So, who will emerge as the team leader this year? Who will be THE GUY?
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Great article, Jim. Building off what you said, plus my own observations of the team members, I think it probably does come down to Junior and/or Jamil. Maybe it will be Junior on the court prodding, leading and feeding the others, but Jamil off the court as a more outgoing leader and mentor to the newcomers.
Agree completely JohnnyRev!
Good stuff IWB, but I believe you inaccurately refer to Jamil as a "redshirt senior" in the article. (The second paragraph in the Jamil Wilson section.)
I think Vander will step up as well. Like Jimmy, he can set the tone with defense, which should be a calling card for this team with Jamil and Otule also helping lock teams down.
We'll find out who the top leaders are the first time we go down double digits against a quality team.
We'll find out more when we have our first nail-biter and the final two or three possessions will determine the outcome.
Those situations, of course, will only show us the on-court leaders.
I doubt we'll ever witness who the off-court leaders are; at least most of us will fall into that category. IWB, Dodds, and Mark Miller may get to see what happens other than at the BC or on t.v.
I would be surprised if Junior is not a primary leader on the court, which is as it should be.
But based on what I've read, I'm also guessing that Lockett will emerge as a leader both on and off the court, much as Russell Wilson did for the Badgers' football team a year ago. Leadership is leadership; it won't matter if TL is new to the program.
Great stuff IWB. I really think that this team won't have one leader, as there are so many experienced guys at about the same level that all bring something different from a leadership standpoint to the table. Junior will keep things under control on the court, Jamil helps keep guys loose, Lockett looks to be an overall leader (like Pantom said about Russell Wilson), Vander leads on defense, CO2, etc. I think this year the team will be led by committee, which is nice to have.
But who is "the guy" when we are down by 1 with 15 seconds left? Who gets the ball?
Who is the guy who picks up everybody when the going gets tough like Lazar did his senior year or Jae did last season?
You need the respect of your teammates to be able to give them tough love when it's needed.
Looking back we were so spoiled with DJ, Jerel and Wes......they all had it....especially DJ and Wes.