Andrus and Nixon showed ample signs last summer that they could play effectively at this level. Perhaps because coaches were limited in how much observation they could do, Rose simply didn't know how far ahead in knowledge were Andrus and Nixon to Kaufusi and Neilson. Kaufusi will get better but poor hands may be limiting. Neilson should be able to improve his toughness but he seems destined for adequacy, not stardom.

But watching Kaufusi dunk, rebound and block shots while Neilson drained 3s and blocked shots in pick-up games in August, i had figured they would be more ready this year also. Someone had to be designated for deep bench and so Andrus may have been victim of the numbers game.

But by now it is clear that Andrus has proven to be the smartest rebounder and best at getting the ball in the basket at the rim and, along with Neilson, the best shooter among the trees. Nixon, at 6'7," is also a good rebounder and shooter and worthy of his increased PT given the injuries. Andrus' lack of girth and strength may nudge him to a PF role after his mission.

Aside from Kaufusi's slow progress, Toolson has underperformed his promise and is now clearly behind Andrus, Nixon, Bartley, and especially Halford. Everyone, including Sharp, is ahead of Luke at this point, despite his hard work and improvement in the off season.

There should now be no more derision of Halford, who is the unquestioned floor leader whenever he is in the game and an obviously competent D-1 PG. This too was obvious over the summer. A hip pointer from the SVU game slowed him for a few games at Maui.