If I had to base everything on what I saw yesterday and what I know of Drew ....

[Lobo_for_life]

these are the guys making up the rotation (in no particular order) .....

Dairese
Jamaal
PMac
Curtis
E-man
AJ
Drew
Cameron (what a steal)
Alex or Chad

When Drew is eligible Alex and Chad will fight for the leftover minutes.

Depth is a wonderful thing!

[LoboCubs23]

From what I saw yesterday, I fully confident that we could take on SDSU even without Drew. Drew would be nice to have, but Cameron AJ and Alex can take Kwahi and Thomas and who ever else they have to throw at us. Im just saying that if for what ever reason Drews knee does not bounce back from the surgery we would be OK and then we would have Drew for two full years instead of just a year and a half

[sleepyb13]

You really don't think that Tony Snell will be in the rotation? I have a hard time believing that!

[wolf1960]

I add Tony Snell to the rotation with KW picking up some minutes, the Alford Gang does not recruit bench warmers...

[Big Marv]

I didn't see Tony Snell working that hard...coach was riding him hard and he either didn't know what he was suppose to do or something....he seemed to be doing a lot of standing around....everyone else looked really good

[Yakkacat25]

I didn't see Tony Snell working that hard...coach was riding him hard and he either didn't know what he was suppose to do or something....he seemed to be doing a lot of standing around....everyone else looked really good

That happens with freshmen. There a lot of things to grasp. Terminology, speed of the game can be overwhelming. You have to push freshmen. He will be just fine.

[NMStorm]

IMO someone is going to have to redshirt this year. It's one thing to not get minutes because you're redshirting, it's quite another to not get minutes warming the bench. There just aren't enough minutes in the game to make everyone happy.

Before I started reading everyone's evaluations on the players I would've said Bairstow was the front runner for red-shirt. Now I'm thinking it will be Williams. I see red-shirting as a good thing and if it happens it will only help the redshirt in the long run.

I also am hoping for a quick return for Drew. We have already upgraded our talent in the frontcourt but we need a proven scoring threat on the block. AJ and Eman will be dominant dunkers off of rebounds and slashing to the basket, but I don't see them scoring much on the block. Kirk will be more of a pick-and-pop type player early on but should develop a solid post game in time (might take a few years). Bairstow might be able to give us some good low post production but that isn't a given.

We need a player that can score in the post like Farris, Chioti or better yet, Kenny Thomas! I hope Drew (or one of the other posts) is the answer.

[Mark]

Kendall won't redshirt. Next, lol

[CV2]

I say just by what I saw that Tony Snell will reshirt..I think he as alot of talent but IMO I think he hasn't picked it up yet. Now someone like RPS and others who have seen multiple practices can correct me and I could be way off. I thought CB would be the one to redshirt as I had pictured him a long thin post player with alot to work on but obviously that is not that case at all and we need a banger like him. All these guys come here to play and I wish there was enough minutes to go around but that's not how it works. Also Kendall is really good as well!!

RPS..in the little time that I saw E-man play he looked liked he can really get up quick, block shots and rebound but in reading some of the posts you shared with us from practice..you have said that Drew is a man amonst boys..if that's the case Drew is really special!

[Yakkacat25]

I say just by what I saw that Tony Snell will reshirt..I think he as alot of talent but IMO I think he hasn't picked it up yet. Now someone like RPS and others who have seen multiple practices can correct me and I could be way off. I thought CB would be the one to redshirt as I had pictured him a long thin post player with alot to work on but obviously that is not that case at all and we need a banger like him. All these guys come here to play and I wish there was enough minutes to go around but that's not how it works. Also Kendall is really good as well!!

RPS..in the little time that I saw E-man play he looked liked he can really get up quick, block shots and rebound but in reading some of the posts you shared with us from practice..you have said that Drew is a man amonst boys..if that's the case Drew is really special!

You're basing that on a practice. Watching him in a game will tell if he needs to. You cannot base on who will redshirt on practice. I doubt that Snell redshirts at all. Based on what RPS has wrote about Snell doesn't indicate that he will redshirt...would be suprised if he did.

[Mark]

I say just by what I saw that Tony Snell will reshirt..I think he as alot of talent but IMO I think he hasn't picked it up yet. Now someone like RPS and others who have seen multiple practices can correct me and I could be way off. I thought CB would be the one to redshirt as I had pictured him a long thin post player with alot to work on but obviously that is not that case at all and we need a banger like him. All these guys come here to play and I wish there was enough minutes to go around but that's not how it works. Also Kendall is really good as well!!

RPS..in the little time that I saw E-man play he looked liked he can really get up quick, block shots and rebound but in reading some of the posts you shared with us from practice..you have said that Drew is a man amonst boys..if that's the case Drew is really special!

I think now everyone sees how explosive eman is. High energy player with insane athleticism. Shoot, you guys still haven't seen him really play. It's coming. He was still somewhat tame if you can believe that a couple days ago.
He can't shoot outside of 7 feet but that's not what we ask of him either. Rebounding, hustle, energy, muscle. That's emans game.

