WCC Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2018-19
By Connor Hope
Early on, San Francisco looked like a team that would once again finish in the top half of the WCC. Head Coach Kyle Smith was only expecting to lose Chase Foster and would return Charles Minlend, an All-WCC level talent who sat out last season.
The transfer of Souley Boum, however, halted San Francisco’s positive outlook and most likely dropped them to the middle of the WCC. As a freshman, Boum had the highest usage of any player in the WCC, and his loss is bigger than the numbers may indicate.
This does not mean that the San Francisco Dons are unable to compete, as they still boast a talented backcourt.
Minlend, Jordan Ratinho and Frankie Ferrari form one of the better three-point shooting units in the WCC. Ferrari, who led the team in points and assists last season, is an early favorite for the 2018-19 All-WCC First Team.
Depth in the backcourt could be an issue, however, as Jamaree Bouyea and Mladen Djordjevic were both relatively inefficient rotational pieces. Freshman Trevante Anderson has the talent to provide meaningful minutes, but his size may hinder him against the WCC’s bigger backcourts.
The Dons’ frontcourt will make up for its lack of marquee talent with decent size and depth.
Matt McCarthey and Nate Renfro will both return to the starting lineup, but will need to improve their work on the boards if they want San Francisco to have success against the bigger frontcourts of Gonzaga, BYU or Saint Mary’s. Jimbo Lull, Remu Raitanen, and Erik Poulsen will all provide big bodies off the bench.
San Francisco is a team that will hover in the middle of the WCC for most of next season. The talent is there, but the loss of Souley Boum could spell doom for the relatively small roster.