2026 Recruiting: - Caden Pierce (Transfer) potential interest | Page 10 | The Boneyard
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2026 Recruiting: Caden Pierce (Transfer) potential interest

Yes Hurley got lucky he missed out on Timberlake and got Spencer.

See how easy that is?

Luck is required to win big. Every coach gets lucky sometimes
Absolutely - but let's not say Painter is great because he got "lucky" with Edey. He recruited the kid out of HS and developed him. That is not luck.

If I'm Hurley and a Uconn fan, I'll take that luck all day. Painter's excellence is not based on luck, he's got the number one team in the country this year. Braden Smith luck too? He picked that kid out of a corn pile.
 
Absolutely - but let's not say Painter is great because he got "lucky" with Edey. He recruited the kid out of HS and developed him. That is not luck.

If I'm Hurley and a Uconn fan, I'll take that luck all day. Painter's excellence is not based on luck, he's got the number one team in the country this year. Braden Smith luck too? He picked that kid out of a corn pile.
You constantly strawman. No one said Painter is great because he got lucky with Edey. Someone said Painter was unlucky. That’s where I questioned how someone can be “unlucky” when they’ve had the talent “Edey” that he’s had. That’s more lucky than unlucky
 
Every thing you said is true. He still got lucky. You believe he evaluated Edey to be THAT good? It’s okay to say getting a guy who ends up being that good has some modicum of luck involved.
First he was gifted Edey, now it's he was lucky that a player he went out and recruited turned out to be great. I guess he was lucky that Braden Smith went from top 200 recruit to first team AA and one of the best PGs in college. I'll let you have it, I already know where this is going.
 
First he was gifted Edey, now it's he was lucky that a player he went out and recruited turned out to be great. I guess he was lucky that Braden Smith went from top 200 recruit to first team AA and one of the best PGs in college. I'll let you have it, I already know where this is going.
Yes and yes.

Unless you think either of those outcomes were probable.

That’s the definition of lucky.

Good on him. For taking those shots. They paid off.

Name any great coach and I’d bet there was a bunch of luck that broke their way for them to win at the level they did.
 
I'll give Painter a lot more credit getting "lucky" with Edey (recruited/developed) than I would Hurley backing into Spencer. Can anyone say Nick Timberlake? Give Painter his due. They are both excellent coaches. I'm sure Hurley would tell you the same.
We were only in that position of trying to get Timberlake or Spencer because we won a nattie and Hawkins and Jackson (recruited/developed) left ahead of schedule. Timberlake was perhaps the best 2/3 shooting prospect in the portal at the time. Spencer came in later.

Also not impossible, as good as that team was, that we just go ahead and win it with Ball at the 2 and Castle with more offensive responsibility. But we’ll never know. Spencer was a perfect fit and had an historically good season on offense - and certainly don’t want to discount that. But Castle also clearly had a lot more to give us if it was needed, and we also had a lot of margin for error to work with.
 
Because luck had nothing to do with it. He just lost.

He had the most dominant player of this generation. For 2 seasons. And didn’t win.

What was his excuse the other 20 years?
Ok let me put it in different terms. If 2023 UConn had to play 2024 UConn in the championship, 2023 UConn would’ve been very unlucky they ran into the best team of all time. Does that make sense?
 
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Absolutely - but let's not say Painter is great because he got "lucky" with Edey. He recruited the kid out of HS and developed him. That is not luck.

If I'm Hurley and a Uconn fan, I'll take that luck all day. Painter's excellence is not based on luck, he's got the number one team in the country this year. Braden Smith luck too? He picked that kid out of a corn pile.
I remember when Braden Smith was gonna get exposed without edey. The Purdue hate here is so bizarre.
 
Ok let me put it in different terms. If 2023 UConn had to play 2024 UConn in the championship, 2023 UConn would’ve been very unlucky they ran into the best team of all time. Does that make sense?
So anytime you run into a team that’s better than you, you’re unlucky? I mean sure. That happens to someone every year though. Nate Oats and Bama we’re unlucky the year before with that logic.
 
