Texas Basketball Recruiting Notes: Shaka Edition

[Katfid54 9005]

I thought Locke, like, died at practice yesterday. 

[Goo Punch 4275]

On 4/7/2018 at 8:07 PM, Majorcholas said:

Any of the guys coming in instant impact players?

Very unlikely.

 

Liddell is the highest rated guy, but is very thin (listed at 6’7”, 175) and is not a knock down shooter. He’s about all we have at SF though, so perhaps he gets some run and can make plays offensively. But don’t expect too much.

 

Hepa is a hybrid forward- maybe a stretch 4. His video says he’s a tall SF a lot more than he is a PF. His best bet to contribute early would be as a catch-and-shoot PF. He’s somewhat untested though as he’s from the North freaking Pole and had to leave his family and move to Oregon to find competition. He’ll likely need a year to adjust.

 

Hayes is a freak athlete on the level of Sims and Roach. However he lacks skill- he wasn’t starting on his varsity team as a junior. He might have the most upside, but he won’t be ready right away.

 

I can’t see how Cunningham doesn’t redshirt. Hayes probably should as well, but I doubt he does.

Edited April 9, 2018 by Goo Punch

[Machinator 32103]

 

[txhorns 2421]

On 4/6/2018 at 8:21 PM, Goo Punch said:

Shaka has had more talent than any other coach in the league in his time here

You keep saying this but it's just not true.

[Goo Punch 4275]

3 minutes ago, txhorns said:

You keep saying this but it's just not true.

It is absolutely true. Isaiah Taylor, Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba- those three NBA players right there put 8 or 9 of the other teams to bed. His first two recruiting classes were both best in the Big XII and top 6 in the country. No other team in the conference comes close to that. And that doesn’t even include players like Tevin Mack or Andrew Jones. It’s gone Texas, KU, OU, then everyone else. You think otherwise? Then make your case. 

[Dbeasy 15557]

If you don’t believe a coach can improve a player’s shooting, I would suggest you look at what the Spurs coaching staff does for emerging players on both jump shots and free throws. Shooting coaches definitely help.

[Gut Wagon 8214]

If KU doesn't always win the recruiting war (on paper, anyway), what do you guys think is the secret of Self managing to maintain a smoother flow of solid players from one season to the next? Even if I throw out the disruption of a regimen change in Austin, it just seems to me that our teams have continuity issues KU doesn't.

Self has lost a ton of talent over the years but has always managed to get the next bunch playing well enough to win the conference. Is it more a case of signing underrated talent, coaching individual guys up quickly or just having a better system into which he can plug and play newcomers?  

[GotThatFire 166]

Kansas has no trees, though.

[UT Lawnghorn 758]

50 minutes ago, Goo Punch said:

It is absolutely true. Isaiah Taylor, Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba- those three NBA players right there put 8 or 9 of the other teams to bed. His first two recruiting classes were both best in the Big XII and top 6 in the country. No other team in the conference comes close to that. And that doesn’t even include players like Tevin Mack or Andrew Jones. It’s gone Texas, KU, OU, then everyone else. You think otherwise? Then make your case. 

This is fairly disingenuous. Bamba and Allen may be extremely talented recruits, but they were one and done centers. Centers need time to develop on offense and a freshman, like Jarrett is not actually better during his freshman year than many upperclassmen who are less "talented."  Plus, he only got any of those three guys for one year, and he only got Cam Ridley for half a year.  He's undoubtedly had bad injury luck that has drastically changed his resume here. A healthy Cam Ridley his first year and a healthy Andrew Jones this year, and those two seasons outcome could have been drastically different.  The amount of turnover on his roster due to guys leaving early, injuries and some transfers (that are his fault)  negates the talent he has had.  A less talented roster with more continuity and upperclassmen is generally the better team. 

Shaka has not done a good job maximizing his talent.  He's underachieved but to act as if he should be finishing first or second in the league because of all his "talent" is fairly ridiculous.

22 minutes ago, Gut Wagon said:

If KU doesn't always win the recruiting war (on paper, anyway), what do you guys think is the secret of Self managing to maintain a smoother flow of solid players from one season to the next? Even if I throw out the disruption of a regimen change in Austin, it just seems to me that our teams have continuity issues KU doesn't.

