New Faces

There are five true freshman on the roster. Five.

And with Dontay Hampton out, it makes it almost impossible to believe that one will not be starting at least, and there could be as many three in the starting lineup.

What is this- Kentucky? This is bizarro world. It's hard to even imagine that three freshman could start- yet here we are.

The Mocs will start Farad Cobb at point guard, almost guaranteed. Without Hampton, it's hard to figure out who else would start at point guard. Cobb was the prize recruit in the recruiting class, beating out College of Charleston for his services. He is 6-0 tall, and is going to be a very exciting player throughout the season.

His back-up at point guard? Could it be freshman walk-on Alex Bran? Bran is from Memphis and has some talent- though he is a walk-on for a reason. Bran might just be the back-up to Cobb with Hampton out. Bran decided to walk-on shortly after Hampton's injury was announced. He is probably OK, but you never want to go into a season with your back-up point guard being a walk-on freshman. (Then again, Rico White or one of the other freshman may get be the back-up.)

Eric Robertson is the freshman I am next most excited about. Robertson has a real shot to be the back-up point guard as well, though I think it's more likely that he will be playing the two guard, possibly even starting there. He is a very good shooter, but also has some athleticism. It should be interesting to see if Robertson or Rico White is the starter at the two guard spot. Both guys will see plenty of minutes until Hampton comes back in late December/early January. After that, who knows- but they'll likely still see plenty.

Gee McGhee is one of the potential breakout players of the freshman class. He is 6-5 and 200 pounds. Shulman has been praising him as one of the team's vocal leaders of the offseason workouts. McGhee was recruited by Murray State. He appears to have a good mid-range game. Can start at one of the wings? Lance Stokes might be the most likely player to start at that spot at the moment, although McGhee, Jones (below), Robertson, and White could be there, too. If McGhee is as tough as he looks, and as much of a vocal leader as it looks like he could be, the Mocs may have found one of their starters. He could play a little point guard in a pinch.

Casey Jones is 6-5, and is very athletic. He can go down low, or shoot from the outside. He's been one of the big surprises of the preseason camp as well. Jones could be a starter as well. He has some game down low. If he can add a little bit of muscle to his body, he will be solid down there. But more than likely, he is going to wind up at the wing spot battling with McGhee and the rest for a starting spot.

It really should be an interesting couple of weeks, and I'm actually really looking forward to the Tennessee Temple game. Not only will that be a chance for the Mocs to start 1-0 and be above .500 (thus making me feel warm and happy all over), but it will also be a chance to get a really good look at this team. When they go to to Kansas, that will be another opportunity to see how the young guys hold up under pressure. Finally, the three homes games of the CBE Classic against Louisiana Tech, Troy, and Southeast Missouri will tell us a lot about how far this team has to come. The freshman will know a lot more about themselves at that point.

GO MOCS!