Jefferson was the real miss from that group. If Saunders gets things together, itāll only be a small miss (or even a push), but heās the only one out of the group Iād like to have had.
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Alternative timeline where I think we definitely would have been a tourney team ā¦
Starters: Warley, iMac, Dai Dai, Jefferson, Blake
Bench: Rhode, Cofie, Murray, Healthy Bliss, Power
Humrichous maybe? Heās fairly efficient, has even grabbed some blocks. Though heās not really doing the saucy on-ball stuff he did at Evansville, so he still would have been part of the same āeveryone is best at the 4ā problem.
Yeah Jefferson looks like the one who wouldāve been the most help. Legit 6ā9ā and a good rebounder with ball skills. Iām not super impressed with the transfer lead guards so far, but a couple of the bucket getter guys have been incredible.
ā¦ maybe Jefferson will want to follow his head coach to his next job (I can dream) 
I think we dodged a bullet on Malik Mack. @JoeBoxley had him nailed - inefficient and Ivy league transfers have historically struggled.
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Seeing those transfer numbers mostly makes me think we are still not really competitive in the transfer portal. We still seem to be a top 25 caliber HS recruiting team, or were, as of this last summer with Tony. But we are not able to, or perhaps were not willing to under Tony, compete for the top transfer guys.
(Better stated - our targets were just kinda meh)
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? Jefferson and Warley were/are top transfers. Both were top 100 transfers by most accounts.
Jefferson averaging 10/7/2 steals on 65% FG for a top 10 team. The team is significantly better with him on the floor. Warley just landed at Gonzaga.
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Iām looking at two lists. Athletic and 247. I got Jefferson in the 50s on one list and absent on the other. Warley on neither.
Power is in the 70s/80s on both lists.
Maybe Jefferson winds up higher on any post hoc lists (if anyone does those)
I like EvanMiyaās ranking, and he had both in the 200-250 range I believe.
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Appreciate the shoutout I honestly forgot why I didnāt like him other than MARYLAND tattoo
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EvanMiya had us around #50 for incoming transfers as a class (caveat, more is more in terms of the class rankings); Warley was in the top-100, Saunders, Power, and Ames all around the high 200s-low 300s. Jefferson, Tyson, Mack were all top-100, Humrichous and Dia were mid-100s, Brickus was mid-300, and Amos was like in the 700s.
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I may be crazy but I think Iāve seen flashes with TJP that make me think he can be a significant contributor on the offensive end this year. Iād actually like to see higher usage (better if itās at the 4 spot). I also donāt think his jumpshot is broken, heās just had a cold spell to start the year.
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Youāre not totally crazy, I think itād be reasonable to hope that Powerās 3PT percentage gets into the mid-30s by the end of season. I donāt know if this bears out in the data, but I think of usage as being a little sticky within-seasonā¦guys do what theyāre capable of, and you mainly see changes between season.
Side note, we are kinda at where I thought we might be in terms of 3P% and 3P Rate, but got there in an unexpected way. Itās like Dai Dai and Rohde Freaky Fridayād with Power and Sharma.
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Call me crazy but I could see power dropping hoops if it doesnāt click soon and returning to baseball. He was apparently a good lefty pitcher.
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Just remember you being very anti Malik Mack not just for the Maryland tattoo haha. You had concerns, if I recall correctly, about the jump from Ivy Leagues to ACC and felt he was undersized/inefficient. Pretty much spot on!
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Iām giving Power until after Holy Cross.
Someone needs to motivate him with some really specific Worcester trash talk.
āI heard he has to put Dunkin Donuts into his GPS. He doesnāt have even have the directions memorized!ā
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I can hear Ben Affleck saying it.
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Watched Power shooting last fewā¦ his make vs St Johnās was differentā¦ he took off and landed from the same spot and leaned forward.
Most of his misses he is leaning back, which makes me think he is trying to get the shot off not trying to make. Someone needs to tell him he is 6 foot nine and does not need to lean back.
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I actually think Jefferson and Saunders could have played together. Jefferson was playing the 5 for ISU.
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Saunders is closer to what we wanted out of TJ Power, I know @AnonymooseHoo and several others at the time mentioned Saunders was closer to a Groves type and kinda overlapped with Power.
Saunders and a bruiser 4/5 definitely could have co-existed
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