I have a want to be heard as a student leader and as someone that cares deeply about our program. I think this team needs to be analyzed player by player. I am giving my personal opinions on every player on this team, and am open to arguments on every one of my opinions on any player that we have. I am fully aware that I am pretty much on my own in my opinion on at least one player, as will be seen later in this post.

Starting Five-

James Haarsma - To me the most important person on this team, the player that makes this team go whenever he is on the court. Haarsma, though undersized for the position that he is asked to play, can play so much bigger than his actual size, grab huge rebounds, and can play the interior game that the team desperately needs to open up the outside game that the guards thrive on and will win us big games later in the season. His problems are that he gets into major foul trouble early in games, which eliminates him on the inside as a presence for the team, and he has an attitude problem, which I won’t speak to as someone who isn't majorly knowledgeable about James, but is a major cause for concern. To me, James is easily the most important person on this team, and whenever he is not on the court, this team is worse than poor.

Jordan Aaron - In my opinion, the most talented player in my 5 years as a Panther to come through the program without a doubt. His ability to score and make plays is uncanny and I will enjoy watching just about everything he does as a Panther for the rest of his career. He, to me, has incredible ball skills, the range and ball skills of Ricky, and the interior finishing ability of Avo. His biggest problem that I have seen so far is his inability to beat the trap and pass his way out of a double team. If he falls into the same problems with turnovers that Kaylon found whenever teams keyed in on him as the PG and best player on the team, then the team will be in trouble.

Thierno (Bobo) Niang - Bobo will be an insane asset to have once we have Paris back as a starting guard. He has a great ability to score at the basket, a decent outside shot, and is incredibly aggressive defender. If the officials give him room to work, he can be just as good defensively as Ryan Allen, but his aggressiveness will most of the time get him in foul trouble quickly. Once Paris gets back, his foul trouble will (hopefully) be not as much of a problem as it has been in games so far when he is forced to play massive minutes. In the few games I have seen him, I can say I am a huge fan of the way he plays, as Ryan was my favorite Panther for the past two years and I see a lot of his skills in Bobo, but Bobos over-aggressiveness and lack of size at the 2 scares me.

Demetrius Harris - The most physically gifted player on the team, who probably would be better suited as a Tight End instead of a Power Forward. He can take over a game in a way that matches, and even could beat Jordan Aaron when both are at their best. If he can learn to stay in the post, stop bringing the ball down where opposing defenders can take the ball away from him, and can finish strong at the rim, he will be a beast unmatched by anybody in the league. Right now, he brings the ball down way too much, misses too many bunny’s, and is an awful free throw shooter, but his skills open him up to being the best interior man in the league if he can hone in his skills the upcoming weeks leading up to the games that really matter.

Christian Wolf - The one starter that probably has no business anywhere near the opening lineup, he is a great guy, a senior, and someone who is a great program guy. He is an above average interior defender that can grab rebounds as good as if not better than anyone else on the team. His major problem is that the only ability he has to score is that he can hit free throws, and any shot he takes is a negative possession for the team. Starting him over Kelm is a good thing in that Kelm should be coming off the bench with what he gives to the team, but to me, he should not be starting over Haggerty and be playing ~10 minutes per game, when we need interior defense. I personally feel that if he was playing 10-15 minutes as a bench player, we as fans would love what he brings to the team, but his position as a starter makes us question every move he makes and forces us to be extremely critical of him.