What are our chances with shittu?. Seems like we've been on him a ton for a while.
He seems like a better version of Abdul Malik-abu to me in that he is a PF but on the small side for NBA chances. That could be nice if he's more of a 3 year guy because of size. I watched one of his games and I loved his hustle, rebounding, and passing in particular.
Body-wise he's like Abu, but his game is much more well-rounded (as you noted). I think he's a guy who we'll be on until the very end, but he did just follow a bunch of UK accounts on twitter. So you go ahead and do the math (and maybe take a stiff drink).
Dude's a top 10 player. Gonna be a tough pull.
Also, with only two schollies available most likely, what do you think our priorities will be?
I'm thinking combo guard and some kind of big either PF or C. But I haven't really looked, been too busy coaching my own team
Judging from where Ollie has spent his time/resources, our priorities are Reeves, Sidney Wilson, Louis King & Shittu. We've also shown a lot of interest in a number of combo guards (Jalen Carey, Eric Ayala, David Duke, Luther Muhammad).
If we really do end up with only two scholarships available, I think we'd target a SG (or CG) and a true big man (I've bolded guys we haven't signed but are targeting):
PG: Alterique (RS-So), MAL (So)
SG: Vital (Jr),
Reeves (Fr)
SF: Larrier (Sr), Vance (Jr), Polley (RS-FR)
PF: Juwan (Jr), Diarra (RS-So)
C: Enoch (Sr),
Cobb (Sr) Carlton (So),
Emmanuel Dowuona (Fr)
Let's then say that we lose the 3 seniors (tho Larrier could certainly apply for a 6th year of eligibility, and might get one), and Juwan declares for the draft. This would be our 2019/20 roster:
PG: Alterique (RS-JR), MAL (Jr)
SG: Vital (Jr),
Reeves (So)
SF: Vance (Sr), Polley (RS-So)
PF: Diarra (RS-Jr)
C: Carlton (Jr),
Dowuona (So)
So we'd end up needing four recruits for 2019. Right now we're strong with Taelon Martin, a top 40 PG from Springfield, and we've offered virtually every 5-star big man on the board, including Chol Marial, the 7-foot-3 Sudanese version of Kristaps who plays at Cheshire Academy.
My personal opinion is that we just need to hold the line with 2018 recruiting, while 2019 is the year that could potentially get us back to "undeniably elite" status. But obviously a lot can change between now and then, and the most important thing is to develop the talent that's already in the room.