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Caught a few minutes of the coaches show last night on my drive home. Brannen said Rap was opting out, and Mamadou was back at practice and going to play. Said it’s all Covid related opting out and opting in. Wtf is going on? Is this just 2020? Or are there weird undertones?

Also- Mason out of the boot and Brannen remarked he is our best 3pt shooter FWIW...

"covid opt out"

In case you haven't noticed, covid is the excuse for everything now days.

My guess is that Rap saw some writing on the wall that he was in over his head, decided to bolt and will use that NCAA extra year at a place more on his level.

Likewise, I'll bet that Diarra had some second thoughts and a "what the he!! am I doing" moment which led him to change his mind and come back.

(12-31-2020 08:44 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  In case you haven't noticed, covid is the excuse for everything now days.

My guess is that Rap saw some writing on the wall that he was in over his head, decided to bolt and will use that NCAA extra year at a place more on his level.

Likewise, I'll bet that Diarra had some second thoughts and a "what the he!! am I doing" moment which led him to change his mind and come back.

Rap is pretty obvious, he came here to play the 4. He has stated that he wants to play the 4. Brannen starting him at the 4 last game was giving him a last chance. My guess is sometime after the game Brannen went to Rap and told him his role on the team would be backup 5 and Rap said "not interest, that's not what I want to do and not what you recruited me to do".

Diarra likely is coming back because Rap is leaving. Risking Covid (especially with a newborn baby) wasn't worth it to play spot minutes. But with Rap gone and Vogt being horrible (and a senior), Diarra is coming back with a pretty good shot to become our starting center. It's also possible that something else caused him or the baby's mom to become more comfortable with him travelling with the team, but minutes are probably the main factor.

It’s like a high school AABC baseball travel team with a roster that changes each weekend tournament based on whose parents are mad about playing time.

(12-31-2020 08:44 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  In case you haven't noticed, covid is the excuse for everything now days.

My guess is that Rap saw some writing on the wall that he was in over his head, decided to bolt and will use that NCAA extra year at a place more on his level.

Likewise, I'll bet that Diarra had some second thoughts and a "what the he!! am I doing" moment which led him to change his mind and come back.

He may know this system and roster makeup sucks for him. Perhaps this wasn’t the staff to get him to wheee he wanted to be.

And frankly, why spend all the time and effort on basketball and classes you don’t care about for a team and staff you aren’t connected to that looks like it may circle the drain this season? I’m sure he left a girlfriend back at Colgate or overseas. Things to do, people to see...

You don't need to read too far between the lines to realize that people are frustrated

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(12-31-2020 09:11 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  

(12-31-2020 08:44 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  In case you haven't noticed, covid is the excuse for everything now days.

My guess is that Rap saw some writing on the wall that he was in over his head, decided to bolt and will use that NCAA extra year at a place more on his level.

Likewise, I'll bet that Diarra had some second thoughts and a "what the he!! am I doing" moment which led him to change his mind and come back.

He may know this system and roster makeup sucks for him. Perhaps this wasn’t the staff to get him to wheee he wanted to be.

And frankly, why spend all the time and effort on basketball and classes you don’t care about for a team and staff you aren’t connected to that looks like it may circle the drain this season? I’m sure he left a girlfriend back at Colgate or overseas. Things to do, people to see...

Don't you mean people to do, things to see?

(12-31-2020 09:07 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  It’s like a high school AABC baseball travel team with a roster that changes each weekend tournament based on whose parents are mad about playing time.

.......your AABC reference is the perfect analogy.

I’m not sure what to think of this. It’s sort of concerning that multiple players have now essentially quit on the team in the middle of a season, in back to back years. Is this a result of a culture issue? It doesn’t really give me confidence in the locker room, though I guess that may be a result of a bad season as well.

(12-31-2020 10:40 AM)C1ncy4Life Wrote:  I’m not sure what to think of this. It’s sort of concerning that multiple players have now essentially quit on the team in the middle of a season, in back to back years. Is this a result of a culture issue? It doesn’t really give me confidence in the locker room, though I guess that may be a result of a bad season as well.

I think it's a result of poor player evaluation, recruiting over players and transfers. Transfers (especially grad transfers) aren't usually looking to sit on the bench.

In Raps case, Rap made it clear that he wants to play the 4, wants to be developed as a 4 and does not want to be a center. Brannen for some unknown reason thought Rap could play the 4 at this level (he obviously could not, I said that the moment he was recruited). When it become clear Rap wasn't a 4 and wasn't even good as a 5, his options became backup center (possibly 3rd string depending on if Diarra decided to come back first or Rap decided to leave first) or go and he chose go.

