Assuming Amir isn't eligible..

Starters: Mazzulla, Potter, Jack, Toro, (Offurum)

Looking at our roster made me realize how paper thin we are. God forbid Mazzulla or Potter gets injured and I could conceivably see Mitola taking over as the primary ball handler. The first 4 starters to me are set in stone, the fifth however seems like a toss up. Hard to gauge while only having Kenner league as a source of info. I'm sure the open practice will help show who the real contenders are. 

Bench: Langarica, Williams, Nelson Jr.

I think it would be wise to have Javier come off the bench. I think he should play sizable minutes alongside Toro, however, we run into size match up problems if both are gassed / out / in foul trouble. Williams is an obvious choice to earn minutes. He's always been a positive spark plug and could even justify being put in the starting rotation. From what i've heard through Kenner commentary, it sounds like Jameer is the obvious back up ball handler. Mitola may be more senior and consistent but he's going to be out the door and we could use some development. 

Other freshman remain a question. Would love to uncover a diamond in the rough, feels like we're due for one. Also interested to see how JC distributes minutes to the freshman. Seemed like MJ didnt take kindly to freshman mistakes (ie benched the whole year). 

Minutes: 
Mazz (32); Nelson Jr. (10)
Armel (26); Williams (20)
Jack (32); Battle (7)
Offurum (15); Walker Jr. (8)
Toro (30); Langarica (15); Paar (5)

This doesn't directly answer the questions posed above, but a few thoughts:
- JC is going to look to fire away from 3 on offense, and unfortunately he inherited a team largely of players who aren't very good shooters (at least based off last season). This is true whether Amir plays or not. Harris took zero threes last year at Nebraska. While there is no chance that repeats once he suits up in Foggy Bottom, he certainly prefers to get to the hoop than hoist a jumper.

Minutes distribution will obviously look different at the end of the season, but this leads me to believe Maceo will lead the team in minutes this year, and if Jamison can play decent defense, he will see possibly minutes in the teens off the bench since it appears he can make threes at a pretty good rate. Somehow I can see him used much like Sloan was his freshman year at Siena. Hopefully Adam sees a more consistent role this year, as I believe he has a role on this team as a sharpshooter even as a walk-on. I see Juice as a sixth man off the bench. Not sure if he can keep up his three point percentage on a greater volume given his unusual stroke, but he will find a way to get significant minutes (maybe 20). Mezie has a pretty good jumper, but appeared a bit more consistent from midrange than deep.

- Jamion will look to play potentially four guards, or a stretch 4 so that the offense can be spaced out with multiple shooters. Playing two bigs will clog the paint and make it harder to move the ball on offense and closes lanes to drive to the hoop.

This puts a cap on how many minutes Javier will see this year, as Arnaldo is expected to return to the starting lineup now healthy. Having said that, Javier is one of the players I look to that has the chance to greatly improve his three point shooting this year which will earn him more minutes (maybe as a stretch big?) I think free throw shooting is a pretty good indicator of how good a shooter a player is, and Javier proved that by knocking down 79% of his attempts (second on the team in percentage after Maceo) and I think there is reason to believe he has the ability to shoot at least 35% from deep on a decent volume.

- Jamion has said in several interviews that the players he inherits are "his guys".

That is something all coaches say, and I do believe that JC is honest when he says that. Having said that, every coach starting at a new place will want to put their guys in as soon as they can. That's natural. Based on this, I think both Jameer and Shawn could carve out a role (moreso the former as Shawn appears a bit thin). As for Chase, it is noteworthy that he can make threes as shown in Kenner, but I wouldn't expect too many minutes this year from him.

- Siena ranked 8th in the country in turnovers per game at 9.8.

While I'd be surprised if we play as slowly as Siena did last year, it's clear JC values not turning the ball over. I'd expect Armel to take on a larger load handling the ball as he was a lot less turnover prone than Justin.

In general, I think Mezie's performance this year will be an important decider in how well the team can perform this year. He is clearly athletically gifted, but I can't help but think his lack of court time last year will hurt us to a degree.

I'll say for now the starting lineup will be: Justin, Armel, Maceo, Mezie, and Arnaldo. If Amir plays, sub out Mezie.
 

I'd think he'd cater the style of play to the personnel.
I guess my biggest question, who surprises the most on this team? each year it seems there's a guy can't quite see coming before the year begins.
 

Gwmayhem wrote:

Who was last season's biggest surprise?   

I'm not The Dude, but probably Juice just in the sense that he showed he belonged on the court and was one of few players who gave a crap 100% of the time even when the outcome looked bleak.

I can think of 1 or 2 major surprises every year since I've been a fan. I'm thinking this year will be in line with every other year.  Which always makes October predictions tough.