Yes we *may lose them to the portal, but, as an example- what if Traudt and Bond were able to play this year and even though they may have had ups and downs, they help us get past the 1st round game and atleast into the round of 32. Perhaps throughout the season they would be able to help contribute when both Reece (Bond),BVP (Traudt) and Kadin (Traudt) were hurt or went missing?
I think it would have been worth it to have them play in the year, so they can atleast know that they *belong. We would have atleast removed one of the variables of them transferring (Ie: No playing time and no *potential future playing time).
I wouldn’t say that because Dunn and McKneeley played that it would have been *less time if Traudt and Bond played since they’re all different positions. It might mean that BVP, Gardner, Papi, Armaan and Kihei played less.
Hey, I’m a lawyer, so I pretend that I know what I’m talking about all the time. So don’t tell me I can’t pretend to know about hoops or what motivates elite-level, 19 year-old college basketball players. I do this for a living!
Considering three of the four were 3-5 (and, realistically, Bond and Dunn are probably more 4 than 3 at this point in their careers) it actually would have meant less time for Vander Plas, Gardner, Caffaro, Franklin and …. Shedrick.
Beekman and Clark, being 1a and 1b wouldn’t have been affected by non-ballhandlers.
McKneely, to some extent, but he got more time his first year than Guy got.
I agree. I think most 1st-years get over being homesick by the end of the first semester (some, the first weekend!). I do have doubts about IT’s intestinal fortitude. I know that when a child gets sick with a life-long disease at an early age, there is a tendency for the parents to coddle that child; but at some point you gotta act like you got a pair.
I agree with *not necessarily throwing Traudt, Bond or Dunn into that first game as we needed to see how our team was, plus if I recall it was a close game and a Quad 4 game. However TB could have said to Traudt, “Don’t worry about this first game we will definitely get you into the rotation within the next game or two, just stick it out a bit” vs. *not addressing the elephant in the room at all.
I wonder if, in an effort to no longer have to redshirt players that we now go after established *POST players in the portal each year- hopefully with multiple years of eligibility, and those that can move/pick up the defense like Dunn did so quickly? In addition- if they’re coming from the portal hopefully they already have some offensive ability because we *damn sure don’t teach it to our posts … but seriously if they can hang from Day 1 like Dunn could defensively then that may solver our problem.
Edit: Another benefit is that their bodies are ready, so that would remove another hurdle from the redshirt dilemna.
Regarding guards and wings, we *don’t seem to redshirt those guys as much unless injured (Bond and Hall not-withstanding), plus we can easily get more guards to fill in gaps as needed, and teach them the packline easier ( or so I’m told).
Regarding Beekman and Clark, keep one of them in and substitute one of them out for Bond, and you still would have either Armaan or iMAC available at the 2nd spot in order to handle the ball:
Kihei, iMAC, Bond, etc. etc.
Reece, IMAC, Bond etc. etc.
Kihei Armaan, Bond etc. etc.
Reece Armaan, Bond, etc. etc.,
I think with the lack of incumbency in frontcourt players and with Blake looking physically ready(?), I could see him getting like 10-15 mpg. The redshirted bigs have had specific factors at play like academics (Mamadi), skinny (Jay, Kadin), incumbent frontcourts (Jay, Kadin, Papi), which may be less of a factor with Blake. I guess it’s all TBD with where the roster settles, but it seems like this is a different situation for a big to step into compared to recent years.
It could have been realistic- that is the point lol.
What happened when either Reece or Kihei sat? Either Armaan, iMAC or both were in right? So they must have had *enough handles for Tony to be comfortable for them to be in for a good amount of time.
I don’t think ballhandling would be the reason to keep Bond out, when TB had 4 options (Reece, Kihei, Armaan, iMAC).
… but seriously if they can hang from Day 1 like Dunn could defensively then that may solver our problem.