Brandon Clarke elevated his game but in the areas he was already demonstrating degrees of proficiency. His 57% foul line accuracy (56% last season) is still a major bugaboo and, after two seasons, it's appearing that such is the norm for him. But that number raises questions about the team's best offensive talent having the ball in his hands late in a tight game. However, the most prominent question regarding the 6-foot-8 Clarke is whether or not the Spartans can keep him? He has two years of eligibility remaining and, even if he is the most loyal of student-athletes, Clarke has to be at least pondering the possibility of playing out his college tenure for a mediocre team versus moving on to a better opportunity for success. Other programs will certainly be making a run at him, testing his attachment to SJSU. It will seemingly boil down to what does Clarke envision for the immediate future of Spartan basketball -- greater success or more of the same?
6-foot-10 Ryan Welage is two years in with the program and it's fair to say that he prefers facing the basket offensively, is not a good rebounder and is a liability on defense -- yes, I'm not expecting a Christmas card from the Welages come December. It's now time to accept what he brings -- the ability to bring his opponent outside, shoot efficiently at times and an unquenchable work ethic -- so employ that judiciously, and work around the deficiencies.
...6-foot-8 Cody Schwartz with 10 free throws on the season? He is one-dimensional -- outside shooting -- yet not consistent enough even in that element. Schwartz is also a defensive liability. The amount of his playing time next season will be a bellwether for this team as a solid program will not have him out on the court very often unless he demonstrates a broadening of his skills set.
...The competitiveness of 6-foot-10 Ryan Singer will be on display as it's most likely he will play even less in 2017-18 than he did this season (68 minutes). The hope was that added weight would increase his effectiveness but that turned out to be an inaccurate projection. He may be near to graduating since he redshirted in 2015-16 and such may influence him to remain. Which is of greater importance to Singer, something that varies widely from player to player: getting on the floor or having a degree from SJSU?
...6-foot-2 E.J. Boyce is not a D-1 level player. Having typed that, he could possibly be useful as a catch-and-shoot guy on a squad with numerous offensive threats, teammates who draw double teams, but that's not SJSU at the moment. However, a promise was made to scholarship him for his final two seasons and keeping a commitment regardless of how a player is capable of performing on the court is a non-negotiable value for any program I choose to follow.
...6-foot-2 Terrell Brown was a freshman yet his downs balanced out with displays of explosive potential. He was the sole creator on offense this season (a role that needs at least two of his teammates need to join in and soon) and is still learning what is and isn't accomplishable on the college level. One area where Brown could really help in the future is as a plus defender (not necessarily just steals but more of sealing off dribble drives) because a majority of the other Spartans simply lack the quickness to perform in that role. Brown isn't a point and therefore needs to solidify his outside shooting consistency in order to make his dribble-drive forays more lethal. Added strength will also allow him to be a more effective finisher.
...6-foot-6 Jaycee Hillsman is a good shooter if he remains 15-feet in on offense (46% overall, 83% at the foul line but just 10-35 from beyond the arc). That dictates playing as a three much more than a two. Get him closer to the basket so he can launch more dribble-drives.
...6-foot-5 Isaiah Nichols displayed early promise as a freshman and as such deserves another season before his shooting strengths and weaknesses are fully determined. But his 31-61 at the foul line is troubling for a player who will have the ball in his hands a lot. Maybe that's an anomaly, more due to the "yips" but a backcourter cannot play a lot if that proves to be the norm.
...6-foot-11 Ashtin Chastain will be a career backup. The effort seems there but the body movement is lacking.
...6-foot-4 Jalen James, bless him, has given his all but isn't a starting point on a good college team. He has played three seasons and sat out a fourth as a medical redshirt after being injured early in December in 2014 so he could become a graduate transfer if he earns his degree at the end of this academic year. But he didn't appear as one of the departing players at the last home game so it seems he will be returning to Washington Square for another year.