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So anytime you run into a team that’s better than you, you’re unlucky? I mean sure. That happens to someone every year though.
I feel like you’re trying really hard to act like you don’t understand what I’m saying.
 
I feel like you’re trying really hard to act like you don’t understand what I’m saying.
I do. I just don’t see the relevance. With that logic he’s not any more unlucky than anyone else. What’s the point?

In 24 he didn’t have the best team, he lost. Even though this is hindsight. People argued all year Purdue was better than UConn.

In 22 he did have the best team, he lost.

Maybe this year he’ll finally get lucky
 
Demary / Ball / Landrew / Transfer / Reibe
Transfer / Furphy / Ross / Stew / Transfer

Definitely Higher than 10? Show your work Who’s he ahead of? Not seniors Ross/Stew or the big time backup PG and C we need. Furphy or County are 10th at best and half the board don’t even think Landrew should be starting which would push him to the bench, and Furphy/County out of the top 10.

County is what, 29th on 247? That's Ahmad territory. Furphy definitely plays above that.

Likely it's Reibe, Ross as starting front court, who knows at the backcourt (Demary or Ball, neither goes pro?) But Furphy would be behind Ball then County. PF might be Stewart then Landrew.

Just saying Furphy > County and we don't know what transfers in (or out) might occur. Hard to compare to a mythical transfer.
 
What do you think Stew will gain in another year? We've been hearing this for multiple years about the "jump." In 8 more minutes per game, he's averaging one more point and one more rebound while shooting it at his career average of 33% from 3. He has upped his assist totals as he's always been a willing passer. We all know he's very talented, but he just strikes me as a guy who still doesn't know what he is.

We should be looking to bring the best possible 4 we can, as I personally have no confidence that Stew can be a full-time, productive starter, and without Reed next year, we desperately will need some guys who can mix it up and rebound, especially at the 4.

That being said, this Pierce dude is not particularly awe-inspiring to me.
Stew made a nice drive to the basket against Illinois got challenged as he got to the rim, and rather than ram it through and break the guys hand wrist or forearm he opts for a dipsy doodle reverse layup which he missed. He should be an absolute beast and doesn’t seem to see himself that way.. Needs to go to Kevin Freeman Donny Marshall Lyman DePriest school.
 
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I think you really have not watched Furphy in his games in Australia nor U19 nor when he played for us. He has moxie, scrappy defender, charges in to get a rebound and get fouled. He is a 2/3 not just a shooting guard.

The problem is we are overloaded on wings so much that he has to be behind Solo/Mullins at the 2 this year and even if one is injured, we go with Stewart.

He has been really nice saying he doesn't care if he plays at all this year and just wants to learn. He will definitely be higher than 10/11 next year on the bench.
This year is not over. Im a big Furphy fan, think if he somehow got 5 minutes a half well be salivating over him for next year.
 
Just saying Furphy > County and we don't know what transfers in (or out) might occur. Hard to compare to a mythical transfer.
Can’t speculate on transfers out so assuming they return. Otherwise it’s clear as day that we need a transfer backup PG and backup C, at the very least. Going after Pierce seems to imply we want a transfer starting F as well.

And we can’t assume from now on that anyone ranked lower than Nowell at 33 isn’t playable as a frosh. Solo was ranked 44, AJ 51, Hawk 55, Clingan 73…
 
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I do. I just don’t see the relevance. With that logic he’s not any more unlucky than anyone else. What’s the point?

In 24 he didn’t have the best team, he lost. Even though this is hindsight. People argued all year Purdue was better than UConn.

In 22 he did have the best team, he lost.

Maybe this year he’ll finally get lucky
That people should be more charitable to Painter on this board. He’s a great coach, he’s winning consistently at a non traditional basketball power, saying he’s great isn’t a threat to Hurleys superiority.

