Transfer Portal

[aburks41]

I think it was just a matter of him not properly getting fully game ready due to past injuries and various ones during the season. Next year I fully expect him to be the starter or first one off the bench at the 4.

It depends on how Karaban and Johnson are looking. Right now there's 3 starters in place with Jackson/Hawkins/Sanogo. There's 1 more spot for a transfer CG or Floyd/Diggins, and then that last spot is either Karaban/Johnson/Akok. I'd lean more towards Karaban getting it because he's likely the best offensive option. But who knows at this point

Didn’t translate to games? He never got a chance!

I don’t disagree that he’s a good piece to have but I would not fault Akok at all if he wants to use his last year (or two if he wants to use his COVID year) in a spot where he is a lock for 25+ MPG.

There's a reason why his minutes got cut down later in the season. He was a step too slow on defense and couldn't do a single thing on offense aside from standing still in the corner. Standing in the corner is not good offense, that doesn't help move the ball around to create open looks. Let's see what another healthy offseason does for him. He's a good outside shooter when he's set, but he needs to be able to put the ball on the floor and use his size to create shots for himself like DeAndre Daniels could. He's a longgg way away from that

 

[McLovin]

From what I’ve heard recently the staff is banking on Johnson being the 4. He can shoot and his defense has been improving. That allows Sanogo to play the 5 with Clingan backing him up. It helps to have Jackson who can play the 1, 3 or 4 position as needed. Karaban can slot in to back up Johnson at the 4 as needed. Sounds like we’re looking for a ball handler who will fit in and can shoot. Staff is still very high on Hawkins and feel like he can be “the guy” next year.

It’s great to hear Johnson can shoot (he took a few 3s in his limited run this year). We can definitely use that at the 4.

I guess our 4 next year will be mostly a 3 and D type of guy, which if that is the case we need 2 guards / wings who can create their own shot at all 3 levels.

Otherwise, we’re going to have the same offensive problem as last year and good coaches will have a pretty easy game plan to cut off our offense if we only have 1 true shot creator (at this time, Hawkins).

 

[McLovin]

I think the only way the 2 big lineup works next year is if Jackson really makes a big step forward with his ability to get his own shot.

If not he needs to be surrounded by 3 shot creators (Hawkins, CFJ, Karaban, Transfer 1, Transfer 2) + Sanogo / Johnson / DC

 

[auror]

More stats on Newton...

(Keep competition level in mind on these)
FG% at the rim - 59%. Much better than our guards. Better than Martin this season, but not not quite at the level of a big or like Bouk for example.

He works in the midrange a bunch. 38% of his shots there, and he shot 43.5%, which is quite good at that volume. Quite similar to Cole (34% attempts, 42.5% accuracy), but not as iso heavy. He can likely take over those Cole sets against drop PnR coverage and do some pull-up/floaters.

Overall, his offense profiles very similar to Cole in where and how often he shoots from various places on the court, so he should be really plug and play in our offense. With the exception being that...

He gets to the line a TON. We saw with Bouk how doing that get you free points and so even when you're not having a great game, you still end up with 15 points. He's much better at it than Cole, likely due to his size. Almost every 3rd shot attempt he gets to the line, and he's shot shot 80%+ from the line all 3 of his seasons. He was in the top 50 in the country last season in FT accuracy. Bodes well for his 3-point shot improving, also.

RAPM and Evan Miya are a bit lower on him than PORPAGATU! likely because of some defensive weaknesses and possibly turnovers. He had the best RAPM on his team, but it's not elite for sure. ECU is obviously a pretty bad team, so hopefully some of that is environmental effects. Vance Jackson had a negative RAPM as a 5th year senior, for example.

 

[Hoophound]

More stats on Newton...

(Keep competition level in mind on these)
FG% at the rim - 59%. Much better than our guards. Better than Martin this season, but not not quite at the level of a big or like Bouk for example.

He works in the midrange a bunch. 38% of his shots there, and he shot 43.5%, which is quite good at that volume. Quite similar to Cole (34% attempts, 42.5% accuracy), but not as iso heavy. He can likely take over those Cole sets against drop PnR coverage and do some pull-up/floaters.

Overall, his offense profiles very similar to Cole in where and how often he shoots from various places on the court, so he should be really plug and play in our offense. With the exception being that...

He gets to the line a TON. We saw with Bouk how doing that get you free points and so even when you're not having a great game, you still end up with 15 points. He's much better at it than Cole, likely due to his size. Almost every other shot attempt he gets to the line, and he's shot shot 80%+ from the line all 3 of his seasons. He was in the top 50 in the country last season in FT accuracy. Bodes well for his 3-point shot improving, also.

He'd be a great get for us. Hopefully, he can see how he'd fit in. Hawkins, AJ, Floyd and Diggins might scare him off. He looks like a great facilitator in those clips. He definitely knows how to run a fast break and get the ball up court too. I'd like to see him playing pg a little bit, particularly against some pressure and see how he looks.

 

[Phoenixhusky]

 

[polycom]

welp.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Welp…. I hope Hurley has a plan here.

 

[auror]

Oooh. Only one year, but could be a nice stopgap.

 

[Brochacho]

So the point guard position is currently a disaster.

 

[KingAG]

We currently need 3 guards. Not ideal. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall and Hurley has something already in motion

 

[husky429]

We currently need 3 guards. Not ideal. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall and Hurley has something already in motion

3? We have Jackson, Floyd, Gaffney, and. Hawkins that can all play guard. There isn't a lot of experience there, but there's numbers.

