trueblue32

While he was at UB he averaged 13.6 PPG and 8.2 RPG against high majors. He will be fine in the SEC. Without a doubt he looked worse this year after coming back from COVID, but if he's back in shape conditioning wise he will be fine. I've never heard motor concerns about a guy who has recorded 20 rebounds in a game before lol. I do have concerns about his game but physicality and motor are not either of them

Sounds like Mballa may be headed there too

I’d guess he redshirts. It seems like he started playing basketball later on and is still finding his fluidity on the court. Just watching his videos on YouTube you can see the improvement year over year though. Hopefully he pans out as an under the radar late bloomer

Started his career at Indiana. He’d be a solid starter for a year while our younger guys develop. A front court of him and Adams as two guys who have proven to contribute in the AAC should fare pretty well in the MAC

I'd like to see Watt but I doubt he has any connection to the younger guys. He's also a big time player in Europe, so at his age I'm not sure the extra miles are worth it for him. I'd be surprised if Graves isn't added this year though

Missed that! Given the timing just a couple hours after Foster committed maybe the plan is for Foster to run the show. I don’t have much concern about him doing it, but I always like the 2 primary creator lineups. The turnover rate is a bit concerning stepping up a level, but I also imagine having a higher talent level around him will help him out.

Schmock’s on-offs suggests he was Ohio’s best player outside their Big 3. He came off the bench because the starter is now in the SEC. He’s also 5 inches shorter and averaged 7 less PPG in D2 than Foster. I certainly think there’s a wide range of possible outcomes as there’s not a lot of data on guys coming from D2 but I’m not sure Schmock is a useful comp. On the turnovers, I still think we’re in on Shamar Givance. I think the vision is for Foster to primarily play off ball.

If a recruit has ever not picked UB because Whitesell doesn’t post enough on Twitter I’d be shocked. This just feels like trying to justify wishing that he was more active for your own enjoyment. There’s no rush in filling out the roster, how many of the recruits that we were connected to have committed anywhere not named Buffalo at this point in time? I’d agree on not many of his recruits panning out so far. I don’t really think it’s for lack of recruiting pedigree though, which may point more to issues developing the players once they’re here. Again the fact that we’re discussing this at all on a post about a recruit that committed today highlights that this poisons the discourse

I think the main point is some of this just poisons the discourse in this forum. I’ve personally soured on Whitesell over time, but I feel like I have to defend him every time I come on here because you’re wading through 8 posts of BS for every legitimate complaint. Complaining about his social media presence is a good example. I’ve mostly given up on any type of discussion and just share news now because people just wanna stir shit up otherwise

JT Shumate averaged 14.4 PPG in D2 then 11.3 PPG year one at Toledo. Granted he’s a forward, but my hypothesis with no backing evidence would be that it’s an easier transition as a guard. I’d think the physicality + athleticism gap is bigger in big men

My assumption under current roster construction is that we will be playing with 3 guards a lot more and a big wing (Adams and maybe Mading?) at the 4. It would be more of a return to form of UB’s last ~10 years. I think Whitesell’s hand was forced with most of our best players ending up being forwards the last couple years. Individually they are good players but the fit was weird, for example Fagan was not dynamic enough to play the 3 like he did last year

D2 all-American. Had 13 points on 9 shots in an exhibition against Illinois this year. Had 28 points on 20 shots in an exhibition against Elon 2 years ago. I don’t really know what to expect for this team but I think Foster and Adams have all-conference potential this year. If we get Givance who has been all-MVC we could have a solid amount of talent. Not that talent guarantees us anything lol

Malik Zachery committed to UTEP. Also notable because Givance had previously visited there

My guess is we’re going to land Bryant Selebangue the JUCO Big that we’re connected to, and I’m sure they’re looking to add more depth too. I’d like to see Givance here as a stop gap until Ceaser is ready. I’m excited about Ceaser long term but putting all our eggs in that basket is setting him up to fall. We need to add another PG

Shamar Givance (the original post on this thread) a PG from Evansville is on campus today. With at least Kanye Jones and Devin Ceaser

My assumptions here are that Yazid Powell will definitely be playing his "COVID year" but he is technically entering his 4th year of eligibility, and that Williamson and Mading will be getting medical redshirts

Huge one, out of the guys we’ve been connected to I think he was #1 on my wishlist. I think he could be the centerpiece of the squad going forward. I also appreciate the fact that it appears we’re going after defenders. Adams was #161 nationally in steal rate his freshman year. We didn’t have anyone in the top 400 last year per kenpom lol

Makes sense, Ben (Bennett) Vander Plas is named after his father’s college coach Dick Bennett, and he played with Tony Bennett. Didn’t realize that until they played in the NCAA tournament and the announcers mentioned it. I think he can fit in a Sam Hauser type role from a couple years ago there. Good for him and I’m glad he’s out of the MAC lol

Kellen Grady had to leave Davidson last year because they didn’t have any grad programs for him to enroll in, so someone transferring there 3 years into school seems odd. Basketball wise it’s a good fit, Davidson loves their shooters. Wish him the best, and may he hand Bona some losses next year

JT Shumate at Toledo came from D2, Tommy Schmock at Ohio was also D2. Nationally, Max Strus at DePaul came from D2 and Duncan Robinson at Michigan came from D3 before both made it to the NBA. Ryan Hawkins was D2 before being all-Big East at Creighton this year. That’s just off the top of the head but it’s becoming increasingly prevalent as some guys have had success. They’re not all hits but like anything it’s about finding the right level

He’s halfway done with his tour of the MAC West

I don’t want to read too much into social media but he and Isaiah Adams followed each other. At least it’s a sign that he’s in the fold with recruits that were on campus. Sometimes kids pack up and leave as soon as they hit the portal

Different kind of players but for reference Kamari Williams averaged 2.6 PPG as a sophomore at BC then averaged 6 PPG last year at Miami. He was looking a lot better by the end of the year and put 11 and 12 up against us in our second meeting Also the second time we’ve recently got a kid down transferring from a high major that we were after hard in HS (Hardnett). Could become more prevalent over the coming years