A Look At Northern Arizona's Rotation

In both the coaches and media poll, Northern Arizona is being picked to finish last in the Big Sky. Regardless of whether that seems too low (we will get to that in time), there is no denying the fact that NAU has the potential to be one of the most entertaining teams in the conference this season.

For one thing, the roster will be very guard-oriented, which can lead to an exciting style of play in the right system. It appears that new coach Jack Murphy wants to play that system. He told Blue Ribbon that the philosophy would be to, "Score early, get the ball up quick, and I'm not opposed to early shot - especially ones that are open, really an attack mentality. Defensively, we're going to have to play some different ways to promote that offense."

This is good on three fronts. One, players love playing in that type of system, and so it could help in recruiting. Two, they don't really have the personnel this year to be competitive playing a more traditional type of game (we will get to that), so an up-and-down style is probably their best chance to win this year. Three, Flagstaff is over 7,000 feet, so they could have a built in advantage there.

In the backcourt, they are led by two seniors in Gabe Rogers and Stallon Saldivar. Two years ago, Rogers was one of the best shooters in the conference. He struggled after returning from a shoulder injury last year. If he is back to 100%, he can be a very good scorer. Saldivar is one of the two or three best passers in the conference, and should have a great understanding of getting guys shots in his senior year.

Behind those two guys, there are some interesting options. The most intriguing is freshman DeWayne Russell, who led the state of Arizona with 27 ppg last year as a high school senior. The rest of his stat line was also impressive - over five assists, four rebounds, and four steals per game. He should be a big-time performer from the get go, and it wouldn't shock me to see occasional sets with Rogers, Russell, and Saldivar in the game.  

Michael Dunn should also get time in the backcourt, as he made 22 threes last year. Blake Hamilton and Bryce Gosar are two more freshmen that could get time in the frontcourt, but they could also be redshirt candidates.

Upfront, their best player is Gaellen Bewernick, who stands at 6'6''. He may have been their best rebounder last year. In Murphy's system, I would suspect that he will play a lot at the four again, though it wouldn't surprise me if he started games at small forward. Ephraim Ekanem, Ben Olaynika, and Max Jacobsen will all have chances to get time at the four and five spots, and all are more traditional big men returning to the roster. Len Springs was brought in as a JUCO recruit, and he could be a presence defensively.

The more interesting option up front could be Jordyn Martin, who was Murphy's first recruit. He is 6'7'', and averaged 11 and 9 last season. With the team likely building for the future, it would make sense that Martin could see a lot of time.

There are a lot of unknowns with a new coach and some new players, but NAU should be consistently entertaining. Not a lot of Big Sky teams try to pick up the pace a lot, so it would be a welcome change if the Lumberjacks do. They seem to have the personnel to make a lot of things interesting if they can push the temp.

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A Look At Northern Arizona's Recruiting Class

Coach Mike Adras lost arguably his two best players last year in Cameron Jones and Shane Johannsen, who both graduated. Thus, it brings importance to this year's recruiting class.

The best seems to be Danny Cheek, a 6'4'' SG out of California. Cheek is a great athlete that has the ability to attack the rim off the dribble. He averaged 15.3 PPG last year. He also has solid defensive potential. He could be the best freshman recruit entering the Big Sky this season.

Another guard that was signed is James Douglas, a 6'0'' PG. He averaged 17.3 PPG and 4.8 APG as a senior last year, and could have a nice future as a scoring guard. He is not super quick, but will find a role in the Big Sky. He probably won't get a ton of time this year, but he will be a nice player for Mike Adras.

The third guard signed is Colin Gruber, a 6'3'' guard that is a proficient scorer. Last season he averaged an impressive 26.6 PPG and 11.6 RPG, and set records at his school for points and steals. He is the son of a coach, and has at least Nor-Cal Basektball thinking he will have a nice career:

Gruber will need to add strength -- as do most freshman entering college basketball -- but Coach Mike Adras run a guard-oriented style and a number of other D-1 coaches are going to rue the day they passed on Gruber.

Northern Arizona also added a JUCO guard in Jywrell Wison (pronounced Ja-rell), who is a 6'3'' combo guard. Last season he averaged 24 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG. He will be a nice fit in Mike Adras' guard-oriented offense with his versatility.

Two JUCO big men were signed. The first was Max Jacobsen. At 6'8'' he averaged 22 PPG and 8 RPG. He is a threat to score in the low post, but can also come out and hit the 15 footer. He will definitely get a look in a frontcourt that is full of question marks. Also important to note that though Jacobsen is a JUCO guy, he will still have three years of eligibility remaining. He originally committed to Portland State out of high school.

More depth will be provided by Ephraim Ekanem. He averaged about 8/6 last season, and will give Adras some minutes, though his ceiling is a bit lower than Jacoben.

Mike Adras lost a lot of talent after last season, so this was an important recruiting class for him. NAU signed 6 players - 4 guards, 2 forwards - 3 high school players, 3 JUCO. There is a lot of talent there to be sure, so it will be interesting to see who plays this year, and how everyone comes together. Adras has proven himself to be a solid program builder, so it is not hard to envision these guys bringing success to Northern Arizona.

Where Will Northern Arizona Get Frontcourt Production?

Back when we looked at how Northern Arizona would (try to) replace Cameron Jones, we looked at the backcourt. But perhaps the even bigger question that that is... where will they get frontcourt production?

At 6'7'', Shane Johannsen was their best frontcourt player, as he was one of the most efficient players in the country. He had the best EFG% in the country, thanks to his ridiculously good 117/161 (72.7%) shooting from the field. Yes, that is correct... he shot 72.7% from the flooer. For his career he shot 69.5% from the field. That is not a typo. Oh yeah, Johannsen was also their best rebounder (22.2 DR%), and one of the best shot blockers in the country. He will be dearly missed.

One guy that will be relied upon is Austin Smith, who was a solid performer in a fairly limited role last year (he only played 12.6 minutes per game). He was also an efficient scorer, shooting 61% from the field, and with 11.1% of ORebounds coming his way, he can generate some extra possessions for the Lumberjacks. If he can keep his efficiency up, and maybe pull down a few more defensive rebounds (13.8 DR% last year), he will be a factor for them. He will be a junior this season.

After Smith, it is difficult to project. Josh Lepley would have had a role for them, but he was dismissed from the team earlier this year. It seems likely that JUCO big man Max Jacobsen will have a role as well. He scored 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds per game last season, so he has shown he can be productive at the JUCO level. “We are excited to get him,” said Head Coach Mike Adras. “He is a great student. We see him as someone who can score and play in the low post. He can score around the basket and also step out and shoot a 15-footer and make shots.”

There are a few other possibilities, but it's difficult to tell how playing time will shake out. Ephraim Ekanem will get a look after coming over from Irvine Valley College. He averaged about 8 points and 6 rebounds a game last year, but he is a big, bruising body, who could give Adras some minutes. Ryan Schaefer sat out last season after having knee surgery, but at 6'9'' he will get a look. And then Gaellen Bewernick was a redshirt last season, but he is a forward at 6'6''. He is in the mold of a lot of guys that have success at the college level... undersized, but has a knack for rebounding and is athletic enough to be difficult to defend.

Mike Adras typically has some smaller teams, and that will be no different this season. After losing Shane Johannsen, there is a lot of uncertainty in the frontcourt. He has some options, but it is tough to say (other than Austin Smith) who will see the most playing time.

Who do you guys see as getting the most minutes?