We need a PG. and ideally a 1v1 shot creator.

 

[MDHuskFan]

Would love a Castle reclass….(unsure if even possible)

 

[SlicinNDyson11]

Newton is an intriguing option, the amount of size we would have on the perimeter defensively is enticing enough. Defensively he grades out slightly better than RJ on synergy, 72nd percentile vs RJ's 68th percentile. Excels in pick and roll defense (90th percentile), hand offs (75th percentile), and is not a bad isolation defender (52nd percentile). As shown in the highlight video posted earlier he's a really good pick and roll scorer and creator (75th percentile) and finishes around the basket (95th percentile). The only area for concerns are turnovers and a step up in competition, his numbers against tier A competition on kenpom give me a little worry with an assist and turnover rate that is nearly identical. There might be some initial struggles adjusting to playing in a league that features higher level talent than he's seen his first 3 years in college but he would be a very solid get.

 

[McLovin]

Would love a Castle reclass….(unsure if even possible)

I hope this was the first call Hurley made when he got the news from Diggins.

We have got to get this guy on campus, even if its for a RS year / mid-year RS.

We needed to recruit over Diggins anyways to get 2 good guards, so it's not like we are going to really hamstring our roster if we can land 2 guards + bring in Castle early for extra development.

 

[Rico444]

Would love a Castle reclass….(unsure if even possible)

I googled "Stephon Castle Reclass" and the first hit was a thread from this board. Didn't see any links talking about it being a possibility. That doesn't mean he can't, but it's not being talked about at all in a public setting.

 

[Hi-Low]

I googled "Stephon Castle Reclass" and the first hit was a thread from this board. Didn't see any links talking about it being a possibility. That doesn't mean he can't, but it's not being talked about at all in a public setting.

Was hoping this as well but assuming not possible at this point since he would need to graduate HS in 3 months.

 

[aburks41]

Why do y’all keep mentioning Gaffney? Am I in the twilight zone?

Peoples infatuation with him is mind boggling lmao. No disrespect to him as a person, but he is not even close to a high major D1 player. Any mention of him in the rotation should result in an immediate ban from the Boneyard lol

 

[HuskyHawk]

I think the only way the 2 big lineup works next year is if Jackson really makes a big step forward with his ability to get his own shot.

If not he needs to be surrounded by 3 shot creators (Hawkins, CFJ, Karaban, Transfer 1, Transfer 2) + Sanogo / Johnson / DC

There are only three guys besides AJax who aren't shooters or shot creators. Sanogo, Springs and Clingan. As I said before, some of the roster changes that occurred naturally helped solve that problem. Let's hope Jackson improves his stroke even a little bit, along with better scoring around the basket (more likely). Akok and Johnson are going to be the primary 4s.

 

[lange10]

Why do y’all keep mentioning Gaffney? Am I in the twilight zone?

Because he’s the only point guard currently on the roster.

I’d imagine if everything else holds we take on 2 guards tops. A natural PG & another combo guard that is a shot creator but can also be counted on to handle PG duties in small doses. I’d hope both can shoot.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Why do y’all keep mentioning Gaffney? Am I in the twilight zone?

He is on the team. He's a senior. Hurley plays the most experienced guys, even when they aren't the most talented guys, as he showed us last year. As such, he is likely to play whether you like it or not. It is also likely that he figures his shooting stroke out.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Welp…. I hope Hurley has a plan here.

This is what happens when you signal that you are bringing in a transfer to play over the top 100 kid you recruited.

 

[husky429]

Why do y’all keep mentioning Gaffney? Am I in the twilight zone?

Because he's still in a scholarship and he's a guard, whether you like it or not

 

[aburks41]

He is on the team. He's a senior. Hurley plays the most experienced guys, even when they aren't the most talented guys, as he showed us last year. As such, he is likely to play whether you like it or not. It is also likely that he figures his shooting stroke out.

No it is not. He's been bad for 3 seasons and seemingly has actually gotten worse. Hurley is not running a serious program if he is giving him any meaningful minutes next year

 

[Hoophound]

Gaffney is not and never was a PG. He's a combo guard at best. He was mislabeled a PG out of high school because of his height. We currently have no point guards.

I feel bad for Gaffney. If he were just a shooting guard and Hurley told him to go out there and have fun, maybe he'd be more effective. I still think he can be much more. He's just a nervous wreck.

 

[auror]

We have to be one of the most attractive landing spots for a PG in America right now.

Big brand. Big conference. 5 seed NCAA tournament team returning our 3 most talented players (Sanogo, Hawkins, Jackson). Passionate coach. Completely wide open position for 2 years.

Someone good is going to bite. Hopefully not an accident that that tweet from Newton listed us first. For those that don't remember, Newton put up 25 in the one game he played against us/Hurley as a freshman

 

[KingAG]

Bouk, Akok, AJax, Sanogo, Hawkins all played significant as freshman so I don't know where this "Hurley only plays guys with experience" narrative comes from

I didn’t say he did. @HuskyHawk did. I simply retorted that if he does that he won’t be successful here.

 

[RipCity]

Willing to give Llewellyn my car if he comes here. The idea the staff hasn’t reached out to him is mind numbing

 

[AllAbout5]

So what point guards are we looking at for the portal? Llewelyn, Newton, who else?