Kevin Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 2 minutes ago, Bill said: Is Gabe Grant still around? Didn't see him in any workout videos or anything. Really interested in him considering he was highly rated coming out of juco. Yes, he is. As far as I've been told all 8 players are staying. I've seen Gabe in a bunch of Instagram stuff but with 500 players in the transfer portal and his immediate eligibility, nothing would shock me anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGBull Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 4 minutes ago, Bill said: Is Gabe Grant still around? Didn't see him in any workout videos or anything. Really interested in him considering he was highly rated coming out of juco. I saw him in some Instagram stories in the locker room I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted April 22, 2019 Author Share Posted April 22, 2019 Updated with Nickleberry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmo Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 Segu putting in work. Shot looks more fluid and the hesi looks as deadly as ever. Seems like he has more bounce to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillenniumBull Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 Looks a lot stronger. I see a future first teamer in that one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocCas86 Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 On 3/25/2019 at 12:36 PM, admin said: This is something my eye tells me every year when we face the Power 5 conferences, but we need to upgrade our frontcourt players. Perkins was a beast, but he really was the only one there. Perhaps having Smart yesterday would have helped. These P5 programs just have bigger guys and more of them. It made sense to run 4 guards this year because of our personnel. You play your best team, but in the future we might consider going with a more traditional big. Harris was our starting 4, but he's really a 3. We can win in the MAC with 4 guards, but facing these trees in the tournament is really tough unless you're shooting lights out from deep. It's a tough predicament for the coaching staff. Playing 4 guards still might be our best shot with our inability to recruit dominant bigs. We should be right there again. We might not be an at large again next year, but we have enough to get us back to being MAC champions. Winning that thing as everyone knows is not easy, but I think we should have the best chance. If there are let's say 4 teams with equal chance and we are favored, it's still only slightly higher than 25% to win the MAC. It's really tough to win. First let me say last year's team was a great joy to watch they were special and I have nothing bad to say. However imagine if we had someone like Nigel John (in his senior year) as a part of that team. Maybe the rebounding differential is not as one-sided in TT favor... Maybe you harass the top 3 scorers (three tallest on the team) on TT a bit more. I am guessing a much closer ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trueblue32 Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 1 hour ago, DocCas86 said: First let me say last year's team was a great joy to watch they were special and I have nothing bad to say. However imagine if we had someone like Nigel John (in his senior year) as a part of that team. Maybe the rebounding differential is not as one-sided in TT favor... Maybe you harass the top 3 scorers (three tallest on the team) on TT a bit more. I am guessing a much closer ending. I understand your point but we should temper expectations on John. Big men are typically slower to develop and from his highlights it doesn't look like he's had much exposure to D1 level competition. I'm excited at the prospect of him being at UB for 4 years but I wouldn't be surprised if he has a season similar to Jeenathan (who I'm high on for this season, but was shaky as a freshman) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
121Merrimac Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 15 minutes ago, trueblue32 said: I understand your point but we should temper expectations on... Any freshman, right? In another thread, someone said the final scholarship should go to the best available player. And then next year would be devoted to replacing the lock down defensive guard position. Part of me agrees with that, but another part thinks that Jordan’s eventual replacement should be signed this year... because of unrealistic freshman expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocCas86 Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 54 minutes ago, trueblue32 said: I understand your point but we should temper expectations on John. Big men are typically slower to develop and from his highlights it doesn't look like he's had much exposure to D1 level competition. I'm excited at the prospect of him being at UB for 4 years but I wouldn't be surprised if he has a season similar to Jeenathan (who I'm high on for this season, but was shaky as a freshman) I agree with your statement about tempering expectations. I had started to qualify my comment but felt I was getting too wordy. My point was more about how the Bulls may have benefited from another physical player, especially in TT game and getting a player like John will hopefully make a stronger balanced team in next few years. That said I like the fact that Buffalo is a team that is exciting to watch and that we have things to talk about and be hopeful for next season and beyond. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skrabukes Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 39 minutes ago, 121Merrimac said: Any freshman, right? In another thread, someone said the final scholarship should go to the best available player. And then next year would be devoted to replacing the lock down defensive guard position. Part of me agrees with that, but another part thinks that Jordan’s eventual replacement should be signed this year... because of unrealistic freshman expectations. Isn't that Rondo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
