During an interview with 620 AM yesterday morning, Gottfried unexpectedly shifted into NEW HEAD COACH SOP PHASE TWO: MANAGING EXPECTATIONS, which I thought was scheduled for some time in late August.
"This is a year where we've got a few pieces. There's not a lot and we're not deep, and we're not a team that is going to contend, I don't know for a whole lot of things. But, I like this team, I like how they've come on board."
Man, seriously, you just can't WTNY me in June. When we're still closer to the previous season than we are to the next, it's too soon, dammit. So I'm letting this fly in one ear and out the other because I need to get through the summer slow period, and if I paid any real attention to a professional basketball person's professional opinion at this point it would really harsh the vibe.
Later on, Mark Gottfried confirmed that Lorenzo Brown will be his starting point guard, but he also suggested that Brown and Alex Johnson could see time on the floor together.
"Lorenzo Brown will be our point guard. I've known him since he's been in high school. I've got a lot of faith in him. I've got a lot of confidence in him, and I believe that he's going to blossom like a flower in the springtime."
"We've signed a young guy that fits us perfectly for this one year, Alex Johnson... he's taking advantage of the new rule where he can come in and play and be here one year in graduate school as a backup guard. Maybe play alongside him too at times, he's a very good shooter."
It's always tough to guess how to translate a move from the mid- to major-conference level (though Bakersfield actually is an independent), but based on his offensive rating and workload, I think Johnson will be an efficient role player for State. If he's taking 24% of the shots like he did at Bakersfield, though, we have a problem.
When studying the ACC and returning rosters, I think this league gets 6 or 7 in the NCAA tourney next year