(03-27-2023 12:55 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 12:39 PM)Big Red Wrote:  The World is Ending....

Anthony Crump has hit the portal.

The graduate transfers, like Crump, don’t bother me nearly as much and the COVID year has certainly added greatly to the number of “graduated” qualifiers.

Frankly, I will be very glad when we get past the COVID year issue.

Unfortunately, though, we are ending up needing pretty much an entire “start from scratch” rebuild.

Not even close.

Burno has been recruiting guards (and point guards) every year, plus Thornton (who we seem to be devastated to lose around here) was a JUCO transfer under Montgomery. There are lots of options out there, not to mention a guy named Zion Russell is still on the roster and was probably in line to steal Thornton's starting spot at the beginning of the year until he got injured.

Hunter kind of came out of nowhere and still only was averaging 8 or 9 points per game.

We still have our bigs (and I think Burno is looking to add to that position).

Our best players (Williams, Coit, Nutter, Russell, Ibarguen) are all still on the roster and the projects (Konan, Amos, etc) are still there as well.

And until those players start to transfer out, this roster is in fine standing.

(03-27-2023 01:13 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  In college hoops these days it feels like every program needs an entire rebuild every year. Players staying anywhere more than two years seems to be going the way of the Dodo bird (extinction reference for youngsters in the crowd).

Sort of the same thing with football. The NCAA has ruined college sports.

(03-27-2023 01:26 PM)7 Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:22 PM)BDB5yp Wrote:  How did we just lose Kaleb Thornton to Akron????

The same thing happened with Hankerson last year lol

Yeah, I'm sure you just answered the question. Hankerson probably talked him up and vice versa.

(03-27-2023 01:28 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:13 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  In college hoops these days it feels like every program needs an entire rebuild every year. Players staying anywhere more than two years seems to be going the way of the Dodo bird (extinction reference for youngsters in the crowd).

Sort of the same thing with football. The NCAA has ruined college sports.

Not the NCAA. Money and lawsuits have forced the NCAA to ruin Football and MBB.

GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(03-27-2023 01:27 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 12:55 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 12:39 PM)Big Red Wrote:  The World is Ending....

Anthony Crump has hit the portal.

The graduate transfers, like Crump, don’t bother me nearly as much and the COVID year has certainly added greatly to the number of “graduated” qualifiers.

Frankly, I will be very glad when we get past the COVID year issue. With such an outstanding rostet, maybe we can go 13-19 again…..who knows.

Unfortunately, though, we are ending up needing pretty much an entire “start from scratch” rebuild.

Not even close.

Burno has been recruiting guards (and point guards) every year, plus Thornton (who we seem to be devastated to lose around here) was a JUCO transfer under Montgomery. There are lots of options out there, not to mention a guy named Zion Russell is still on the roster and was probably in line to steal Thornton's starting spot at the beginning of the year until he got injured.

Hunter kind of came out of nowhere and still only was averaging 8 or 9 points per game.

We still have our bigs (and I think Burno is looking to add to that position).

Our best players (Williams, Coit, Nutter, Russell, Ibarguen) are all still on the roster and the projects (Konan, Amos, etc) are still there as well.

And until those players start to transfer out, this roster is in fine standing.

And, yeah, even with the players who have left, we were 13-19……just a great standing. This roster is so outstanding, maybe we can go 13-19 again.

(03-27-2023 01:41 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:27 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 12:55 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 12:39 PM)Big Red Wrote:  The World is Ending....

Anthony Crump has hit the portal.

The graduate transfers, like Crump, don’t bother me nearly as much and the COVID year has certainly added greatly to the number of “graduated” qualifiers.

Frankly, I will be very glad when we get past the COVID year issue. With such an outstanding rostet, maybe we can go 13-19 again…..who knows.

Unfortunately, though, we are ending up needing pretty much an entire “start from scratch” rebuild.

Not even close.

Burno has been recruiting guards (and point guards) every year, plus Thornton (who we seem to be devastated to lose around here) was a JUCO transfer under Montgomery. There are lots of options out there, not to mention a guy named Zion Russell is still on the roster and was probably in line to steal Thornton's starting spot at the beginning of the year until he got injured.

Hunter kind of came out of nowhere and still only was averaging 8 or 9 points per game.

We still have our bigs (and I think Burno is looking to add to that position).

