How successful our Rebels are next year is going to rely much on the performance of our Point Guard. While Dave is a phenomenal recruiter he clearly missed when choosing Cody last off-season to be our PG. Cody was effective early, even winning us a few games late on his own, however the decision to play him so many minutes a game early in the year & not play Kendall enough ended up hurting us - and I'm not justifying Kendall bailing on UNLV - yet we sure could have used him this year. Teams quickly learned how un-athletic and hesitant to shoot Doolin was and took advantage, either by pressing him, playing 5 feet off him, or simply blowing by him at will. This post is not meant to bash Cody, as he's a terrific kid, student athlete, responsible, well spoken both during the season and now after.
I won't beat a dead horse with going back over DeVille, AM, Oscar, etc...but I think Dave would even admit off record that recruiting results have not gone as planned at the PG position. The flow/tempo of the game is so much controlled by your Point in college basketball, which is why I hope Jerome is the answer next season. I very much like Cook, however he appears a career back-up and is okay with that. McCaw is more than serviceable for 15 minutes or so, but is at his best at the 3/wing position. The great news with those 3 is they are all very fast and can push and defend. I have not seen Poyser play in person, and I've heard both sides on him being a true PG or more of a combo guard, however with so much riding on next season I'd be hesitant to hand over the keys to a freshman PG with my job on the line.
I have seen Jerome in person and he definitely has the speed and quickness to fit the bill. He also gives us another guy who can create his own shot, as this year we really only had Vaughn who could get you baskets late in the shot clock when the offense had stalled. So I'm hoping Jerome can be the true PG that we very much need, as I have no doubts in his leadership and toughness qualities.
I won't beat a dead horse with going back over DeVille, AM, Oscar, etc...but I think Dave would even admit off record that recruiting results have not gone as planned at the PG position. The flow/tempo of the game is so much controlled by your Point in college basketball, which is why I hope Jerome is the answer next season. I very much like Cook, however he appears a career back-up and is okay with that. McCaw is more than serviceable for 15 minutes or so, but is at his best at the 3/wing position. The great news with those 3 is they are all very fast and can push and defend. I have not seen Poyser play in person, and I've heard both sides on him being a true PG or more of a combo guard, however with so much riding on next season I'd be hesitant to hand over the keys to a freshman PG with my job on the line.
I have seen Jerome in person and he definitely has the speed and quickness to fit the bill. He also gives us another guy who can create his own shot, as this year we really only had Vaughn who could get you baskets late in the shot clock when the offense had stalled. So I'm hoping Jerome can be the true PG that we very much need, as I have no doubts in his leadership and toughness qualities.
