Reviewing the 2008 Basketball Recruits and Next Year

Lets put a nice little bow on the 2008 class.

Romero Osby
Ht: 6'8" Wt: 230
Scout	**** #20 PF #69 overall
Rivals	**** #20 PF #57 overall
ESPN	90 #16 PF #51 overall

The first real gem of the class, Osby will be looking to fill the shoes left by Charles Rhodes and he definitely has the talent to do so. I just don't think it'll be as a freshman. He has the ability to score from anywhere on the court and the strength to overpower the defender when needed. His weaknesses is reportedly his defensive intensity, which is exactly why I'm not expecting much from him as a freshman. If you can't play defense, Stansbury won't play you, as we saw with Kodi Augustus last year. He'll probably get a handful of minutes per game, maybe 5, until he picks it up on the defensive side of things. By the time he is a sophomore though, he should be starting.

Dee Bost
Ht: 6'1" Wt: 170
Scout	**** in 2006: #20 SG #95 overall, ****in 2007: #4 post graduate
Rivals	**** #19 SG #83 overall
ESPN	80

This is the second gem of the class. If Osby is going to be Rhodes' replacement, then Bost would have to be viewed as Gordon's replacement. Don't get me wrong, his game is nothing like Gordon's. Gordon was all about muscling his way past people while Bost's strength is his quickness. No, I'm talking in terms of pure talent. He'll get a chance to play the point but if that doesn't workout he should fit nicely into the 2 spot. Bost can put up the points in bunches, both with the three pointer and by driving the lane. I'd say there is a very good chance he will be counted on to start from the word go. There is a huge hole at one of the guard spots (depending on where Stewart ends up) that I don't think anyone on the team right now can fill. Similar to Osby, Bost has the raw talent to fill that hole. He'll just be a freshman though and that inevitably means costly freshman mistakes.

Antiquawn Beckham
Ht: 6'4" Wt: 180
Scout	** in 2006; *** in 2007: #15 post-grad
Rivals	*** NR
ESPN	N/A

Since I already talked about Beckham just a couple of weeks ago when he signed, I'll keep this short. Beckham is more of a distributor than a scorer and as such I would assume he will be competing with Bost for the PG spot. Beckham at the 1 could be a perfect compliment to Bost at the 2 in future years. As I've said I like this signing especially given how late it was. I'm not expecting much from Beckham this upcoming year outside of mop up minutes though. That is based solely upon the fact that I am hopeful he won't be needed rather than me thinking he isn't good enough.

Jacquiese Holcombe
Ht: 6'7" Wt:200
Scout	N/A
Rivals	** NR
ESPN	N/A

The last member of the 2008 class and once again I just talked about him a couple of weeks ago. This one came out of nowhere and honestly I can't say too much about it. There is just next to nothing out there on this guy. He'll be pushing Ravern Johnson for minutes at SF. I can't see him being a starter but he might be able to give a few minutes off the bench.


OVERALL: 7/10

Had Hopson stayed we're looking at 9/10 probably. In any case, Osby and Bost are two players you can really build a team around, or at least that is the hope. Beckham should wind up being a solid role player and could take over the PG duties in a year or two. Holcombe is a head scratcher to be honest, but then so was Barry Stewart and that has worked out alright. We'll see what he can do come November.


Next year: Starting 5

Tough question. Well, we know two spots are already locked up. Barry Stewart and Jarvis Varnado have already been written into the starting line-up in ink. Ravern Johnson was one of the few bench players to see the floor last year and you could really see improvement as the year went on. He isn't a lock, but darn close to it. After that it gets dicey. I'll say this is what we'll see in the first game.

PG Barry Stewart
SG Phil Turner
SF Ravern Johnson
PF Brian Johnson
C Jarvis Varnado

Alright, like I said Stewart, R. Johnson, and Varnado are obvious. Stansbury loves the upperclassmen, heck he tried to start Stelmach for a couple of games as a senior. This is why I'm confident the only senior on the team, B. Johnson, will start at first. The final guard spot is up for grabs between the two freshman, Turner, and Benock. Again, Stansbury loves the experience and Turner isn't afraid to shoot so Turner it is. I'm thinking at some point though it turns into this.

PG Dee Bost
SG Barry Stewart
SF Ravern Johnson
PF Kodi Augustus
C Jarvis Varnado

Unless he improves, I don't like Stewart at the point. That really only leaves Bost and Beckham, Bost is more talented so I'm going with him. I like B. Johnson and what he brings, I just don't think his knees will allow him to play 25+ minutes a game. He will have to come off the bench. If Osby can defend, he'll likely start at the 4 but I'm skeptical. That leaves Augustus and Bailey. Bailey is adequate on defense but is no threat on offense. You need somebody to be able to score on the inside and the Bailey/Varnado combination, while a defensive juggernaut, will intimidate absolutely nobody on the offensive side of things. B. Johnson, Turner, and Bailey would be the first 3 off the bench in this scenario


I see lots of promise with both lineups. I see lots of weaknesses too. Some people are really going to have to step up their games this year. I could see this team making it back to the NCAAs, I really could. NIT seems more likely at this point though. We'll see how they look a couple of games in.