I agree that the most likely PG starter is Messiah Thompson. He has been more successful and is far more experienced (admittedly at a lower level) than Silva. There is significant value in being a mature 5th year player, with years of starting experience. Silva, on the other hand, is IMHO not to be written off. I agree he is a question mark. But, he did shoot .500 from three as a frosh (19-39). He did have a positive a/TO ration last season. And, he was playing at a much higher level league. The things that make you wonder are his inability to make an impact even against mid-level teams. For example, I looked at the box from the first game of the year last season when Stanford played UOP. Silva got 16 minutes to show he could do something. His line included no shots, no rebounds, no points, no FTs, no assists. How could a really good player have no impact on his team in 16 minutes? I think the most likely role for him is coming off the bench backing up Thompson.

As to Ngoyi and Polynice, both were hurt for significant portions of last season. Both are athletic for bigs and move well. Ngoyi reportedly was the fastest guy on the squad last season before he got hurt. But, he is young and has basically no experience. Add in coming off a serious injury, there is the question of how much of an impact the injury will have going forward. I think the injury was to the knee, that may impact his athleticism. Polynice was interesting. he has real size, moves really well, and can sort of play a stretch 4 role. But, he also was not nearly strong enough to hold his own i the post, a real necessity for a guy his size. Some of his value may depend on Aboubacar's development. If AT has been able to improve his shooting, he might slide nicely into a SF role. This could open minutes for Polynice. Bottom line as I see it, Lassina Traore will get the bulk of the C minutes, and if AT takes the bulk of the PF minutes and Stroud is the first guy off the bench in both spots, it may be hard for Polynice and Ngoyi to find more than spot minutes.

I know you are not a fan CC; but, to me, Marcus Tsohonis is a potential big upgrade from last season. I am unsure how much of his potential we have really seen. MT was hurt for most of last season. Additionally, with Murray out and Tone Hunter not up to the task, MT was asked to be the main PG, a role he does not seem suited to. If MT is healthy, he might be able to shoot far better than last season when he was a really underwhelming .264 from three. He was often unstoppable in the paint. But, he played hurt when we needed him to, he showed that at times he could be an offensive force, and if he is healthy, he might be the sixth man of the year in the BW, it hard to shoot on bad legs (foot?)