Self has lost a ton of talent over the years but has always managed to get the next bunch playing well enough to win the conference. Is it more a case of signing underrated talent, coaching individual guys up quickly or just having a better system into which he can plug and play newcomers?  

KU does always win the recruiting war, at least in the Big 12.  They've signed 1-3 5 stars every year, since 2013. Most years they sign more than one 5 star. Their classes aren't ranked super high becuase tehy take small classes, since Self does a good job grabbing some guys every class who will stick around for 3-4 years, like Graham and Mason.  This was probably Self's least talented roster in a long, long time and even still it was loaded with 4 and 5 stars, many of whom were upperclassmen. He's been there forever and he's created great depth, so 4 star guys who are top 100 players, get to learn year one, get their feet wet year two and then come on big in years 3 and 4.  

Edited April 9, 2018 by UT Lawnghorn

[Goo Punch 4275]

34 minutes ago, Gut Wagon said:

If KU doesn't always win the recruiting war (on paper, anyway), what do you guys think is the secret of Self managing to maintain a smoother flow of solid players from one season to the next? Even if I throw out the disruption of a regimen change in Austin, it just seems to me that our teams have continuity issues KU doesn't.

Self has lost a ton of talent over the years but has always managed to get the next bunch playing well enough to win the conference. Is it more a case of signing underrated talent, coaching individual guys up quickly or just having a better system into which he can plug and play newcomers?  

Bill Self is a Hall of Fame coach, and I don’t mean a future HOFer- he’s already been enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Shaka Smart is just some kid who once looked promising but who has since proven to be out of his league at this level. The coaching gap in these two guys is profound.

 

And honestly, when most people think about these things (how much Self out-classes Smart) they picture these guys coaching on the sidelines, as if it’s that Self is out-coaching Smart on gameday. Brother, Self is destroying Shaka from top to bottom with the entirety of his program. Bill Self knows exactly who he is, he knows exactly what he wants to do, and he’s got a few decades worth of experience at the highest level which helps him try to dominate the rest of the conference in every facet possible. 

 

You not only have the games, you have your overall core philosophy, recruiting strategy and acumen, weight training, diet, daily routines, tutors, classes, top level assistant coaches with specific roles that play to their strengths, practice style, film study, dealing with parents, boosters, players’ girlfriends and families, handling legal issues, having players with kids of their own...literally all of these things, and anything else you can think of that a head coach oversees all go into having a winning program year after year. Being a good basketball coach is only a part of it, and the really good coaches all know handle this stuff before it even happens at their program. We have Darrin Horn and a bunch of coaching infants who are still learning to walk. We are outclassed here.

 

And as for your second paragraph, our last coach was a helluva lot better at keeping a program going after losing talent than most around here will concede. He went to 5 Sweet 16’s in 6 years, and it would have surely been 6/6 had we not lost PJ and LaMarcus halfway through the one season we missed. He lost Chris Mihm and the next year went 25-9, finishing 18th in the country (unranked until the new year).He lost TJ and the next year went 25-8, ranked 12th, and went to the Sweet 16 including an upset win over UNC in the round of 32. He lost Kevin Durant and the next year won the Big XII,  finished ranked 7th in the country, and went to the Elite 8. We had a program that was good-very good for more than a decade straight. Our personnel would change, Rick would adapt his style to his players, Rob Lanier would keep the peace and the train kept chugging along. Talented, experienced coaches; a program with a real identity and direction; that’s what we had; it’s what Self has in spades at KU; and it’s what Texas needs to get back to.

[Goo Punch 4275]

12 minutes ago, UT Lawnghorn said:

This is fairly disingenuous. Bamba and Allen may be extremely talented recruits, but they were one and done centers. Centers need time to develop on offense and a freshman, like Jarrett is not actually better during his freshman year than many upperclassmen who are less "talented."  Plus, he only got any of those three guys for one year, and he only got Cam Ridley for half a year.  He's undoubtedly had bad injury luck that has drastically changed his resume here. A healthy Cam Ridley his first year and a healthy Andrew Jones this year, and those two seasons outcome could have been drastically different.  The amount of turnover on his roster due to guys leaving early, injuries and some transfers (that are his fault)  negates the talent he has had.  A less talented roster with more continuity and upperclassmen is generally the better team. 

