In thinking about this year’s roster construction/weakness it was very clear this team was missing the bigger wing/guards ( Devon Hall , DeAndre Hunter, Malcom Brogdon types) that past teams have had alot of success with. I know we have help on the way in 6’4 I. McNeely & 6’6 R.Dunn (not listing L.Bond as i think he will play more post than wing/guard) but its a tricky postion to be in to count on freshmen to produce at a high -level right away. To me A. Franklin is built more as a combo guard who can in a pinch play wing but its not his best postion. I think someone like Michigan transfer Zeb Jackson would be a great asset to bring in. Good postional size 6’5 / 6’6 and has some college playing experience under his belt. It would allow TB to bring talented freshmen along slowly and defensively we would be able to match up better against taller wings/guards. See Fl.St game as to having a taller guards/wings can possibly prevent.
The issue with zeb is he has many years left it makes things complicated for both the 2022 guys and 2023 recruiting (may add another combo guard after London Johnson).
I think HGN in another thread mentioned a Nigel Johnson type. Grad transfer with one year left willing to accept a role off the bench/maybe be a starter if McKneely isn’t ready yet at the 2/3. Someone who can back up reece but also provide the ability to hit an open 3.
Lest we forget that Nigel literally was carrying the first half vs UMBC lol. He was a solid depth piece that helped us win the ACC tourney.
Agreed on some points. I dont think we should limit ourselves to players who only have 1 year left to play. This team desperately needs postional size and skill ( 3pt shooting) at guard and/or athlectic wings/post who can guard the opposing teams bigger wings. I know those type of players dont grow on trees and are in high-demand but we should try to stockplie the talent and let the cream rise to the top. Transfers are going to happen regardless. We are an elite program and should look to get back to elite basketball asap , which means bringing the best talent available to you
we do have those players those. The 2022 class. Of course we will try to get transfers but we want to add those one to two transfers to our core for long term stability.
A lot just happened at once. 2017 was hard to recruit after the 2016 loaded class. 2018 had the charlottesville rallies, 2019 we lost out on Juzang last second while Guy and Jerome left early. and 2020 was COVID. Of course not all reasonable excuses but they are something. The 2022 class is a return to stabilizing our program.
I agree there are alot of circumstances that have brought us to our current roster construction. But it goes back to my orginial statement that counting on freshmen to be consistent and elite is a tricky stance. Even Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome , DeAndre Hunter ( Redshirt) were not consistent until Sophmore Years and then took the elite level jump there Jr. Years. It may be that the right transfers can acclerate the team timeline while allowing the talented freshmen to grow at their own pace. Next year we should be better for sure but will we be back at elite level is a question mark next year.
I respectfully feel a little differently. I think successful high school recruiting is the key to stability. Our team may have ups and downs in years where we have big first-year classes like next year, but it’s preferable to papering over holes with transfers too much and screwing up our ability to land talented high school recruits or messing with the development of our young guys.
We want some transfers to supplement every now and then (e.g. maybe a Nigel Johnson type for next year who won’t interfere with playing time of 2023 recruits), but we need the young guys to get playing time and feel like they have a path and we desperately need the 2023 class to be good too. Yeah, Ty and Kyle weren’t high-level contributors on an elite team their first year, but we probably aren’t elite their second year if they didn’t get all that playing time their first year. Guys develop on the floor (I disagree with those who say practice is where most of it happens, but that’s a separate convo).
Also, I also personally don’t see this. I know it may the prevailing wisdom and there’s a good likelihood I’m wrong, but when I watch Bond, I just don’t see a post player. I see a wing through and through. But I also generally don’t know what I’m talking about, so who knows.
Good points. I agree holistically that we need to recruit high school talent as our baseline talent. However in the brave new world of the transfer portal we cant overlook the right type of transfers either that can help you win now. Its sad but it kind of like pro sports where you want a core of good young talent in the pipeline but if the right veteran player is on the market you have to at least explore it.
For the sake of my ticker, please refrain from starting thread titles with “Will Tony Bennett” and ending them with “next year.”