Our best players (Williams, Coit, Nutter, Russell, Ibarguen) are all still on the roster and the projects (Konan, Amos, etc) are still there as well.

And until those players start to transfer out, this roster is in fine standing.

And, yeah, even with the players who have left, we were 13-19……just a great standing. This roster is so outstanding, maybe we can go 13-19 again.

2020-21 - 3-16 (2-12 MAC)
2021-22 - 9-21 (6-14 MAC)
2022-23 - 13-19 (9-9 MAC)

I'm guessing the goal is to continue improving.

(03-27-2023 02:03 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:41 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:27 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 12:55 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 12:39 PM)Big Red Wrote:  The World is Ending....

Anthony Crump has hit the portal.

The graduate transfers, like Crump, don’t bother me nearly as much and the COVID year has certainly added greatly to the number of “graduated” qualifiers.

Frankly, I will be very glad when we get past the COVID year issue. With such an outstanding rostet, maybe we can go 13-19 again…..who knows.

Unfortunately, though, we are ending up needing pretty much an entire “start from scratch” rebuild.

Not even close.

Burno has been recruiting guards (and point guards) every year, plus Thornton (who we seem to be devastated to lose around here) was a JUCO transfer under Montgomery. There are lots of options out there, not to mention a guy named Zion Russell is still on the roster and was probably in line to steal Thornton's starting spot at the beginning of the year until he got injured.

Hunter kind of came out of nowhere and still only was averaging 8 or 9 points per game.

We still have our bigs (and I think Burno is looking to add to that position).

Our best players (Williams, Coit, Nutter, Russell, Ibarguen) are all still on the roster and the projects (Konan, Amos, etc) are still there as well.

And until those players start to transfer out, this roster is in fine standing.

And, yeah, even with the players who have left, we were 13-19……just a great standing. This roster is so outstanding, maybe we can go 13-19 again.

2020-21 - 3-16 (2-12 MAC)
2021-22 - 9-21 (6-14 MAC)
2022-23 - 13-19 (9-9 MAC)

I'm guessing the goal is to continue improving.

We just seem to differ dramatically on evaluating the quality of the remaining roster.

(03-27-2023 02:13 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 02:03 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:41 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:27 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 12:55 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  The graduate transfers, like Crump, don’t bother me nearly as much and the COVID year has certainly added greatly to the number of “graduated” qualifiers.

Frankly, I will be very glad when we get past the COVID year issue. With such an outstanding rostet, maybe we can go 13-19 again…..who knows.

Unfortunately, though, we are ending up needing pretty much an entire “start from scratch” rebuild.

Not even close.

Burno has been recruiting guards (and point guards) every year, plus Thornton (who we seem to be devastated to lose around here) was a JUCO transfer under Montgomery. There are lots of options out there, not to mention a guy named Zion Russell is still on the roster and was probably in line to steal Thornton's starting spot at the beginning of the year until he got injured.

Hunter kind of came out of nowhere and still only was averaging 8 or 9 points per game.

We still have our bigs (and I think Burno is looking to add to that position).

Our best players (Williams, Coit, Nutter, Russell, Ibarguen) are all still on the roster and the projects (Konan, Amos, etc) are still there as well.

And until those players start to transfer out, this roster is in fine standing.

And, yeah, even with the players who have left, we were 13-19……just a great standing. This roster is so outstanding, maybe we can go 13-19 again.

2020-21 - 3-16 (2-12 MAC)
2021-22 - 9-21 (6-14 MAC)
2022-23 - 13-19 (9-9 MAC)

I'm guessing the goal is to continue improving.

We just seem to differ dramatically on evaluating the quality of the remaining roster.

I'm not going to lose any sleep on the three guys (a massive underachiever, a role player and possibly the 2nd best PG on the roster...maybe 3rd depending on what happens with both Williams and Coit on the floor at the same time).

Akron is thought of as a MAC program that can make the NCAA tournament and NIU is not. BigRed, Cochran is taking a leave due to mental health so he would’ve been able to transfer. Williams probably could transfer and not sit due to mental health. A physical injury probably can be claimed to have hurt his mental well being.[/align]

(03-27-2023 05:42 PM)CollegeMan33 Wrote:  Akron is thought of as a MAC program that can make the NCAA tournament and NIU is not. BigRed, Cochran is taking a leave due to mental health so he would’ve been able to transfer. Williams probably could transfer and not sit due to mental health. A physical injury probably can be claimed to have hurt his mental well being.[/align]

I've always thought that "mental well-being" was a slippery slope that the NCAA felt obligated to put in there. But it's probably not going to be just approved without documentation and a lot of proof.

