(03-27-2020 02:22 PM)socTHEgreat Wrote: If you're a 3rd year player as talented as Jarron and Keith, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to go about the pre-draft process.
That's about what Coach Brannen's message sounded like. He seemed supportive.
I think you'll see a LOT of guys test the water. If the Ncaa does any kind of waiver for transfers etc. in conjunction with the virus, this will be one wild offseason. At this point, i just hope we have a football season. Hopefully a treatment is found sooner rather than later.
Herbstreit:
"It's something some football fans don't necessarily want to hear, but former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback and current ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit - a self-proclaimed die-hard Cincinnati Reds fan from Centerville, Ohio - told TMZ that he'll be "shocked" if there's NFL or college football this fall because of new coronavirus pandemic."
(This post was last modified: 03-28-2020 08:51 AM by dsquare.)
(03-27-2020 02:22 PM)socTHEgreat Wrote: If you're a 3rd year player as talented as Jarron and Keith, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to go about the pre-draft process.
(03-27-2020 02:22 PM)socTHEgreat Wrote: If you're a 3rd year player as talented as Jarron and Keith, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to go about the pre-draft process.
Makes sense to test the waters and get evaluated and on radars. Also, unless it’s for the degree...important to us but not to everyone, I don’t know why more kids who are talented but not NBA talented do not head to Europe after their JR years to cash checks for a few hundred grand per year. Especially if the staff you signed to play for over other suitors coming out of HS are not there anymore.
(03-29-2020 11:22 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote: I don’t know why more kids who are talented but not NBA talented do not head to Europe after their JR years to cash checks for a few hundred grand per year.
+1. If you're good enough to get a good overseas offer that's going to be worth more than the years scholarship you're giving up. I think you do reduce your NBA exposure a bit but for a guy like Keith who's not an NBA prospect you're going to develop your game better as a professional.
The scholarships aren't honored for players that come back to school years later, right? With how crazy student debt is, I do think there's merit to getting your degree. But basketball players develop so much from age 18 to 22 it really doesn't make sense to only be part-time during such a crucial period. I'd go to the G-league/Europe/wherever as soon as possible if my goal was to make the league.
I saw him play when WMU came down to UT this year...he'd be a good add IMO. Perfectly hits on what we're losing in Tre (energy, defensive versatility, secondary scoring and rebounding), albeit to a much lesser extent talent-wise. He's a 6-18 foot player though, so don't expect a post/back to the basket scorer although he did run the baseline quite a bit, as WMU basically played a 5-out offense most of the game. Lots of pick and pops and flare screens in his games against the Rockets, but he made them work (he was the best player on the court in the game at Savage Arena). Good free throw shooter and had a decent stroke, just took a LOT of shots because there really wasn't anyone else on the team who would.
Couldn't find a more recent highlight reel, but this meshes with what I saw out of him:
Has started every game since getting to WMU, career 11 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 1 assist per game with 48/32/69 shooting slash, was out due to injury in 18-19 year, but this past year his shooting stats went up from 3 and the FT line (33% and 74% respectively) on the highest volume shooting from both in his career.
(This post was last modified: 04-01-2020 09:48 AM by BearcatMan.)
I saw him play when WMU came down to UT this year...he'd be a good add IMO. Perfectly hits on what we're losing in Tre (energy, defensive versatility, secondary scoring and rebounding), albeit to a much lesser extent talent-wise. He's a 6-18 foot player though, so don't expect a post/back to the basket scorer, as WU basically played a 5-out offense. Lots of pick and pops and flare screens in his games against the Rockets, but he made them work (he was the best player on the court in the game at Savage Arena). Good free throw shooter and had a decent stroke, just took a LOT of shots because there really wasn't anyone else on the team who would.
Guess it depends on what his motivations are. If he wants to play one year of high-major basketball, make the tournament, and doesn't care if he's a featured player, he would be a great add. I don't feel great about only having 2 players at the 4 and 5 with college experience.
