From great to elite: Can Marquise Carter take the 2010/2011 team to another level?

…would be a great find. As much as I’d like to see Meech and GJ develop, this guy would be able to come in and contribute day 1.

Go land him coach Few!!!

Go Zags!!!

Few’s been pretty candid that GU lacks shooters. Meech and Villarino can get to the rim, but have trouble finishing and making the right pass. Gibbs may offer better true PG skills but will probably be a defensive liability and hasn’t shown he can consistently hit threes. From your interview it doesn’t appear Carter fits the most pressing needs of this team: a three-point specialist to stretch defenses and free things up for Harris, Sacre and Kong. We seem stocked at undersized drivers and slow-footed combo guards. I have worries because we have too much of what we don’t need and not enough of what we do need and a recruit like this doesn’t fix the problem, does he?

I have no clue why GJ didn’t play more. He was playing about 10 min a game in the non-conference, then conference time comes and he doesn’t play? Made no sence to me. I think he is more of a complete point guard than Meech. I’m not saying hand him the job…but I would love to see him get more burn and show what he has.

As far as this new recruit, he sounds like he has game…why not throw him in the mix. If he pans out great. If not it’s only 2 years of scholorship taken up. Remember no Matty B for Meech to lean on next year. We need someone to run the show.

The comment on Grant Gibb is personal speculation that can only be destructive to a young man’s psyche. From what I’ve seen during the season, I believe Grant Gibb has excellent skills, but he was never able to show them due to having to "play within the system" ….meaning distributing the ball to the other more seasoned players to shoot. He also was asked to be another Matt Bouldin, but his skills sets are a bit different than Matt’s. I believe Grant could be a consistent scorer for this team once he is allowed to showcase his skills. He has a smooth shot, but never took many shots. Because of his size and athletic ability, he also has the ability to attack the rim from either the offensive or defensive side. Mark Few likes to stay with players he trusts and who are of known qualities, rather than experimenting with players. You almost have to prove to him that you belong out on the court. I think we saw that Manny Arop did that over the course of the year and became the first sub off the bench. (On a personal note, I’m also terribly disappointed that Manny got hurt and was not able to play in the NCAA Tournament….I think he would have made a big difference out there.) But, it took a bit of time for Manny to prove himself to Mark. I now, however, think that Manny will be starting next year as a result of the efforts he showed during the course of this season. I also believe we’ll see the same thing with Grant next year.

People like to bad-mouth Meech, but I thought he really improved as the season went along. His free throws improved immensely and he didn’t turn the ball over as much. I believe GJ is a better shooter than Meech right now, but we’ll see how they look at the beginning of next season. Because of his speed, I think Meech can become a consistent scorer in many different ways, especially if he can shoot the 3-ball somewhere about 30% of the time. However, if he doesn’t improve his 3-point shot or is inconsistent on his free throws, I believe GJ should have his chance to play the point.

With Manny in the starting rotation, I believe we will be much more athletic team, especially having Bol, Kelly, and Sam Dower coming off the bench. The thing that will be missing will be leadership. I’m hoping that Steven and Rob will provide that on a consistent basis during the season. Steven is not a vocal rah-rah type of guy, but he’s going to have to step up to that role. I sincerely believe that both Steven and Rob will have break-out seasons next year!

to consider as well Gibbs,
We do need an athletic guard that can shot the ball even w/o a set play or a pick.

We need a pg that can distribute the ball as well.
Meech is a solid defender, but not a great passer, nor a solid shooter. He is athletic and not afraid to drive inside, but does get hung-up at times. He is a defensive specialist.
GJ has potential to be an all around PG, he is not afraid to shoot, but he can be as erratic as Goodson when dribbling the ball, though this may be due to a lack of playing time and simply either trying to hard to impress the coaching staff or a lack of rhythm.
Gibbs has the intangibles had great passes, shooting was suspect.
Stockton was red-shirted.
We needed Bouldin to play 38 minutes a game in order to win all 27 games and the WCC Title, however it cost us much needed experience for the younger players.
This is where not putting teams away when we were up 16-18 points a game really hurt us; it took experience building minutes away from our bench, especially in the backcourt.

Meech and GJ will spend the offseason competing with each other for the starting job. Perosnally, I’d like to see GJ start with Gray, and keep the tempo up with Meech off the bench; I love the way Meech pushes the tempo, and drives the lane and finishes on the break. If this Carter kid chooses Gonzaga, he can will be that scorer off the bench that Few can combine with Kong and Meech. IMO, starters next season will probably be GJ, Gray, Arop, Harris, and Sacre. If Kong can increase the made percentage on his threes, and his defense, he’ll be the 6th man.
A lot of people forgot we were supposed to be in a rebuilding year. Six of the guys getting playing time had no experience with D1 basketball. Next season looks pretty good if GJ, Arop, Harris, Kong, Olynyk, and Sacre improved from last season. Hoping Gibbs stays with the team, but I’d understand if he transfers due to a lack of playing time.