Let me weigh in on the potential Stone/Brimah dynamic. I understand rico's perspective, and the foundation of his argument - that a junior Brimah may well be better than a freshman Stone - is one I used a couple weeks ago in a similar discussion (unsurprisingly, most people disagreed). In that regard, I agree with his sentiment that it isn't that big of a deal if Stone opts to go elsewhere.
That being said, I disagree with the reasoning he used to draw that conclusion. It doesn't make sense to use Oriakhi/Drummond as a cautionary tale moving forward for a variety of reasons. For starters, the long-term payoff of somebody like Drummond representing your program dwarfs any short-term logistical issues of the two co-existing in the same front court. Andre Drummond is going to help us on the recruiting trail in the year 2024, so personally, I'm willing to sacrifice some frustration early in their career for all of the perks that go along with a potential NBA all-star hyping your school every chance he gets. I'm not saying Stone is the same sort of talent that Drummond is, but he is definitely is capable of playing in the NBA for a long time. If we're hoping to recapture the early to mid-2000's reputation of being a big man factory, recruiting kids like Stone is how you accomplish that.
Secondly, we all know that the issues of the 2011-12 team ran far deeper than Oriakhi and Drummond being unable to gel to maximum capacity as a tandem. Shabazz wasn't there yet, Boatright was in and out of the lineup all season, Lamb's personality wasn't suited for the leadership role he was asked to assume, and the Roscoe/Giffey/Daniels trio on the wing just never worked out. Oh yeah, and our Hall of Fame coach battled health problems all season and a guy over 70 years old was asked to manage the personalities and egos of 20 year old kids. Do we really think that the season turns out drastically differently if Drummond doesn't commit? I'm skeptical.
As far as Stone is concerned, you take him and don't think twice if he wants to come here. As a general rule, I prefer to stack the deck with talent and work out the playing time later, and I'm guessing the coaching staff operates similarly. Amida Brimah has displayed flashes of brilliance, but it's just that, flashes. He's one of those kids who picks up two fouls on the bus ride over to the arena, and although I'm sure he'll continue to improve from a positioning, timing, and patience standpoint as he develops as a basketball player, there's a good chance foul trouble will be an issue for the duration of his career here.
Can Stone and Brimah play together? It's hard for me to say since I've never seen Stone play. But I also think Brimah moves better than most seven footers, both laterally and baseline to baseline. The guy isn't a stiff by any means, and he's definitely not there yet, but some people here might be underselling his versatility. In other words, he's not the same mold of player that Oriakhi or Drummond were - his shot blocking instincts are already much better than Drummond's ever were, and he has shown the ability to defend the perimeter and pick and rolls better than either could in their time here. In short, this kid has the ability to become one of the best defensive players in the country, and as a seven footer, the value of that is simply astronomical. I might get some flack for this, and I'm not saying he'll turn out to be anywhere near as good...but he reminds me a little bit of Anthony Davis. When you have a defensive difference maker of that caliber on your roster, you can afford to be structurally flawed/unsound in certain other areas.
Offensively, I'd be pretty surprised if Brimah isn't a completely different player two years from now. He's demonstrated a touch far beyond his years near the rim, he just hasn't developed the lower-body strength or body control yet to consistently win the territory battles inside. He'll get there in time, though, and I expect he'll be a viable post up threat and mid-range jump shooter and short order.
The bottom line is that if we're hesitating on Stone because of the potential that Brimah could be really good...that seems like a flawed premise. If Brimah is the player we think he could become, then many of the concerns are moot, because things have a way of falling into place when you have a great player (for the record, I expect Brimah to be better his junior year than either Oriakhi or Drummond ever were here). And if he's a similar version of the player he is today, which is to say a 20+ minute guy who blocks shots, provides energy, and has his limitations, then minute allocation won't be a problem. It's a win/win.
