Wednesday Hodge Podge

Last season prior to the start of SEC schedule, the Expats and other messge boards were aglow with talk of not whether the Hogs would be in the NCAA tournament, but how high a seed they would get.

This year, after the 2-14 SEC record of last year and the losses to the mid-majors, it was all about how pathetic the team is.

But assuming Fortson does return, lets compare the two:

2008-2009 2009-2010
Starters
Courtney Fortson Courtney Fortson
Rotnei Clarke Rotnei Clarke
Stefan Welsh Jemal Farmer
Michael Sanchez Marshon Powell
Michael Washington Michael Washington

Bench
Jason Henry Stefan Welsh
Marcus Britt Marcus Britt
Brandon Moore Glen Bryant
Andre Clark Devon Johnson
Stephen Cox Stephen Cox
Marcus Monk Michael Sanchez
Julysses Nobles

If Fortson returns, then three starters are back. Washington has shown flashes of last year’s form, Clarke is improved and Fortson is a wild card, but there is no doubt he has tremendous physical ability. Powell is averaging more points per game than Sanchez’s career high and is a better rebounder and less foul prone. Farmer has supplanted Welsh as a starter, so I think we can agree he is better.

Jason Henry had tremendous upside, but he was even more erratic than Welsh, so that is a wash. Britt appears markedly improved from last year. Bryant is better than Moore, and Johnson is no worse that Clark. Monk and Sanchez also should be a wash, but if Sanchez is able to come back, then that is another starter from last year as a reserve.

With Fortson back, Nobles gives the Hogs something they did not have last year, a backup point guard who can give the team quality minutes.

This is a stronger lineup than the team that beat Oklahoma and Texas last year, especially if Fortson plays like the Fortson of the first half of last season.

As Stephen pointed out, beating Missouri State while not playing their best and showing the character to come back from a demoralizing last play in regulation gives us reason to be optimistic about the rest of the year.

Nice analysis Whit E. The player / player comparision from last year to this year was a nice visual.

I’m also a realist and can see that for at least this year, the silver lining is still pretty thin.
Fortson will improve the offensive explosiveness on this team, no doubt about it, but as mentioned in Stephen’s origional post and Whit E. Knight’s comment above, look no further than M. Washington (19 minutes, before fouling out, FT shooting, silly 3 point attempts) and S. Welsh (aka Magic Johnson) for the achillis heal on this squad.
Even if John Pelphrey is the right coach to turn around our program, he can’t coach the stupidity and immaturity of Washington, and he can’t make Welsh handle the ball like a PG.
He has the worst bounce-pass ever known to mankind, but that doesn’t keep him from doing it anyway. He also hasn’t figured out yet that he isn’t R. Clarke in disguise.

I look for this team to make great strides next season. The recruiting is looking pretty good.