kreed5120

Probably not where this belongs, but didn't think it was worth it's own thread. It looks like it's being discussed to bring back a bracket busters type tournament in mid-February. https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/the-bold-new-college-basketball-flex-scheduling-model-that-would-bring-big-nonconference-games-into-february/

Dambrot is already 63 and I've heard him say in past interviews that he doesn't plan to coach into his 70s. I'd be surprised if Dambrot is coaching in another 3-5 years regardless of the outcome of this next season.

As I understand it May 1st is the deadline to enter the portal without having to sit out a year. This means we should theoretically be done seeing players transfer out. Groce now needs to work his magic and land us 2 forwards to fill out the roster.

Kent definitely needed a big to neutralize Freeman given the abuse Freeman put on them last season. Fortunately for us Thomas isn't that player.

Freeman just won MAC DPOY. I'd say he is that player you're referring to. I'd say 5 and guard are the positions we're most set at. I'd be thrilled if we can add a 6'5-6'7 wing who can run the floor and guard multiple positions. Groce pretty much always runs a lineup of 3 guards, 1 SF playing PF, and 1 big.

Aziz never would have been able to share the court with Freeman. That means at best he would have been playing ~10min/game until he was a senior. Him transferring was likely the best for both parties. He can transfer somewhere that he has a chance of earning minutes to develop. Akron was able to use his scholarship to bring in someone like Hunter who on paper is a better fit and provides some lineup diversitility.

I'd imagine the money is even higher now that boosters/companies don't have to be as discreet. There are probably more boosters involved now too

There is a 1st team, 2nd team, and another handful of honorable mentions. That means only ~15 players get recognition with there being 12 teams. That means on average 1.25 players per team. Hankerson was NIU 2nd best player. He's an above average MAC starter IMO and his efficiency scoring numbers should improve with him accepting more a role player role instead of having to shoulder the load. Compared to Tribble he is an upgrade. Day 1 Hankerson will likely be our 3rd or 4th best player. The real issue is we still need to address our biggest hole, which is finding a replacement for Ali. Speaking of which Akron was the only D1 school to offer Ali so that tells you all you need to know about offer lists at the mid-major level. I may end up being wrong, but I don't buy Hunter as being the guy to put up 25-35 solid minutes a night at the 4 position. When it comes to 4th and 5th year transfers I care more about how productive you've been on the court than what offers you got out of high school.

I'm honestly not thrilled with Hunter or Wynn starting. I don't like Akron's chances of repeating with either if I'm to be perfectly honest. I'm just curious why are you guys so bold on Hunter? His numbers were terrible and he didn't get much playing time on a very bad Ole Miss team.

I think we will see Hunter some on the court with Freeman, but I expect Hunter will see a good chunk of his minutes as Freeman's backup. IMO that role is filled. A stretch 4 is often just an oversized wing so I don't think there is much of a difference between the two. That's what Ali was. That's what Xeyrius was.

Wynn averaged 2.0 PF in 10.4 minutes per game. That means he's on pace to foul out in 26 minutes. The season before wasn't much better as he averaged 2 fouls while playing 12.6mpg. Even if you think Wynn is good enough for us to start at the 4, we almost certainly need to add depth to the position.

Obviously I needed an afternoon cup of coffee

I'm actually pretty okay with this signing. It gives us a multi dimensional scorer that can help space the floor. IMO he's a much better fit than KJ was. Also, I think Hankerson shooting numbers should improve as he'll likely be our 3rd scoring option (behind Freeman and Castaneda). This will allow him to be more selective in his shot selection and he will have others that can help create him open looks. I'm expecting he'll start over Tribble.

I feel it's pretty common to promote a long-time assistant to head coach. North Carolina did that with Davis and Duke did the same with Scheyer. Neptune was only away from Villanova for 1 year. He inherited a team that won 2 games the previous year and in year 1 got them to .500. You might not think that's much, but Fordham isn't an easy place to win at. This past year was only the 2nd time in the last 15 years they have finished a season .500 or better. Edit: What I find more puzzling is why did Neptune leave for the Fordham job in the first place? He either must have not known Wright was contemplating retirement or not known he was Nova's heir to the position.

Couldn't agree more. It reminds me so much of how someone brags about how great their significant other is until their significant other breaks up with them then they do a complete 180. I suppose it's just a coping mechanism. Akron's season next year isn't doomed with his departure, but if we want to re-run it as MAC champs we will need to find to find a 3/4 that will be able to provide us 65-75% of what Ali did with the others picking up the remaining slack.

Davis if I recall correctly was a 3* recruit that was recruited some what heavily. If I remember right he was going to play for Houston until his dad accepted the job at Detroit. His dad never really assembled a team around him, which IMO really hindered Davis development. I believe his true freshman year Detroit played Akron and I was like this kid has talent if you get a few decent players around him Detroit might be that 14 seed in 2-3 years that pulls off a first round upset. Instead it just led to Davis developing bad tendencies.

None of those guards are going to be able to replace Ali's minutes as Ali played the 4 and all of Clarke, Castaneda, and Tavari are too short to play the 4. You might be able to get a few minutes out of Dawson at the 4 per game (under 5 minutes), but he can't play there for extended minutes. Any way you slice it we need another 6'6+ wing.

I'd say his career arc will be most comparable to that of Utomi. Both were wings who were asked to play as an undersized 4. They both developed into being efficient long-range scorers who could create their own shot, but weren't great at creating shots for their teammates. Utomi transferred to what had been the previous season a 16-17 (8-10) USC season. He started the season as the 6th or 7th man, but played his way into the starting lineup. He saw a decrease role, but he was still a key piece on a team that would have made the tournament had the tournament not been cancelled. Ali similarly will have to accept a role of playing 25-28 minutes a night, but him being the 3rd or 4th scoring option is probably what's best for him. All throughout the season he seemed to play his worst in crunch time situations where he felt he had to shoulder the load. He's at his best when he's not asked to do too much and instead takes what's given to him.

I cheer for the names on the front of the jerseys, not the back. I hold no ill will against Ali, but I lost interest in him the second he entered the portal. To steal a line by Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind "frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

I admittedly have never seen him play, but seeing that Ole Miss finished 13th in the SEC with a pretty weak front court, it's not all that inspiring that he was their 8th/9th man. Especially when you take into account his shooting splits. He very well could be an upgrade over Aziz off the bench (which would be useful), but certainly is not the player that will be able to replace Ali production. We still need that 3/4 player that can create his own offense and help space the floor. Castaneda can't do it all himself.

It's not really poaching if he already had 2 feet out the door.

Toledo will be returning 4 starters from the team that won the MAC regular season, including Shumate, so I'd still say they're contenders. That said, I fully expect for them to choke come the MAC tournament. Rockets are going to Rockets

Kovalchuk is just a good regular season coach. Teams aren't looking for coaches that consistently choke come March. He's been a D1 coach for 20 years and still has yet to make the big dance. Statistically you'd think he'd have lucked into a conference tournament win by now.

All the top programs cheat. Some are just better at not getting caught.

He also entered the portal when the coach that recruited him was fired. IMO that's a completely different set of circumstances