I starting to wonder all the hype he had in high school is starting to wear off. Could he be another Alderson, not the skill package to play D1 basketball. Is he a bust ? Does he have continuing unknown injuries ?

Hard to say. Craig Rogers sat for much of three years, then was getting some NBA buzz as a senior. Bigs take more time to develop at the MAC level. If you’re a polished 6’10” high school guy you won’t be playing at the MAC level.

I'm waiting for his jump shot to show up. He has a really nice stroke and I thought he would evolve into a Knapke type big who you could throw the ball to in the post and could face up and shoot. He looks good at the line which is a good indicator of shooting ability but hasn't shot a jumper all year. He's a good leaper for his size but labors a bit running the floor. I think conditioning will be key for him. He's got a better natural build than Boothe or Knapke, but those guys were very dedicated to building their frame and being highly conditioned. Maranka has put on some muscle but we'll see if he can really maximize his body and athleticism. Of course, there's still the sheltered home schooled kid lack of feel for competitive basketball. He doesn't seem to anticipate well or feel his way around in the post. I mean he got rejected by a Cleveland St guy a good 2 inches shorter than him, twice, in the same possession. No way you let a smaller less athletic guy reject you twice in a row 2 feet from the rim on the playground-head fake, spin move, put a shoulder into him, gather and jump over, you gotta have moves to play basketball.

Given the same amount of time as Knapke it took to evolve, he might well evolve into that player. Knapke was kind of forced onto the court early as I recall. I'm trying to avoid comparing Maranke on what I remember of Knapke's upper class years. Maranka has time to get there if given the backing and court time. Right now, coach has options I don't recall being there when Knapke played.

We can hope Maranka has as good as a career.

I am not always in the know on these topics, but I don’t remember much hype on Maranka coming out of high school. He is a young man with some measurables, but I feel he would have red shirted last year without the Edu injury. He seems to be a quality young man with potential that just needs refining. Pono is right. He needs to become more indefensible in the paint, and become dependable with open jump shots. Otherwise, he is filling a nice role off the bench with meaningful contributions. I would like to see him take the next step mentally, and physically. It is definitely within his reach.

Coaches liked his potential when they signed him. They wanted to redshirt him last year then wanted to redshirt him this year. In both cases Edu got injured and he was forced to play really before he was ready for Div. 1 basketball. He is trying his best to help the team but I believe it will take time before he is the player both he and the coaching staff want him to be.

As mentioned earlier, bigs at the MAC level take longer to develop.

Interesting read, thanks for the input. A Centerville grad 6-10 Center, by the name of Njie was offered by the Rockets. He is playing at a sports academy somewhere in Florida. I wonder if he is still on Toledo's radar ? He was offered by UD, Xavier among others.

(12-16-2020 10:35 AM)Springboromark Wrote:  Interesting read, thanks for the input. A Centerville grad 6-10 Center, by the name of Njie was offered by the Rockets. He is playing at a sports academy somewhere in Florida. I wonder if he is still on Toledo's radar ? He was offered by UD, Xavier among others.

Maybe it is not too late to sign big Bob!! 7'7" Robert Bobroczky...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj0vjRrikZM

(12-16-2020 10:35 AM)Springboromark Wrote:  Interesting read, thanks for the input. A Centerville grad 6-10 Center, by the name of Njie was offered by the Rockets. He is playing at a sports academy somewhere in Florida. I wonder if he is still on Toledo's radar ? He was offered by UD, Xavier among others.

It's telling that a player with Mid-Major offers including Dayton and Xavier is going to a post graduate school. Maybe this kid has grade issues or something else that made these offers not committable. On the other hand maybe he felt he could play at a B1G or ACC level and wanted another year to earn that kind of offer. It may not be "is he still on Toledos radar", as much of is Toledo on his radar maybe. I don't know, but Komagum needs to add some strength and weight if he's gonna guard someone like Michigan's 7'1" freshmen Dickinson or onetime MAC recruit Austin Davis. UT removed both Marenka and Komagum from the Michigan game and went with Acunzo at the 5.

(12-15-2020 10:31 PM)Springboromark Wrote:  I starting to wonder all the hype he had in high school is starting to wear off. Could he be another Alderson, not the skill package to play D1 basketball. Is he a bust ? Does he have continuing unknown injuries ?