121Merrimac Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 23 minutes ago, skrabukes said: Isn't that Rondo? Maybe. So far to me, his upside leans more toward offense than defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skrabukes Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 11 minutes ago, 121Merrimac said: Maybe. So far to me, his upside leans more toward offense than defense. When I think about a replacement for Jordan, I think of the distributor on offense, not necessarily a defender. If that's the case, who is replacing Dontay this year? I don't know how many players ever will equal Jordan or Dontay with regard to their defensive intensity. If we do land another forward, as is being discussed on this board, we are fairly lean at guard next year. We will have several scholarships available that can fill those slots. I put my faith in the staff and thus far we have no reason not to believe in their vision with regard to building of a roster. I'm always happy simply adding quality players, regardless of position at this point. Having 2 freshmen bigs along with a guard in this class (provided John is the 5th slot) is something that we haven't had in a while, with 3 freshmen in a class. IF the 3 can develop together, along with last year's freshman class (and Mballa), we're in good shape moving forward. Granted, every team thinks their new players are going to all be great....hopefully ours will be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
121Merrimac Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 13 minutes ago, skrabukes said: When I think about a replacement for Jordan, I think of the distributor on offense, not necessarily a defender. If that's the case, who is replacing Dontay this year? ... My view was thinking that both Caruthers and Jordan were primarily defensive players. So, I saw Jordan replacing Caruthers, and Jordan needing a replacement. (Remember, I’m a ski racer, and not a baller...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillenniumBull Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 Neither Dontay or Jordan were recruited as defenders. They became them. They learned those skills and got that tenacity practicing on the hardwood at Alumni, knowing if they wanted to play here, you had to defend here. The culture is still here. I can see several players taking on the role. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trueblue32 Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, MillenniumBull said: Neither Dontay or Jordan were recruited as defenders. They became them. They learned those skills and got that tenacity practicing on the hardwood at Alumni, knowing if they wanted to play here, you had to defend here. The culture is still here. I can see several players taking on the role. I agree although I do recall an article in the Spectrum Jordan's freshman year where he was quoted saying that the coaches said he's Lamonte Bearden if he tried on defense hahah Edit: found the quote "Jordan shares certain traits with Bearden. Both are athletic, quick and have great ability to finish at the rim. But the coaching staff and Jordan feel there is one significant difference between the two. “I play defense,” Jordan said jokingly." Edited June 14, 2019 by trueblue32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
121Merrimac Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 Point being, it’s difficult to replace a senior with a freshman. Better to sign a new recruit a year before you actually need them to contribute major minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeseph Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 Curious when we'll find out about Mballa's eligibility waiver for the 19-20 season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyRattlesnake Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 On 6/13/2019 at 11:01 PM, MillenniumBull said: Neither Dontay or Jordan were recruited as defenders. They became them. They learned those skills and got that tenacity practicing on the hardwood at Alumni, knowing if they wanted to play here, you had to defend here. The culture is still here. I can see several players taking on the role. So this post hits on my biggest concern... "The culture is still here." Is it? I mean that as a genuine question. How much of the culture was Oats / Coach B and how much was Whitesell, administration, etc? By retaining Whitesell I think we all anticipate the same style / culture and even despite his confirmation of this, Whitesell's past as a coach would indicate differently. It will be very interesting to see how / if he's evolved with his time under Nate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeseph Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 1 hour ago, JoeyRattlesnake said: Whitesell's past as a coach would indicate differently. It will be very interesting to see how / if he's evolved with his time under Nate. The game of college basketball has evolved since 2011 - no reason to think JW hasn't done the same. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillenniumBull Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 A lot of “culture” is pasted by players, not coaches. And we kept the players. Just we can’t pay them. As an alum of a competitive club sport, where the coaches aren’t paid [they are but barely, gas, hotel, etc] but some of the players are (scholarships) you get to understand the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikescherrer8 Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 Alas, with the Hardnett commit, we can go crazy and predict starters and bench playing time for next season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynBull Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 56 minutes ago, mikescherrer8 said: Alas, with the Hardnett commit, we can go crazy and predict starters and bench playing time for next season. Only if you spent last night in a Holiday Inn Express. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted July 2, 2019 Author Share Posted July 2, 2019 Final update! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeseph Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 On 3/25/2019 at 9:51 AM, Kevin said: PG) Davonta Jordan/Ronaldo Segu SG) Jayvon Graves/Antwain Johnson/Savion Gallion W) David Nickleberry/Gabe Grant F) Josh Mballa/Jeenathan Williams/Tra'von Fagan (IR RS) F) LaQuill Hardnett/David Skogman/Brock Bertram Sitting at this point - Josh Mballa (2020 if no waiver) Updated with the final class: David Nickleberry, David Skogman, Savin Gallion, Laquill Hardnett, and Josh Mballa. Bringing this to the last page. This roster is really easy to get excited for! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKBullsfan Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 2 hours ago, Jeseph said: Bringing this to the last page. This roster is really easy to get excited for! Here’s what I realistically think the starting 5 will look like... 1) Davonta Jordan 2) Antwain Johnson 3) Jayvon Graves 4) David Nickleberry 5) LaQuill Hardnett Bench - 6th man would be Jeenathan Williams then Segu then Skogman/Brock. Thoughts? I’ll hang up and listen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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