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Unfortunately what this tells me is Deondre didn’t see much potential for next year. At Little Rock. He is the last on court link to our dream season. I wish him the best.

He averaged 10 points per game, but did not shoot well at all this year. But he had had a strong season in 2016, shooting 41% from the arc. But with Tucker, Nowell and Lottie all having averaged over 30 minutes per game this season, it was obvious he was going to have to fight for playing time.

It will be curious if he finds a spot where he is a role player on a really good team, or a big dog on a team at a lower level.

I believe DeAndre could have come back the second half of last season. Wes thought it would be better for the program to have DeAndre here for 2 more years. Didn't work out for Wes (he may have won a few more games last year with DeAndre) or for the program. Mid-majors should never redshirt players with the graduate transfer rule- but sometimes it is unavoidable with injuries.

(03-18-2019 05:59 PM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  He averaged 10 points per game, but did not shoot well at all this year. But he had had a strong season in 2016, shooting 41% from the arc. But with Tucker, Nowell and Lottie all having averaged over 30 minutes per game this season, it was obvious he was going to have to fight for playing time.

I really liked DeAndre and think he is a good player. But, based on Darrell's recruiting so far, I think he can fill his spot with an equally good player (perhaps a Juco). I hope our other upperclassman stay, but it will be Darrell's recruits who determine whether he will be successful here.

Both the players who have left so far were logical departures. What you want to watch for are those that are not logical.

(03-19-2019 11:19 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  Both the players who have left so far were logical departures. What you want to watch for are those that are not logical.

Would you consider any graduate transfer a "logical" transfer? I guess it is in the sense that they don't have to sit-out to go DI. I was hoping DeAndre would not want to start over with his 4th different college coach. I can only hope that one transfer was enough for Rayjon. I would think that Rajyon could transfer just about anywhere. But, at many, he wouldn't play 39 minutes a game or have a coach with strong NBA connections.

"Logical" meaning there is a reasonable motivation behind it. Lack of playing time, and a final chance to take a step forward are logical. Pretty much any other reason would be for a negative reason, e.g., conflict with or lack of confidence in the coach.

There are a few players whose main motivation in playing basketball is to get a college degree paid for by someone else. Bill Bradley probably could have played anywhere in the country, but he played at Princeton because he wanted a top-tier education.

But that is less common these days than in the past. Now they play college ball because they want to play ball, and where they play and the short-term (or even long-term) academic benefits are of secondary importance. Burns and Hadzic both left because they were wanting to play. Perhaps not the most noble of motivations, but at least the most understandable.

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but:
https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/...2787952640

Well, at least DW will be able to build his own team. We'll see how that works. Looks like he may have a few more spots to fill, so I hope the assistants are out there beating the bushes.

But watching for new faces definitely will add a little interest to the off season.

Being left a "gift" like Rayjon Tucker, who was ineligible the previous season, is unusual for a new coach. It will now be totally up to Darrell to build a Sun Belt competitive roster. Will be interesting to see what our final roster looks like for next season.

Verbal Commits says Burns is going to ORU. Bozeman is an assistant there. ORU has not had a winning season in 4 seasons.

Wow, he thinks ORU is going to be better than us. Like they said, haven’t had a winning season in 4 years and he likes their chances better than staying here

This really surprises me. Maybe I over-valued DeAndre, but I thought he was a really good player. I couldn't blame him if he transferred to a winning program. I couldn't blame him if he transferred up (P5 or, at least, AAC or Mountain West). But, he is going a losing program in a lower ranked conference. Really don't understand the move. I would almost think he was "pushed out", but I got the impression that folks in the athletic department really hoped he would stay. Maybe he really thought we had better players coming in or didn't like his 6th man role. Regardless, I do wish he had stayed, but like I've already said, I think Darrell can replace him with someone of comparable talent.

I read where Solomon Bozeman is an assistant at ORU. He apparently was here when DeAndre got here and likely recruited him. Helps make a little more sense out of the transfer. Also make me think that Rayjon will end up at Auburn- although he does have a ton of options.

He was a freshman on Beards team. Bozeman came with Flannigan.

(04-03-2019 12:22 PM)ez272 Wrote:  He was a freshman on Beards team. Bozeman came with Flannigan.

You're right. So Bozeman was on staff for 2 of the years he was here. So there is still a connection there which probably played a role in the transfer.