It’s also a broader point about how we judge success. Championships are the most important metric by which we judge success, but is it the only metric we should use? Do we agree that Painter is a great coach, despite the rocky tournament results?
 
How about one coach pulling together a roster with limited funds, coaching them, building strategies. It's not about a one game situation. It's about building a winning team.

Do I have to send you the blind peer survey of peers/coaches and who they voted as the best X & O's coach in the game? It was Painter - and there was plenty of context and interview text. Hurley was just behind him. How did Pitino do in his one game against Arkansas last year? Cal schooled him. Forget Pitino.

And no, this thread wasn't about comparing Hurley to Painter, up until someone decided crapping on Painter as it came to this Princeton transfer. Painter is a really good coach.
I never said Painter wasn’t a good coach. In fact, I said he was “obviously a very good coach.” Second, are you implying Purdue doesn’t have NIL funds? There are multiple articles stating the contrary, and Purdue has as much NIL as anyone. They spend most of it on retention as opposed to buying portal guys. If you’re basing it just on “building a winning” team, there are other coaches who have done just that and with more success. If your rationale is a guy who has built a winning culture, does it without always getting the top guys, is lauded for X's and o's, and consistently wins, then you're literally describing Mark Few. Like Purdue this year, none of Gonzaga's top three scorers were top 100 recruits.
Stew made a nice drive to the basket against Illinois got challenged as he got to the rim, and rather than ram it through and break the guys hand wrist or forearm he opts for a dipsy doodle reverse layup which he missed. He should be an absolute beast and doesn’t seem to see himself that way.. Needs to go to Kevin Freeman Donny Marshall Lyman DePriest school.

You could argue pound-for-pound Stew is the most talented player on this team. I just don't think he has the mentality to do it consistently. There will be a game or three this year where he has 15-18, and you are wowed by his athleticism, IQ, and shooting. He'll then have games where you can't remember if he played. He's still a very useful player, but I don't think he's ever going to be the force we know he could be. That was my whole point by what is he going to "gain" next year in terms of improvement? We have to recruit a legit starting "4" who can board and be Karaban. It would be foolish to think Stew can improve enough to be that guy.
 
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I never said Painter wasn’t a good coach. In fact, I said he was “obviously a very good coach.” Second, are you implying Purdue doesn’t have NIL funds? There are multiple articles stating the contrary, and Purdue has as much NIL as anyone. They spend most of it on retention as opposed to buying portal guys. If you’re basing it just on “building a winning” team, there are other coaches who have done just that and with more success. If your rationale is a guy who has built a winning culture, does it without always getting the top guys, is lauded for X's and o's, and consistently wins, then you're literally describing Mark Few. Like Purdue this year, none of Gonzaga's top three scorers were top 100 recruits.


You could argue pound-for-pound Stew is the most talented player on this team. I just don't think he has the mentality to do it consistently. There will be a game or three this year where he has 15-18, and you are wowed by his athleticism, IQ, and shooting. He'll then have games where you can't remember if he played. He's still a very useful player, but I don't think he's ever going to be the force we know he could be. That was my whole point by what is he going to "gain" next year in terms of improvement? We have to recruit a legit starting "4" who can board and be Karaban. It would be foolish to think Stew can improve enough to be that guy.
Stew is not pound for pound one of most talented players. At all. Intangibles matter.
 
Stew is not pound for pound one of most talented players. At all. Intangibles matter.

Pure talent and ability? I'd say so. He's an excellent passer, has a really good basketball IQ, is probably our 2nd/3rd most athletic player, has moments where he can really shoot it, and has had moments where he looks like a major, major player. Does he put all of these things together consistently? Absolutely not. But pure talent? He's as talented as anyone on this team. Talent does not mean best. At all.
 