I saw him play when WMU came down to UT this year...he'd be a good add IMO. Perfectly hits on what we're losing in Tre (energy, defensive versatility, secondary scoring and rebounding), albeit to a much lesser extent talent-wise. He's a 6-18 foot player though, so don't expect a post/back to the basket scorer although he did run the baseline quite a bit, as WMU basically played a 5-out offense most of the game. Lots of pick and pops and flare screens in his games against the Rockets, but he made them work (he was the best player on the court in the game at Savage Arena). Good free throw shooter and had a decent stroke, just took a LOT of shots because there really wasn't anyone else on the team who would.
Couldn't find a more recent highlight reel, but this meshes with what I saw out of him:
Has started every game since getting to WMU, career 11 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 1 assist per game with 48/32/69 shooting slash, was out due to injury in 18-19 year, but this past year his shooting stats went up from 3 and the FT line (33% and 74% respectively) on the highest volume shooting from both in his career.
Thanks for the analysis. He seems like a very capable well-rounded player who'd be a solid addition.
Always get worried when I see Louisville involved with transfers that we're interested in though. They're looking to replace something like 6 of their top 8 players from last season so those open position slots plus their enhanced brand make it seem tough for us to land top grad transfers who are being heavily recruited by them as well.
(03-29-2020 11:22 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote: Makes sense to test the waters and get evaluated and on radars. Also, unless it’s for the degree...important to us but not to everyone, I don’t know why more kids who are talented but not NBA talented do not head to Europe after their JR years to cash checks for a few hundred grand per year. Especially if the staff you signed to play for over other suitors coming out of HS are not there anymore.
I've often wondered this too.
I get that it's tough being an ocean away from home, where no one speaks English, and being the only black guy in a city that's 99% white (especially when you're so tall that you stick out like a sore thumb anywhere). That's tough for a 20 year old living on his own for the first time.
But a lot more Europeans speak English than even 20 years ago. And basketball has gotten a lot more popular, so I'd imagine they're more accepting of tall and/or black Americans than they used to be.
I'd 100% advocate when you've gotten to a point where you can get good guaranteed money that you should go. SK for example averaged about 17 points as a soph. Rather than turn pro he decides to play two more seasons and turn pro at 24 and goes undrafted. His case is a little different because he does eventually make the NBA through the D league but would his career arc have been any different had he came out at 22 aside from two more years of earning; also he's not obligated to do schoolwork and can focus on developing his skills and his body.
I say this as someone who loves watching college sports so I hope it doesn't significantly change but college sports as the vehicle for developing professional athletes makes no sense. Look at Luka Doncic; turns pro in his mid teens and became the 2nd pick of the draft and is one of the stars of the game. I just think you get much more development when you're in a professional system vs. our amateur system. European soccer does the same; Christian Pulisic I believe turned pro at 16.
European soccer is a pretty terrific example of why all of our pro sports should start getting kids away from academic leagues at a young age. In Pulisics case, I believe he came up through an MLS youth academy and then at 16 years old left for Germany under Borussia Dortmund's tutelage. They provide an education and do their best to care for the kids who don't make it to the top leagues. For someone like Pulisic, it obviously resulted in him getting meaningful playing time in one of the top professional leagues before he ever turned 18. There's no reason NBA teams can't identify a player like Zion, provide for his education from ages 14-18, and ensure that he's integrated to the league as early as possible. Same thing with Doncic. Dude was winning Euro league MVPs before even being elegible for the NBA. That's totally backwards.
(03-27-2020 10:54 PM)dsquare Wrote: I think you'll see a LOT of guys test the water. If the Ncaa does any kind of waiver for transfers etc. in conjunction with the virus, this will be one wild offseason. At this point, i just hope we have a football season. Hopefully a treatment is found sooner rather than later.
Herbstreit:
"It's something some football fans don't necessarily want to hear, but former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback and current ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit - a self-proclaimed die-hard Cincinnati Reds fan from Centerville, Ohio - told TMZ that he'll be "shocked" if there's NFL or college football this fall because of new coronavirus pandemic."
Well, this is gospel, Herbstreit is clearly in the know about this. After all, he was an Ohio State Quarterback, is an ESPN football analyst so that makes him an expert on pandemics and no doubt he can tell the future from his place on high.
NOT!!!