...6-foot-2 Nai Carlisle is a bit of a conundrum. He's strong at 200 pounds so physically he is ready. But Carlisle wasn't able to seize the opportunity this season and that makes it difficult to climb aboard his bandwagon once again. He and Terrell Brown are a tantilizing, if very young, pairing.
...6-foot-8 Keith Fisher III needs to be ready to play a strong defensive role as well as be a complementary rebounder to Brandon Clarke. Yes, he will be just a redshirt freshman but nobody else on the roster looks capable of fulfilling those roles right now. This guy is going to be a major key if the team is to move forward next season.
...6-foot-5 Arizona prepster signee Noah Bauman averaged 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his high school senior year. He shot 44% overall, 35% from long distance and 81% at the foul line (34-42 on free throws). His shot attempts were almost evenly divided between two-pointers and three-pointers. He finished third on the team in scoring.
...Scholarship numbers look like this: it appears there are 12 returning players who were or will be on scholarship plus Noah Baumann and 13 is the total allowed by the NCAA. Another offer to extend, two actually, are really needed but, again that is dependent on who decides to stay or go. This team badly needs a servicable frontcourter as well as a creator-type with shooting range at the two/three.
...Who has peaked and who is going to get better? That's a series of critical determinations needing to be made in going forward. Will Hillsman and/or Nichols step forward or be pretty much the same? Is Schwartz simply who he is? Does anyone on the present roster have the sorely needed requisite shooting capability alongside the necessary consistency?
...Coach Wojcik's contract status -- not the $64,000 question, much more than that -- is also in need of resolution and it's a conflicted situation. This is a team finishing the season on a five game losing streak. SJSU fell by six at home to Utah State late in the season but lost 90-64 to that same team in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference tournament. A 7-11 conference record during a weak MWC season is a hard-to-be-satisfied-with achievement.
...On the positive side, a basketball p-r-o-g-r-a-m actually exists. After some early coaching and player hiccups, the players are committed, they appear to be 'good' kids and the elements necessary for the team to get better seem in place. Why would it make any sense to start anew yet again?
...But here is the crux of the issue: next season's league finish is the critical mass element -- forget about pre-season or overall records because those can easily be inflated. Does this team possess the capability of taking a step up within the Mountain West Conference, to be a first division finisher and maybe a lurking contender for the top spot? Or is reaching .500 the best that can or should be expected? Remember Nevada will be tough again next season regardless of whether Cam Oliver stay or goes. Boise will again be difficult. New Mexico better be, or else. San Diego State will be tougher. UNLV damn well better be or there will again be nuclear explosions in the Nevada desert. Colorado State is always tough. Fresno State is on the rise. So...
...All the shareholders with a stake in the contract situation will know so much more come March 2018. Plus, Coach Wojcik's present contract concludes a year from now unless he earns an automatic additional season for posting a winning record. Unless a player or players transfer, the roster for next season is known. So why should fans expect a better finish a year hence as greater experience is no guarantee of improvement.
...On the other hand, does coming down to the wire on Coach Wojcik's contract handicap him too much with recruiting? I say no. A better season is ultimately a win-win as it will bring a long term contract extension and attention as well as commitments from the level of recruits needed to make SJSU a consistent Mountain West Conference upper division program. The same finish or something worse extinguishes interest from the necessary recruits and also eliminates a hefty financial buyout SJSU can little afford.
Another element to consider is the new athletic director will want some evaluation time before deciding on an extension, or not. That seems to preclude any quick change in Coach Wojcik's status.
I think it is safe to assume that while we will have virtually the same players as last year, things will not remain static. My granddaughter was a sophomore is high school two years ago. She was a good volleyball player. One year later, she was an awesome player. Instead of just trying to do what the coach asked, she seemed to know what the coach wanted and really elevated her game. Its hard to predict who is going to do what but remember that most of the team was freshman and sophomores last year so we should expect some change. Some players will improve signigicantly, some a little and some maybe not much at all. I am, as uaual, very optimistic.
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