Jayden Epps is probably going to portal. Seems like a head case at times but solid efficiencies. I was pretty impressed with him when we played him and Illinois
If itās Odom, his staff has experience with Team Loaded (his current director of recruiting as VCU is a team Loaded guy)
Who should we add? 
I imagine Mike White calls his dad after each season and asks what job he can give him this year.
First guy on āthe listā to enter the portal
@Hooandtrue Trilly has Braden Huffās name up on his Portal/Trilly Intell page.
Have watched him more than once and heās quite good. Guessing heās linked to Illinois (or somewhere similar), but he has game
Heās very skilled but he doesnāt protect the rim or rebound well. More of a bruiser big. Not really Odomās style I donāt think.
Odom likes 4 out/5 out
Was surprised to see his name bc he really flashed in the WCC final
His per-possession offensive numbers are quite good: T-Rank Player Stats - Customizable College Basketball Tempo Free Stats - T-Rank
Really low TO rate for someone with that high usage (and for a big especially). Why does he only play 15 mpg?
Oh yeah heās definitely very skilled/more skilled than what we are used to in our bigs. He was on the same aau team as Jaeden Schutt (Illinois Wolves) that Tony watched some of when he was following Traudt around.
Without looking Im assuming Ben Gregg aka @TheVanillaGorilla and Ike are ahead of him in rotation
Arkansas fans want Layden Blocker back. Barely played as a freshman for Musselman last year. Heās going to go through the classic upper classmen jump in a better situation on better efficiencies. (come back to this post when Layden Blocker is deemed the worst player in D1 next season. my luck). His season stats are meh but he had the late season lightbulb go off and his ceiling is the roof
Our best bet at a high level down hill guard are probably this kid (who is on Trillyās portal list), Jizzle James, or Jayden Epps.
A defensive front court of ARob and British Mamadi would be a blast
We do need scoring though
Lol. Who do you think has more upside long term: ARob or Bambgoye?
Also, looking at anyone else we might like from VCU. What are your thoughts on Brandon Jennings and Alphonzo Billups? Two Richmond guys that were decently rated coming out but hard to judge since theyāve had such an experienced backcourt this year.
Lastly, they do have a commit from Silas Barksdale who is a 4 start but HGN seemed to indicate he wasnāt ACC level.
Edit to add NOJINX NOJINX NOJINX NOJINX
Alonzo Billups and Silas Barkdale hard pass.
Jennings jr overlaps with Gertrude.
No idea on long term projections, i thought Angelo Brizzi was going to be a stud and he didnt even play for Davidson
Ok interesting. Appreciate it. So really we only want Bamgboye and Jennings (if Gertrude doesnāt return). Iām sure heāll bring more just from a depth perspective though but heād have to get busy in the portal either way.
Heās probably going to focus on trying to retain as much as he can of our current roster than bringing over players from VCU, especially since most of them are done eligibility wise.
Hereās a list of 4-star and above (roughly) freshmen who played less than 30% of their teams minutes:
Have fun.
Side note: The more I look at player lists, the more I think we need to be able to recruit Atlanta. Their talent base is so good.
Having watched an unusual amount of VCU games this season in anticipation of Odom potentially becoming our coach, hereās my quick takes on each player on their roster that still has eligibility left:
- Luke Bamgboye, Fr. Forward: Take. Probably the highest pro potential on their team, extremely athletic. I know the British Mamadi thing is a bit of a meme but his athleticism does mirror Mamadiās, just doesnāt have the same shooting ability. Should be a really high level defender for years to come (has the 2nd highest block % in the country) and is continuing to develop as a post scorer. Would imagine heāll be Odomās top priority to come with him wherever he goes.
- Christian Fermin, Jr. Forward: Meh, could take him or leave him. Very good defensive big, solid athlete but his finishing around the rim is Buchanan-esque. Misses a lot of bunnies and doesnāt have much range past lobs and putbacks. Has conceded more minutes to Bamgboye as the season has gone on.
- Michael Belle, So. Guard: Pass. 6ā8 guard who could end up playing a similar role to Jack Clark for VCU down the line, but he has shot the ball horribly this season. 2-28 from 3 and 9-23 from the FT line. Could end up being a decent role player but to me he should stay mid major.
- Brandon Jennings, Fr. Guard: Could take him or leave him. Has good size, VCU fans seem pretty high on his potential but from watching him heās a mediocre shooter and missed a TON of layups on drives this season. Think heāll end up being a good defender but to me heās a poor manās Eli Gertrude.
- Terrence Hill, Fr. Guard: Doesnāt play a ton so hard to get a good read, but would probably pass on him. High turnover rate but has an easier time finishing at the rim than Jennings, also seems to be a decent shooter. Not sure how high his potential is though.
- Alphonzo Billups III, So. Guard: Pass. Expected more out of Billups, thought heād be a really good player for VCU. In his 3rd season in the program and struggles to get minutes, with his size and athleticism you expect him to be better than he is. Was better last year but not saying much.
Overall thereās unfortunately not a ton of meat on the bone of VCUās returning minutes. Bamgboye would be a hard take for me but other than that thereās not a ton to get excited about. Iād probably also be good with adding Barksdale as a developmental big to go along with hopefully Mallory in our 2025 class, but to me I would prefer Odom to do most of his heavy lifting in the portal via players not currently on his roster.