J.J. Richardson to transfer from Pitt

[RednBlue11]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6363352

he's from Missouri City, TX and wants to be closer to his family.

Sophomore forward J.J. Richardson has been granted a release from his scholarship and will transfer out of coach Jamie Dixon's Pittsburgh program.

"We will assist J.J. in finding the best situation for him to reach his goals both academically and athletically," Dixon said. "He's a great kid, hard worker and good player. We thank J.J. for his contribution to our program over the last two years and wish him much success in the future."

[RednBlue11]

[RednBlue11]

[hoopmanx]

no scholarships

[RednBlue11]

find one

[hoopmanx]

find one

that would depend on how good the staff thinks he is, I'd imagine. After all, he did just get shown the door at Pitt, meaning they ran him off and didn't renew his ship. Don't buy the he wanted to be closer to home stuff, cause Pitt recruited over, and needed the ship.

[RednBlue11]

since played for Pitt he is automatically better than almost anyone we have on our team, you know that.

[hoopmanx]

since played for Pitt he is automatically better than almost anyone we have on our team, you know that.

That line of thought doesn't necessarily work, especially on a team like Pitt, where Dixon often grabs underexposed or underappreciated kids. Is Shawn Williams 'automatically better than almost anyone we have on our team' cause he came from UT? What about Roger Franklin from OSU etc? All those kids can play, not saying they can't. What you have to ask yourself, when looking at these kids, is whether or not they fit our style? Franklin is a good player, but he'd be sorry in the princeton. He can't shoot or pass. Richardson is a big kid, and I'd give him more consideration, just based on that, but he rebounds and scraps. For once, we just don't have any/enough ships to grab everyone that gets cut loose.

[RednBlue11]

that may be true outside the context of our program but name one of our players that would play for either UT or Pitt? none and you know that's for sure.

We barely have size and skill combined and he offers both of those things.

[mustangxc]

Nyakundi would definitely play for Pitt and UT. Dia would would have played anywhere in the country.

[RednBlue11]

Nyakundi would definitely play for Pitt and UT. Dia would would have played anywhere in the country.

that is flat out ridiculous, you couldnt have a more skewed view of talent

[wcspony]

I agree with RednBlue- we could definitely use his size and strength at getting both O and D boards. Playing in the Big East would bring a sense of toughness that we have yet to see from anyone on our teams in the recent past. I'd like to see our future teams get the bigs and "swag' needed to compete. We've certainly lacked that. Plus, we're going to need bigs in the future.

As for finding a scholarship, I'm sure we can. Heck, scrap Losh. His release has got to be the slowest in the country and it rarely goes in from beyond the arc. Doh gave him plenty of time this year and I can say (because I went to every home game and watched every road game online) that he completely under-performed all year. I don't want this to be a "dis on Losh" thread, I am just saying we could definitely make room.

[hoopmanx]

Nyakundi would definitely play for Pitt and UT. Dia would would have played anywhere in the country.

that is flat out ridiculous, you couldnt have a more skewed view of talent

That's far from skewed, it's accurate. Dia was recruited at a high level, and could have easily been CUSA POY. He chose us over the Big East. Speaking only for Louisville, the other finalist, I've been in small personalized workouts w/Terence Jennings, and Dia is easily on his level. Dia would have started most schools in America. On those he couldn't start, it'sonly b/c they have an AA caliber kid ahead of him. As a Terp, let me say that if Dia were opposite Jordan Williams, as opposed to Dino Gregory, we not only make the tourney, we play for awhile.

Nyakundi is a completely one-dimensional kid, but that one dimension is a commodity. At 6'8, he could find a way to help high majors, and there are far worse in the 8 or 9 deep at even big time programs etc. He wouldn't have gotten that chance, cause he wasn't recruited on that level.

I have no problem w/JJ Richardson, and I'm always about getting a hard-nosed big. That said, you couldn't be more wrong about the talent level in the program. Kids like Leslee Smith, Vilde, Cotton, Manuel, Cunningham, Jones all had very legitimate offers. They are all high major kids in the right opportunity/circumstance.

Just as an aside, I spent the weekend in atlanta watching an SMU prospect in '12, a kid who really likes us, but is remarkably below the radar. Basically, his team ran up against a team from Carolina that had 2 ACC commits and another high major commit as well. It was a full-on duel. IF we're lucky/skilled enough to get the kid, he has the chops to grind against those types of schools and their athletes.

[hoopmanx]

I agree with RednBlue- we could definitely use his size and strength at getting both O and D boards. Playing in the Big East would bring a sense of toughness that we have yet to see from anyone on our teams in the recent past. I'd like to see our future teams get the bigs and "swag' needed to compete. We've certainly lacked that. Plus, we're going to need bigs in the future.

As for finding a scholarship, I'm sure we can. Heck, scrap Losh. His release has got to be the slowest in the country and it rarely goes in from beyond the arc. Doh gave him plenty of time this year and I can say (because I went to every home game and watched every road game online) that he completely under-performed all year. I don't want this to be a "dis on Losh" thread, I am just saying we could definitely make room.

You have got to be kidding me about Losh. The kid got completely screwed, couldn't practice, then played 11 games w/ completely limited burn, was out of sync, and the team already had good developing chemistry. He'll be fine, and is a perfect fit for the princeton. Even while shooting awfully, he still knocked in 33% or so. Beyond that, he's a fantastic student, that will play pro ball in Europe after this, repping SMU. He's tight w/Leslee and Vilde etc. This offense and program is about chemistry right now, don't eff w/it. Next years team already has a chip on it's shoulder.

[RednBlue11]

Nyakundi would definitely play for Pitt and UT. Dia would would have played anywhere in the country.

that is flat out ridiculous, you couldnt have a more skewed view of talent

That's far from skewed, it's accurate. Dia was recruited at a high level, and could have easily been CUSA POY. He chose us over the Big East. Speaking only for Louisville, the other finalist, I've been in small personalized workouts w/Terence Jennings, and Dia is easily on his level. Dia would have started most schools in America. On those he couldn't start, it'sonly b/c they have an AA caliber kid ahead of him. As a Terp, let me say that if Dia were opposite Jordan Williams, as opposed to Dino Gregory, we not only make the tourney, we play for awhile.

he wasn't the POY and if he was so "highly recruited" why did he come here?

let's be completely honest, the level of competition is absolutely inferior in the CUSA and certainly in our non-con...it's foolish to think that an accurate comparison of skill can be made when the experience is so vastly different.

it's nice of you to prop him up and say that he COULD have been the CUSA POY, but basing your assertions on things that never happened doesn't lend to them being very credible when comparing players, it skews an already subjective opinion of a player to be highly subjective and mostly innacurate.