gwstudent2024 wrote:
It's 13 scholarships for men's basketball, right?
It is 13, although I genuinely cannot remember the last time GW used all 13 scholarships (not counting handing a walk-on one mid-year). Definitely seems like it's been a while. I don't know if that approach changes moving forward. It feels like there have been fewer mid-year transfers to make it worth holding onto the last one though imo. I get that most coaches only go 8-9 deep in a rotation but maybe inconsistent player availability last year makes me think that it's good to have as much depth as possible.
Buff&BlueBandit wrote:
What positions do you think CC will look for to fill out this team? My guess would be another pure ball handler PG (to back-up Jacoi) and defense first wing. Thoughts?
Since it's a guarantee at least one more scholarship will be filled, I definitely think a wing makes sense. Garrett showed great promise last year, but his availability moving forward with the hip issue is a bit concerning. At the very least, it definitely seems wise to have someone splitting time at the 3. Christian Watson is still available and he would be a good fit as a defense-first guy. I think he recently visited Tulane.
CC needed to address the frontcourt situation first after what happened last year. Castro/Hansen definitely seems like an upgrade from last year, and hopefully their presence will lead to a more balanced team. I'm a bit surprised CC hasn't signed a couple tall walk-ons like JC did - that feels like an easy way to build emergency depth up front.
Having said that, guard play is a difference maker when trying to be a top team in any conference. Outside of Moss, the backcourt is still pretty young and I don't know who the "go-to" guy is going to be there (Jun of course will be an option in general, but he's not a guard). Trey Moss has to become a lot more efficient I think to become that guy (going from W&M to GW should hopefully help some by default).
Based on that uncertainty, it would make sense to add another experienced option at guard should CC use both scholarships. Jacoi/Trey should take strides forward, and Christian/Ty are wildcards. Against all odds, the three freshman guards are all returning next year (as of now). I thought there was a 0% chance of that happening based on playing time competition but am pleasantly surprised that all are coming back. It remains unclear though whether any of them can take on that alpha scoring role from the guard position in the post-JB era.
