Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

[sdsu_drake]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

I think that as long as Carlson or Bittle are in the game they can play point guard and shooting guard could be played by any of our guards. I think j. white is the next point in line.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

Chad White should hit 1,000 career points early next season.

He will need 84 threes next year to break Clint Sargent's career record. A tall order without Wolters penetrating and kicking out. Sargent hit 83 his senior season.

As much grief as he gets, White has been a really good player for us. He might have an expanded role next year.

[UWMandSDSU]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

If finally has sunk that we have watched the final game of Nate Wolters in a SDSU jersey. It hit me when @FakeNateWolters said his goodbyes and thank yous today via twitter. Almost got teary eyed.

[NWHSUandSDSU]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

I wonder with Nate being so good that others became dependent on him and without Nate that means the dependency falls on every one's shoulders. I saw a year the Gators won their first national title roughly 90% of their offense was gone from the previous year and Florida became a much better team. Just to state I am by no means saying this team was not good, because they played some outstanding basketball.

[JackrabbitGuy]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

I am thinking that next year will be okay. I know there will be some struggles likely, but I like that fact that we have veterans on the perimeter in White and Carlson. Now that Nate is officially done, I think that Bittle can do okay. From the limited time he played this year I think he looks strong, confident and assertive on the court. He will not be Nate and we will not want him to be Nate, but he looks like a player that should be able to handle the ball and perhaps not score a ton, but be a good solid point guard and distribute the ball well enough for guys like White, Carlson, Dykstra to still get good looks.

The longest home winning streak in the nation might be in serious jeapardy from the get go, but in the end I think this will be a pretty good basketball team next year. Not a conference champ, but a top 4 team that could be dangerous by conference tournament time.

[RowdyRabbit]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

I didn't realize this until I just stumbled across it looking at other stats.

Nate actually broke Tetzlaff's point record of 1931 pts (and eclipsed 2000 pts) in 3 years...soph (604), junior (721) and senior (735). That's 2060 pts. Add in the 303 from his freshman year and he ended up with 2363 pts. Insane.

[Jacked_Up]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

I like the Jacks' chances next season. It will be a veteran squad - four seniors - with a pretty deep bench. I like the quality of the newcomers. It will be a really good sign if Connor Devine and Matt Donlan crack the starting lineup. I didn't see Denver play this year, but the Jacks should be able to challenge the over-hyped Bison and other top-tier Summit teams again.

[JackJD]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

Next year: good team that will contend for the conference title but without a target on their uniforms

[AKCoach]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

I think having the goal of being in the Championship game is a fair and attainable for the Jacks next year. There is still a lot unknown about this team, who will step up and how roles will change and be filled by some veterans and some youth. I think that the pick to be middle of the pack at this point by many is more a pick based off of what the Jacks lose and not a completely honest evaluation of where the personnel and skill of the 13-14 team is actually going to be. Until all the questions are answered about players I think it's hard for anyone, inside the program, fans, and certainly outside the program to make an honest evaluation. Certainly NDSU has expectations but SDSU is definitely being short sold based on what they lost I believe. They have talent coming back and moving up. How it comes together remains to be seen. Not having the target could be a very good thing.

I've talked to Connor throughout the year and it was up and down but he's in a really good place now, even after the Michigan loss, he was excited to not be a redshirt anymore and really looking at this spring as part of next year. He's focused to work hard with the goal of playing significant minutes as a RS Freshman, either starting or coming off the bench. I think he's had a successful year, he's gained more than 40lbs and was at 233 in his last weigh in. In June he was 187, August 192, so he's put the work in the weight room and eating wise to position himself to meet goals. He wants to try and push to 250lbs by the start of the season if possible. He's done this all while adding strength, PR in all his lifts this spring, and adding an inch to his vertical. I know I'm proud of him, but he's very hungry and it reminds me a lot of where he was after his freshmen year in HS, not content at all. I don't say this to think there is some campaign to start or provide assurances he's ready but to just give you fans some inside info on his progress. I hope the other redshirts are in the same place mentally and physically as far as the gains they've made to be ready to contribute.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

I think having the goal of being in the Championship game is a fair and attainable for the Jacks next year. There is still a lot unknown about this team, who will step up and how roles will change and be filled by some veterans and some youth. I think that the pick to be middle of the pack at this point by many is more a pick based off of what the Jacks lose and not a completely honest evaluation of where the personnel and skill of the 13-14 team is actually going to be. Until all the questions are answered about players I think it's hard for anyone, inside the program, fans, and certainly outside the program to make an honest evaluation. Certainly NDSU has expectations but SDSU is definitely being short sold based on what they lost I believe. They have talent coming back and moving up. How it comes together remains to be seen. Not having the target could be a very good thing.

I've talked to Connor throughout the year and it was up and down but he's in a really good place now, even after the Michigan loss, he was excited to not be a redshirt anymore and really looking at this spring as part of next year. He's focused to work hard with the goal of playing significant minutes as a RS Freshman, either starting or coming off the bench. I think he's had a successful year, he's gained more than 40lbs and was at 233 in his last weigh in. In June he was 187, August 192, so he's put the work in the weight room and eating wise to position himself to meet goals. He wants to try and push to 250lbs by the start of the season if possible. He's done this all while adding strength, PR in all his lifts this spring, and adding an inch to his vertical. I know I'm proud of him, but he's very hungry and it reminds me a lot of where he was after his freshmen year in HS, not content at all. I don't say this to think there is some campaign to start or provide assurances he's ready but to just give you fans some inside info on his progress. I hope the other redshirts are in the same place mentally and physically as far as the gains they've made to be ready to contribute.