Pure talent and ability? I'd say so. He's an excellent passer, has a really good basketball IQ, is probably our 2nd/3rd most athletic player, has moments where he can really shoot it, and has had moments where he looks like a major, major player. Does he put all of these things together consistently? Absolutely not. But pure talent? He's as talented as anyone on this team. Talent does not mean best. At all.
I don't think we are watching the same player - you're talking about Jaylen Stewart? High BBIQ? Would you like to pull up statistics that draw upon your conclusions? He averaged less than one assist per game in 18 minutes last year. In this offense, that's criminal. Career 33% shooter from three and 59% shooter from the FT line. That doesn't say good shooter to me. Love the kid, wish he broke out, just doesn't seem to know how to present himself in this system other than standing at the three point line and watching. Meanwhile, a kid like Ross knows how to cut to the rim during an AK take.

Let's agree to disagree on this one. Sure he has some moments.
 
I don't think we are watching the same player - you're talking about Jaylen Stewart? High BBIQ? Would you like to pull up statistics that draw upon your conclusions? He averaged less than one assist per game in 18 minutes last year. In this offense, that's criminal. Career 33% shooter from three and 59% shooter from the FT line. That doesn't say good shooter to me. Love the kid, wish he broke out, just doesn't seem to know how to present himself in this system other than standing at the three point line and watching. Meanwhile, a kid like Ross knows how to cut to the rim during an AK take.

Let's agree to disagree on this one. Sure he has some moments.

He's a very good passer, and there's much more to passing than assists. But if we're going there, he's averaging 2.5 assists/gm. That's more than Liam and almost as much as Castle in fewer minutes. He consistently makes the extra pass, and you can see the brain working. I said he has his moments where he can shoot it, as evidenced by numerous games where he's shot it well from 3 in big spots and shot 72% from the line last year, which is solid. Totally inconsistent for sure. Again, we're talking full package talent. Does he consistently produce? Of course not, and he's beyond maddening, and I've crushed him here at time (with you) for the last two years. That doesn't mean he's not very talented, though.
 
He's a very good passer, and there's much more to passing than assists. But if we're going there, he's averaging 2.5 assists/gm. That's more than Liam and almost as much as Castle in fewer minutes. He consistently makes the extra pass, and you can see the brain working. I said he has his moments where he can shoot it, as evidenced by numerous games where he's shot it well from 3 in big spots and shot 72% from the line last year, which is solid. Totally inconsistent for sure. Again, we're talking full package talent. Does he consistently produce? Of course not, and he's beyond maddening, and I've crushed him here at time (with you) for the last two years. That doesn't mean he's not very talented, though.
I know we sit on the talent and hidden "potential" here, waiting for it, but I'm seeing it less and less. I see a guy a bit slow of foot and lacking the BBIQ. I think we're holding on. I'll use the take to rim on the fast break against Illinois - make the extra pass, go up strong.
 
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I don't think we are watching the same player - you're talking about Jaylen Stewart? High BBIQ? Would you like to pull up statistics that draw upon your conclusions? He averaged less than one assist per game in 18 minutes last year. In this offense, that's criminal. Career 33% shooter from three and 59% shooter from the FT line. That doesn't say good shooter to me. Love the kid, wish he broke out, just doesn't seem to know how to present himself in this system other than standing at the three point line and watching. Meanwhile, a kid like Ross knows how to cut to the rim during an AK take.

Let's agree to disagree on this one. Sure he has some moments.
Stewart has 17 assists this season (2.4), fourth on the team behind the two point guards, and one less than Alex (in 55 less minutes).

Ross has 3 (0.4) - 2 of which were in the Umass Lowell blowout. Solo has 10 (1.4). Alleyne averaged 0.8 in a similar bench role that Stewart had last year (ie shoot sometimes when open but defer when it comes to creation).

I’d like to see Stewart make more of a leap since all the pieces are there and show up at different times. He’s had hot streaks from 3 - he’s made good reads on high low passing, he’s made driving 2s. He just always leaves something on the table (not finishing at the rim last game - or making good passes on the break). And some days he just doesn’t get involved.
 

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