But, getting back to NIU and my point above about Thornton, right on cue Burno puts out an offer to PG Quimari Peterson who spent a year at Indiana State and then went JUCO at John A. Logan CC which just won the NJCAA DI National Championship and went 33-2 on the season. Peterson was 2nd on the team in ppg.

Peterson is a 6'1" PG who played 35 games (all starts) averaging 13.5 ppg/4.7 apg/4.7 rpg shooting 52.8% from the field (39% 3PT - 48 of 123) and 73.1% FT (49 of 67).

He's built more like a running back with strong arms and legs (kind of like a slightly taller version of David Coit, tbh). Logan CC puts all of their games (full games) on YouTube so you can watch him play in game action. He plays good defense and has a nice, strong outside jumper.

He's also gotten a lot of offers lately collecting offers from Jackson State, Eastern Michigan, Eastern Illinois, Southeast Missouri State, Mercer, Appalachian State, Milwaukee, Cleveland State, Kansas City, Jacksonville State, UIC and Bethune-Cookman.

Peterson went to Westside Leadership Academy in Gary, IN.

I'm probably going to do a rundown of the offers and potential recruits for next year in the next week or so, but I tell ya...my initial look at things tells me we are possibly in for a fairly quiet offseason.

If the roster stays stable with what we have in house, we only have two open slots (not taking into account a walk-on, which...in basketball is rarer they would actually contribute meaningfully like guys such as Darius Beane and Trendon Hankerson did for so many years). And, honestly, I do like some of the HS seniors Burno has made offers to but I think I like two JUCO players much, much more.

He does have one HS senior already with a verbal commitment, btw.

With that said, we have a really young roster. We're obviously losing 3 players this year (4 if you count Wiemers...and I don't), and next year we'll only have 2 seniors (Williams and Ibarguen).

Then again, I could see a guy like Youngblood leaving and going JUCO or to a lower level for playing time but the more I looked at video of him in HS, the less I'm fine with him moving on. He might actually develop into a good PG in a year or so.

(03-27-2023 02:13 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 02:03 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:41 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:27 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 12:55 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  The graduate transfers, like Crump, don’t bother me nearly as much and the COVID year has certainly added greatly to the number of “graduated” qualifiers.

Frankly, I will be very glad when we get past the COVID year issue. With such an outstanding rostet, maybe we can go 13-19 again…..who knows.

Unfortunately, though, we are ending up needing pretty much an entire “start from scratch” rebuild.

Not even close.

Burno has been recruiting guards (and point guards) every year, plus Thornton (who we seem to be devastated to lose around here) was a JUCO transfer under Montgomery. There are lots of options out there, not to mention a guy named Zion Russell is still on the roster and was probably in line to steal Thornton's starting spot at the beginning of the year until he got injured.

Hunter kind of came out of nowhere and still only was averaging 8 or 9 points per game.

We still have our bigs (and I think Burno is looking to add to that position).

Our best players (Williams, Coit, Nutter, Russell, Ibarguen) are all still on the roster and the projects (Konan, Amos, etc) are still there as well.

And until those players start to transfer out, this roster is in fine standing.

And, yeah, even with the players who have left, we were 13-19……just a great standing. This roster is so outstanding, maybe we can go 13-19 again.

2020-21 - 3-16 (2-12 MAC)
2021-22 - 9-21 (6-14 MAC)
2022-23 - 13-19 (9-9 MAC)

I'm guessing the goal is to continue improving.

We just seem to differ dramatically on evaluating the quality of the remaining roster.

I’m not going to say I enjoyed losing Thornton to another MAC school, but hands down the two best players on the roster are back and the three leading scorers. Using WL overall is a tough barometer because we schedule almost zero home games in non conference too.

There’s some holes to fill now but I do think the trajectory of the program is still upward. I’d imagine Burno has a plan to build the roster around Williams and Coit.

(03-28-2023 11:26 AM)7 Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 02:13 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 02:03 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:41 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:27 PM)Big Red Wrote:  Not even close.

Burno has been recruiting guards (and point guards) every year, plus Thornton (who we seem to be devastated to lose around here) was a JUCO transfer under Montgomery. There are lots of options out there, not to mention a guy named Zion Russell is still on the roster and was probably in line to steal Thornton's starting spot at the beginning of the year until he got injured.