Thanks for the info.

Would you project Connor more as a defensive/shot blocker specialist than a scorer? Or will he be an offensive threat in the post as well? If I recall correctly, he blocked a ton of shots in high school.

[bigticket1]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

I think having the goal of being in the Championship game is a fair and attainable for the Jacks next year. There is still a lot unknown about this team, who will step up and how roles will change and be filled by some veterans and some youth. I think that the pick to be middle of the pack at this point by many is more a pick based off of what the Jacks lose and not a completely honest evaluation of where the personnel and skill of the 13-14 team is actually going to be. Until all the questions are answered about players I think it's hard for anyone, inside the program, fans, and certainly outside the program to make an honest evaluation. Certainly NDSU has expectations but SDSU is definitely being short sold based on what they lost I believe. They have talent coming back and moving up. How it comes together remains to be seen. Not having the target could be a very good thing.

I've talked to Connor throughout the year and it was up and down but he's in a really good place now, even after the Michigan loss, he was excited to not be a redshirt anymore and really looking at this spring as part of next year. He's focused to work hard with the goal of playing significant minutes as a RS Freshman, either starting or coming off the bench. I think he's had a successful year, he's gained more than 40lbs and was at 233 in his last weigh in. In June he was 187, August 192, so he's put the work in the weight room and eating wise to position himself to meet goals. He wants to try and push to 250lbs by the start of the season if possible. He's done this all while adding strength, PR in all his lifts this spring, and adding an inch to his vertical. I know I'm proud of him, but he's very hungry and it reminds me a lot of where he was after his freshmen year in HS, not content at all. I don't say this to think there is some campaign to start or provide assurances he's ready but to just give you fans some inside info on his progress. I hope the other redshirts are in the same place mentally and physically as far as the gains they've made to be ready to contribute.

Even though it was hard to be sure since Connor was in sweats , it definitely looked in Sioux Falls like he had put on some weight since the beginning of the season. I also liked his attitude - he was always out there during warm-ups rebounding the ball and kicking it out to the shooters while the other redshirts were usually chilling out on the bench.

[Southeast]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

I think he's had a successful year, he's gained more than 40lbs and was at 233 in his last weigh in. In June he was 187, August 192, so he's put the work in the weight room and eating wise to position himself to meet goals. He wants to try and push to 250lbs by the start of the season if possible. He's done this all while adding strength, PR in all his lifts this spring, and adding an inch to his vertical. .

Wow, the reported weight gain is impressive. He could be tough to push around sooner than expected. I'm really excited to see what he can do. There is a lot to look forward to next year with guys like he, Donlan, Broman, and Severyn to watch develop. If one of them emerges as a major contributor SDSU will definitely have the potential to win some games at the Tournament.

[AKCoach]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

I think he'll develop over the years as far as what he brings to the table. He had a very steady natural progression to his game and what he offered throughout high school and I anticipate the same. Could he make a huge leap in what he's able to do? Sure, he's much more motivated than he was in high school I think, he's taken a lot more ownership of it. He's always been a hard worker and the consummate team player and that doesn't change, if it did he would hear about it from some of us up here. But as he develops his body and confidence who knows, sky is the limit. In HS as a sophomore he was much further along defensively than offensively, but much of that had to do with weight and the fact that double & triple teams in the post would not be uncommon. He got his 8-10 points almost exclusively off of garbage buckets and put backs. I could see him in this same role in the next year. If he can get 3-5 blocks per game, maybe change another 3-5 possessions/shots and pick up 6-10 points that's a huge swing, subtract the probably 6-15 points they are not getting and add anything he gives you on offense as icing. As a junior and senior those numbers when way up in scoring, rebounding, and blocks per game, he average 8 blocks per game as a senior. He still was consistently seeing double and triple teams but was much more assertive. I always believed he was very strong with the ball for how small he was weight wise.

So long story short, his defense is ahead of his offense, but he is very skilled in the block and can shoot the ball from 3 too. I think the weight and strength he adds will allow him to demonstrate those offensive abilities over time, but he is really focused on filling the role the team needs and that will get him time on the floor.

[JackrabbitGuy]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

Even though it was hard to be sure since Connor was in sweats , it definitely looked in Sioux Falls like he had put on some weight since the beginning of the season. I also liked his attitude - he was always out there during warm-ups rebounding the ball and kicking it out to the shooters while the other redshirts were usually chilling out on the bench.

I remember making a similar observation and remarking to my sister that he looked strong and fairly well built to me. Nice to know now that we are witnessing a young man with a strong work ethic and a real desire to make himself into a front line player. It is going to be fun to see things start to develop next year.

[jacks1]

Re: Who's Got Next? Life After Wolters: 2013-14 Jackrabbits

IMO, Donlan also looks like he's beefed up some.