UConn in Pitt transfer Femi Odukale’s top 5

[bendm]

We need to get Castle on campus.

We all want this to happen but are you also worried the longer he stays in high school the greater the risk of him beig lured away with a million dollar NIL deal? we can’t be worried about every borderline 5* commit we land getting poached during his senior year because most of them won’t be in a position to reclass anyways. we have enough to worry about as it is.

if he's going to be a one and done i'd rather give him another year to grow in highschool before getting him. i'd settle for a mid-year reclass tho.

 

[rip7774]

Again we knew one of the stars on A&M very well been in our house a ton. Diarra is tough as nails way better than Gaffney hit bigshots and his outside shot is big time improved. We were in Nashville for Vandy game, Tampa for SEC tourney and NYC for NIT finals - we know A&M intimately. If it’s him we’re good. If we only have one ballhandler again it’s f in awful Hurley!

 

[EASTFLA]

Minutes tend to sort themselves out. If you think no one on the team will average more than 25 minutes a game, you are kidding yourself. We need capable bodies. There is no doubt we will lose players because of injury at some point. Minor injuries costing a couple games or major injuries costing the season. Some players won’t elevate their game from the year before, others will regress, and others will elevate their game substantially. We know we have players in Hawkins, and Jackson, and Sanogo that are prime candidates to rise, but it isn’t guaranteed, and injury is always possible. Projecting minutes assumes the status quo. The status quo never happens, there will be surprises good and bad, and injuries great and small.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Hurley has hit that perfect balance of having enough depth to play one basketball game, but not enough to convince anyone in the planet to play for you.

Very fair. That's why we've hit a lull with transfers.

All across the D1 CBB landscape, there's a general feeling of roster tenuousness, so that fact has helped me keep everything in perspective.

I still think we'll add another transfer, but not until more chips fall. As more days pass, less teams have glaring needs to fill, thus leveling the playing field for us compared to other teams.

No matter who we add, it will be someone who will have to accept that they aren't guaranteed starter-like minutes.

Right now, players like Khalil Shabazz (CG, San Francisco) are exactly the type of grad-transfer players that fit our mix of need and fit without being pie-in-the-sky options like Tyrese Hunter or Isiaih Mosley. Hassan Diarra is a fair expectation for a transfer who has multiple years available.

Our roster isn't complete, but considering it's May, I like it so far.

We'll see.

 

[runner11]

I doubt Alleyne will be a wash with Gaffney - tell us why you think that's possible, please because Gaffney didn't do much at all for us right and just leveled down a couple of rungs to FAU.

I love Castle and think he'll be a great add to the program but am realistic thinking he'll be adding more value at the end of his first year and beyond, but will need seasoning as opposed to being a huge add day one. Agreed?

Reading comprehension is lacking. For many of you.

 

[Fishy]

Again we knew one of the stars on A&M very well been in our house a ton. Diarra is tough as nails way better than Gaffney hit bigshots and his outside shot is big time improved. We were in Nashville for Vandy game, Tampa for SEC tourney and NYC for NIT finals - we know A&M intimately. If it’s him we’re good. If we only have one ballhandler again it’s f in awful Hurley!

Not a good ballhandler, not a good shooter, basically 1:1 assist to turnover, isn’t anything close to resembling a “star“ and isn’t ‘way better’ than Gaffney at anything - if anything, his ball handling is demonstrably worse. He’s the ‘any port in a storm’ option.

Other than that, entirely accurate.

 

[EASTFLA]

For those that buy into the we will not have a player average more than 25 minutes a game. I went back 20 years and all 20 years we had at least 2 players average 30+ Minutes, and in 19 of them we had 4-7 players average 25+. I’m sorry but those breakdowns of minutes are a pipe dream. If you think a guy like Sanogo is getting 25 minutes or fewer, it’s insanity. If Hawkins and Jackson take off they are playing 30+. The idea of having too much quality depth that need 15-20 minutes a game is not reality or history based. Like I said in my other post, minutes will sort themselves out. The one thing for sure is those playing on a high level will be on the court a lot! We have an idea who that will be, but it may not turn out that way.

