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As we all know by now Cronin is going to demand effort and to limit mistakes as his two calling cards. Effort on D, deflections, rebounding, loose balls, etc. Limiting turnovers, blown assignments, ill advised shots, etc. He will not keep players on the floor long who are not doing these things reasonably well no matter how much offense they bring.
The problem IMO is the guys who are the keys to our offensive success this year (outside of Cumberland) are either a frosh in Johnson or players who have struggled in one or more of the above areas. Broome, Williams, Diara. If these guys can please the coach on the controllable aspects of the game we are going to be in very good shape. Even if we can get two of them to work out would give us a decent chance on offense. All of these guys COULD be an upgrade to their competition for minutes. We can't have Cumberland out there by himself as the only player looking to score. Even one more guy to help will not be enough IMO. I think we need 3 scoring threats to keep defenses honest enough for us to be good.
Other than Johnson they have to know by now how to stay on the court. Cronin is not going to change his priorities. It's up to the players to buy in if they want more minutes. All of them are physically capable of being very good defenders and giving effort. So it comes down to the mental aspect or attitude. Will they give max effort? Are they capable of keeping track of assignments in a fast pace? Can they slow it down a little to limit mistakes?
The answers to these questions will determine the level of our success. It could be the difference between 3 or 4 losses which could determine if we are on the bubble or a team that can top out as maybe even a 5 or 6 seed. Whether we compete for an AAC title or perhaps finish 3rd or 4th.
We aren't going to reach our potential with a lineup of Jenifer, Brooks, Moore, Cumberland, and Scott. That is, at best, a bubble team (if that). We need two more aggressive scorers out there to take pressure off Cumberland and keep up with better teams. I like what Fredericks brings but I don't think he's going to pressure too many defenses like Broome or Williams might. Moore is a threat outside but that's about it. Jenifer has gone into full on safety mode to preserve his minutes. Perhaps Johnson can figure out the right ratio of aggression and ball control. Diara is the only big who can stretch the floor. Broome can score from all 3 levels so he just needs to do more of what coach wants in other aspects.
My money is on Broome and Williams and I would be fine with that. Johnson is a frosh and Diara is too much of an unkown. I hope both Johnson and Diara are ready for more minutes too but who knows.
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