The Starting Five

First things first, it's imperative that we don't get too caught up in single performances. Since we're dealing with a bunch of 18 year olds new to the college ranks, it's a pretty safe assumption that their performances will be pretty volatile. But since I'd rather not practice what I preach, I'd like to submit my nomination as our starting lineup going forward.

1 – Sherron Collins. Obviously. What I like about Sherron this year is that 1) he really seems to be embracing the role as leader; and 2) he looks to be moving great. The latter will prove to be more and more important as we get into the meat of the schedule. We're also going to need him to get up more than 11 shots a game and take better care of the ball than we saw on Sunday.

2 – Tyrel Reed. Don't get used to seeing him go 0/5 from three point range, because it's not going to happen very often. I still question his ability to guard against better competition, but what he gives us from in scoring and ball movement is more than enough reason to keep him in the starting lineup.

3 – Travis Releford. This is probably my most controversial pick, seeing as he was the 10th guy off the bench on Sunday. Watching him, it's pretty evident that he really hasn't played in very complicated offensive sets much and he doesn't have the purest shooting stroke around. But what he lacks there, he makes up for with athleticism and defense. He probably won't lead us in scoring very often and he certainly won't replicate what Brandon gave us on the outside, but he's capable of making some big time contributions on both ends of the court.

4 – Markieff Morris. This one could also be considered questionable and could easily be a product of the sample size I'm using. Brother Marcus was supposed to be better and Quintrell Thomas has done plenty to retain the spot, but Markieff seems to be a good fit here. His defense is still incredibly questionable (especially once we're playing real teams), but his length can really bother some people. And if those 15 rebounds were a sign of things to come, Bill will really have a tough time keeping him off the court.

5 – Cole Aldrich. Another no-brainer. It really is incredible what kind of a difference it makes having him on the floor. There may not be a less competent twosome than Reid Gettys and Dave Armstrong and even they seemed to realize the disparity. Obviously we all knew what Cole could do near the basket on both ends, but what's really impressed me is his mid-range game. If he can continue to knock down that shot from the top of the key like he has, he'll be as tough to guard as anyone. And defensively, there's really no comparison on the entire roster.

I may feel completely different as soon as 9:00 PM CST, but for now I'm sticking to it. Which reminds me, if you're heading to Allen this evening, make sure to get there plenty early for the unveiling of the banner. May be a bit of a tear jerker.

Your thoughts?