And the starting 5 are...

[RhythmDawg]

...because it's never too early to speculate when you have this much excitement surrounding your team.

How many freshmen would you start?

PG - Clark, JR or Washington, JR
SG - Ashaolu, FR, Gibson SO, Tims, FR, or Lathan, FR
SF - Wright, FR, or Ashaolu, FR
PF - Wright, FR, Smith, SR, Rogers, JR, or Mims, FR
C(PF#2?) - Mims, FR, Smith, SR, or Rogers, JR

I think, with no practices under their belts nor any credible information other than expectations...I will make a scientifically accurate prediction based on absolutely nothing and say:

PG - Clark
SG - Ashaolu
SF - Wright
PF - Smith
C(PF#2?) - Mims

[GatorDawg]

PG- Clark and Washington (I expect them to be split pretty close in minutes) Loe might come in as well when we need him.
SG- Olu, DJ, Washington, Gibson, Lathan or Tims
SF- Olu, DJ
PF- Smith, Mr. Rogers, DJ
C- Mr. Rogers, Smith

Redshirt (if we can afford it)-Mims, Lathan or Tims because I think we can only afford to be able to redshirt one of them.

Either way the lineup looks, I expect Olu or DJ to be in the game at all times. Also don't forget that Adrian Rogers can be a force to control the paint. I expect him to start over Smith if it came down to it.

[JAY]

i think that we will have to go smaller this year, then hopefully have the bigs in 08-09 to let dj and olu both play on the wing.

this year:

pg: clark, washington
sg: gipson, washington
sf: wright, lathan
pf olu, smith
c: rogers, smith


hopefully we can find one more player this late in the game to help with depth.

[1L_dawg]

hopefully Olu can penetrate and dish it to either Gipson or Wright who will hopefully be able to consistently knock down the 3...we haven't had a consistent 3 point shooter in quite sometime...isn't that Wright's speciality?

[dascoop]

i think that we will have to go smaller this year, then hopefully have the bigs in 08-09 to let dj and olu both play on the wing.

this year:

pg: clark, washington
sg: gipson, washington
sf: wright, lathan
pf olu, smith
c: rogers, smith


hopefully we can find one more player this late in the game to help with depth.

It has been reported on various sites that Olu will redshirt this year instead of going back to high school for his senior year. See article below:

Jerry Meyer
Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Recruiting Analyst


Once committed to attend Rutgers as a 2008 prospect, Olu Ashaolu is taking a different career path. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward from Humble (Texas) Christian Life Center is now headed to Louisiana Tech as a 2007 prospect.

document.write(insertImage('/IMAGES/PROSPECT/PHOTO/OLUASHAOLU11_14200.JPG', '', 0, 267, 200, 1, 'Ashaolu joins the Louisiana Tech program.', 'Rivals.com', 1185990041000, '', 1014, 'Align=Left'));Ashaolu joins the Louisiana Tech program."Olu has been playing varsity basketball since eighth grade and he was able to wrap up his core curriculum," said Ashaolu's brother John Ashaolu. "It didn't make sense anymore to play in high school."

Due to head coach Kerry Rupp's reputation for skill development, Ashaolu might wait a year before suiting up.

"As of now Olu is planning to redshirt," said John. "They want to make him more of a wing player, but he is not just going to hang out on the perimeter. He still has the size to take advantage of mismatches inside.

"We've heard great things about Coach Rupp's player development and want Olu to have a year to work with him. It also doesn't hurt that Karl Malone is on the staff. He wants to help out Olu and has a vision for what Olu can become."

John Ashaolu also noted that the family felt that Olu rushed into his decision to commit to Rutgers and never gave longtime family friend and Louisiana Tech assistant Nikita Johnson a chance to recruit him.

"Coach Johnson actually recruited me out of high school," said John. "He has known Olu since he was a child, and there is a great trust factor with our family and Coach Johnson.

"At Louisiana Tech, Olu has a chance to play in the WAC and be an impact player."

Ashaolu is coming off a strong summer where he had some terrific performances at the Reebok U Camp.
________
Yamaha XV1900

[GatorDawg]

I don't think he redshirts. We have too much a need of depth and he can be a starter from day 1. But that said if he wants to redshirt and come play 4 more years for us let him redshirt.

[JAY]

It has been reported on various sites that Olu will redshirt this year instead of going back to high school for his senior year. See article below:

i saw that, but i just cant believe it. maybe you have "da scoop" on it, but i will have to wait and see.


how does the best player on our team, who is killing the competition all summer, need to sit out to work on his game?


the team would be average without him, so he might as well work on his game by trying to help us win this year.

[GatorDawg]

i saw that, but i just cant believe it. maybe you have "da scoop" on it, but i will have to wait and see.


how does the best player on our team, who is killing the competition all summer, need to sit out to work on his game?


the team would be average without him, so he might as well work on his game by trying to help us win this year.

He may just want an extra year of college...which is fine with me if that means he stays and takes full advantage of what Tech can offer.

[touchdown123]

He may just want an extra year of college...which is fine with me if that means he stays and takes full advantage of what Tech can offer.

Why do I think thats not the reason.

[GatorDawg]

Why do I think thats not the reason.

Because he is a basketball player. It very well could be...especially considering he graduated high school early and was looking at a school like Rutgers.

[skilldawg]

i think that we will have to go smaller this year, then hopefully have the bigs in 08-09 to let dj and olu both play on the wing.

this year:

pg: clark, washington
sg: gipson, washington
sf: wright, lathan
pf olu, smith
c: rogers, smith


hopefully we can find one more player this late in the game to help with depth.

I think that looks pretty accurate. If Olu plays this year, I wouldn't be surprised if he plays sg, sf and pf all in the same game. Wright may very well play more than one position as well. Hopefully they can steal a few minutes with Mims at the 4 or 5 spot because that is obviously where we will be the thinnest.

[champion110]

I think he will play. We don't need to redshirt someone that will most likely be able to go high in the draft MUCH sooner than his graduation date.

[deadawg]

Mims will not play this year. He struggled against 1-A competition. He needs a year with Karl before he can help us.

[boxerdog]

Mims will not play this year. He struggled against 1-A competition. He needs a year with Karl before he can help us.

I don't know dea. He's already 6'8, 240--that's big enough to foul. If he's as soft as you keep saying, I doubt we'll get any offense out of him. That said, we're in desperate need of his length to defend the interior.

[bluecrew]

i think that we will have to go smaller this year, then hopefully have the bigs in 08-09 to let dj and olu both play on the wing.

this year:

pg: clark, washington
sg: gipson, washington
sf: wright, lathan
pf olu, smith
c: rogers, smith


hopefully we can find one more player this late in the game to help with depth.

Thats the 1