Panthers add two transfers (Moore and Springs) officially

http://www.uwmpanthers.com/sports/m-...090513aaa.html

By the way, both of these guys are guys the staff has known for years and had recruited before they chose their previous schools. Malcolm Moore obviously provides some depth we can use up front this year. He is also that true rarity -- an immediately eligible graduate transfer to a mid-major. What I like about Akeem is that, like Jevon Lyle, he has good size for a guard. I felt we got hurt last year by how small we often were in the back court when Jordan and Paris were playing together.

It's definitely an issue, the size of guards. It was one of the first things Greg Kampe talked about when he discussed moving to the Horizon League. He called us a "big guard, Big Ten-style conference" that has size in the back court. It's true, as well. When was the last time we had a back court in the Horizon League that even contended for a title?

The most recent I can even think of would be AJ Graves at Butler in 2007, but then again Mike Green was a big guard. Chris Hill wasn't, but Boo Davis was. DaShaun Wood and Vaughn Duggins were both bigger guards. Cedrick Jackson, Kaylon Williams, Norris Cole, Shelvin Mack, take your pick...you can't win a title without bigger guards. You're going to get beaten down, posted up and you will lose the rebounding battle.

I think the overall depth of this year's roster is huge. There are 19 guys on the roster, 18 who can play this year. Now some will say that Coach Jeter doesn't do well with a large roster but they got so beat up last year due to injuries and the like that it shouldn't be (as big of) a problem this year.

I don't know if 18 guys can play this year. Wichmann is probably a year away from contributing due to his lack of strength, and there's a reason Alex Prahl is a walk-on. Evan Richard has gone down the abyss, I don't know what it's going to take for him to start jacking up shots and get out of this mess.

I assume the core group for playing time this year will be:

JJ, Matt Tiby, Malcolm Moore and Brett Prahl up front, Trinson White and Austin Arians on the wings, and Bobo, JO, Evan, Steve McWhorter and Jevon Lyle in the back court.

That's 11 guys, which should be enough. It's a completely new mix of players, however, which will be the challenge for the coaches, but at the end of the day they are responsible for the roster and its turnover, so they need to meet that challenge. At the very least I expect a more competitive team than last year -- and I grant that that is a low bar. But this team could surprise us. There is no obvious dominant team in the league this year. Certainly Wright and GB should be good, but just that -- good, not great. Many of the other teams are in transition too. I am always an optimist, and other than last year Rob's teams have always competed hard. I think we'll see that again this year.