What are we going to look like next year?

 

Peyton Siva will more than likely be the starting Point Guard for the Cardinals next year

I still don’t even want to think about basketball.  At the same time, it’s hard to not be excited for next year.  We lose a lot, but we also have some very good players coming back.  We’ll still be deep at the guard position, if not even deeper than this year.  We’ll be extremely thin in frontcourt though and God only knows what we’re going to do at  the three position.  We’ll also have a very small amount of experience down low as we will be primarily playing 3 sophomores and a freshman. We might be best suited to start three guards instead of using someone in a more traditional small forward role.

With Terrence Williams, Earl Clark, Andre McGee and even Will Scott leaving, there are some big shoes left to fill.  Really big shoes.  But, our full court press might be better than ever.

Some Possible Starting Lineups…

G- Edgar Sosa
G- Jerry Smith
G- Preston Knowles
F- Terrence Jennings
F-  Samardo Samuels

G – Peyton Siva
G – Edgar Sosa
G – Jerry Smith
F – Terrence Jennings
F – Samardo Samuels

G – Peyton Siva
G – Preston Knowles
G – Jerry Smith
F – Terrence Jennings
F – Samardo Samuels

G – Peyton Siva
G – Jerry Smith
F – Jared Swopshire
F – Terrence Jennings
C –  Samardo Samuels

I wouldn’t even bee surprised if we saw…

G – Peyton Siva/ Edgar Sosa
G – Jerry Smith
F – Rakeem Buckles
F – Terrence Jennings
C – Samardo Samuels

0r…

G- Edgar Sosa
G- Jerry Smith
G- Reggie Delk
F- Terrence Jennings
F-  Samardo Samuels

Either way, look for Freshman Peyton Siva to come in and make an instant impact along with what UofL did this year with four or five guards that see significant playing time.  It’s hard to say how the four and five positions will turn out.  While Samardo has done a respectable job this year at center, I feel like Terrence Jennings has been nothing short of a beast down low and has seemed to be more ferocious than Samardo seemed at times.  Jennings is not afraid to get up in someone’s face and slap the ball away, simply put.  But, Samardo is the bigger body and will probably stay in the more traditional center role.  Look for Rakeem Buckles to make an immediate contribution to the Cardinals

Look for Rakeem Buckles to make an immediate contribution to the Cardinals.

Incoming Freshman Rakeem Buckles might see quite a bit of playing time off the bat as well. He’s very athletic, very big, and might be the answer to Terrence Williams’ departure.  ESPN.com describes buckles as a player who can play both power forward or a power wing.  UofL is going to need his athleticism and size to compete for the Big East title again.  With two freshman playing a lot of minutes, that could come back to haunt us though, especially with still-young players such as Jennings and Samuels having key roles as well.

Expect Reginald Delk to be utilized quite a bit.  He still might be our fifth best guard, but he’s not a bad guy to have on our team.  I expect him to have a more significant role on next years team.  Kyle Kuric is a solid shooter and expect George Goode to see more minutes as well.

It doesn’t really matter who starts at guard because like this past season, these guards are all going to see around 20 minutes a game as Pitino is constantly putting in rested players.  

In the end, this is really a tough situation to call.  Team Chemistry will play a major factor next year as some freshman are going to be expected to contribute immediately and there seems to be no clear cut leader on the court as of now.  Players that have started in the past may see different roles as Pitino has proven in the past, he will put the best player in.

Provided everything gels together, we may be in the hunt for a second straight Big East Championship, it’s not going to be easy though.  It never is.