TIA
I totally get that, I just think we’re in a uniquely bad position to use guys that “help you win now.” We’re a team that has a super defined system that takes time to learn. It’s a lot harder for us to just plug dudes in like some other teams can. It takes multiple years to get good at our defensive system, so unless we are getting transfers that are going to play for 2+ years, I don’t think they are worth it unless it’s literally to provide depth, e.g. Nigel Johnson. And even when we get guys, we should temper expectations for how much they’re going to elevate us in their first years.
Hauser and Murphy from last year are examples I think of a lot. Both gave us only one year on the floor (of course with Murphy, that was unexpected). They both were offensively gifted, but it took them a while to start getting the defense down, and our defense was pretty mediocre as a result. This year too, we are relying on two transfers a ton, and our defense has majorly struggled as a result. Now Armaan and Jayden will probably figure it out by next year, but I just feel like we aren’t as able to use the “help us win now - play one or two years” types as most other teams, which is why I personally prioritize our high school recruiting so much, even in this brave new transfer world.
Anyway, feel like I’m not being super clear, probably because I’m torn on it too. But if I have to distill all my thoughts, I guess it’s: In a perfect world, we are prioritizing and killing it at high school recruiting and only bringing in transfers to either literally just provide depth on the bench or guys who have 3 years to play here. But that’s just me.
I mean if Tony implemented some of the tweaks Dick Bennett has publicly called for over the years this wouldn’t be the case lol
About this time last year I said the dream transfer would be Jayden Gardner. So I’m gonna try again.
Give me super senior AJ Green from Northern Iowa.
I really appreciate the discussion on this. I think you actually kind of proved the point though. If you put Trey Murphy on this years team and we are at least top 15 team in my opinion as he had what this team is currently missing (consistent 3pt shooting & athleticism). We had previously recruited HS talent of Casey Morsell and Adur-Rahim on the wings but we know the story Casey was ready somewhat defensively early but his offense was erractic. JAR never seemed to catch on defensively or offensively.
Trey Murphy was the right type of transfer. Also while Sam and Trey struggled somewhat early on defense they both improved by alot by seasons end in particular Sam. Treys height,length and athleticism were defensive assets already. For all of Sam’s offensive gifts he was the weak link on defense in the post but improved over the season similar to what we are seeing out of Jayden Gardner and Franklin. I actually feel TB has shown he will take the right type of transfer even with good HS talent. Look at Anthony Gill as an example, those teams were stacked with HS talent but we still took the right transfer to help us win now or at a higher level.
I happened to watch Northern Iowa the other day. He was impressive.
That 3pt shot
Jonas Aidoo killing it at Tennessee (huge presence off the bench including clutch defensive performance vs Kentucky) wish we woulda knabbed him up to develop behind Kadin.
See that Patrick Baldwin’s Dad got fired at Milwaukee. He only played 11 games because of injury. Didn’t we recruit him a bit. Wonder if he might transfer instead of turn pro after a down year.
Oh lord please from your lips to his enrollment
Absolutely some kyle guy in his game. Doesn’t get his shot off lightning quick but doesn’t need to with the high release and hight.
Gill is the perfect example of the type of transfer I’m a big fan of (see my profile pic) - a guy with three years of eligibility, haha. And I hear you on the Murphy point. I’ll also point to Key as a great great example.
Maybe I’ll just admit that it’s totally situational. Normally I’m pretty much only in favor of guys who can come for 2+ years, but in a year when we have a big incoming class and need to do well in the 2023 class, now I only want a guy with like one year of eligibility so he doesn’t interfere with them. But also, after we land a PG and a big in the 2023 class and see what we’ve got with the 2022s, then I’m fine again going to town on transfers with 2+ years of eligibility again to supplement it. So I don’t know what that makes my position. I’m just talking myself in circles, haha.
So isn’t AJ Green just basically what we hope Taine Murray is? 6’4/6’5 bulky guard who shoots the three at an elite level?
Yeah but super senior him gives Taine another year to develop.
Like how getting Walker Kessler would have given Kadin another year to develop (although part of Kadin’s growth this year has been through the trial by fire)
But just like last year with what we have, we always need another shooter to avoid a situation like the last 3 years. We need shooting at the guard spot.