‘23-‘24 Roster

[DooleyBull06]

1 minute ago, UBinMD said:

As I expected Ceasar is in the portal now. Not sure if I am happy or sad on this one. The dude is fast, no doubt. When he was in the game he play frenetically and was a "chucker" (Seinfeld reference intended). I'm just not sure he was going to be a D1 point guard, but without seeing him in that role it's speculation. He felt like a smaller version of Zid. I think they both are immensely talented, but not sure if they can play in a defined offensive flow, it felt like street ball when they came in. I wish him the best if he ends up elsewhere.

He was so highly touted. I blame his lack of development on the coaching staff. 

[UBinMD]

6 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

He was so highly touted. I blame his lack of development on the coaching staff. 

You could be right, we may never know here at UB. I'm sure someone will give him a shot, but he's a bit undersized so it will likely be a lateral move for him.

[bullsbball]

34 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

He was so highly touted. I blame his lack of development on the coaching staff. 

128 minutes for a Freshman isn't bad. Typically Freshman don't get much playing time. Outside of the Canton game, he really didn't play much or shoot well but he did seem to have the energy.  He definitely had potential.

 

 

[John]

24 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

You could be right, we may never know here at UB. I'm sure someone will give him a shot, but he's a bit undersized so it will likely be a lateral move for him.

I do also agree.He is a bit undersized and the little we seen him on the court he was a liability on the defensive side. He never got a chance to play with some of the starters and in any game important minutes.You have to blame the coaches and even when we were out of games or when players like Adams and Powell had bad games he never got a chance to show his ability. What goes on inside a team’s culture and inner workings we will never know and in today’s college mindset players that are highly touted will probably leave  if not getting a shot at playing time.

[UBinMD]

5 minutes ago, John said:

I do also agree.He is a bit undersized and the little we seen him on the court he was a liability on the defensive side. He never got a chance to play with some of the starters and in any game important minutes.You have to blame the coaches and even when we were out of games or when players like Adams and Powell had bad games he never got a chance to show his ability. What goes on inside a team’s culture and inner workings we will never know and in today’s college mindset players that are highly touted will probably leave  if not getting a shot at playing time.

The good old days of playing behind guys is over. Segu and Williams played minimally at Freshman as did Curtis Jones. Reps in practice are important too, not just out on the court during games. I can see it both ways, but from what I saw of him on the court, if that's how he practiced, I would not have played him in meaningful minutes either. In HS when you are that much better than your competition, you tend to develop bad habits and cover your mistakes with athleticism. In D1, you better have REALLY top level skills to cover up those deficiencies. 

[DooleyBull06]

I think in a day and age of the portal, you have to get the players on the floor for fear of losing them. Double edged sword bc if they perform well they will portal anyway.

[MuchMany]

49 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

I wish him the best if he ends up elsewhere.

If he ends up elsewhere? He's far too talented to be ending his CBB career if that's what you're implying.

His banishment to the deep bench was an early warning sign this year that Whitesell and Co. either stunk at talent evaluation or were consciously coaching for their jobs and were afraid to rely on a freshman. He belonged in the rotation. 

Sure he was volatile and sloppy, as most 3-star freshman are initially. But the talent was undeniable and it was disappointing to see him stapled to the bench during games where our offense was completely dead.

Respect to him for finishing out the season here. I hope he finds a spot in the mid-Atlantic to shine. 

[DooleyBull06]

4 minutes ago, MuchMany said:

His banishment to the deep bench was an early warning sign this year that Whitesell and Co. either stunk at talent evaluation or were consciously coaching for their jobs and were afraid to rely on a freshman. He belonged in the rotation. 

Sure he was volatile and sloppy, as most 3-star freshman are initially. But the talent was undeniable and it was disappointing to see him stapled to the bench during games where our offense was completely dead.

Respect to him for finishing out the season here. I hope he finds a spot in the mid-Atlantic to shine. 