Hunter kind of came out of nowhere and still only was averaging 8 or 9 points per game.

We still have our bigs (and I think Burno is looking to add to that position).

Our best players (Williams, Coit, Nutter, Russell, Ibarguen) are all still on the roster and the projects (Konan, Amos, etc) are still there as well.

And until those players start to transfer out, this roster is in fine standing.

And, yeah, even with the players who have left, we were 13-19……just a great standing. This roster is so outstanding, maybe we can go 13-19 again.

2020-21 - 3-16 (2-12 MAC)
2021-22 - 9-21 (6-14 MAC)
2022-23 - 13-19 (9-9 MAC)

I'm guessing the goal is to continue improving.

We just seem to differ dramatically on evaluating the quality of the remaining roster.

I’m not going to say I enjoyed losing Thornton to another MAC school, but hands down the two best players on the roster are back and the three leading scorers. Using WL overall is a tough barometer because we schedule almost zero home games in non conference too.

There’s some holes to fill now but I do think the trajectory of the program is still upward. I’d imagine Burno has a plan to build the roster around Williams and Coit.

If I were to guess, his core is Williams, Coit and Nutter and he's also targeted Konan as part of that group but he's obviously a year behind them (but probably more like 2 years behind because he was hurt so much this past year). Same goes with Amos. Although, if I were to put odds on transfers, he might be highest on my list of likely transfers for no other rationale than his increased stock as a HS senior, the prominent program he came from and his struggle of a year (plus, he still has 4 years of eligibility figuring he'll qualify for a medical redshirt).

He probably go way more out of Ibarguen than he could have ever hoped for and would have liked to have Russell play a full season but the hand injury derailed that as well.

The roster probably lacks depth right now but guys like Plintauskas and Youngblood should provide good depth and Zongo should also be a useful depth piece.

Durosinmi is a body who can absorb fouls at this point and I'm not sure I see a ton of improvement in him but I probably said the same about Makuoi and Okanu and I felt they both got better under Burno and then Makuoi went to Tennessee State and had a pretty decent season. So, with 2 more years, maybe Duro has something yet to show.

Anyway, the way it stands, Burno has to scholarships to add and he's got a lot of irons in the fire. Obviously, they aren't his to choose as the player has the choice but he's got some interesting offers out there, for sure.

(03-28-2023 12:25 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-28-2023 11:26 AM)7 Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 02:13 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 02:03 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(03-27-2023 01:41 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  And, yeah, even with the players who have left, we were 13-19……just a great standing. This roster is so outstanding, maybe we can go 13-19 again.

2020-21 - 3-16 (2-12 MAC)
2021-22 - 9-21 (6-14 MAC)
2022-23 - 13-19 (9-9 MAC)

I'm guessing the goal is to continue improving.

We just seem to differ dramatically on evaluating the quality of the remaining roster.

I’m not going to say I enjoyed losing Thornton to another MAC school, but hands down the two best players on the roster are back and the three leading scorers. Using WL overall is a tough barometer because we schedule almost zero home games in non conference too.

There’s some holes to fill now but I do think the trajectory of the program is still upward. I’d imagine Burno has a plan to build the roster around Williams and Coit.

If I were to guess, his core is Williams, Coit and Nutter and he's also targeted Konan as part of that group but he's obviously a year behind them (but probably more like 2 years behind because he was hurt so much this past year). Same goes with Amos. Although, if I were to put odds on transfers, he might be highest on my list of likely transfers for no other rationale than his increased stock as a HS senior, the prominent program he came from and his struggle of a year (plus, he still has 4 years of eligibility figuring he'll qualify for a medical redshirt).

He probably go way more out of Ibarguen than he could have ever hoped for and would have liked to have Russell play a full season but the hand injury derailed that as well.

The roster probably lacks depth right now but guys like Plintauskas and Youngblood should provide good depth and Zongo should also be a useful depth piece.

Durosinmi is a body who can absorb fouls at this point and I'm not sure I see a ton of improvement in him but I probably said the same about Makuoi and Okanu and I felt they both got better under Burno and then Makuoi went to Tennessee State and had a pretty decent season. So, with 2 more years, maybe Duro has something yet to show.