Shaka has not done a good job maximizing his talent.  He's underachieved but to act as if he should be finishing first or second in the league because of all his "talent" is fairly ridiculous.

KU does always win the recruiting war, at least in the Big 12.  They've signed 1-3 5 stars every year, since 2013. Most years they sign more than one 5 star. Their classes aren't ranked super high becuase tehy take small classes, since Self does a good job grabbing some guys every class who will stick around for 3-4 years, like Graham and Mason.  This was probably Self's least talented roster in a long, long time and even still it was loaded with 4 and 5 stars, many of whom were upperclassmen. He's been there forever and he's created great depth, so 4 star guys who are top 100 players, get to learn year one, get their feet wet year two and then come on big in years 3 and 4.  

I never even insinuated that he should have been finishing first or second in the league. All I said was the truth- he’s coached more talent than anyone else in the league and the results have been shit. 

[UT Lawnghorn 758]

1 minute ago, Goo Punch said:

I never even insinuated that he should have been finishing first or second in the league. All I said was the truth- he’s coached more talent than anyone else in the league and the results have been shit. 

Way to walk around the point. You insinuated it by saying he's coached more talent than anyone else, which is a complete lie. Kansas has been more talented than Texas every single year. And again, one and done big men, while extremely talented, don't affect a game as much as a guy like Jevon Carter or Evans. Plus the continuity, which I already pointed out. 

The way you're using the word "talent" is based on long-term potential, not current skill level.

[Goo Punch 4275]

13 minutes ago, UT Lawnghorn said:

Way to walk around the point. You insinuated it by saying he's coached more talent than anyone else, which is a complete lie. Kansas has been more talented than Texas every single year. And again, one and done big men, while extremely talented, don't affect a game as much as a guy like Jevon Carter or Evans. Plus the continuity, which I already pointed out. 

The way you're using the word "talent" is based on long-term potential, not current skill level.

First off, I’m using the word talent to mean what it means. Second, you clearly don’t understand how insinuation works. And finally, even if KU has had comparable talent in Shaka’s time here that leaves the other 8 teams behind Texas, most of them by a large margin.

You are clearly insinuating that Shaka could not possibly have been expected to ever finish near the top of the conference during his time here in the same breath where you acknowledge that the only school that’s had talent like ours is the one with 14 consecutive conference titles. Dynamite argument. 

Edited April 9, 2018 by Goo Punch

[Gut Wagon 8214]

15 minutes ago, Goo Punch said:

Bill Self is a Hall of Fame coach, and I don’t mean a future HOFer- he’s already been enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Shaka Smart is just some kid who once looked promising but who has since proven to be out of his league at this level. The coaching gap in these two guys is profound.

 

And honestly, when most people think about these things (how much Self out-classes Smart) they picture these guys coaching on the sidelines, as if it’s that Self is out-coaching Smart on gameday. Brother, Self is destroying Shaka from top to bottom with the entirety of his program. Bill Self knows exactly who he is, he knows exactly what he wants to do, and he’s got a few decades worth of experience at the highest level which helps him try to dominate the rest of the conference in every facet possible. 

 

You not only have the games, you have your overall core philosophy, recruiting strategy and acumen, weight training, diet, daily routines, tutors, classes, top level assistant coaches with specific roles that play to their strengths, practice style, film study, dealing with parents, boosters, players’ girlfriends and families, handling legal issues, having players with kids of their own...literally all of these things, and anything else you can think of that a head coach oversees all go into having a winning program year after year. Being a good basketball coach is only a part of it, and the really good coaches all know handle this stuff before it even happens at their program. We have Darrin Horn and a bunch of coaching infants who are still learning to walk. We are outclassed here.

