There weren't many positives, but there are a few we can point to as helpful to next year:
1. Jeremiah Williams - he's a leader, he's a ballhandler and distributor, and he can get a bucket when needed. He will be a perfect complement to Ace and Dylan.
2. Gavin Griffiths -- yes, he was lost on both offense and defense for most of the year, but he absolutely showed improvement over the final 1/3rd of the season, as you would hope a freshman would. He showed glimpses of actually becoming a "plus" defender with his length and quickness -- he was third on the team in blocked shots with 13, in just 17.8 mpg, and he was right behind Hyatt who had 15 blocks -- and his offensive decisions and shooting were much better, especially in the final 7 games where he shot 13-35 from 3-point range (37%). There is hope that he can be a consistent 9-10 ppg scorer next year while shooting 35% or better from deep.
3. JaMichael Davis -- not much was expected of the man they call JMike. Most thought that he was brought in solely because of his connection to Ace, and that he would only see garbage time minutes like a replacement for Jalen Miller. But he ended up being a plus defender (way better than Miller IMO), had a decent mid-range game (41% on twos), and he was often a stabilizing force at PG with a solid assist-to-TO ratio (58-39). No doubt, he also had serious flaws to his game, such as terrible FT shooting (52%), bad 3-pt shooting (8-36 for 22%), and a penchant for getting out of control on fast breaks. But he provided many more positives than I had anticipated before the season started, and as a freshman, it has to give you hope that he can develop into a serviceable, if not good, 4th guard off the bench next year in a four-guard rotation.
1. Jeremiah Williams - he's a leader, he's a ballhandler and distributor, and he can get a bucket when needed. He will be a perfect complement to Ace and Dylan.
2. Gavin Griffiths -- yes, he was lost on both offense and defense for most of the year, but he absolutely showed improvement over the final 1/3rd of the season, as you would hope a freshman would. He showed glimpses of actually becoming a "plus" defender with his length and quickness -- he was third on the team in blocked shots with 13, in just 17.8 mpg, and he was right behind Hyatt who had 15 blocks -- and his offensive decisions and shooting were much better, especially in the final 7 games where he shot 13-35 from 3-point range (37%). There is hope that he can be a consistent 9-10 ppg scorer next year while shooting 35% or better from deep.
3. JaMichael Davis -- not much was expected of the man they call JMike. Most thought that he was brought in solely because of his connection to Ace, and that he would only see garbage time minutes like a replacement for Jalen Miller. But he ended up being a plus defender (way better than Miller IMO), had a decent mid-range game (41% on twos), and he was often a stabilizing force at PG with a solid assist-to-TO ratio (58-39). No doubt, he also had serious flaws to his game, such as terrible FT shooting (52%), bad 3-pt shooting (8-36 for 22%), and a penchant for getting out of control on fast breaks. But he provided many more positives than I had anticipated before the season started, and as a freshman, it has to give you hope that he can develop into a serviceable, if not good, 4th guard off the bench next year in a four-guard rotation.