 

[superjohn]

We all want this to happen but are you also worried the longer he stays in high school the greater the risk of him beig lured away with a million dollar NIL deal? we can’t be worried about every borderline 5* commit we land getting poached during his senior year because most of them won’t be in a position to reclass anyways. we have enough to worry about as it is.

if he's going to be a one and done i'd rather give him another year to grow in highschool before getting him. i'd settle for a mid-year reclass tho.

My biggest thing is I want him for next year. The program and Hurley need a big season with tournament success. This roster needs more than it currently has at the guard position to achieve that, IMO and next year is crucial. Jackson, Hawkins, Sanogo aren't all coming back the following year and the other guys we do currently have don't really look to be stars for the following year. If he has the credits to enroll early we need to get him up here. Having him play another year in SEC country is a secondary concern.

 

[EASTFLA]

This transfer stuff and guaranteed minutes. Do you think a coach says ok you will play at least 25 minutes a game? That’s absurd. Sometimes you think you are getting a certain amount of points, rebounds, and assists from a player, but it doesn’t happen. A certain 3point-FG percentage, but it doesn’t happen. Polley averaged over 40% from 3 his first 3 years, but never topped 35% in his las 2. His minutes dropped those last 2 years by 6-7 a game. Yes, there is a certain expectation based on what a given player did previously, but that doesn’t always verify. It also could go the other way, and one of these transfers is playing at a high level. Productivity determines minutes, Individually that could mean more or less.

 

[PlayItLeo]

^ Exactly. People said the same things last year (that there were too few minutes to go around to deserving players). We were a "deep" team in name-only, because ultimately 3 of those players couldn't play at this level and dropped down (ex-CFJr. since he redshirted). Analyzing minutes and depth for us in May for a season that begins in November is about as useful as HS rankings. Production is everything.

 

[6xChamps]

Okay sooo I guess that means Hassan Diarra is the likely option here...Not sure how I feel about that

He's a junkyard dog. I'd take him as our 10th scholarship guy without question.

 

[Hungryhusky99]

Jackson, Hawkins, Sanogo aren't all coming back the following year and the other guys we do currently have don't really look to be stars for the following year.

Where are they going?

 

[Fishy]

For those that buy into the we will not have a player average more than 25 minutes a game. I went back 20 years and all 20 years we had at least 2 players average 30+ Minutes, and in 19 of them we had 4-7 players average 25+. I’m sorry but those breakdowns of minutes are a pipe dream. If you think a guy like Sanogo is getting 25 minutes or fewer, it’s insanity. If Hawkins and Jackson take off they are playing 30+. The idea of having too much quality depth that need 15-20 minutes a game is not reality or history based. Like I said in my other post, minutes will sort themselves out. The one thing for sure is those playing on a high level will be on the court a lot! We have an idea who that will be, but it may not turn out that way.

There is no chance that we will not have players averaging over 30 minutes a game.

Anyone who actually thinks that has not watched enough Danny Hurley.

 

[Fishy]

My biggest thing is I want him for next year. The program and Hurley need a big season with tournament success. This roster needs more than it currently has at the guard position to achieve that, IMO and next year is crucial. Jackson, Hawkins, Sanogo aren't all coming back the following year and the other guys we do currently have don't really look to be stars for the following year. If he has the credits to enroll early we need to get him up here. Having him play another year in SEC country is a secondary concern.

Counterpoint….they are all coming back unless they get NLI’d to another program.

Sanogo is the best of them and the NBA simply does not value his skill set at all.

 

[navery12]

Counterpoint….they are all coming back unless they get NLI’d to another program.

Sanogo is the best of them and the NBA simply does not value his skill set at all.