 

And as for your second paragraph, our last coach was a helluva lot better at keeping a program going after losing talent than most around here will concede. He went to 5 Sweet 16’s in 6 years, and it would have surely been 6/6 had we not lost PJ and LaMarcus halfway through the one season we missed. He lost Chris Mihm and the next year went 25-9, finishing 18th in the country (unranked until the new year).He lost TJ and the next year went 25-8, ranked 12th, and went to the Sweet 16 including an upset win over UNC in the round of 32. He lost Kevin Durant and the next year won the Big XII,  finished ranked 7th in the country, and went to the Elite 8. We had a program that was good-very good for more than a decade straight. Our personnel would change, Rick would adapt his style to his players, Rob Lanier would keep the peace and the train kept chugging along. Talented, experienced coaches; a program with a real identity and direction; that’s what we had; it’s what Self has in spades at KU; and it’s what Texas needs to get back to.

Your description of Self's approach seems much closer to Tom Herman's than either Shaka's or Charlie's. I hope that means our football results align more closely with KU's recent basketball run than with our own performance in either sport.

I just marvel at the coaches (Self, Popovich, Belichick, Saban, et.al.) who seem to have anticipate every obstacle and have a way around it. They don't always win (well, Saban pretty much does), but when they lose, it's virtually never because they got out-prepared or out-coached. Maybe reaching that level with our basketball program is overly ambitious, but Barnes is the closest we've come in my lifetime. And I was a fan when Leon Black was coaching Robinson and Larrabee.  

 

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

On 4/8/2018 at 3:35 PM, TheBryMan81 said:

PJ Locke retweeted this... Given our shooting proficiency, maybe this is the type of kid we should be going after

They being said, maybe he can't dribble, pass, or play defense. But dude can hit a 3

Brandy Perryman says "hi".

[Gut Wagon 8214]

41 minutes ago, UT Lawnghorn said:

This is fairly disingenuous. Bamba and Allen may be extremely talented recruits, but they were one and done centers. Centers need time to develop on offense and a freshman, like Jarrett is not actually better during his freshman year than many upperclassmen who are less "talented."  Plus, he only got any of those three guys for one year, and he only got Cam Ridley for half a year.  He's undoubtedly had bad injury luck that has drastically changed his resume here. A healthy Cam Ridley his first year and a healthy Andrew Jones this year, and those two seasons outcome could have been drastically different.  The amount of turnover on his roster due to guys leaving early, injuries and some transfers (that are his fault)  negates the talent he has had.  A less talented roster with more continuity and upperclassmen is generally the better team. 

Shaka has not done a good job maximizing his talent.  He's underachieved but to act as if he should be finishing first or second in the league because of all his "talent" is fairly ridiculous.

KU does always win the recruiting war, at least in the Big 12.  They've signed 1-3 5 stars every year, since 2013. Most years they sign more than one 5 star. Their classes aren't ranked super high becuase tehy take small classes, since Self does a good job grabbing some guys every class who will stick around for 3-4 years, like Graham and Mason.  This was probably Self's least talented roster in a long, long time and even still it was loaded with 4 and 5 stars, many of whom were upperclassmen. He's been there forever and he's created great depth, so 4 star guys who are top 100 players, get to learn year one, get their feet wet year two and then come on big in years 3 and 4.  

Self is at or very near the top of the mountain now, no doubt. I suppose the puzzle is, how does a coach get his program to the point he not only wins but holds onto enough talent to keep winning...while integrating new pieces that also are talented enough to go pro at some point? I'm thinking a big part of what guys like Self and Saban do is not only look at tape to see who can play but also learn which prospects are likely to hang around long enough to become parts of something beyond just personal stats. Thus setting the stage for yet another wave of guys to come in and continue the tradition. We desperately need that.  

[Goo Punch 4275]

36 minutes ago, Gut Wagon said:

Self is at or very near the top of the mountain now, no doubt. I suppose the puzzle is, how does a coach get his program to the point he not only wins but holds onto enough talent to keep winning...while integrating new pieces that also are talented enough to go pro at some point? I'm thinking a big part of what guys like Self and Saban do is not only look at tape to see who can play but also learn which prospects are likely to hang around long enough to become parts of something beyond just personal stats. Thus setting the stage for yet another wave of guys to come in and continue the tradition. We desperately need that.  

