Coach Fred Aura
Fall practices went well. Players got along well together and focused on developing the best team work possible. We have good depth this season. Here’s how we will start the season:
Starters:
PG-Josh McFadgon, 6-1 Sr: Josh developed strongly throughout last season, particularly his scoring. He continues to show good offensive power. I’m hoping his ball distribution continues to improve but he’s got a good understanding about the flow of a game and good leadership skills.
SG-James Lilly, 6-0 Sr: James is very strong offensively, defensively and on the boards. His production has declined a bit but that’s because we have so many more players who can put points on the board and he understands that whoever has the best shot should be putting the ball into the hoop. His leaping capabilities and his understanding of the importance of proper positioning for rebounds has made him our top rebounder, even though he’s just 6 feet tall.
SF-Leonard Meliet, 6-5 Fr: Tremendous potential. That’s made us decide to start him at SF (rather than his natural PG position) so we have him in the starting lineup. We’ll see how he does there and adjust if necessary. So far he’s had spurts of excellent offense but also bouts of poor shot selection. He’s going to be a good rebounder, but is still learning how to best position himself and contend for rebounds against bigger players.
PF-Marvin Reese, 6-6 Sr: Marvin is a good scorer. We continue to work with him on his rebounding and defense. He can also move over to and do a good job at SF since he’s a very good outside shooter.
C-Courtland Reese, 6-9 So: He continues to be our rock inside. A very good scorer and rebounder and a good defender. We are a better team when Courtland is on the floor. We believe he has the ability to develop further, but we’ll see how that unfolds this season.
Bench:
Perimeter Players:
PG-Phil Thompson (6-3, Fr) came to us with a good skill set that still needs refinement. So we will give him enough minutes so that he can develop into what could be a very strong player for us in the future. Jon Ray (6-3, Sr) will come in at both PG and SG. He has the ability to come in and give us a scoring boost and his passing and ball-handling skills have really progressed. Since he could well become our starting PG next season after Josh McFadgon graduates, Leonard Meliet will get playing time at PG as well as starting at SF.
SG-Besides Jon Ray, Jason Dunn (6-2, Sr) will continue to come off the bench to spell James Lilly. He’s developed a lot since last season and can give us some offensive firepower when he enters the game.
SF-Michael Millford (6-6, Jr) could well have been a starter this season (and may be at some point). He’s good at coming in and putting points on the board. Keith Kolder (6-7, Fr) has good skills but needs to hone them further so we need to find spots where he can get onto the court and have success. We’re likely to slide Marvin Reese and Winston Minahan from their regular PF position over to the SF position at times and feel that both can be productive there. Andy Dawson (6-8, So) is a pretty decent player for a walk-on but is unlikely to get much playing time.
Interior Players:
Jason Caldwell (6-8 Jr) and Greg Kidd (6-10 Jr walk-on) are both excellent players at either C or PF. Both are good scorers and rebounders. Winston Minahan (6-6 So) is coming off a year of ineligibility due to his transfer from Texas Tech). He’s a solid player at PF and will also put in some time as SF. Danny Toliver (6-8, So) who transferred this year from Georgia Tech will be practicing with the team but is ineligible this season due to the transfer.