2020 Recruiting: - Brandon Johnson | Page 3 | The Boneyard

2020 Recruiting: Brandon Johnson

HanDurley said:
You also have to look ahead. What happens when carlton and whaley graduate? Who is our starting center? Javonte Brown Ferguson? We'll see.
Expand ...

As of right now, it's either Brown-Ferguson or a slightly undersized Springs. But we will definitely bring in a Center for 2021 (Etienne the most likely scenario now) if we don't land Sanogo. I imagine it would be a 3 man competition to start.
 
HanDurley said:
You also have to look ahead. What happens when carlton and whaley graduate? Who is our starting center? Javonte Brown Ferguson? We'll see.
Expand ...
Absolutely. Landing Sanogo now would also be a tremendous addition and likely be our starting C as a sophomore. If we were to sign Johnson and lose Johnson, Carlton & Whaley to graduation I'm sure we'd pursue Etienne heavily as him reclassifying to 2020 is seemingly very unlikely now. Him and Javonte Brown Ferguson would be a solid foundation of young bigs with Clingan hopefully joining in 2022. The alternative to replacing those 3 graduating bigs is signing a transfer big next offseason with a bit more experience that would be eligible right away. That is if the NCAA ever does actually pass this transfer rule...
 
UConnStats said:
I don’t think it’s a given that Sanogo is better than Whaley this year. Whaley is definitely the superior defender. And either way, Whaley and Carlton will still get minutes. They both played way more than Obiagu and SM can actually stretch the floor and play the 4 sometimes. Nebraska is desperate for talent and can definitely make plenty of room.

This isn’t towards you, but Whaley is not a PF. If he was played there the offense would suffer. Akok can shoot it a bit and the offense was still light years better with 6’4 Brendan Adams manning the 4 after Akok was hurt. That shows the value of having threats pull defenders to the perimeter because Adams didn’t exactly light the world on fire himself. I don’t see Whaley getting minutes at the 4 unless we’re forced to.
Expand ...
Nebraska doesn't offer any winning for Sanogo. Carlton and Whaley both played way more than Obiagu because Seton Hall had Romaro Gill.

We had to play a certain way last tear because we were so limited with bodies, especially in the frontcourt. I want that to change.
 
lange10 said:
I like Sanogo a ton but I think people are underestimating how hard it is for freshman bigs, especially a reclassified big, to have an immediate impact. One of our two scholarships was used on the future in Martin. The second needs to go to the player that helps us now. That player is Johnson more so than Sanogo.
Expand ...

Johnson this year, then add Big Mac next year seems to be where we're heading
 
If we can get Johnson, I think it makes a lot of sense. Are we really prioritizing him though?
 
Kenny11 said:
If we can get Johnson, I think it makes a lot of sense. Are we really prioritizing him though?
Expand ...

No idea. But I'm sure the staff is looking at a 4 who can be an important contributor this upcoming year. I'm sure Hurley views both Polley and Whalley at the 4 as possibilities to eat minutes but not ideal. I have no idea what he thinks about Springs.
 
.-.
Kenny11 said:
If we can get Johnson, I think it makes a lot of sense. Are we really prioritizing him though?
Expand ...

To be clear, I have no insight. I hope we are pushing hard for Sanogo. If we are not confident that we are in a good position with him or that he will make a quick decision, then I hope we prioritize Johnson.
 
I personally prefer Horne. Any indication we’ve reached out?
 
Mooch82 said:
Whaley started at the 4 last year. You aren't "moving" Whaley to the 4, you are leaving him at the 4. Sure, he'll play some 5, but if Sanogo came here, Whaley is your starting 4, Sanogo is your starting 5, and Carlton is your backup 5.

We don't really have another starting 4 option at the moment unless we play really small with Jackson or Polley there.
Expand ...

I am far less confident than you that Sanogo, who is just barely inside the top 50 in 2021, will reclassify to 2020 and be a lock starter for us.
 
.-.
www.espn.com

College basketball transfer rankings for 2020-21 and 2021-22

The college basketball transfer market still has some key names seeking homes for 2020-21 and beyond.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
hurley is a master strategist. johnson is ranked the #14 grad transfer but he's the #2 stretch PF after Bruner (#12 marfo and #13 anosike arent stretches)

cole-gaff
bouk-adams
jackson-polley
johnson-springs
whaley-carlton
 
Last edited:
He's more of a face up 4 with stretch capability, not a pure stretch. But I think that would be a nice fit in Hurley's offense with the big often getting the ball at the top of the key after setting a screen.
 
bendm said:
www.espn.com

College basketball transfer rankings for 2020-21 and 2021-22

The college basketball transfer market still has some key names seeking homes for 2020-21 and beyond.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
hurley is a master strategist. johnson is ranked the #14 grad transfer but he's the #2 stretch PF after Bruner (marfo and anosike arent stretches)

cole-gaff
bouk-adams
jackson-polley
johnson-springs
whaley-carlton
Expand ...

