I wanted to do a player rankings guess through 2 games. This is way too early but I'm curious how others see things.
1) Devin McGlockton - I'm not sure he will be in this spot all year, but he's averaging 19 ppg and 16 rpg right now, which is insane. Oh, forgot to mention 3 blocks per game! Considering I'm not even sure we've run one set for him (maybe a pick and roll with Hoggard), those numbers are crazy. Glock is simply getting his points by being the Garbage Man / Glue guy. He is a guy that will show up with effort every night, or so it appears.
2) Jason Edwards - Is averaging 18 ppg with a 6:1 assist to TO ratio. Edwards hasn't shot it well, but is 85.7% from the stripe so far, if he keeps up shooting free throws like that, it bodes well for this team. I feel like he's going to break out soon, probably the quietest 18 ppg I've ever seen.
3) AJ Hoggard - I want to see more before I move AJ up these rankings. The body is there, the movement is there, but I want to make sure he isn't just a high usage guy that isn't very efficient. Want to see him focus on his teammates getting theirs and him getting his less and if that happens, our ceiling is very high. It needs to be said that as much as I cheer for small guys and enjoy watching them succeed, there is something to be said about AJ's body and size, he's a monster on both ends for a PG.
4) Tyler Nickel - Nickel is averaging 12.5 ppg and 4.5 ppg, I sort of feel like these are his numbers, or will end up being close to what he ends up at. I'd like to see him get OVER 5 rebounds per game because his value is going to be as a 3 and D guy and the D part is defensive rebounding to me. I like that he's aggressive in seeking his shot and there is nobody I want shooting 3's more than Tyler Nickel. His 3 point shooting is going to be very important for us in terms of opening up the rest of the offense.
5) Jaylen Carey - Dude is a beast but I want to reel in some comments I made about him being an "out of area rebounder." That is not the case at all based on game 2. He's big, he's strong, and he has good hands, so I do think he's a very good piece for our team and I think he can and should average something like 10 and 8 if all goes well. I also want to mention that I didn't love his reaction to an early turnover he had on a bad pass to Huffman where he was demonstratively was very upset. It was a bad look for him but was isolated at this point. Again, as we've talked about, we have a lot of good players, learning to play together and getting a team first mentality, this won't be super smooth at all times. I really like Carey as a player and am excited about his future here, so don't read too much into my comment above.
6) Tyler Tanner - I didn't expect to have Tanner this high, but here we are and I don't think I'm being too edgy in putting him here. Tanner is lightning fast but he's also very intentional with his movements and cuts. He made an NBA move last night when he received the ball from the 3 pt line at the free throw line extended and instead of just waiting on the ball, he cut towards it which gave him a wide open driving lane (he missed). That was something you don't see out of freshmen, hell, you rarely see that in college. Kid is talented and working hard, his key will be just keeping that hard work up. When his shots begin to fall, he's going to show up for us big time.
7) MJ Collins - I have MJ here because I think his defense is solid but he's going to have to make some open looks to get on the court more. He's going to be the guy other teams leave wide open, so he's going to have to knock down more than 30% of those to rationalize playing time with the amount of guys we have who can play on this roster. My fear on him was that he was a possession killer, but so far, I wouldn't go that far. I will say that he does a lot of little things to help us win (defend, rebound, handle the ball) and I do think he will do just that.
8) Chris Manon - I really like this guy. He defends hard, he cuts hard, he's very intentional with his movements and he's a slithery snake. He plays with an energy that is noticeable every time he's on the court. What are the odds that we'd have two Filet Manon's in back to back seasons? Are they related?
9) Grant Huffman - I love this guy. He could be a starter for the same price, just a gritty player. Solid defender, fast, drives the ball, but what I really like is that he's just another glue guy. He needs no attention, has no ego, doesn't needs shots or lots of minutes but just appears to want to help his team win. I can't get enough of this guy.
10) JQ - I hope JQ isn't hurt because he got no minutes vs SEMO. Overall, as long as he's working on his body, his footwork, his defense and his rebounding, he's going to be a guy who can help us win.
11) Jordan Williams - I loved putting him in for a quick spell Sunday. His defense is RELENTLESS and he plays with the chaotic energy that Byington's teams want to play with therefore, there was no drop off when he came in. Just a quick burst of tough defense and fresher legs for the other guys at the end of the game. Paid off beautifully imho.
Thoughts?
