My assumption for any kid who’s playing high-level D-1 sports (basically, hoops or football at the high major level) at any serious level (so for hoops, say starter or 7-8 man rotation) and who is also enrolled in grad school, is that the grad school classes are basically a pretext to keep the kid eligible for the sport. I mean, yes, I’m sure some of the degrees are nice to have and you learn a bit. But any kid who wants to hoop should focus on hooping, and any kid who wants to focus on a professional degree (law, medicine, etc) or any serious academic degree (e.g., grad school with the goal of continuing on in academics) should focus on that. And it’s going to be the EXTREME rare kid who’s able to focus on both.
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Maybe he just needs to be “UNCAGED”!!
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re: Reece → I think the invites tend to leak almost as soon as they go out, as agents want to crow to the world about their guys. So since none of them have leaked, I think they haven’t gone out yet. I think they usually go out last week of April or so. To the extent Reece has made a decision, I think it’s either based on his written eval (possible), or some initial feedback from his agent or teams (how likely is this? I don’t know), or because he’s leaning towards being out the door regardless of status in the top 45 or so.
re: Big man. Maybe I’ve misunderstood some scuttlebutt, but I’ve been assuming we are content to stay put with Minor, Dunn, Blake, and Bond** as our frontcourt pieces, if need be, and are prioritizing leaving a spot for Jarin, if he decides he wants it, over bringing in another big. So it’s Jarin’s spot at least for the next few weeks, unless a big pops up who we really like and really likes us. That assumption also seems to roughly comport with there being no chatter about another big man, unless there’s something super secret / behind the scenes. Am I wrong?
** Is Bond a frontcourt piece? Can be he be?
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That’s my take on the big man but I know nothing. Also, I really wanted to see what Bond could do at 3 with a redshirt year working on his shooting.
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That last sentence is very up for debate and a worthwhile discussion
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Blue Cain up to 52 in the latest ESPN top 100 would be above Buchanan 59 and Gertrude 96
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/view/espnu100
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Gertrude 96 is going to look very stupid rather soon in my opinion
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Pre injury he was included in some top 30s where he belongs
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Can I assume that our chance of getting him is inversely proportional to his ranking? He is really close to the Top 50 line.
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Here’s his “industry” comparison, from On3.
- On3 - 29
- 247 - 37
- Rivals - 53
- ESPN - 96
I’m actually surprised to hear that ESPN is still moving guys around. Elijah definitely had a jump in the other 3 last summer / early fall or so.
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He also had WAY more offers than were public so…
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Bronny
SEC, B1G, or blue blood?
To me, it seems as though much of this discussion is circling the issue of roster management. Particularly, roster management in the post-covid age of immediate eligibility in the transfer portal. I get the feeling that lots of programs are trying to find out what works for them, and I don’t get the sense that too many of them are finding it easy. Assuming that continuity is a good thing, and something to be valued, how is it best preserved? The first questions that comes to my mind are: what is the ideal roster size? Are we ever going to see a full complement of thirteen scholarship players again? At the moment, Virginia has nine grants in use. Ten if Beekman returns (unlikely it seems), or if Shedrick reverses course (really, really unlikely). Presumably, the staff is still pursuing Blue Cain, and I’m given to understand that they want Jarin Stevenson to re-classify to the 2023 class (perhaps a bit iffy, but who knows). While the notion is speculative, if Stevenson doesn’t switch classes, will Coach Bennett look to the portal to add some depth to the front line?
Now, to add to all of that is the fact that Virginia will be a very young team next year. Only one player will exhaust his eligibility (Minor) even if Beekman or Shedrick return. Of the rest of next year’s roster, only Murray has fewer than three years of eligibility remaining. So, what are the recruiting needs, and where can prospects be added without the risk of exiting transfers? And, are exiting transfers to be feared/avoided? How much value should be placed on continuity? In my opinion, Coach Bennett’s best teams have featured multi-year starters. Can his schemes flourish constantly relying on the transfer portal for quick fixes? FWIW, I’ve got few, if any, answers. I see a need for front court depth, but I am unsure how attractive a bench role is to someone in the portal. And/or, if someone there finds a bench role appealing, would they be any help? (See corollary to Groucho Marx’s club membership criteria.) Increasingly, I am reminded of the old square dancer’s remarks, At some point, “ya gotta dance with the one whut ya brung!” I really wonder if the roster will include more than ten or eleven players going forward. As I said, everything here seems to dance around the issue of roster management. It’s a brave new world.
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Literally everyone ha. Dude blew up as they say
ESPN rankings are not great. They don’t spend the same effort as the others. Pure marketing that they even keep doing it.
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247 > ON3 > Rivals > ESPN > (Does Scout still exist?)
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Scout is under the 247 umbrella now.
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A (perhaps) valuable public service. Current state of AAU streaming and associated costs:
-
Nike EYBL – the best! All still seems to be free
https://nikeeyb.com/livestream -
Under Armour Next – $20 per day, per court. So so annoying. Basically, you have to pay $20 to watch any game, unless you get lucky and 2 kids you want to see are on the same court on the same day.
https://underarmournext.com/basketball/live-stream-boys-april-21st/ -
Adidas 3SSB – the worst! (same as UA plus 5 dollars). $25 per day, per court.
3SSB Boys – Streaming - Remember The Why
We should only be recruiting EYBL kids, obviously.
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