Ali Ali would've benefitted from a redshirt, though. He played in 31 games, averaged 11 minutes per game, and 1.1 ppg. He was extremely raw but Groce played him because his height and length created matchup problems for other teams. His movements his freshman year were similar to what I saw in Brisco's film - not as smooth/refined. Ali Ali was still growing into his body IIRC. Brisco might be as well?
I'm not saying Brisco couldn't help this team immediately as a freshman. I just saw that video and thought a redshirt year might benefit him and us more. He's a similar size to Baker and I think Baker might be more smooth/refined from what I remember of his high school tape (and he took a redshirt).