Haha, ok. I can sleep soundly now!
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I used to like the Athleticâs portal rankings, but the whole thing has gotten away from them. The only incoming guy theyâve written up is Dallin Hall. They just canât cover the whole portal with only two writers.
Anyway, here is Sam Vâs take on Dallin Hall:
Hall began the year in the starting lineup but wasnât an ideal fit playing alongside Egor Demin, so the BYU staff decided to make him a super sub in the last two-thirds of the season. Having said that, Hall looks like he can be a high-major starting guard. He makes excellent decisions and consistently finds teammates in the right places. He averaged 4.2 assists with a three-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio in 2024-25, and while the shooting numbers arenât amazing, he is at least capable from behind the arc when he gets an open look. Anyone looking for a genuine adult who makes good decisions at the lead guard spot should take a look at Hall as an interesting option. He might not be a true all-conference player, but he can help a good team. â Sam Vecenie
($$ link)
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Anyone know if they made it or did they end up in Charolttesville and Charlotteville?
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Onyenso just entered the portal. Weâre looking for a C, are we not? I have to admit I havenât seen him play, but 103 blocks over three years averaging 13 minutes per game.
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Thatâs the profile I want but isnât he the guy Kansas state way overpaid for?
Yeah, very intriguing measurables, but why did he play so little this year? And whyâs he leaving?
(Maybe Iâm old fashioned, but I still think the âwhy are they leaving?â question is worth asking/knowing)
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Back in my capacity as casual part time Kentucky correspondent-- heâs extremely talented and toolsy and can do everything youâd want a rim-protecting big to do, but if weâre planning on playing a fast-ish pace then good luck keeping him on the court out of foul trouble.
Admittedly didnât watch him at K-State, so maybe heâs improved, but his PF/100 possessions would imply the opposite (up to 5.6 from 4.1 at Kentucky).
Would take a flyer if heâs cheap (unlikely), but otherwise probably not worth the resources because I donât think weâd be able to keep him on the court.
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That last Kentucky team he was on played fast and could have used the help defensively.. Iâm sure they would have loved to play him more. Big Z and Bradshaw both missed large parts of that season, there was a lot of opportunity available to him for those center minutes if he was ready. .
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No idea why heâs leaving, but in terms of PT, K-Stateâs best players were their frontcourt pairing of NâGuessan and Hawkins, and they rode them pretty hard.
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I agree, but perhaps it is as simple as playing time; I donât know who played ahead of him. We have playing time available, and he is a shot blocker, which is primarily what we need. Rim protector with really good size; it seems like what we need, and I am not sure we can be really picky at the moment. Heâs at least looking into, at least, given we seem to be overpaying everyone.
Edit: I am very slow and my post was extremely redundant. I apologizeâŚyou are all very quick to the stats!
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Tang has not really had a coherent approach to the portal, to be fair. I think Hawkins was a pretty late signing, too, if memory serves.
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I suppose I am getting nervous and a little impatient where our frontcourt is concerned. I am sure there is a plan, but I am not seeing good options. Admittedly, I donât sit around watching film on those who are available.
CJ Moore praising (kinda) Tangâs deft portal management (/sarcasm), from last June:
Kansas State coach Jerome Tang took two calculated risks this transfer portal season. First, Tang saved most of his NIL budget for late in the cycle because his belief was that the best players available would be the ones testing the NBA Draft waters and thus delaying their decisions.
That decision paid off in late May and early June when Tang got commitments from former Samford big man Achor Achor and former Kentucky 7-footer Ugonna Onyenso. At that point, all Tang felt like he needed was a wing. But the best players in the portal at that position who had declared elected to keep their names in that draft. So Tang took another risk. Even though it looked like his starting frontcourt was set with Achor and Onyenso, Tang decided to pursue former Illinois big man Coleman Hawkins, who he sees as someone who can play multiple positions.
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K-State has the distinct feel of a meddling booster(s) throwing money at big portal names and Tang having to figure out the team later.
Pure conjecture on my part, but theyâre definitely throwing bags around at fairly incoherent teams since the elite 8 run.
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Lol. Then he kicked Achor off the team and semi-buried Onyenso on the bench.
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Wonder if we are going to try to do something similar to land a big.
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Could be, but the dynamics just seem so different this year than the past two years