The shortest answer I can give here is this: experience coaching at the highest level.

[UT Lawnghorn 758]

46 minutes ago, Gut Wagon said:

Self is at or very near the top of the mountain now, no doubt. I suppose the puzzle is, how does a coach get his program to the point he not only wins but holds onto enough talent to keep winning...while integrating new pieces that also are talented enough to go pro at some point? I'm thinking a big part of what guys like Self and Saban do is not only look at tape to see who can play but also learn which prospects are likely to hang around long enough to become parts of something beyond just personal stats. Thus setting the stage for yet another wave of guys to come in and continue the tradition. We desperately need that.  

Yeah, he does a great job of staggering his classes. Both Graham and Mason were right around the #100 prospect their year. Self easily could've got higher ranked guys, but getting 1 or 2 guys each year that will stick around combined with some one and does is how you stay winning every year. It's got to be hard to figure out who will stay but is also good enough to be developed into a great player. 

Shaka did a poor job of this his first year by failing to be able to keep Mack in the program and also having Barnett leave. Think about how much this team could've used either/both of those guys this year.  It would've been a completely different team.  He did a bad job in 2016 considering Young and Banks are transferring. So far, that's four guys who would be upperclassmen on next year's team that are now gone.  When you combine that with grabbing one and dones your roster, will be looking pretty bare. Simms, Febres, and Coleman all look like good signings that will stay at least three years (who knows if Hamm will develop) and this class also looks to have good long-term guys. Problem is Shaka needs those long-term guys to be upperlcassmen this year but he couldnt keep any of them and now he's in trouble. 

All that to say, combining elite talents with program guys you can develop is a difficult line to walk. Self does it masterfully. 

[Machinator 32103]

Roster construction is something Shaka has definitely not optimized while at Texas. He's done quite well with the can't-miss players (Allen, Jones, Bamba, Coleman), but the 3- to 4-year players who make the backbone of a college basketball team have been much more hit and miss. Banks and Young were both whiffs, which means that the signing class of 2016 was a complete loss. Tevin Mack turned out to be a headcase, though I'm not sure how much blame to lay at Shaka's feet for that. He also arguably wasted a year of Roach's development by playing him at PG instead of finding a stopgap before Coleman got here. Smart did a better job finding program players last cycle (I really like both Sims and Febres), but it might be too little, too late.

[Bevo 13861]

52 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Roster construction is something Shaka has definitely not optimized while at Texas. He's done quite well with the can't-miss players (Allen, Jones, Bamba, Coleman), but the 3- to 4-year players who make the backbone of a college basketball team have been much more hit and miss. Banks and Young were both whiffs, which means that the signing class of 2016 was a complete loss. Tevin Mack turned out to be a headcase, though I'm not sure how much blame to lay at Shaka's feet for that. He also arguably wasted a year of Roach's development by playing him at PG instead of finding a stopgap before Coleman got here. Smart did a better job finding program players last cycle (I really like both Sims and Febres), but it might be too little, too late.

He also has the problem of not being a very good coach.

[Machinator 32103]

2 minutes ago, Bevo said:

He also has the problem of not being a very good coach.

Sure, but especially in basketball, mediocre Xs and Os coach can hide their deficiencies by putting together talented, complentary rosters. Shaka hasn't done that yet.

[rickyspub 801]

A lot of empty talent in Shaka's recruiting thus far. The one-and-dones have been good enough to get themselves a paycheck, but none actually carried the team much less won us any important games. His other one year rental got injured. Not his fault on the injury, but if you are relying on grad transfers or should-be-NBA players you only have for one year, then you pay the cost if they don't contribute while taking development time from others. Class rankings don't mean shit if the entire class is gone before anyone is even an upperclassman and the team won jack-squat of note during that period.

Shaka failed in his evaluation on Mack. He knew that kid for a long time and still couldn't see he was a headcase. Eric Davis I won't blame him for, but Mack is squarely an evaluation miss.

Still think Coleman saves Shaka's bacon and he gets a chance to reset the roster, but I have little faith he can coach us anywhere close to Bill Self. His ceiling is feeling an awful lot like Rick Barnes at this point.

