MuchMany

2 hours ago, UB92 said:

How about an alumnus who was on the team and wants to get his start in coaching?  Or is at a low tier program?

Anyone for that bill?  

How about...Calvin Cage 😮‍💨

Wonder if he got the scoop from this board. Funny timing.

Just now, trueblue32 said:

I don't follow Long either. Cage had posted it but now it appears to be gone (maybe it wasn't supposed to be public yet?)

Long is committed there though:

 

Gotcha. Any jist of what it said? If true, we'll be losing our commitment from Quintin Cooper who was personally recruited out of DC by Cage.

This is not ideal. Cage isn't necessarily a superstar coach, but he was the most passionate guy on the bench and his UB connection meant something. But there were times that myself and others noticed him looking frustrated with GH3 and everything. I'd understand him bailing on what may be a dead man walking staff and taking the opportunity to move closer to home.

Wonder when they'd get around to making this public?

18 minutes ago, trueblue32 said:

I had heard this about a week back, but I saw the first public acknowledgment of it in an Instagram story with Canisius transfer Xzavier Long committing to Hampton and mentioning Cage.

Screenshot? He's private.

Would be our first pickup in a while to have actually been ranked somewhere. 126 at On3 for 2022. 7'3 wingspan. This seems like the type of transfer that would actually move the needle a bit. He's the type of big we were missing on the roster last year.

https://www.on3.com/db/armani-mighty-147807/

1 hour ago, Tee4three said:

That last line made me laugh more than it should have 

"He can guard all five positions"

That one made me laugh more tbh.

He'll do well there for sure. Should benefit from not having to be the alpha, which he decidedly is not.

3 minutes ago, DocCas86 said:

I actually expect him to bounce back after a tough year.  FWIW, here is what the barttorvik.com roster cast tool estimates the impact of the Isaiah Adams commit:

 

For sure. I imagine he'll do much better there with a better supporting cast, in a proper role as a shooting wing, and in a non-hopeless situation.

Eagerly awaiting the flame wars here between Adams' uncle and the Adams haters.

Just now, UBinMD said:

I'm on board! Does Yao have a college eligible son yet? 

Also, don't forget about McVeigh

Lol @ McVeigh, how could I forget.

Crazy what Bama is seeing right now. My Dukies are experiencing the portal ever so slightly and people are freaking out. Maybe Jeremy Roach ends up in Oatsland.

52 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

If this is the new world order, what hope do we have to find and develop any talent.

14 minutes ago, trueblue32 said:

They haven't recruited a single Chatman-level player to date so assuming they go 2/2 is bold. For those who didn't enjoy 27 shots per game from Chatman/Adams, prepare for 27 shots per game from Noah Batchelor and Shawn Fulcher

Was only addressing the comment that it doesn't matter what we do with 15% of our scholarships.

1 hour ago, Chet said:

It’s to the point where it doesn’t matter what they do with the two scholarships. On paper, this roster is considerably worse than last year. At least when Whitesell and Co. brought in Foster as a 5th year Senior PG, he was a Dll All American and was being recruited by a handful of mid majors. Where is the scoring coming from next year? What about rebounding? Defense? 

Doesn't matter what they do with two scholarships? What if they got Chatman-level players at C and PF? That would certainly make me more confident in the season to come. I'm pretty skeptical at this point too, but the roster isn't finished yet.

3 hours ago, DocCas86 said:

I feel the coaching staff is striving to get the best player and don't think they are just settling.  Here are the ballhandlers that they have pursued and who committed elsewhere:

Given the current situation, it is not surprising to me that these players chose the other teams (and better conferences).  I don't know if there will be a huge drop off with what these players would have been able to contribute at UB vs  what Dunn can contribute.  Unfortunately, UB needs to take some steps forward to get back to where they can compete for players with schools of this caliber again.  

Well, they would be settling AFTER missing on all of the players that they've had to compete with any other D1 schools for. That's the definition of settling for me I guess, going with an uncontested route once other options prove difficult.

2 hours ago, Tee4three said:

Yeah would be nice to keep a couple rostered for the following season

UB does have a PG already commit for 2025 though

If referring to Quintin Cooper, he's a 6'4 scoring guard, not exactly a pass-first PG. Would be great to get a true floor general PG in the mix for the future.

4 hours ago, DocCas86 said:

Coming off such a poor season and not having a NIL collective (coming???) likely meant we had to go 'off the beaten path'.  UB was in contact with a couple of PGs that recently committed to Arkansas St (yeah that Ark St.) and Davidson (a D2 pickup from Bentley), but neither worked out for UB.  The staff could continue to chase the 'has heard from (list of 15 schools) guys' or try to dig a little deeper and find under the radar talent.

I am not sure how it will work out.  Personally I will wait and see who else they bring in and see what they look like in November, before I make up my mind.  I am an optomistic fan, but I get where you are coming from.

 

I hear ya and like I said, I'm interested to see how the team comes together and where they land on the wide range of possible outcomes.

But when it comes to "off the radar" prospects, I have my doubts. Staffs' radars are pretty sharp these days with the how connected everything is digitally. There aren't as many secrets out there even as compared with when we recruited CJ and Perk. I'm not sure our staff deserves any faith from us yet that they have the eye or connections to uncover "deeper" talent. Unfortunately it often feels more like taking what they can get.

Goes without saying I hope they prove me wrong and discover a bunch of gems!

Dunn will have one year of eligibility as far as I can tell, so this is an Armoni Foster mercenary PG transfer. Foster took some time to adjust to the higher level coming from D2, and I imagine Dunn will too coming from Canadian college.