Drews a legit 6' 9" with a mean streak. He loves the battle. Obviously he has a much more refined shot and good post moves. Like noodles said, probally the thing that gets most overlooked is his basketball IQ. Real smart player.
The thing I've been most impressed with is how quick he gets back up after a miss. He's good at getting his miss or even others miss.

Tony will not redshirt.

[bohoopster]

Were some of you at a different Pit then me on Monday? There is no way Snell Red Shirts! He will be one of if not our toughest matchup for other teams to handle. 6'8" with dirty handles and a sweet stroke you guys are crazy if you think he should sit. He will start atleast half of our games this year!

[CV2]

Like I said I only saw about an hour or less of the open house practice on Monday but I was just making a educated guess on who might. But that should not be the talk this morning...it's game day and I can't wait to see the guys in action tonight.

[Bullchuter]

Bohoop..I agree with you. In fact...I don't see anyone red-shirting!

[LaVidaLobo]

Who are the redshirt candidates? (Besides Walker obviously) There doesn't seem to be many.

There are obvious ones that will not redshirt: Dairese, AJ, Drew, PMac, EMan, Curtis, and Jamal.

From what I see here:

Bairstow? No
Snell? No
Williams? No

That really only leaves two options:

Kirk
Adams

I don't see Kirk redshirting, so could it possibly be Adams? Seems unlikely from what I have heard. Wow, we have a loaded team this year.

[CV2]

You're basing that on a practice. Watching him in a game will tell if he needs to. You cannot base on who will redshirt on practice. I doubt that Snell redshirts at all. Based on what RPS has wrote about Snell doesn't indicate that he will redshirt...would be suprised if he did.

Well you can't play a guy all year and then decide to redshirt him..you have decide somwhere right?? Snell is good. I just based it off of the little time I did watch the practice. I did say I could be way off and I may very well be.

[3rdGenLobo]

It's totally unfair to quantify Tony Snell's game from watching him practice for one hour. He is going to be one of the best assets to the team once he gets some in game experience under his belt. I can see him making a major impact in the second half of the season especially considering the matchup problems he is going to bring our opponents.

[bohoopster]

BIG MARV Wrote: (I didn't see Tony Snell working that hard...coach was riding him hard and he either didn't know what he was suppose to do or something....he seemed to be doing a lot of standing around....everyone else looked really good )

Marv if you were watching you also saw Coach A riding PMac and Dariese really hard also right? Coach rides everyone hard from freshmen to senior, I think he also rides those he expects the most out of extra hard if he does not chew on your a$$ you better get worried because that means you are most likely going to be sitting at the end of the bench.

[lobotracks]

Snell has played many positions in his young career for the HS team , AAU team and prep team. Snell is an impressive athlete and is the kind of basketball player that can get to the basket and get a basket in crunch time. We have seen what Coach has done with these type of players , he usually turns them in great players who lead teams to a lot of victories.
Tony may not start because of the depth and upperclassmen , but he will get minutes . Tony is probably just use to having the ball in his hands alot and is unsure how to move without the ball, he is having to run a structure offense with a very discipline coach who knows what it takes to get to the next level.

[lobo46]

Snell has played many positions in his young career for the HS team , AAU team and prep team. Snell is an impressive athlete and is the kind of basketball player that can get to the basket and get a basket in crunch time. We have seen what Coach has done with these type of players , he usually turns them in great players who lead teams to a lot of victories.
Tony may not start because of the depth and upperclassmen , but he will get minutes . Tony is probably just use to having the ball in his hands alot and is unsure how to move without the ball, he is having to run a structure offense with a very discipline coach who knows what it takes to get to the next level.

Hey everyone. I think it is unfair to label Tony or anyone else at this early stage. To say he is the 2nd coming of Hobson or that he is going to redshirt is not fair to him. Everyone on the team is going to get a chance to contribute. It is up to each player that he commits to working hard, learning the system and commiting to defense. (I don't think anyone will get on Alfords good side without the last one). There is also a big learning curve to bring your game from high school/prep school level to D1 level. Some come along quickly others may take a little longer. I watched Tony play in high school. He was on a team his senior year with Kawaii Leonard and a few other D1 players. He played center on that team, he never ran point although he had decent handles. He never really exploded offensively until the playoffs when they keyed on Leonard and that opened up lots of opportunities for Tony. I never saw him play at the prep school last year but from what I heard he ran the point quite a bit. So he does have experience playing both on and off the ball. Nobody on the current team came here to redshirt. Dominique is not coming here to redshirt I can guarantee you that. Usually if a guy agrees to redshirt coming in it is a late spring/summer recruit who may need a little more time to develop. Unfortunately the truth of the matter is there will probably be 1 or 2 guys every year that will transfer out because they are not happy with their playing time. Recruiting at a high level is a double edged sword. You have a lot of talent, but these are players that do not want to wait until their junior year to get meaningful minutes when they know they can go elsewhere and play right away. Do you think Kirk's dad would have let him turn down his other offers if he was told that Alex would be redshirting?