Edited April 10, 2018 by rickyspub

[Goo Punch 4275]

Can someone make a single post listing all of the grad transfers that we are currently in for? 

[txhorns 2421]

24 minutes ago, Goo Punch said:

Can someone make a single post listing all of the grad transfers that we are currently in for? 

It's just Joe Cremo, Justin Coleman and Matthew Moyer I believe.  I think the other transfers mentioned weren't grad transfers.  I think more importantly than who is what position we are looking at.  They all seem to be guards.  I wonder if that is any indication on Roach and Jone's status for next year.

[RabidM 2755]

If we take Moyer, I'll fucking lose it.  He doesn't even begin to address the needs of the team other than being SF size.  Terrible 3pt shooter, terrible FT shooter, terrible rebounder... 

We'll probably make him our top priority. 

[Rockethorn1978 6204]

How many roster spots do we even have? I was thinking 1 at most?

[Machinator 32103]

1 minute ago, Rockethorn1978 said:

How many roster spots do we even have? I was thinking 1 at most?

1 if Roach stays, 2 otherwise.

[Rockethorn1978 6204]

So basically we will target one grad transfer and aren’t we still pursuing a 2018 recruit?

[Machinator 32103]

11 minutes ago, Rockethorn1978 said:

and aren’t we still pursuing a 2018 recruit?

Courtney Ramey.

[texasstrong12 4668]

On 4/9/2018 at 6:42 PM, UT Lawnghorn said:

Yeah, he does a great job of staggering his classes. Both Graham and Mason were right around the #100 prospect their year. Self easily could've got higher ranked guys, but getting 1 or 2 guys each year that will stick around combined with some one and does is how you stay winning every year. It's got to be hard to figure out who will stay but is also good enough to be developed into a great player. 

Self lands plenty of highly rated recruits which is why Kansas is right in the middle of this FBI probe. 

[RabidM 2755]

Assisant Mike Morrell is taking the head coaching job at UNC Asheville.  Hopefully, that means Shaka can now hire an assistant who can install a functional offense.  

Edited April 11, 2018 by RabidM

[UT Lawnghorn 758]

16 hours ago, texasstrong12 said:

Self lands plenty of highly rated recruits which is why Kansas is right in the middle of this FBI probe. 

 

On 4/9/2018 at 4:56 PM, UT Lawnghorn said:

 

KU does always win the recruiting war, at least in the Big 12.  They've signed 1-3 5 stars every year, since 2013. Most years they sign more than one 5 star.   

see earlier post above.

[Beau Vine 55854]

I'm incredibly amused that we have:

• People criticizing Shaka's recruiting
• People claiming that Shaka can't recruit the kids who he was getting at VCU
• People excited that we have a chance at getting Joe Cremo from Albany and a 5-foot-something guy from Samford

The cherry on top is that there are people who are in all three of these groups.  Never change, Shaggy.  I mean, Surly.  Fuck.

[Gut Wagon 8214]

I guess the bottom line is that he hasn't consistently recruited the kind of guys who could save his job. But even had he done so, there's inconclusive evidence that he'd have coached them to do so. As for the potential transfers, I doubt they'd cure the systemic issues just described. But I guess we can hope.  

Edited April 11, 2018 by Gut Wagon

[Guest Falko]

Kansas cheats year after year. Self is as dirty as they come. 

[Machinator 32103]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4067193/anthony-tarke

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by Machinator

[Machinator 32103]

 

[RabidM 2755]

Tarke is another guy who doesn't make a damn bit of sense.  WTF are we doing even talking to these guys?  This guy is a better rebounder than Moyer,  but with a much worse FG %.  They're both awful 3pt and FT shooters. 

[texasstrong12 4668]

Tarke and Moyer make a lot of sense to me. I even posted this a couple days ago. 

"Our issue is we've been relatively small 1 through 3. If we add another grad transfer, I'm hoping it's a 3 with length."

Tarke and Moyer aren't grad transfers but it's exactly what I referenced. Small forward types with a lot of length. Obviously we need more shooting but not every player is going to be recruited as a "shooter". 