We've all been clamoring for a pass-first veteran PG and I'm happy to have one, but I'm still a bit miffed on the sources and presumed quality of these additions. Next year's team has a wide range of possible outcomes and I'm interested to see how it comes together, but the possibility exists that the team is worse than it was last year imo.

Two scholarships left.

6 hours ago, MaineBull said:

I agree with MuchMany who feels that the veteran leadership from last year never took on these characteristics and they were a non complimentary group of players left leading this team.  They were selfish players and were not willing to sacrifice for the good of the team.  All of the lazy play from last year falls squarely on the shoulders of Chatman and Adams.  That is why we won so little of our games. 

Just wanted to say that this isn't at all what my comments were about. It was only about the cobbled together roster construction. I don't think Adams and Chatman were models of effort and consistency, but I also don't agree with your harsh characterizations.

Doty listed as class of 2025 on this summer's City Rocks roster, so maybe we're targeting him for next year after a prep season.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5i9P3wN9uG/?igsh=cGYyOHJyZzZzaDFw

2 hours ago, UBinMD said:

Is it possible that GH3 is trying to build something like UConn, except at a mid-major level? Interchangeable parts, constant movement, tough defense, motion that allows you to finish at the rim. It takes the right kind of players and the proper character and mentality. Most of the Alabama kids, for example, couldn't play in Hurley's system. Not that UConn doesn't have good players, but you can tell that they all are playing for the greater good, very unselfish and each player seems to have that same mentality. It was an impressive display to watch. Not sure if it is really achievable at this level, but I am wondering if that may be part of the cultural shift he is going for. Pure speculation and maybe I just want to have something to aspire to, but after seeing that display, you may not just need 5 superstars to win in college basketball, maybe getting back to actual basketball and focusing on fundamentals does have a place still.

Curious if you saw tough defense or constant movement on offense with last year's team? Felt like the exact opposite to me. UConn has a dominant center - we hardly have a center on the roster. Their roster is dripping with skill, all five starters will at least get a look in the NBA. Ours is...not.

Even adjusting for the different levels of competition and expectations between us and them, I don't see it. GH3 is trying to build Villanova because that's all he knows, but without Jay Wright that's not even working for Villanova anymore. UConn has genius level assistants like Luke Murray designing the most innovative offense in the country. Those assistants were not interested in our job.

I think it's wishful thinking unfortunately. I take your point that not all players fit all systems and I think last year's roster was a non-complementary mismatch of players. I'm interested to see what this next group looks like, but it's hard to really be optimistic.

11 minutes ago, DaBulls99 said:

Since NIL Oats has been much better than Kentucky every year. There comes a point of diminishing returns with money. Oats will be fine. 

Is that a two year sample? Because Kentucky was significantly better than Bama in 2022. Kentucky's "struggles" have mostly resulted from Cal slowing down, some bad luck in the tournament, and CBB being full of 25 year olds since covid.

Combining everything that Kentucky has to offer WITH everything that Oats himself brings would have been frightening for the rest of the country. As a Duke fan, I'm happy he's staying at Alabama. It's still a football school and always will be - there's a good chance Oats enjoys that situation and the lack of pressure.

34 minutes ago, Big 4 Hoops Blogger said:

Nate Oats ends the speculation by tweeting that he's staying at Alabama. Good for him!

Wow. I get it, but it's going to be a challenge to get Bama consistently to the level that Cal had Kentucky. The resources, facilities, NBA connections, etc are just different.

Aside from Brandon Miller, Oats hasn't really sniffed the best talent in the country yet. Maybe this Final Four run will change that, but it's the next step needed to consistently challenge the blue bloods. Let's see if his recruiting cranks up now with his new contract and success.

It's always been Oats to Kentucky. Such a wild storyline but it feels like it was written already.

Pretty valiant effort by Oats and his guys against a juggernaut. 

Thought it was a fun watch especially compared to the Purdue game. Still it felt like Alabama was on the ropes even when the score was close because UConn might just be inevitable. It's the most dominant CBB two years in a very long time if they finish it off Monday, which I think they will easily. If Clingan cancels out Edey, UConn is 100% superior. And I hate UConn and hate to say it 😂

Not a news flash to the True Believers™, but Oats' system is going to be very hard to beat if he ever gets truly elite deep shooters and rim protectors/runners. Sears is awesome but Alabama was outmanned in the end. This isn't a top two roster he's had there imo. He's going to hit it big on one of these recruiting cycle and win a title in the next five years. I'd want to play in that scheme if I was an elite-at shooting guard or PF. 

4 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

I actually think this spread is too high and Vegas is trying to trick people by capitalizing off of UCONN’s dominance. The 3 ball is a neutralizer and we know Bama can shoot it. I may be wrong but I don’t think Bama gets blown out in this one.

I was just coming to post the opposite lol. Don't think Bama has anywhere near the structure or talent to keep up with the machine that is UConn. They'll need to shoot out of their minds to keep it close. No idea how they plan to deal with Clingan either. 15+ point win.

Just now, Tee4three said:

Interesting, wonder what kind of interest he will garner in the portal

Yeah we'll see who needs a slow 6'6 PF whose only production came when the roster got thin enough that literally anyone had to take the shots and get the rebounds. Sorry for the snark, I just never thought he was up for this level of play.

Thus marks the end of Whitesell's players on the roster. Five of seven of GH3's initial class remain, with five newcomers incoming. Three spots are currently open. If we can find veterans at the spots we all see as needing help, I'll be pretty interested in the upcoming season.