2014-2015 Penn State Basketball Preview
Penn State:
Penn State surprised some people finishing 11th place in the B1G Ten when many people thought they would be much worse. They are going to surprise some people again this year as they do not lose much. They lose Tim Frazier, Allen Roberts, Alan Wisniewski, and Zach Cooper who are all graduating. Losing these players means losing:
29% MPG
29% PPG
23% RPG
59% APG
36% SPG
12% BPG
This really is not all that much to replace. This team is experienced but very thin. Here is their roster:
# Name HT WT YR POS
2 D.J. Newbill 6-4 205 RS. SR. SG
One of the biggest heroballers in basketball, he is the reason why Penn State does not assist on many of their baskets. He is their best player by far, averaged 17.8 points per game last season. Starting Shooting Guard.
43 Ross Travis 6-6 225 SR. SF
Starting Small Forward, played quite a bit last year, averaged 8.4 points per game last year. Will get even more attention this year.
14 Kevin Montminy 6-3 185 SR. SG
Will be the 5th guy off the bench this year, likely to be passed up by Banks and eventually Garner.
1 John Johnson 6-1 175 SR. PG
The starting point guard, averaged 6.7 points and .6 assists last year, not impressive for a point guard.
32 Jordan Dickerson 7-0 240 JR. C
The first forward off the bench, will provide good size for 20 minutes a game.
10 Brandon Taylor 6-7 235 JR. PF
The starting Power Forward, seoncd leading scorer returning.
5 Donovon Jack 6-9 210 JR. C
The starting Center, averaged 6.2 points last year.
44 Julian Moore 6-10 215 SO. C
Only played in 7 games last year, will be the 4th guy off the bench.
13 Geno Thorpe 6-3 180 SO. SG
The third guy off the bench, only averaged 3.2 points per game.
3 Graham Woodward 6-0 170 SO. PG
The first guard off the bench, only averaged 2.8 points per game last year.
0 Payton Banks 6-6 220 RS FR. SF
Redshirted last year, will be the 6th man off the bench, he will prbably earn more minutes as the season progresses.
33 Shep Garner 6-2 170 FR. SG
A three star, who will eventually earn some minutes.
9 Isaiah Washington 6-3 175 FR. SG
Redshirt.
Projected Starters:
Point Guard: John Johnson
Shooting Guard: D.J. Newbill
Small Forward: Ross Travis
Power Forward: Brandon Taylor
Center: Donovon Jack
Michigan plays at Penn State next year for their only matchup. Not a huge deal.
Penn State will be decent next year, but in the B1G, decent is not good enough. I say they will finish 7-11 next year with a few key upsets. However, there is some variance here, If Newbill has a bad year, they could be as bad as 4-14. On the flip side, if Taylor and Travis have a really good year, we could see something similar to Nebraska.
Next up... Minnesota