Re: Basketball Tip Off Dinner
Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 4:20 pm
JasonB wrote:That was kind of the point I was making. Jank himself said that Moore and Brown are the types of players he is targeting. Their first year, they weren't stars, but they certainly were capable parts of the rotation and it was clear that they were going to be good players.
Of the FY '17 class, Chargois performed way above those guys, Douglas I would say was a little behind where Brown was, but still has potential. Ray is an incomplete (and I would bet we don't see him this year). Landrum showed quickness and athleticism, but couldn't shoot. So he is out. But we hit on one, probably 2, and "maybe" 3.
Of the FY '18 class, Hunt was pretty well regarded. Everyone saw Young as a project with upside. White not heavily recruited, so the latter two would fall in the DITR category. So, it is certainly reasonable to doubt the impact. But again, we know what Jank's comparison's are with Brown and Moore, and so we can set our own expectations. All three have length for their "positions", can they shoot to spread the floor and do they have enough handles and athleticism to take advantage of spacing. They are going to have to be able to do that and contribute in a similar manner to Ben and Sterling their freshman year, or else we won't survive the easy non-conference schedule, much less conference play, and Jank is out of here as it seems like all of you want.
For the FY '19 class, we have a lot of spots available with the end of restrictions plus three graduations. We will have 5 size guys coming back, so you have to think it is going to be pretty guard heavy. I would expect anywhere up to three transfers, with 1 or two being GTs eligible immediately. We haven't hit that market yet. If you have 2 GTs, Whitt, Douglas, and White in the backcourt rotation next year then your other two scholarships are both going to be driven towards redshirt candidates. Which probably explains why you are taking players early that don't have a ton of offers. We will take a top recruit over a GT if we can get it (or if Douglas shows enough improvement that he can start next season), otherwise it will be 2 GTs and a regular transfer.
Personally, I don't think that is bad strategy. Even 4 stars don't usually come in and start as a true frosh. At Guard you have Whitt coming back and Douglas, who we aren't sure is a starter yet. So, do you want him to go out and grab 4 star players and hope they can start, or is he going to get GTs to add to the mix? Probably the latter, right? And if recruits know he is bringing in transfers, are 4 stars going to come in and sit at the back of the rotation? Probably not. So, you have to go grab players who are willing to redshirt a season.
But go ahead, complain that we aren't serious about basketball because our coach doesn't hire prostitutes or pay players.
Whoa whoa whoa there Jason. Did you really just say Ethan performed way above Sterling in his freshman year? I really like Ethan and I think he is going to be a very good player, all-conference before he’s done but no way he had a better rookie season. Sterling was on a top 25, NCAA caliber team and started most of the games. Sterling didn’t score as much as Ethan but he was about as solid of a contributor (defense, rebounding and clutch 3s) as you’ll see for a freshman on a really good team.
Ethan had a couple of monster games in OOC but basically disappeared in AAC play. It is a crime to say he was as good as Sterling in their freshman years.