Yep, very hard role to sell, I tossed out Jacob Groves (2yrs) and Robbie Beran (grad) yesterday.
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My issue with Beran is the āonly one year remainingā part. We already have that with Minor, so it puts us right back in the same boat next summer if weāre looking for ANOTHER grad transfer rental to pair with Blake at the 5. Itās why I like the 2-year option, because that 2nd guy can soak in a lesser role this year, then be more system-familiar and ready to give us a final year as a bigger role guy in pairing with Blake, before Blake is ready to take on full time starting at the 5 as a 3rd year.
Darden was mentioned over on the Sabre in reference to Shedrick, and it was discussed a little bit there. But I donāt see how the first year of Dardenās in-person curriculum is compatible with playing any NCAA sport, much less one like basketball.
Has there been a recent example of an NCAA athlete attending Darden? Maybe the executive format would be more doable?
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No disrespect, but youāre mistaken if you think that any grad school at UVA but Education is working with the Athletic Dept on keeping graduate students eligible for competition.
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Donāt disagree, but he fits one of your your criteria. I just worry, even if we do get Steveson, we need another exp frontcourt guy, specifically one that can hit a 3:
āSo to me, ideally Iād look for a guy with 2 years remaining whoās okay with being a role player defensive/rebounding big man with decent garbage man or stretch offense chops. Maybe an Ivy League grad transfer (or Stanford or NU or other high academic) who would be motivated to come to UVA as a reserve in exchange for a spot in Darden or another top grad program.ā
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Thereās a player on the tennis team and it does sound like itās been tough.
You need a Ryan Young like guy
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Oof, I shudder to think about what his or her daily schedule during the first year looked like.
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I think the only solace is that the big market has been flooded so you may have a competent big who wants a chance to play in the acc and get a nice graduate degree. Itās a narrow tranche of player for sure.
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Great example, that was a perfect get by Duke last offseason.
The alternative is that we just use this season to go all-in on the youth movement, have only three upperclassmen in the depth chart (Minor, Taine, and Harris), and play a mess of underclassmen without any ACC experience (Rohde, Bond, Gertrude, Blake + additional '23 recruit(s)), take the lumps this season, and then crush all comers in '24-25 and beyond.
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Have also wondered whatās going on with Will Shaver. Was some talk about him possibly visiting, and would be more than a one year rental.
Assume heās leaving UNC for a bigger role, which he wouldnāt necessarily get here.
I agree- On the flip side though if we get a younger player like Stevenson then it could be the pairing with Buchanan of the future (like Traudt was supposed to be), or if Stevenson (or someone similar) leaves after one year it still wouldnāt stymie Buchananās growth either. My goal is to keep Buchanan motivated to be here and NOT over recruit him.
I could see the benefit of BOTH options of an elder player or a long term player with Buchanan.
Yeah, please god no
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Will Shaver may be a guy that would grow *with Buchanan, yet wouldnāt overshadow him. In other words they both would be the front court of the future (like Traudt was meant to be). We would be young this year, but then more experienced in the future. Minor would help with experience this year.
We may still be able to get Stevenson as well as the āhigh upsideā guy who would play alot this year in front of Shaver and may be gone after next season anyways.
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I just donāt think Shaver is an ACC quality player. We donāt need more of those
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Got it. Wasnāt he injured while on UNCās bench and therefore didnāt get to play? Iāll admit I didnāt see him in highschool at all but bought into UNC recruiting him.
Yeah, I donāt know. When we first saw his name pop up (before Minor committed) I had no idea why we would reach out.
But I guess it depends what heās looking for. If heās ok being an additional big body, who gets spot minutes based on matchupsā¦kind of like Caffaro as an 8th or 9th man, then maybe. But he probably could have stayed at UNC and done that.
My assumption for any kid whoās 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, Iām 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 itās going to be the EXTREME rare kid whoās able to focus on both.
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Maybe he just needs to be āUNCAGEDā!!
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re: Reece ā 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 havenāt 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 itās either based on his written eval (possible), or some initial feedback from his agent or teams (how likely is this? I donāt know), or because heās leaning towards being out the door regardless of status in the top 45 or so.
re: Big man. Maybe Iāve misunderstood some scuttlebutt, but Iāve 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 itās Jarinās 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 thereās something super secret / behind the scenes. Am I wrong?
** Is Bond a frontcourt piece? Can be he be?
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