prone to some performance diminishing mental lapses. (See the VA Tech ejection & fouls number 1 & 4 last night.) He needs to be more disciplined in year 6 for this team to sniff a top 3 seed in the conference tournament.
-Coach Dru has demonstrated a much improvement in his craft in season 2.
-Brandon Hall is definitely NOT a lost cause, but he is also not yet ready for strong opponents like Villanova & the top 12 A-10 teams. He needs plenty of minutes during the remaining non-con season for there to be any hope of his making a significant, positive contribution this year. I don't see how he has any possibility of staying in the rotation if Jake is 100%.
-Milosevic has significant upside, but it seems unlikely that he will get enough run this year if the team enjoys good health. Hard to get significant time with Hugley, Necas, Bus, & Dixon in front of you.
-Bus needs lots of minutes to get back into the swing of D-1 basketball & prepare for the future. He the has physical tools & basketball instincts to be a good A-10 center. Hopefully the non-con schedule will feature 4-5 blowout wins so he can play for long stretches & get many reps on the offensive end.
-If Jake is back at full strength by mid-December, this looks like a top 70 team & Hall will become a fixture on the Dukes bench.
-If Cam can't make defenses prioritize him due to his 3pt shooting, ability to generate/convert FTs & finishing in transition, he can't stay in the starting lineup no matter how important it is for his confidence. This is doubly true with Necas as the starting PF because they have combined for just 36 points over the first 4 games.
-Not enough is known about A. Williams's situation to draw any conclusions.
-Necas plays very hard & is a key cog in the defense, but his inability to stay on the floor due to foul trouble, FT shooting, & lack of shots
will relegate him to strong role player status if they continue.
-Dixon can be counted on to provide many thrilling moments & 8-10 very solid games throughout the season, but the chances of his breaking out as a senior seem almost nonexistent.
-There is at least a 50% chance that Jimmy Williams will finish the season as a top 40 A-10 player.
-Aekins will have his growing pains as teams come to know his skill set, but he is a keeper!
-Max is putting himself in the running for the A-10 6th Man award. His willingness to come off the bench is a huge bonus for the coaching staff.
-I really enjoyed the fresh perspective & energy Noah brought to both the radio & TV broadcasts last season. I assumed he would be even better this year & hoped he would soon take over the color commentary gig from the generally despised Ellis Canon. Alas, he has been truly awful the last 2 games.
-The production quality of both the TV & radio broadcasts continues to be decidedly second rate.