For season ticket holders and fans, last season was one to remember. Another 20 win season ending with an NIT berth and arguably an injury and a blocked shot away from an at-large NCAA bid. Witnessing the ascension of Jalen Williams from a promising freshman to an NBA lottery pick brought back reminders of what our program used to be and the possibilities of more success ahead.
For the Broncos in 2022-2023, and beyond, it's all about the quads. Not as in quadriceps, but quad 1 and quad 2 NET ranking wins. That's how teams get picked for post season NCAA and NIT bids. Our coaches build schedules not just to try for 20 wins, but to play competition that offers the opportunity to get enough quad 1 and 2 wins. These wins are against likely conference winners and teams that will be in the NCAA conversation.
We all remember the St. Mary's snubs after 20+ win seasons, but too many of those wins were against a then weaker WCC and pre-season teams. We're not going that route. The WCC is much stronger now and our current schedule has about 13 teams in those top two quads. We also have to avoid any quad 3 losses (defined as opponent rankings of 76-150 home, 101-200 neutral site, and 146-240 away games.)
Our roster has been reloaded to take on the challenge. We have five returnees who either started or played big minutes. With a roster that includes a grad transfer (Carlos Marshall), fifth year grad (Keshawn Justice), three seniors, four sophomores, and six freshman we have have a good blend of experience and young talent. Coaches feel we will have more speed, height, depth, and should be able to shoot it at the level we did last year as one of the top scoring teams in the NCAA.
Here's a brief scouting report on our roster.
Freshman
Brenton Knapper - 6'1, 170 lbs. Redshirt Freshman. Likely a point guard backup. Has speed, can penetrate and is a good passer. Good shooter, averaged 19.7 ppg in high school. He's like Tahj Eaddy from the 2019-20 team.
Kosy Akametu - 6'5, 210 lbs. Coaches believe he is an under the radar prospect with lots of potential upside. Mature body, athletic, and can shoot it, drive it, and finish at the rim. Averaged 19.6 ppg in high school.
Jake Ensminger - 6'9, 205 lbs. Good rebounder, rim protector, and can also shoot it from the wing and score in the post. Has good speed and basketball I.Q.
Christoph Tilly - 7'0, 225lbs. Good shooter from the wing (57%) and can score inside (61%). Will see minutes as a backup and complement to J. Bediako. Strong rim protector.
Malachi Douyan - 6'3, 180 lbs and Brendan Yarusso 6'1, 160 lbs. Will play important roles in practice and get court time depending on their expected improvement.
Sophomores
Brandin Podziemski - 6'5, 205 lbs Elite scorer. Has speed and great shooting range. Played solid minutes during the European trip and led the team in scoring all three games.
Carlos Stewart - 6'1, 185 lbs. Expected starter at the point. The coaches look for more improvement from a good freshman season. Physical player who can penetrate and finish at the rim like we witnessed last year with several "poster" dunks.
Jacob Holt -6'9, 235 lbs. Missed a number of games last season with injuries. Later in the season showed great promise as a rebounder, effective scorer, and shot blocker.
Cameron Tongue - 6'7 220 lbs. Excellent athlete. Speed, strength, and physical defender. Looking to improve in his second year in Coach Sendek's system.
Grad Transfer
Carlos Marshall - 6'6 205 lbs. Transfer from Tennessee. Two time Ohio Valley All Conference selection. Experienced. Averaged 41% from three point line and had 18 double digit and five 20 point games at Tennessee. Will be a key contributor in the rotation.
We return three seniors: Parker Braun 6'10, 215 lbs, Jaden Bediako 6'10, 245 lbs, and Giordan Williams 6'4, 190 lbs who will help anchor this team throughout the season. We know how good they are and we look for steady improvement.
All in all, it adds up to a team with some horsepower and potential. Five bigs at 6'9 - 7'0 and five others 6'5 - 6'7 that can be interchangeable parts on the perimeter. According to the staff, there isn't much "drop off" in talent from top to bottom except in experience. It's great for practices since that's how you earn court time.
Expected starters are Carlos Stewart at PG, Justice and Podziemski at the wings, Braun at the 4 position, and Bediako at center. SCU had one of the most successful up-tempo points per possessions in the nation last year and you should expect no slowdown. Having so many players who can rebound, run, and score in transition is what this coaching staff loves and will be our "go to."
The other major emphasis this year is rebounding and to put up a more aggressive, physical defense. We all saw the shortfalls in these areas last year. Thin at center last year due to injuries made us undersized and rebounding difficult, particularly on the defensive boards. We were not a consistently physical force on defense as well and spots of passive pick and roll defense cost us. I'm so glad that Tommy Khuse of St. Mary's and Andrew Nemhard of the Zags are gone. They were surgical against us. IF, we can get the defense right, we'll be a tough out and in a lot of games. We need to flex our "quads" here.
In 11 days we'll get a firsthand look at what we have and what we can become in 2022-2023. As Bronco season ticket holders and fans, we all want to see us max our "quads," including a quad with four letters - an NCAA invite!!