Wasn't worth its own thread because it's not about Sanogo specifically, but this was a good read and is relevant to Sanogo's decision next year

 

[Fishy]

Wasn't worth its own thread because it's not about Sanogo specifically, but this was a good read and is relevant to Sanogo's decision next year

That’s a really good example - the Kentucky kid is just a fantastic basketball player and in a different time, he’d be a lead-pipe cinch as a lottery pick….now, the NBA just does not care for that skill set. (Same with Kofi.)

It will eventually change, but it’s a shame for kids like Sanogo.

The most profitable place for kids like that might be college - we’ll need to be prepared to offer Sanogo whatever it takes to keep him.

 

[superjohn]

Counterpoint….they are all coming back unless they get NLI’d to another program.

Sanogo is the best of them and the NBA simply does not value his skill set at all.

Hawkins and Jackson are far better NBA prospects than Sanogo IMO.

 

[husky429]

That’s a really good example - the Kentucky kid is just a fantastic basketball player and in a different time, he’d be a lead-pipe cinch as a lottery pick….now, the NBA just does not care for that skill set. (Same with Kofi.)

It will eventually change, but it’s a shame for kids like Sanogo.

The most profitable place for kids like that might be college - we’ll need to be prepared to offer Sanogo whatever it takes to keep him.

He'll probably make more next year from NIL than he ever will playing as a pro.

 

[superjohn]

Wasn't worth its own thread because it's not about Sanogo specifically, but this was a good read and is relevant to Sanogo's decision next year

You think Sanogo will make millions playing here? I don't.

The point is we're not going to have all three of those guys the following year, we need to win now. We simply need tournament success at this point or it's going to start hurting with future teams.

 

[Hungryhusky99]

Wasn't worth its own thread because it's not about Sanogo specifically, but this was a good read and is relevant to Sanogo's decision next year

Is he eligible for NIL yet? I know when they did the NFT stuff they couldn't include him because he is international.

 

[navery12]

You think Sanogo will make millions playing here? I don't.

The point is we're not going to have all three of those guys the following year, we need to win now. We simply need tournament success at this point or it's going to start hurting with future teams.

No I never said that, but I think he'll end up staying because the college game values him more than the NBA game. And now he can be compensated for that, even if it's not as much as the NPOY. Like Dickinson and Bacot are

 

[navery12]

Is he eligible for NIL yet? I know when they did the NFT stuff they couldn't include him because he is international.

I'm not sure what the exact resolution was, but I know Kentucky had the same issue with Tshiebwe and found the workaround to get him his NIL deal. So I'm assuming other schools can use a similar one for their own guys

 

[bendm]

My biggest thing is I want him for next year. The program and Hurley need a big season with tournament success. This roster needs more than it currently has at the guard position to achieve that, IMO and next year is crucial. Jackson, Hawkins, Sanogo aren't all coming back the following year and the other guys we do currently have don't really look to be stars for the following year. If he has the credits to enroll early we need to get him up here. Having him play another year in SEC country is a secondary concern.

fair enough. i also dont think any of sanogo, hawkins, or aj leave for the pros after next season but if they do then we will have had a really good season as a team!

 

[king conn]

That’s a really good example - the Kentucky kid is just a fantastic basketball player and in a different time, he’d be a lead-pipe cinch as a lottery pick….now, the NBA just does not care for that skill set. (Same with Kofi.)

It will eventually change, but it’s a shame for kids like Sanogo.

The most profitable place for kids like that might be college - we’ll need to be prepared to offer Sanogo whatever it takes to keep him.

Maybe we can offer to pay him by the dunk so he'll make those bunnies

 

[Fishy]

Hawkins and Jackson are far better NBA prospects than Sanogo IMO.

To be honest, I’d have to see much more from both to think they have much of a shot.

Hawkins was just a mess too often and Jackson really had a way of disappearing against better teams. Hopefully, they both move about ten steps forward this year.