A preview of Louisiana Tech men's basketball 2007-2008

Kerry Rupp's late start due to his woefully-timed late hire in replacing Keith Richard at Louisiana Tech initially hurt Bulldog recruiting but then his hiring of Nikita Johnson as an assistant coach immediately got LT into doors previously unaccessible and any lost ground has certainly been made up.

With Tech's best players completing their eligibility after last season, a solid recruiting class was desperately needed -- a bedrock foundation for starting anew.

Rupp and Company succeeded.

Curiously, the official LT athletics web site doesn't yet offer a 2007-2008 roster but we'll do our best here.

Here's who Rupp has as returnees:Drew Washington guard 6-2 175 junior. Washington earned 25 starts last season and had some particularly effective moments against San Jose State but he averaged just 4.8 ppg. last year on 34% shooting from the floor, 33% on threes and just 12 of 28 from the foul line. All of his shooting percentages dropped in comparison to his freshman season. In his favor, he was credited with 63 assists against just 39 turnovers -- not a bad figure for a poor shooting Tech squad.

Keith Smith forward 6-7 225 senior. Smith was a late signee and ended up averaging 4.6 ppg. on 33% shooting from the floor. He is the younger borther of ex-San Jose Stater Kenny Smith.

Kyle Gibson guard 6-4 180 sophomore. He'll provide some backup help at best this season.

Adrian Rogers forward 6-7 225 junior. The opportunity will be there for Rogers to increase his playing time -- at least in the upcoming season before the new talent overrides the returnees.

The above group aren't necessarily a force to be reckoned with, but hold on.

As for incoming help, Rupp lost out on the best of Richard's signees in Marcus Britt, a 6-3 Arkansas prep guard, who requested his release after the dismissal of Richard and then remained in-state, signing with Arkansas. He would have really helped but is water under the bridge.

7-0 250 Tamas Cseh, a junior college transfer and another Richard signee, was told by Rupp to look elsewhere.

A Richard recruit who is sticking with playing in Ruston is Brandon Mims, a 6-8 power forward out of the Louisiana prep ranks. According to his high school coach Jerry White: "He has a perimeter game and he's a force to be reckoned with down low."

Rupp did sign junior college point guard in Jonathan Clark, 5-11 175 point guard (Trinity Valley CC, TX) to fill a hole at the point. Rupp on Clark: "He possesses great leadership qualities, along with many outstanding point guard abilities." Pat Smith, Clark's coach in the junior college ranks, had this to say of his star point: "The number one thing I can say about JC is that he's a very true point guard. He has great command of the game and excellent court vision, and he can score."

Besides Clark, Rupp and his assistants have also signed their share of players to fill the ranks -- "Louisiana Tech's men's basketball's 2007 incoming class got taller Friday as Bulldog head coach Kerry Rupp announced that transfer Magnum Rolle and freshman D.J. Wright will come to Ruston to play basketball. Rolle is a 6'10" center from LSU who started nine games for the Tigers while seeing action in 29. The Freeport, Bahamas, product averaged 4.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game. Rolle will sit out the 2007-08 season due to the NCAA transfer rule and will have two years of eligibility afterwards.

Wright highlights the incoming freshman class as a 6'7" perimeter player from Sault St. Marie, Ontario, Canada, who averaged 22.5 points and 12.5 rebounds for his high school career at Toronto Academy Prep. "D.J. Wright is another tremendous and exciting player for our program," Rupp said. "I firmly believe he will make an immediate impact next season with his work ethic and ability to shoot the ball." Wright's AAU Coach Ro Russell had this to offer: "The way he's improved in the past few months makes me believe he will step in right away and make an impact his freshman year. He's very similar to (former NBA star) Glenn Rice with how he shoots and gets to the basket."

A player who will likely be the best of all before too long, Olu Ashaolu, was a somewhat late signee. Another kid from Canada -- they are apparently playing much more than hockey north of the border -- he forsook Rutgers for Ruston, primarily because of Assistant Coach Nikita Johnson. He will be Tech's top player before too long.

Of all the teams in the WAC, it's most difficult to predict a 2007-2008 starting lineup for the Bulldogs.

Washington and Clark seem likely to battle for the starting point guard position. Two other youngsters, Orren Tims and Dwayne Lathan will help in the backcourt in time. Tims is a 6-4 wing out of the Louisiana prep ranks, Lathan a 6-3 shooting guard. James Loe is a walk-on point who should be able to help out a few minutes a game.

Wright should be out there too, more than likely as a wing.

Ashaolu will also be an immediate starter.

After that, it's anyone's guess.

Besides the aforementioned Rolle, Rupp has also brought in two other D-1 transfers who must sit out this coming season: former Oklahoma State center Ken Cooper and former Nebraska combo guard Jamel White. Both will press for starting positions in 2008-2009.

But do keep an eye out for a rather large frontcourter, initials KM, in case Rupp decides to unleash a masked mystery player on the rest of the WAC.

LT seems too young this season to avoid a second division finish in the Western Athletic Conference. But next year...