100% agree with this take. 

[rma]

35 minutes ago, MuchMany said:

If he ends up elsewhere?

Portal doesn’t mean you’re gone. You can still return. 

[Tee4three]

1 minute ago, rma said:

Portal doesn’t mean you’re gone. You can still return. 

Zid and kidtrell wrote up posts but they didn't say "good bye" one or both could be back. Even ceasar too 

[RecoveringHillbilly]

Mading just entered too, per VC

[MuchMany]

2 minutes ago, rma said:

Portal doesn’t mean you’re gone. You can still return. 

Feel like that's a given that doesn't need to be stated these days. It was this part that sounded like the implication made was he wasn't a D1 player.

Quote

 I'm just not sure he was going to be a D1 point guard

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by MuchMany

[Jeseph]

Link to VC tweet

Honestly expected a completely refreshed roster but the need for a recruiter is real.

[John]

1 minute ago, RecoveringHillbilly said:

Mading just entered too, per VC

Williamson should be next. Again this is just what the NCAA has started and my opinion is if a player enters the portal he should be gone off the team. The coach is gone so should the players. Hope they find the grass is greener on the other side for their sakes. There is no accountability and responsibility anymore as an example of what has happened at Alabama with Miller and the entire coaching staff.

[DooleyBull06]

This is gonna be a complete restart. Honestly would like it that way. Full blown rebuild from the ground up.  

[bullsbball]

16 minutes ago, John said:

Williamson should be next. Again this is just what the NCAA has started and my opinion is if a player enters the portal he should be gone off the team. The coach is gone so should the players. Hope they find the grass is greener on the other side for their sakes. There is no accountability and responsibility anymore as an example of what has happened at Alabama with Miller and the entire coaching staff.

If a player has issues with the coach, the coach has been fired, so that should no longer be an excuse to transfer.

This should all be as expected with the new NCAA transfer rules. Players always think the grass is greener elsewhere. They can only hope.

Everybody wants a pro career and will blames others if that doesn't happen.

About Mading leaving, I was surprised he didn't get much playing time this year but assumed he was fine with that. I didn't see much in him. Too thin for the inside game and not a good enough shooter from the outside.

[bullsbball]

2 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

This is gonna be a complete restart. Honestly would like it that way. Full blown rebuild from the ground up.  

Look at what happened to the women's program this year when that happened.

[DooleyBull06]

2 minutes ago, bullsbball said:

If a player has issues with the coach, the coach has been fired, so that should no longer be an excuse to transfer.

This should all be as expected with the new NCAA transfer rules. Players always think the grass is greener elsewhere. They can only hope.

Everybody wants a pro career and will blames others if that doesn't happen.

About Mading leaving, I was surprised he didn't get much playing time this year but assumed he was fine with that. I didn't see much in him. Too thin for the inside game and not a good enough shooter from the outside.

Players should always be allowed to transfer if a coach leaves. It’s like they are making an agreement to each. Anyways, about Mading…we never got to see him play or develop to determine what he could do on the floor. Yet another issue with player development regarding the staff. 

[UBinMD]

34 minutes ago, MuchMany said:

Feel like that's a given that doesn't need to be stated these days. It was this part that sounded like the implication made was he wasn't a D1 player.

 

I fully expect him to play D1 somewhere, that wasn't my take. It was actually if he doesn't end up staying. The portal doesn't officially open until 4/15, by which time a new coach will be in place and they can decide. The flip side for the players, there is no guarantee for them that the new coach wants them to stay, so they may as well get out there and test the waters at this point. A lot of the guys (outside of Zid) have limited game action film, so they are still attractive as "prospects with potential". There are also some with loyalty the coach and may have felt he was done wrong, basketball teams can be close knit groups that live and die together. You just never know.

I found this online: The men’s and women’s basketball portals are open March 13-May 11. I believe an earlier post said April 15, but that is when the final football portal opens, likely after spring practice when some kids will get their feelings hurt and find greener pastures.

