2011-12 season preview

[ghostofdylan]

Edited to include Paris Gulley, 6-2, 180-pound shooting guard from Peoria Manual High School and Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa.

Here's a look at the Panthers roster for the coming year (with perhaps a few additions still on the way):

By Class
Seniors
Tony Meier
Kaylon Williams
Ryan Allen

Juniors
Lonnie Boga
Paris Gulley
James Haarsma
Ryan Haggerty
Demetrius Harris
Ja' Rob McCallum
Christian Wolf (walk-on)

Sophomores
Kyle Kelm
Quinton Gustavson (walk-on)
Mitch Roelke (walk-on)

Freshmen
Shaquille Boga
J.J. Panoske
Evan Richard

By position
Point guard
Kaylon Williams
Shaquille Boga
Paris Gulley

Shooting/wing guard
Paris Gulley
Ryan Allen
Ja' Rob McCallum
Evan Richard
Lonnie Boga
Mitch Roelke

Forwards
Tony Meier
James Haarsma
Kyle Kelm
Demetrius Harris
Ryan Haggerty
J.J. Panoske
Christian Wolf

Pivot
Demetrius Harris
J.J. Panoske
Christian Wolf

[BBFran]

Kyle Kelm is not a "small forward."

Kyle is a big man who needs to learn to play big, like Anthony did. Kyle can't play at the "small" forward position because he would be abused defensively. I appreciate Kyle's perimeter shooting skill and passing instincts, but he's 6'9 for a reason, and it's not to float around the three line. He can be an excellent rebounder if he dedicates himself to it, but you can't rebound from the perimeter. While I'm hoping Demetrius gives us that power look down low that we need, I want all our bigs to play as much as possible where their size really counts -- in the paint. This isn't high school or AAU ball.

[ghostofdylan]

Fran, I was just merely working off what I observed last year.

I agree that Kyle needs to evolve into something more than he is, but not at the expense of compromising what he already has.

[Deleted]

Q is a freshman. I know he did get the injury redshirt for this past season.

[BBFran]

I don't believe that's accurate, dkelly. Since Q redshirted as a true freshman, he had four years of eligibility remaining. Unfortunately, his injury didn't allow him to play this year. At the end of his fifth year, he can petition for an additional year of eligibility because he was injured for a full season. That's how I understand it, anyway.

[Super King]

Kyle was working with a totally reworked body last year and getting accustomed to a position and a level of physicality he had never experienced before. Expecting a player to be effective in that position is asking a bit much. He'll have made improvements.

JJ Panoske is a center. The closest thing we've had to one in a long, long time.

Demetrius Harris can hit jumpers out to 17 feet, so I'd say he and Haarsma are actually the truest power forwards on the team. He won't just be an Anthony Hill sit-under-the-basket player.

[kaygee]

Panoske looks like he has the size of a young Mielke.

[Deleted]

Apr 23, 2011 18:33:02 GMT -6 kaygee said:

Panoske looks like he has the size of a young Mielke.

A reference to the Milk Man....I love it!

[PantherU]

This thread is weird. You guys are claiming that:

Kyle Kelm should be a banger down low.

J.J. Panoske is a center.

Demetrius Harris is here for his mid-range jumper.

_____________________________

Really?

Kyle Kelm is a small forward - sorry, Fran, but he's almost an exact carbon copy of Tony Meier, and asking him to become a banger down low would be ridiculous. Height shouldn't matter. We're not going to ask James Haarsma to play the three because he's only 6'4''.

Kelm's got some great moves down in the post, but you'd be essentially cutting his legs off if you say "Here's your role, go play it."

One of the reasons mid-majors get players that are as talented as Kelm is because he doesn't fit the 1-2-3-4-5 positions. He has the offensive skill set of a 3, 4 and 5 but isn't big enough or strong enough to handle the 5 on defense and isn't quite quick enough to handle the 3 on defense (in this conference, when more often than not the 3 is an extra shooting guard).

James Haarsma has the same offensive 3-4-5 skills, but he's going to play the 5 because that's what he's best at and that's who he can play with - he's gonna bang down low.

J.J. Panoske played the 5 on his Brodhead team because, basically, he was the biggest guy they had. Now he's coming in with a slightly bigger build than Q - yeah, he's totally a 5. J.J. has a 3-4 offensive skill set and a 4 defensive skill set.

Basically what I'm saying is, pigeon-holing Kyle Kelm as a "big man" or a "small forward" is halving his effectiveness.

[Super King]

Except one thing I've learned over Jeter's tenure is that his teams are far more effective when everyone has a set role that they play. Versatility is fine, but aside from Eayrs, Jeter's teams have never been able to compete at a consistently high level with versatile players. Take Torre Johnson, who did absolutely everything, outside and inside, but played for a losing team. Or Tony Meier, who only became his most effective by focusing entirely on his outside shooting, which was opened up because Anthony Hill allowed him to remain on the perimeter.

If JJ took his entire redshirt year, which at this point seems almost a given, to focus on bulking up and learning the block, it would do wonders down the road. He can step out and shoot every once in a while, but considering the NBA-like qualities of the pick-and-roll system Jeter employs, everything works smoother with a big body down low.

And if JJ isn't playing the defensive 5 three years from now, who will be?

[JG Panthers]

Apr 25, 2011 12:14:33 GMT -6 Super King said:

Except one thing I've learned over Jeter's tenure is that his teams are far more effective when everyone has a set role that they play. Versatility is fine, but aside from Eayrs, Jeter's teams have never been able to compete at a consistently high level with versatile players. Take Torre Johnson, who did absolutely everything, outside and inside, but played for a losing team. Or Tony Meier, who only became his most effective by focusing entirely on his outside shooting, which was opened up because Anthony Hill allowed him to remain on the perimeter.

If JJ took his entire redshirt year, which at this point seems almost a given, to focus on bulking up and learning the block, it would do wonders down the road. He can step out and shoot every once in a while, but considering the NBA-like qualities of the pick-and-roll system Jeter employs, everything works smoother with a big body down low.

And if JJ isn't playing the defensive 5 three years from now, who will be?

First of all, you're right... Well sort of. Every player is most effective when he has a defined role. However, each of your examples included a focal point of the team. Torre Johnson, James Eayrs, Tony Meier. Kyle Kelm doesn't fall into that category...yet. Until then, he's going to have to play into his role. That's what Tony did, and I suspect Kyle will have to do the same.

As for speculating who's going to defend the 5 in three years, perhaps we'll worry about that later.

[PantherLou]

Apr 25, 2011 12:14:33 GMT -6 Super King said:

Take Torre Johnson, who did absolutely everything, outside and inside

You mean everything except play anything that any way resembled defense, right?

[kaygee]

Kelm has the potential to become a player similar to Dylan Page. Page went through some growing pains early on as well. I see Kelm evolving similarily.

[Super King]

Apr 25, 2011 18:37:56 GMT -6 kaygee said:

Kelm has the potential to become a player similar to Dylan Page. Page went through some growing pains early on as well. I see Kelm evolving similarily.

We'll put it this way: Kelm had a far more effective Freshman season than Anthony Hill, and, well....

[ghostofdylan]

Apr 25, 2011 18:54:04 GMT -6 Super King said:

Apr 25, 2011 18:37:56 GMT -6 kaygee said:

Kelm has the potential to become a player similar to Dylan Page. Page went through some growing pains early on as well. I see Kelm evolving similarily.

We'll put it this way: Kelm had a far more effective Freshman season than Anthony Hill, and, well....

For that matter, Kyle had a far more effective freshman season than Dylan Page.