I know that, as a forum topic, it's not quite "QBageddon 2015," but one of the personnel questions the basketball team faces for next season is who will back up Lyle at point guard. I'm hoping/expecting that Lyle himself will develop more consistency next year (toward the upper end of his spectrum) and will therefore be able to play 30-35 minutes/game. This still leaves 5-10 minutes in most games, and more if he has foul or injury issues, where someone else has to run the offense.
With the departure of Harris, who will that be? I see a number of possibilities, with the best ones dependent on bringing someone new onto the roster.
Perhaps the one with the highest upside is the possibility that Markell Johnson lands at tOSU this year. He'd likely be an immediate upgrade over the undersized Harris. But there are 2 big ifs - he'd have to re-classify to 2016, AND he'd have to choose the Buckeyes. For these reasons I see it as less than 50/50.
The second is the potential grad transfer of Cullen Neal. I think that, although he's more of a combo guard, his experience for the Lobos would allow him to handle the backup role competently. I think this is also a long-shot. If I were him (clearly I'm not; I'm just posting on a forum), I'd want to go someplace I'd have a reasonable chance to start, which I don't see happening at tOSU. Alternatively, I'd be happy top go to a team likely to contend for an NCAA title. Again... not this coming year, and a long shot the following year.
So what about some uncommitted HS Senior PG? I doubt that anyone left on the board at this point would have the ability to contribute next year, and would be a project longer-term. It'd probably be the waste of a scholarship, with our real need being next year.
I also don't see a potential flip at this point. Many players are signed, Matta isn't UFM, and again, we don't have an open starter's position or a blue blood program that might lure a prospect off a previous commitment at the last minute. (this is NOT saying that tOSU doesn't have the capability of garnering such prospects in the future, earlier in the game).
There could be another potential grad transfer out there, but it's unlikely. A graduating player who we'd want would likely already be a starter. Why would he leave a starter's position to be a backup?
If Matta can't land Johnson for 2016 or Neal, He will undoubtedly try the junior college transfer route. He's done it before with Jeremie Simmons and PJ Hill (neither had "it" to be a starter, but they filled a void). A PG with JUCO experience would offer more this year than a lower level freshman, and wouldn't tie up a schollie as long. But again, there is no guarantee of the right player being available.
That exhausts the 'new player' options. What about players currently on the roster?
His size and quickness would seem to make Kam Williams almost a prototypic point guard. I'm not competent to evaluate his skill at ball-handling or passing, but I've never read or seen anything that suggests he might be suited for anything but a (good) SG. Could I be wrong here?
What about Tate, Bates-Diop or Loving? Yes, I know that no one saw Evan Turner being able to play PG until the end of his sophomore year, so this IS a possibility. But how likely is it that one of these three could make that same kind of transition?
And then, to round out a discussion of the current roster, there's Joey Lane. Is there a chance of the walk-on getting more than garbage-time minutes?
My hope is for Johnson, but I see a JUCO transfer as the most likely of a number of unlikely scenarios.
It's up to Matta & Co to work out, obviously, with us merely speculating, but what to others see happening?