[LoboDogg]

Based on what Ive seen. I am guessing that Demetrius will red-shirt.

*victory dance*

[sleepyb13]

It's totally unfair to quantify Tony Snell's game from watching him practice for one hour. He is going to be one of the best assets to the team once he gets some in game experience under his belt. I can see him making a major impact in the second half of the season especially considering the matchup problems he is going to bring our opponents.

This!

[Yakkacat25]

Well you can't play a guy all year and then decide to redshirt him..you have decide somwhere right?? Snell is good. I just based it off of the little time I did watch the practice. I did say I could be way off and I may very well be.

I cannot remember but if he plays in the only the exhibitions and not regular season games then he can redshirt. Tony won't as RPS stated. Playing at actual full speed gives you an indication if a player is ready to play right away or may need some time. Tony will play this year. I have no doubt he will play but in practice you don't really get that full game speed that you get in an actual game. No worries.

[Garishwolf]

Kirk will be starting,,,,,,,,,,,,,for-Sure, Chad get red-shirt if any body.

Kirk is N.M. Big time recruit, like PMAC he will play

[BoRealist]

Not sure why people look at a red-shirt as a negative. Guess it's seen as another year away from dreams to the players and parents. As a fan I love it because it gives the student athlete an edge on getting their degree, a year in the system and a year in the weight room. If anything that player should be one year better than he was coming in (experience/physicality). In football it's expected, in basketball it's a scarlet letter unless you're a transfer?? Mr Dunning do you have any insight on the parents side on this being that you're a parent of a D1 stud?

[CV2]

I cannot remember but if he plays in the only the exhibitions and not regular season games then he can redshirt. Tony won't as RPS stated. Playing at actual full speed gives you an indication if a player is ready to play right away or may need some time. Tony will play this year. I have no doubt he will play but in practice you don't really get that full game speed that you get in an actual game. No worries.

I cannot wait to see Snell tonight in game speed..I have seen highlights so the practice the other day was not a good indicator. Alford will make the ultimae decision so I am not worried because I know he will put out a good product.

Should be a decent game as well (Maybe early on..) as ENMU hung with UTEP.

[CV2]

Based on what Ive seen. I am guessing that Demetrius will red-shirt.

*victory dance*

LoboDogg...you have no clue!!...lol!!! To much Colorado air!!

[LoboAuto]

I agree, AK-47 will start. Guys it's going to be a fun season this year. All the players on this team knows their role on this team. Team work. Alford will prepare them for the season,sp don't worry who will red shirt or who will start. Is it game time yet?

[lobotracks]

[QUOTE=lobo46;281701]Hey everyone. I think it is unfair to label Tony or anyone else at this early stage. To say he is the 2nd coming of Hobson or that he is going to redshirt is not fair to him. Everyone on the team is going to get a chance to contribute. It is up to each player that he commits to working hard, learning the system and commiting to defense. (I don't think anyone will get on Alfords good side without the last one). There is also a big learning curve to bring your game from high school/prep school level to D1 level. Some come along quickly others may take a little longer. I watched Tony play in high school. He was on a team his senior year with Kawaii Leonard and a few other D1 players. He played center on that team, he never ran point although he had decent handles. He never really exploded offensively until the playoffs when they keyed on Leonard and that opened up lots of opportunities for Tony. I never saw him play at the prep school last year but from what I heard he ran the point quite a bit. So he does have experience playing both on and off the ball.

I agree Lobo46, but after having the ball in his hands quite a bit last yr, the tranisition to learn a new offense and more movement without the ball maybe what some fans were seeing yesterday. I was just trying to give a reason for the situation and even if freshmen don't start immediately does not mean they will not have a impact of some kind.

[lobo46]

Not sure why people look at a red-shirt as a negative. Guess it's seen as another year away from dreams to the players and parents. As a fan I love it because it gives the student athlete an edge on getting their degree, a year in the system and a year in the weight room. If anything that player should be one year better than he was coming in (experience/physicality). In football it's expected, in basketball it's a scarlet letter unless you're a transfer?? Mr Dunning do you have any insight on the parents side on this being that you're a parent of a D1 stud?

Everyone's situation is different. Dominique been preparing since middle school to play at the next level. If he were a freshman at New Mexico right now I am confident he would earn a spot in the rotation. We have never discussed redshirting at all. If it were even a possibility he would not have commited. For a player who is ready to hit the ground running and contribute right away, a redshirt year would be seen as a setback in my opinion. I really think the coaches are trying to promote all the competition that they can. I don't think they bring anyone in with the thought of redshirting them. Like I stated in my previous post, there is an unfortunate side to recruiting players at a high level. The players who fail to make a dent in the rotation will decide to accept their role or you will probably have 1 or 2 guys transfer every year to a situation with more playing time.