I would love to see Ray come in the games like "The Microwave" Vinnie Johnson from the old Piston teams. That would the best position for him to be in. Ray comes in and lights up the scoreboard. When was the last time we had a player able to do that?
I'm not in the "Ray won't start camp." I think Ray will undoubtedly start to open the season. I am in the "Ray won't start if we're going to be very good/if these "new" players are as good as we hope camp." On a good team, Ray is a role player. He averaged just over a steal per game, and I would grade him as an average to slightly above average defender. I would grade him as a better shooter than the numbers suggest (I think most would) but he is a spot-up shooter. He cannot create off the dribble, and his accuracy drops significantly running off screens (as is the case for most spot-up shooters).
His turnovers are low because he's not asked to handle the ball and doesn't pass very much. There were numerous occasions we had a 2 on 1 break and Ray took and missed a bad shot when he should have passed - not necessarily because he's selfish, but because he's a subpar ball handler/passer.
I would be pleasantly surprised if Ray is not starting in conference play. To me, it hinges on how good Petteway and Webster are. I think Biggs starts at point to start the year. Pitchford and Shields are likely starters. I would consider those 4 I(including Ray) locks for the start of the season (unless Biggs is suspended. Also - haven't seen much of Smit - going off of what I've heard). If Petteway and Webster are as good as we hope, they should supplant Ray by conference play.