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2019-2020 Roster


Kevin

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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.

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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.

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  • 1 month later...
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. 

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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)

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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. 

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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.

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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?

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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!

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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...)

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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.

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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 by trueblue32
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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.

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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.

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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.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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!

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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. 

 

 

 

 

 

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