I get the pessimism. I'm feeling it too. But, our front court is more question mark that grade-able at this point in time. Shaka didn't really give any of the current forwards and centers other than Simms any real minutes in the front court last year. He chose to play 4 guards (with disastrous results most of the time) rather than giving Hamm, Liddell, or Hepa any reasonable or meaningful playing time. I'm more worried about our "experienced" guys forcing stuff.
I'm kind of looking forward to seeing a lot of rotation early in the season to see what everyone (including coaches) brings to the table. I think Kai jones, Baker, Cunningham, Liddell, and Hamm will be better than anticipated. I fear Sims, Coleman, Hepa, and Febres will be mirrors of themselves last year (very average). Ramey is the guy most likely to step up. Andrew Jones is dealers money. I feel like we'll be scratching just to get a low seed bid to the NCAA Tournament. If Andrew Jones and one of our front court guys (and Ramey) play inspired, situational savvy, consistent B+ basketball, and one or more of the Simms/Coleman/Febres decide to occasionally show up in crunch time, we could maybe get a win or two in the NCAA Tourney.
When the game is on the line this year, Shaka's going to rely on Coleman, Ramey, and Febres (and maybe A Jones if he is back to a semblance of his playing self). The young guys are going to look to them too. If Coleman and Febres look like they did at the end of last year or better, we might be pretty decent. If they peaked last year, it will be another rough year.