I'm sure Hurley will switch the lineups around for matchups but it should look something like that, with Javonte Brown Ferguson as depth at C and hopefully Akok for February and March.
 
Fwiw he’s right below Marfo and Anosike in the espn transfer rankings.
 
the Q said:
Fwiw he’s right below Marfo and Anosike in the espn transfer rankings.
Expand ...

Don't think it's worth much, but I do wonder why we didn't really go after Anosike at all. Either way, I think Johnson offers us more in terms of versatility and ability to stretch the defense than either of those guys would.
 
CallMeBruce said:
I am far less confident than you that Sanogo, who is just barely inside the top 50 in 2021, will reclassify to 2020 and be a lock starter for us.
Expand ...

Seems like you may be the only who feels that way. I think pretty much everyone else on this board thinks he would start day one.
 
.-.
I’ll probably get slammed for this but I’ll be pretty disappointed if we end up with Martin/Johnson. I think they’re both solid players who will help but I don’t think they push us over the edge like either Nolley or Sanogo would. It’s pretty late in the game to expect a stud but I did get my hopes up. Hopefully we land a couple of recruits to get excited about next year. I still trust Hurley with who he brought us so far.
 
Mooch82 said:
Seems like you may be the only who feels that way. I think pretty much everyone else on this board thinks he would start day one.
Expand ...

Not me. From what others are said I think he'll be a damn good Center. But a day one starter a year earlier than he planned coming out? If he was that ready, why would it take him this long to reclassify?
 
businesslawyer said:
Not me. From what others are said I think he'll be a damn good Center. But a day one starter a year earlier than he planned coming out? If he was that ready, why would it take him this long to reclassify?
Expand ...

And also, if he's ready to start in 2020, why was he only #49 in 2021?
 
sharonT said:
If Whaley stood on his tippy, tippy ten toes, no one would confuse him with a real center. He is just a player.
We need another player in the front line, especially if Carlton's game continues to head south. Springs is an unkown. Ferguson looks to be years away. Akok has to learn how to use his leg. So, Hurley can not afford to wait on anyone. Take the first player who wants to commit. Four words: Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe.
Expand ...
Len Shakleford from the corner.
Still would have liked to see Jordan Bruner of Yale in Uconn uniform.
 
Last edited:
CallMeBruce said:
And also, if he's ready to start in 2020, why was he only #49 in 2021?
Expand ...

I would never say someone was "only" ranked #49. That means you expect him to be a damn good player. I just think when you take a big, and put him on the court a year earlier than you have to, the guy has to be damn great to really help you. And even if the guy has great talent, like Andre Drummond, is he going to understand the game and the coach enough to really make you better.

We have Whalley, who is much better at the 5 than the 4, Carlton, and Ferguson. Are any of them all Big EAst? Probably not. But the roster hole at the 5 is not anywhere near the hole at the 4. We need an immediately eligible PF to give us another option. Unless the staff already knows that Springs is going to be solid for 25 minutes a game.
 
.-.
CallMeBruce said:
And also, if he's ready to start in 2020, why was he only #49 in 2021?
Expand ...

The general consensus is that he’s been underrated, and he dominated Cliff this year when they played against each other.

I’m no expert, but from everything I’ve read, he’d be a top 2 Big on the roster for the start of the season.
 
I was extremely down on Carlton during the season for obvious reasons. But I'm also more optimistic than most about his possibility for improvement for this upcoming one.

Humans assume things will be static much more frequently than they will be. That's usually why they get predictions wrong.

Could he be the same or worse? Sure. Could he be much better? Yes, he could. We've seen the existence of Carlton being pretty good. He was quite good as a sophomore. He's got a lot of time to work on his body and will be likely more mentally engaged as a senior. People reset faster than we give them credit for, especially with good coaches.

His volatile decline makes me think it's more likely he'll have a better bounce back than most expect. It wasn't "oh his ceiling as a player was exposed with more feature and usage." No, this was a different situation. And likely that means it's fixable.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,207
Messages
4,556,874
Members
10,442
Latest member
Virginiafan


Top Bottom