Monday, October 29, 2012

Wofford Preview: Will Youth Be Served?

 
Each day from October 23-November 3, there will be a blogger/fan previewing their team in this space. For previous previews and the future schedule, click here.
 
After back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the experts expected Wofford to take a sizable tumble in the 2011-12 season due to heavy graduation loses. But Mike Young guided the team to a respectable 19-14 overall record, including 12-6 in the SoCon. That was good for second place in the SoCon's South division. Wofford played in the CBI postseason tournament. The team was lead by senior guards Brad Loesing and Kevin Giltner, who both played about every minute of every game, and senior center Drew Crowell. But now Young and his Terriers will face another tough challenge as those three players, who provided the lion's share of Wofford's scoring last season, are all now playing professionally in Europe. The only returning full-time starter is reigning SoCon freshman of the year Karl Cochran. This incredibly athletic 6-1 So. guard averaged 11.1 points and 4.7 rebounds and was tops on the team in both blocked shots and steals. Other key returnees include So. F Lee Skinner, a physical 6-6 inside player who lead the team in rebounding. Junior 6-7 F Aerris Smith, who started 19 games last season, continues to improve steadily and may be poised for a breakout year. Very athletic 6-6 So. F Jarrell Byrd showed flashes of brilliance in limited minutes last season and the Terriers think his ceiling is very high. Rounding out the returnees are 6-1 G John Swinton, who may see significant minutes at PG this season, and 6-3 G Taylor Wagener, a shooter and the team's only senior.

The fortunes of the 2012-13 Terriers will depend largely on the development of the many newcomers to the team. The Terriers are very high on 6-4 G Indiana Faithfull from Australia, who will have a chance to be a major contributor at PG. Faithfull is a So. as he was ruled ineligible for his freshman year. Faithfull has been a winner as his high school record was 54-4. Another potential stud at guard is 6-2 Bryan Harris from the Baltimore area. Harris averaged 24 PPG at Massanutten Military Academy (VA) last year, and Wofford feels extremely fortunate to have landed him. Also competing for minutes at guard will be 6-4 sharpshooter Spencer Collins, who averaged 20.3 PPG and 7.6 rebounds at Easley (SC) High, including a 44 point performance in the playoffs.

There is no shortage of new forwards that will be competing for playing time. The Terriers have 6-8 redshirt freshman Kevin Hickson and true freshmen 6-8 Zac Grossenbacher, 6-7 C.J. Neumann, and athletic 6-6 Justin Gordan. These four guys will all be vying to help the Terriers' inside game. One of the three true freshman forwards may be redshirtted. 5-11 G James Long and 6-6 F Zach Korkowski, a pair of freshmen walk-ons, will round out the roster.

The 2012-13 schedule is a bit less daunting than some previous Wofford schedules, perhaps due to the team's youth. Road trips to Colorado (the season opener on November 9), Xavier, and Virginia highlight the non-conference slate. Winthrop and Gardner-Webb will visit Spartanburg, and the Terriers will participate in The Classic in Wilmington, NC. Wofford will have an early opportunity to see how they stack up in the conference as they must travel to league favorite Davidson for an early SoCon game on December 8.


THREE QUESTIONS

1. How will this young team's players develop throughout the year?

Of the 15 players on the team roster, 8 are freshmen and 5 are sophomores. So this is obviously a team without a lot of experience. But it is also a team with a lot of talent and potential, as many of the guys have a very strong upside. How fast can these guys develop, improve, and reach their potential? The answer to that question will go a long way toward determining if Wofford can be a contender in the SoCon.

2. How well will the new guards fill the void left by Loesing's and Giltner's departures?

Make no mistake, these two guys are huge losses for Wofford. Both averaged 38 minutes a game and were tremendous leaders. They were very smart guys who were excellent shooters and passers, excellent free throw shooters, and very cool and dangerous in the clutch with a game on the line. Their presence will be very difficult to replace. The only proven backcourt commodity is Karl Cochran, and he must guard against a sophomore slump. Young guys like Swinton (who saw very limited minutes last season), Faithfull, Harris, and Collins will have to develop quickly. Can one or more of these newcomers step up and contribute right away? The Terriers will have to have that happen in order to be a factor in the SoCon.

3. Will the big men be able to provide a strong inside presence?

Key returnees Lee Skinner and Aerris Smith must continue their development at a good clip as both are projected starters. Both must also improve from the foul line as the each shot less than 60% from the stripe last year. Newcomers Grossenbacher and Neumann will likely compete for minutes at center and will need to contribute right away to fill the void left by Drew Crowell's departure. Will they be up to it? It's a big question for the Terriers.

FINAL ANALYSIS

This is obviously a very young and inexperienced team. Mike Young will get the absolute maximum from them. But with youth comes many ups and downs. And this team may well struggle from the charity stripe at times, which is never a good thing when you are in a close game. I expect this team to win some games no one expected them to win but also lose some games that they are favored in and end up somewhere in the middle of the SoCon pack. But regardless of the outcome of games, this will be a very fun and interesting team to watch and these guys will grow and develop as basketball players with each game. So I hope to see some good crowds at the Benjamin Johnson Arena this season to get behind these young pups.

By Cody Cooper/woffordgrad94, TerrierFans.com

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