So far the only thing we’ve lost is bodies/minutes/fouls.
2 Likes
Exactly if Virginia was dependent on those players to win it all nxt year they were in trouble anyways
7 Likes
That is not true whatsoever
Is that Sam’s fault, or a by product of the pieces surrounding him and the offense being run?
2 Likes
I think Brad’s take on what this means (or really, doesn’t mean) in terms of any systematic issues with the program is fair and worth considering. I find it hard to draw much of a conclusion when practically every team has at least 1 player transferring and many teams have multiple transfers.
6 Likes
As full as the transfer portal looks right now, there’ll be more movement next year. The 21 entering class is the one that didn’t get proper in person evaluations. You’re going to have a lot of guys decide they made a mistake (don’t like the school/team vibe, think they can compete at a higher level, didn’t get PT and look to move to a lower tier school) and look to move.
6 Likes
More the system at 22ish yrs old Sam is who he is. Maybe he coulda adjusted some of his game but he wasnt going to transform overnight. I think all of it caught everyone off guard
Especially since he was given a starting spot before the very first game of this year and didn’t hold on to it because he just didn’t play well enough. Did he look better towards the end of the year and provided a spark off the bench in a couple of games? Yes and it portended better, more consistent play ahead but what we saw was always up and down. If you remember back to his recruitment he was late bloomer, and when you watched his tapes, it was easy to see why. He had a decided lack of leaping ability early in his high school career and while it improved (and that, IMO, is why he suddenly found himself on D1 radar), there was always a ceiling there. We envisioned and wanted him as a defensive Swiss Army Knife, but whenever I watched him play, he usually seemed some combination of a step slow, half a beat behind in diagnosing and recovering on a play or, more often than not, just physically\athletically unable to match up with a offensive post guy. We talked all year about how we needed a bouncy defensive 4 and not having one was a gigantic liability. Well, McKoy was recruited to be that guy and just . . . wasn’t. No knock but his play just didn’t rise to what we need and have come to expect out of that 4 position defensively. Best of luck to him, and hopefully he’s successful wherever he may end up.
4 Likes
Maybe for next year (although probably a little more than just that). I think these really hurt for 2023 unless these guys were complete busts, especially JAR.
2 Likes
Tony clearly liked McKoy’s physicality/assertiveness on the floor that led to him beginning the season as a starter, with Sam at the 3. But Sam’s defensive liabilities were exposed in those early Connecticut bubble games and Justin struggled offensively. So Tony sat McKoy, moved Sam to the 4, started Trey and pushed Justin down in the rotation. But the team needed a more physical, high motor presence on the front line, as this team was too finessed oriented. Tony rediscovered that late in the season. Who knows what may have unfolded if McKoy doesn’t test COVID positive at ACCT?
5 Likes
Having Jay starting in his 5th year in the program to guide new players defensively isn’t really in the same ballpark as Murphy coming back for another year, if he does. If Murphy stays in the draft, then the front-court player with by far the most experience will be Stattman. Are you really telling me that you consider Huff’s UVA playing experience to be comparable to Kody’s?
Not saying it’s deserved, but if we don’t land anyone by the time Keels announces he’s going to Duke on Sunday people are going to have meltdowns lol
4 Likes
It’s disheartening to see Justin transfer, but exactly what I expected. Never earned Tony’s trust and didn’t seem to fit the role the staff envisioned.
High character and high motor guy with obvious talent. He’s the kind of player that past teams could be built on. Clear that he never reached that height.
For the glass half-full folks…do we have a talent evaluation issue? Or a player development issue?
Teams that can adeptly evaluate personnel, select kids that match up well in skill sets and program culture can do really well in the transfer portal. Coaching staffs will have the knowledge of assessing players already performing at the college level, so a key piece of player projection has greater clarity.
It is important for the transferring player to be really motivated to make it work. If they transfer again, it will require them to sit a year.
3 Likes
Are there still people who believe Keels is coming to UVA? I’ve accepted that that ship sailed a long time ago. If he does choose UVA, I’ll be thrilled. If he doesn’t, I won’t think twice about it.
6 Likes
We have a recruiting issue. We’ve missed on a billion top targets between 2017-2019.
2 Likes
Another good reason to limit the number of high school recruits in ‘21 class.
1 Like
I will think about it every time we deploy our Kihei+Reece combo next year. But yes, I’m with you in expecting he will go to Nova or Duke.
3 Likes
I think the most optimistic reading would be that it’s neither and that we’re just dealing with small sample sizes. I struggle to think that it’s a player evaluation issue necessarily. We’ve been in on a lot of players that have gone on to be successful at other programs (not reassuring, I know). And we generally have a strong track record for player development. But if I had to pick one I’d choose player development accentuated by Covid restrictions
1 Like
The transfers make sense and it might end up being the best for all involved.
Seems like this might be the new normal with having to rely on transfer players even more so than in the past. I hope not. One of the things I have really enjoyed about UVA basketball is watching the kids develop over the years and turn into great players by the end of their college careers, compared to one-and-done programs. Morsell and McKoy were high character kids who gave it there all who we all wanted to succeed here. (Same likely true for Bri although I knew less about him). I am hoping that we don’t become a team mostly dependent on a lot of one and two year players that developed elsewhere.