[Tee4three]

Mading Williamson and ceasar are 3 players I never understood why they didn't get more action to try and develop them (I'd add blocker too but the staff started to finally give him more time)

All three showed signs of something elite at a mid major level

Madding has some crazy skills if he puts them all together will be an insane player

Williamson lost defensively but some great offensive moves

Ceasar his speed and ability was obvious 

[UBinMD]

5 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

Players should always be allowed to transfer if a coach leaves. It’s like they are making an agreement to each. Anyways, about Mading…we never got to see him play or develop to determine what he could do on the floor. Yet another issue with player development regarding the staff. 

It the staff's defense a bit, he seemed to has his fair share of injuries that may have played into it. Seemed like early on they were trying to get him some time and was showing good touch. He's still rail thin, which hurts his down low presence. He make Jo Smith look obsese and Jo got pushed around a bit.

[UBinMD]

2 minutes ago, Tee4three said:

Mading Williamson and ceasar are 3 players I never understood why they didn't get more action to try and develop them (I'd add blocker too but the staff started to finally give him more time)

All three showed signs of something elite at a mid major level

Madding has some crazy skills if he puts them all together will be an insane player

Williamson lost defensively but some great offensive moves

Ceasar his speed and ability was obvious 

This is always the challenge of win now versus develop for the future. This years team always showed that little spark of hope, then would fall apart for a couple games, then blow someone out by 20, so it was like there is always a chance that they figure it out. Ultimately, they did not, but I truly think that's why these guys ended up on the bench as much as they did. They were a .500 team, sometimes good, sometimes bad, a few times really good and a few times really bad. It was rollercoaster if nothing else.

[DooleyBull06]

The previous two comments are interesting. I’ll tackle them this way. I agree with @Tee4threeabout giving them playing time. Why didn’t they get playing time? Rhetorical question. They should’ve been given time when healthy. We should know what we got in a player after two years. That wasn’t the case with blocker, Williamson and Mading. Super frustrating. Sometimes you gotta learn and grow while making mistakes. 

And to @UBinMDpoints. Both are great. Jo Smith provided more veteran presence. But if the staff knew this was a development year then why not play everyone. In the end that could’ve saved Whitesell’s job. Instead he went with the win now approach and exposed himself and the roster in terms of lack of player development. 

[UBinMD]

1 hour ago, DooleyBull06 said:

The previous two comments are interesting. I’ll tackle them this way. I agree with @Tee4threeabout giving them playing time. Why didn’t they get playing time? Rhetorical question. They should’ve been given time when healthy. We should know what we got in a player after two years. That wasn’t the case with blocker, Williamson and Mading. Super frustrating. Sometimes you gotta learn and grow while making mistakes. 

And to @UBinMDpoints. Both are great. Jo Smith provided more veteran presence. But if the staff knew this was a development year then why not play everyone. In the end that could’ve saved Whitesell’s job. Instead he went with the win now approach and exposed himself and the roster in terms of lack of player development. 

Fair assessment.

[bullsbball]

1 hour ago, DooleyBull06 said:

But if the staff knew this was a development year then why not play everyone. In the end that could’ve saved Whitesell’s job. Instead he went with the win now approach and exposed himself and the roster in terms of lack of player development. 

If Whitesell had said that this was a development year, this forum (and other places) would have exploded and wanted his head.

With only 2 players "graduating", it clearly was a development year even for his upper classmen.  Freshman and Sophomores develop during practice and if good enough, make it into the game. 

All coaches need to "win now" or they lose their jobs.

Look at the women's team. Only 7 real players on the team and still only player with 6 and leave the Freshman Ellis sitting on the bench.

What good is developing players anyway. If they're good enough, they want to transfer anyway. If they don't play enough, they transfer anyway. No win in this age of the transfer portal.

Edited March 13, 2023 by bullsbball