Anyway, the way it stands, Burno has to scholarships to add and he's got a lot of irons in the fire. Obviously, they aren't his to choose as the player has the choice but he's got some interesting offers out there, for sure.

Sup with Marshawn Wilson. Freshman of the year?

I have come to the realization that in college sports, every year must stand on its own. With players leaving for the transfer portal, we don't know what next year will bring. We could be better or worse depending on who we can pick up in the offseason. You can expect the successful players to leave. Do you think Eugene German would have stayed if the transfer portal was an option for him? Fat chance. So, it's difficult to predict what next year will bring when we don't know who'll be on the team. You can watch the development of guys who stay on the team, but if the wind blows a blade of grass, they'll leave. No consistency makes it very difficult to root for your team. Glad I'm old enough to remember when college sports were good.

(03-28-2023 01:40 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  I have come to the realization that in college sports, every year must stand on its own. With players leaving for the transfer portal, we don't know what next year will bring. We could be better or worse depending on who we can pick up in the offseason. You can expect the successful players to leave. Do you think Eugene German would have stayed if the transfer portal was an option for him? Fat chance. So, it's difficult to predict what next year will bring when we don't know who'll be on the team. You can watch the development of guys who stay on the team, but if the wind blows a blade of grass, they'll leave. No consistency makes it very difficult to root for your team. Glad I'm old enough to remember when college sports were good.

That stinks doesn't it? We've gone the way of the pros. Who ever can throw you the most money, have cool facilities, or whatever you want. Forget developing....that's loser talk

(03-28-2023 02:17 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(03-28-2023 01:40 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  I have come to the realization that in college sports, every year must stand on its own. With players leaving for the transfer portal, we don't know what next year will bring. We could be better or worse depending on who we can pick up in the offseason. You can expect the successful players to leave. Do you think Eugene German would have stayed if the transfer portal was an option for him? Fat chance. So, it's difficult to predict what next year will bring when we don't know who'll be on the team. You can watch the development of guys who stay on the team, but if the wind blows a blade of grass, they'll leave. No consistency makes it very difficult to root for your team. Glad I'm old enough to remember when college sports were good.

That stinks doesn't it? We've gone the way of the pros. Who ever can throw you the most money, have cool facilities, or whatever you want. Forget developing....that's loser talk

The coaches will have to have the mindset that they are recruiting players for one year, not four. They will need to have the mindset that whoever they sign will be there for the year and then leave. If they stay, terrific, but that will be rare. Players will use the schools as stepping stones, and the coaches will need to keep the revolving door well-oiled and hope that they can get decent players to walk in before they walk out.

The only constant in this mess is that Toledo will continue to have the #1 recruiting classes.

(03-28-2023 02:33 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(03-28-2023 02:17 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(03-28-2023 01:40 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  I have come to the realization that in college sports, every year must stand on its own. With players leaving for the transfer portal, we don't know what next year will bring. We could be better or worse depending on who we can pick up in the offseason. You can expect the successful players to leave. Do you think Eugene German would have stayed if the transfer portal was an option for him? Fat chance. So, it's difficult to predict what next year will bring when we don't know who'll be on the team. You can watch the development of guys who stay on the team, but if the wind blows a blade of grass, they'll leave. No consistency makes it very difficult to root for your team. Glad I'm old enough to remember when college sports were good.

That stinks doesn't it? We've gone the way of the pros. Who ever can throw you the most money, have cool facilities, or whatever you want. Forget developing....that's loser talk

The coaches will have to have the mindset that they are recruiting players for one year, not four. They will need to have the mindset that whoever they sign will be there for the year and then leave. If they stay, terrific, but that will be rare. Players will use the schools as stepping stones, and the coaches will need to keep the revolving door well-oiled and hope that they can get decent players to walk in before they walk out.

The only constant in this mess is that Toledo will continue to have the #1 recruiting classes.

It also means coaches are always "recruiting" a player...even the one's already in-house.

Which isn't the worst thing, tbh. But, the downside of that is familiarity, which used to be a virtue but now is almost a hinderance because a different coach can tell you anything and your coach has to be a little more honest because the kid is already in the program and has experience.

I learned my lesson with Dontel Highsmith do not count on Williams to be who he was before his injury. Hopefully he plays again and can be productive but a coach should not be building anything around him. The arrow may be pointing up but it’s not pointing up anymore than when Monty was here!

3,2,1 cue uni57(lol).