Griz basketball preview: Who's out
I'm going to take this football bye week as an opportunity to jump into hoops news and analysis. There's a lot to be talked about when it comes to basketball. This team has changed quite a bit with several important cogs leaving and a bunch of new guys coming in.
I plan on doing a series of previews on the basketball team. Up first is analysis on who we lost.
Here's the list and after the jump is a complete rundown of what each loss means.
- Matt Dlouhy
- Bryan Ellis
- Austin Swift
- Stuart Mayes
- Gus Chase
- Mike Chavez
- Charlie Cox
There are some significant losses to the team but nowhere near what was lost after the 05-06 season. Ellis and Dlouhy were both starters most games but they weren't quite stars on this team. Cameron Rundles is very ready to take over for Ellis at the 1. Rundles' sophomore season should be devoid of freshman mistakes so his offensive game is leaps and bounds above BE's. Bryan Ellis took a couple game-deciding shots last year that I would've much rather had Cam take. While the Griz can easily make up for the loss of BE on the offensive end, it will be tough to match his leadership and defensive intensity. I know BE tried to pass on all the leadership and knowledge he could but only time will tell how Cam adjusts to a bigger role. He has the personality, swagger and confidence to be the leader of this team. It will be much harder to be the defensive stopper BE provided.Losing Matt "Doc" Dlouhy hurts but it doesn't kill. Neither the effort nor leadership were never at the level a senior starter should display. He had the ability to take some outside shots and throw down a few dunks, but for the most part, it is not a huge loss.
Like the departure of Doc, the loss of Stu Mayes hurts but it does not drastically alter the team. Mayes played incredible perimeter defense and did what many NBA summer leaguers couldn't do in shutting down Rodney Stuckey. There were some disciplinary issues early in the season but his contributions were vital down the stretch. The Griz will miss his senior leadership and defensive prowess, but not sometimes lackluster attitude.
Mike Chavez was not the type of guy you could consistently rely on for incredible play. That being said, it doesn't mean Chavy won't be missed. Mike didn't start or put up huge numbers but he was great off the bench. He was middle-inning reliever who could come in and fire 99 mph fastballs one after another. Chavez would come in, make a great play or two, and fire the crowd up. The crowd would in turn get the rest of the team fired up. In those instances where the Griz came back from double digit deficits, the rally was usually started by Mike Chavez.
Gus Chase and Austin Swift are in similar positions. Both came to UM with high expectations. Chase was one of the top JuCo forwards in the country and Swift was a great 3-4 combo with a ton of versatility. I hate to see Chase go. Whenever he got in, he busted his ass in an attempt to get a bit more playing time. His game wasn't the pretties but he got it done. I think his size created some prejudice amongst the staff. It created this belief that he couldn't score in the post or rebound. From what I saw, he could. He dominated at the practices I went to and made positive contributions when he got in the games. He powered into the paint, made some ugly baskets and got to the line. He struggled defensively at times but he hustled for rebounds and got his fair share. There was great chemistry between him and the young core in Rundles and Graves. He was a fan favorite and always played like his hair was on fire. His lack of playing time and departure is one of the biggest critiques I have for this coaching staff.Swift was Chase's opposite at times. When he got on the floor, his effort never matched his talent. I remember one game where he got in, picked up two fouls in about 35 seconds and was almost content spending the rest of the game on end of the bench. At times, he did have the effort but frustration got in the way. Swift also displayed chemistry with the younger core of players. It'll be interesting to see how they develop after seeing their teammates depart.
And finally, Charlie Cox. In this program, Cox was going to be, at most, a third string point guard. He just didn't have the size to make it here. I hope he's seeing success elsewhere.
Looking back, the Griz lost several important players. All of these guys contributed in their own way. I mean this as no disrespect to these guys, all of whice advanced the program a little bit farther, but none of them were true star players. Only Ellis, Mayes and Dlouhy were all potential starters but the Griz should be able to make up for all these losses with the amount of talent coming in.