From What I remember there was no real "Hype" he was always a "project" was supposed to redshirt last year and would have red-shirted this year had Shumate been eligible day one. I expect he may still redshirt next year instead. I think he has some tools but he is really raw.

(12-16-2020 11:35 PM)rocketpaul Wrote:  

(12-15-2020 10:31 PM)Springboromark Wrote:  I starting to wonder all the hype he had in high school is starting to wear off. Could he be another Alderson, not the skill package to play D1 basketball. Is he a bust ? Does he have continuing unknown injuries ?

From What I remember there was no real "Hype" he was always a "project" was supposed to redshirt last year and would have red-shirted this year had Shumate been eligible day one. I expect he may still redshirt next year instead. I think he has some tools but he is really raw.

I hope they haven't decided to ask him to transfer to free up a spot. But the fact that he played zero minutes some games when we really needed big man D makes me wonder.

(12-17-2020 12:26 AM)UTfanBGalum Wrote:  

(12-16-2020 11:35 PM)rocketpaul Wrote:  

(12-15-2020 10:31 PM)Springboromark Wrote:  I starting to wonder all the hype he had in high school is starting to wear off. Could he be another Alderson, not the skill package to play D1 basketball. Is he a bust ? Does he have continuing unknown injuries ?

From What I remember there was no real "Hype" he was always a "project" was supposed to redshirt last year and would have red-shirted this year had Shumate been eligible day one. I expect he may still redshirt next year instead. I think he has some tools but he is really raw.

I hope they haven't decided to ask him to transfer to free up a spot. But the fact that he played zero minutes some games when we really needed big man D makes me wonder.

he was gonna redshirt this year but with the free year from covid rules he is gonna play a bit. staff still thinks he's a year or two away. if he makes some good improvement he could evolve into a solid mac big, but if it the light doesn't come on for him by the end of next year, we may see him transfer down a level. komagum has less of a ceiling because he doesn't have much of a jump shot, but he's closer to being a capable role player than maranka and seems to be a good teammate and hard worker.

(12-16-2020 04:06 PM)utrocks84 Wrote:  

(12-16-2020 10:35 AM)Springboromark Wrote:  Interesting read, thanks for the input. A Centerville grad 6-10 Center, by the name of Njie was offered by the Rockets. He is playing at a sports academy somewhere in Florida. I wonder if he is still on Toledo's radar ? He was offered by UD, Xavier among others.

It's telling that a player with Mid-Major offers including Dayton and Xavier is going to a post graduate school. Maybe this kid has grade issues or something else that made these offers not committable. On the other hand maybe he felt he could play at a B1G or ACC level and wanted another year to earn that kind of offer. It may not be "is he still on Toledos radar", as much of is Toledo on his radar maybe. I don't know, but Komagum needs to add some strength and weight if he's gonna guard someone like Michigan's 7'1" freshmen Dickinson or onetime MAC recruit Austin Davis. UT removed both Marenka and Komagum from the Michigan game and went with Acunzo at the 5.

20 year old Freshman Hunter Dickinson.

(12-17-2020 09:09 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(12-16-2020 04:06 PM)utrocks84 Wrote:  

(12-16-2020 10:35 AM)Springboromark Wrote:  Interesting read, thanks for the input. A Centerville grad 6-10 Center, by the name of Njie was offered by the Rockets. He is playing at a sports academy somewhere in Florida. I wonder if he is still on Toledo's radar ? He was offered by UD, Xavier among others.

It's telling that a player with Mid-Major offers including Dayton and Xavier is going to a post graduate school. Maybe this kid has grade issues or something else that made these offers not committable. On the other hand maybe he felt he could play at a B1G or ACC level and wanted another year to earn that kind of offer. It may not be "is he still on Toledos radar", as much of is Toledo on his radar maybe. I don't know, but Komagum needs to add some strength and weight if he's gonna guard someone like Michigan's 7'1" freshmen Dickinson or onetime MAC recruit Austin Davis. UT removed both Marenka and Komagum from the Michigan game and went with Acunzo at the 5.

20 year old Freshman Hunter Dickinson.

Look at that photo I posted of #25 for Marshall. Been awhile since he was 18 I'd bet. Heck, I had to work before being able to go to college. Speculation on a kid's reason, eh. If he's eligibile, coaches want him, good character and can survive the academics, fair game.