Diarra it's hard to say how big of a role the baby played. But he was almost surely expecting to be at least the backup center averaging 15+ minutes per game, instead Rap moved to center and Diarra became 3rd string playing spot minutes. Now he's coming back to play 15+ minutes per game.

Sorolla came expecting to start, then Vogt got his waiver approved and Sorolla became a backup.

Trevor Moore was apparently just an awesome practice three point shooter. But when it came game time he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He fooled Cronin, fooled Brannen.

Never thought I would say this, but I'd love to have Eliel Nsoseme on this roster. I thought he would be a 6 pts/8 reb kind of guy at Georgia State, but he's killing it down there. The other guys who transferred out last year are performing about as expected.

(12-31-2020 11:06 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  Never thought I would say this, but I'd love to have Eliel Nsoseme on this roster. I thought he would be a 6 pts/8 reb kind of guy at Georgia State, but he's killing it down there. The other guys who transferred out last year are performing about as expected.

Watched a GAST game earlier this year, and he's doing exactly what he did here. Rebounds with an exceptionally high motor, can't catch a pass lf score on his own at all. About 90% of his points this year have come on uncontested layups/dunks on breaks or off of rolls...thats the only way to get him to score, and it would seem Brannen prefers a back to the basket 5 or a big who can pass...neither of which are Eli. He went to a place that plays to his strengths, and where he is far more physical than most of his competition.

(12-31-2020 10:59 AM)skyblade Wrote:  

(12-31-2020 10:40 AM)C1ncy4Life Wrote:  I’m not sure what to think of this. It’s sort of concerning that multiple players have now essentially quit on the team in the middle of a season, in back to back years. Is this a result of a culture issue? It doesn’t really give me confidence in the locker room, though I guess that may be a result of a bad season as well.

I think it's a result of poor player evaluation, recruiting over players and transfers. Transfers (especially grad transfers) aren't usually looking to sit on the bench.

In Raps case, Rap made it clear that he wants to play the 4, wants to be developed as a 4 and does not want to be a center. Brannen for some unknown reason thought Rap could play the 4 at this level (he obviously could not, I said that the moment he was recruited). When it become clear Rap wasn't a 4 and wasn't even good as a 5, his options became backup center (possibly 3rd string depending on if Diarra decided to come back first or Rap decided to leave first) or go and he chose go.

Diarra it's hard to say how big of a role the baby played. But he was almost surely expecting to be at least the backup center averaging 15+ minutes per game, instead Rap moved to center and Diarra became 3rd string playing spot minutes. Now he's coming back to play 15+ minutes per game.

Sorolla came expecting to start, then Vogt got his waiver approved and Sorolla became a backup.

Trevor Moore was apparently just an awesome practice three point shooter. But when it came game time he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He fooled Cronin, fooled Brannen.

I guess the realization is growing on me that one must be very selective in recruiting midmajor transfers. Just 'cause a guy was all-conference in the MAC, Horizon, or wherever, doesn't mean he can be a difference-maker for UC.

This little chain of events doesn't really pass the smell test, but oh well, I'm not going to speculate or create conspiracy theories. However, in my opinion the team just got a wee bit better with this little trade off, so that is all I care about.

(12-31-2020 11:14 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(12-31-2020 11:06 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  Never thought I would say this, but I'd love to have Eliel Nsoseme on this roster. I thought he would be a 6 pts/8 reb kind of guy at Georgia State, but he's killing it down there. The other guys who transferred out last year are performing about as expected.

Watched a GAST game earlier this year, and he's doing exactly what he did here. Rebounds with an exceptionally high motor, can't catch a pass lf score on his own at all. About 90% of his points this year have come on uncontested layups/dunks on breaks or off of rolls...thats the only way to get him to score, and it would seem Brannen prefers a back to the basket 5 or a big who can pass...neither of which are Eli. He went to a place that plays to his strengths, and where he is far more physical than most of his competition.

This team plays powderpuff basketball. Stick arms and not physical. Comparatively, Naoseme would have been the city stomping reptilian star of a 1960’s Japanese monster movie on this roster.

Brannen wants to play Euro Ball like a mid major darling.

I think we really needed Rap and Diarra to have any hope of competing. The front line is so thin and foul prone, you may as well just settle on a 4 guard rotation.

Gabe Madsen is out, is Mason still in???

Are you saying Gabe is leaving?

He’s opting out. Probably wasn’t gonna play except for garbo time anyways.

Garbo time looks to be on short supply this season.