My biggest question/issue with Shaka was filling recruiting needs. Lack of shooting and small forward molds have been an issue for years. It's pretty obvious Shaka is trying to fix the small forward issue with Tarke, Moyer, Liddell and Cunningham. I guess we will see what happens in terms of shooting. 

Edited April 11, 2018 by texasstrong12

[Revolution512 1514]

Can one guy be recruited as a shooter?

[Gut Wagon 8214]

General scoring ability would be useful, even if guys aren’t pure shooters. But we need at least one of those, too. We aren’t likely to win many big games played in the 50s next year. 

Edited April 12, 2018 by Gut Wagon

[RabidM 2755]

Length does not come close to outweighing shooting ability with our current roster makeup... it's not even in the same zip code.  We literally only have one good 3 point shooter on the entire team... and he has cancer.  Adding some more non-shooters is a horribad idea. Cremo makes sense... those other guys don't. 

[texasstrong12 4668]

29 minutes ago, RabidM said:

Length does not come close to outweighing shooting ability with our current roster makeup... it's not even in the same zip code.  We literally only have one good 3 point shooter on the entire team... and he has cancer.  Adding some more non-shooters is a horribad idea. Cremo makes sense... those other guys don't. 

I don't think it's an either or. The priority seems to be Cremo. 

Guys like Tarke and Moyer have to sit out a year. Those are likely guys they are putting out feelers for in case another scholarship opens up. 

Edited April 12, 2018 by texasstrong12

[Rockethorn1978 6204]

My biggest beef with Shaka is the one area in every recruit he completely avoids is our shooter. It seems like his mindset is he wants the super athlete and then he can “teach” them how to shoot which he hasn’t. 

So many kids out there as we see every march in these smaller schools and even at big schools that can shoot the lights out and we don’t even target them. 

[Gut Wagon 8214]

8 hours ago, texasstrong12 said:

Guys like Tarke and Moyer have to sit out a year. 

Which I hope means they'd never play for Shaka at Texas anyway.

Any player who can't really shoot well and/or rebound well should be a low priority right now. We didn't do either of those things well last year, and we're losing the one player who contributed both scoring and boards (not to mention blocks). Forget the superfreak and just go get some legit basketball players. 

[RabidM 2755]

13 hours ago, texasstrong12 said:

I don't think it's an either or. The priority seems to be Cremo. 

Guys like Tarke and Moyer have to sit out a year. Those are likely guys they are putting out feelers for in case another scholarship opens up. 

We didn't add any real premium shooting in this class, so those 2 still don't make sense after they sit out a year.  We'd still be a team that can't space the floor because teams can just pack the lane - which kills driving lanes and removes space for the bigs to operate.  IF Jones comes back healthy, and IF Ferbes gets his shot straightened out, we might be OK next year, but that's nothing we should be banking on with personnel moves now or for the future.  

Shaka's roster management has been nothing short of disastrous. Taking visits from players who do not remotely have the skill set this roster desperately needs is just more evidence that Shaka does not know how to construct a coherent roster.  Which is kind of shocking, cause it's really not that hard.  Even just thinking of tying up scholarships with those 2 players for at least two years is nothing short of monumentally stupid. 

Edited April 12, 2018 by RabidM

[Auto Driller 2565]

Let’s just add a couple Dogus Balbay types and we’ll be good to go.

[RabidM 2755]

Albany grad transfer Joe Cremo has cut his list to Creighton, Oregon, Gonzaga, Texas, and Penn State, per a source. Visits Creighton this weekend.

https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/984195797595119623

Edited April 12, 2018 by RabidM

[Catdaddyhorn 3463]

On 4/8/2018 at 3:35 PM, TheBryMan81 said:

PJ Locke retweeted this... Given our shooting proficiency, maybe this is the type of kid we should be going after

They being said, maybe he can't dribble, pass, or play defense. But dude can hit a 3

He didn't get any offers because he shoots like he has a problem with his central nervous system.

[Gut Wagon 8214]

24 minutes ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

He didn't get any offers because he shoots like he has a problem with his central nervous system.

Several of the guys on our team give me trouble with my central nervous system.