Sunday, July 15, 2007

14-Man Roster Announced

The roster has been announced:

Roy Hibbert

Drew Neitzel

Joey Dorsey

Wayne Ellington

Scottie Reynolds

Bryce Taylor

Josh Carter

Shan Foster

D.J. White

Derrick Low

James Gist

Maarty Leunen

Kyle Weaver

And… our boy Eric Maynor!

We’re ecstatic that Maynor made the team, and if he hadn’t, he would have headlined the list of snubs. He nabbed PG Mario Chalmers’ spot even though the Alaska native had a really solid Trial. Maynor seems to always be in the right place on the floor, whether it’s running down long rebounds or stepping in to jumpshots from a big man’s kick-out pass. The stoic VCU Ram coach Anthony Grant is jumping up and down like a little girl right now.












Some really good players were left off the list for two huge surprises. F Maarty Leunen played his behind off, but lacked the athleticism to hang with many of the big men. While he stroked his jumper when he was open, he didn’t create too many openings.

Just as we expected one Duck to make it – and for that to be Bryce Taylor – we expected only one Washington State Cougar to make it. But G Kyle Weaver will join SG Derrick Low on the 14-man roster. Weaver didn’t stand out to the naked eye, but maybe that’s why the selection committee liked him. He plays under control and makes the smart play over the riskier possible highlight, possible turnover.

We’ll catch up with the rest of the info on the cut after the newly molded roster practices noon to 3.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was wondering if Weaver was playing more of a point position? At Washington State he is the one that is usually taking the ball up court.

Andrew Katz '07 - Pan-Am Games said...

Weaver hasn't played too much point. On offense, he's been off the ball for the majority of the time. He seems reluctant to take his jumpshot even when open, preferring to drive to the basket. I think Weaver made the 14-man roster because he is a superb perimeter defender. He averaged 2.2 steals per game during the season and has looked every bit that tough here.