Kim English stinks as a coach (sorry not sorry; should’ve hired Pat Kelsey as he finished 2nd when they hired English) so I would imagine they’ll lose Oduro and a couple others to the portal.
To be honest at this point- I’d rather have a 3 Star American-Canadian player to fill in the cracks of a roster. Someone who would *love to come to UVa, and will hustle etc. etc. vs. a 2-3 star International player who has no idea of what American ball is like.
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Sounds like Justin McKoy. There are just not a lot of examples of American players jsut willing to fill in the cracks of a roster.
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If Franklin elects to return for his “covid” year, I’m not sure that Murray stays. The wings are getting a bit crowded. The assumed certainties are McKneely and Bond. Gertrude, if fully recovered adds another. Franklin’s presence would really limit Murray’s opportunities, and I suspect that there will be some matchup situations where Dunn will play the “3”. Then, there is the option of playing both Beekman and Harris together if, hopefully, Beekman returns. And, given all this, it seems unlikely to me that the staff would be looking for another wing in this spring’s transfer portal.
Again, I know I harp on this way too much, but consider the numbers. Right now, Virginia has 13 scholarship players (three of whom are inactive). Four are sure to leave if you assume that Caffaro won’t return, which leaves nine. Two 2023 recruits have signed LOIs, putting the roster at eleven. For whatever reasons, I suspect that either Franklin or Murray won’t return. I think one of them leaves. That makes ten. I also imagine it’s a near given that the staff will pursue a big man in this year’s portal. That makes it eleven. To sharpen the focus just a bit more, currently, there are four front court players on the roster, if you count Dunn as a front court player. (Shedrick, Traudt, Dunn, & Buchanan) If Buchanan redshirts, another big man will be more than necessary. At this point, you have to question whether the staff wants a roster with more than eleven (or, ten active) scholarship players. I just hope that Beekman and Franklin both return for 2024 so the situation doesn’t become more muddled.
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I mean, most good teams have pretty full rosters and I think most teams don’t have a ton of international prospects, so there must be dudes out there.
I don’t think he’s counting top 100 players.
Dont know where ton came into it. Lot of national title level teams, including uva, had international talent on their roster.
You know who I would take is that British player from Wakeforest, he was a baller and I actually see alot of Taines toughness in him and a decent handle.
However I also don’t think that Taine has shown off his handle as much here in the US because we are not a downhill team and are more of a motion offense team anyways. It’s actually the *same problem that we had with Casey Morsell, in that they’re *not spot up shooters, but more slashers.
Armaan *would have been in the same boat if his shooting didn’t come around, but even last year he showed a good midrange, and has put it all together so far this year.
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Fwiw, Taran Armstrong is #49 on Vecenie’s NBA draft big board. I suppose it wouldn’t be crazy if he wanted to do a 1-year thing here if (1) Reece leaves, and (2) Tony is down for it. But I’d bet against it being a serious possibility. Plus I still want the next 2-3 year guy…
Re: Murray – I’m not sure whether Taine will decide to stay or transfer, but I would bet against him being in the rotation. He can’t handle, so that rules him out of 1.5 slots. Then at the pure 2-guard, he’s behind i-Mac, maybe Elijah, and Franklin or whoever we bring in from the portal to replace Franklin. At the big wing / SF / 3 spot, he’s behind Dunn, and probably Bond.
And he won’t have much of any experience to speak of to stand behind.
Taine is now in year 3 of mostly not playing competitive hoops (Breakers, UVa year 1, UVa this year). For the 99.999999999% of college hoops fans (basically everyone but us and a few Jay Wright deadenders) who believe that playing competitive hoops is the best way to get better at playing competitive hoops, it seems like the best move would be to go try and play competitive hoops.**
** Addendum - assuming he wants to play competitive hoops. I don’t know if he does, which is why I don’t know if he will transfer.
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Has a good thing going at St. Mary’s, but came away really impressed from the BYU game
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He was the 2022 Ty Davis lol. Thought he was going to be our 2022 target for point guard with all the UVA mention. Offered Nunez instead.
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And then didn’t really even go after Nunez lol
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How about Dillon Jones from Weber State? I think he’s from South Carolina, maybe he wants to come back east. He would be a good 1-year player guaranteed plus covid eligibility.
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@shakespears I saw this tweet from earlier in the month. I just posted it here but knew nothing else about the kid. Just that he’s 6’6 and shooting 35%+ from 3. lol Did not know the south carolina location. Maybe just maybe.
Sounds like he has JG like impact in the Big Sky.
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He’s going to take Igor’s spot at Charlotte next year or even team up with him.
That would be one hell of a 5 out front court.
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I said we wanted a Dunn every year…
Honestly could Bobi play the 5 for us in a 5 out?
Reece, McKneely, Armaan, Dunn, Bobi?
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Him and Traudt could play the same roles that BVP and Jayden play for us currently, but with some more size and 3pt shooting (and some bounce).
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I don’t understand. What are people interpreting his tweet to mean?
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