Let the Rumor Mongering Start

The basketball season is mercifully and finally over. The next coach will find a program with lots of long term potential, and two short term intriguing pieces in Dustin Ware and Trey Thompkins. The rest of the roster is a gigantic question mark.

Thompkins was Freshman All-SEC while averaging 12.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. With better conditioning, two working legs, and a better offensive scheme, he could easily develop into a 15-16 points per game type of player next year.

Ware averaged 7.4 points and 3.3 assists per game, and he could grow into a 10-11 pts and 4 assist per game kid. As a point of comparison, Rashad Wright lead the SEC in assists in 2002 with 4.74 per game. Both players must reduce their turnovers and play consistently hard at both ends going forward.

A wild card next year is Jeremy Price. Price averaged over 8 points a game as a freshman but saw his productivity fall to 5.2 points per game. If he can get his confidence back, he could be a 10 points and 7 rebounds a night type of guy. Right now, he's a shell of the player he was last year.

Regardless, the next coach has his work cut out for him. As there appears to be no SEC caliber starters on the roster at shooting guard or small forward. The team will need Demario Mayfield (incoming FR) or Ebuka Anyaorah (redshirted due to injury) to contribute at a freshman All-SEC level to open up the offense in a meaningful way.

The first step in stabilizing the roster is finding 5 starters who can do one thing really well. The next step is finding 5 who can do two things really well. Right now, we have several guys who don't do much of anything really well.

This and that:

-- Dumb rumor of the day in Tampa - Someone tried to tell me that Rick Pitino is interested in coming here. As if. Rick has $7.2 million in longevity bonuses scheduled to hit over the next 4 years plus $2.25 - $2.5 million in base pay. We'd have to pay him $4 million a year to get him. Silliest rumor yet.

-- Interesting rumor of the day. Saw a regularly-credible message board poster say that Tubby might be interested. I think it's a bad fit right now. Two years ago? Who knows. I know that I'd crawl over broken glass to get him back, and I know this guy is often in possession of great info.

-- Insane Name thrown out - The Orlando Paper mentioned Bill Self of Kansas as a candidate in Athens. I wish, but that won't happen. What is interesting about the Orlando article is this line:

Armed with a $60 million budget surplus, word out of Athens is Evans isn't going to search for a coach, he's going to buy one from another program. A big-timer.

I love that mentality.

I don't think we'll have a coach in place until after the Tourney's second weekend at the earliest.

PWD