Texas Basketball 2023-24

[HtownHorn 14751]

2 minutes ago, MotownHorn said:

You don't watch much basketball these days if you don't think a 6'6" guy who defends hard and shoots 40% from 3 has no shot at the NBA.

Cunningham is an undersized 4 in the college game. He can't guard NBA athletes on the wing, and he'd get killed in the paint. If Cunningham really thought he had a shot at the NBA, he'd wouldn't be returning for his 6th season. He'd be what, 25 in his rookie season next year. There isn't a team in the NBA that is going to give him minutes. He's a great college glue guy that can defend in the post in stretches and is absolutely a great program guy that the other guys on the ream respect.

[Rickylovesweed 14516]

3 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

I don't think he's a 3/wing. I like him as a stretch 4 in college. I just don't see the fit with Shedrick, Disu, Onyema, and Cunningham playing the 4/5 minutes. I'd rather roll out with 3 guards at all times. Our most explosive offense last year was with Hunter, Carr, and Rice on the floor together.

Probably right offensively but Kaluma can definitely guard 3s/wings and he's a damn good defender too. 

I'm just thinking back to the Miami game and 6'7 Miller killing us with his size on the wing. We needed somebody like Kaluma in that one on the perimeter. 

 

[MotownHorn 1770]

1 minute ago, HtownHorn said:

Cunningham is an undersized 4 in the college game. He can't guard NBA athletes on the wing, and he'd get killed in the paint. If Cunningham really thought he had a shot at the NBA, he'd wouldn't be returning for his 6th season. He'd be what, 25 in his rookie season next year. There isn't a team in the NBA that is going to give him minutes. He's a great college glue guy that can defend in the post in stretches and is absolutely a great program guy that the other guys on the ream respect.

We'll see

[Rickylovesweed 14516]

The main thing with Kaluma is we really don't have anybody like him on the roster. 6'7 and can do this type stuff on the perimeter. 

 

[Rockethorn1978 6100]

1 hour ago, HtownHorn said:

Gerry thinks Texas is the 1st tier with UConn with Alabama and Florida in the 2nd tier.

Would be a huge pickup and a back court that would have to be the best in the country. Might already be without love.

[shadow_operative 15932]

if we do sign love he cannot be the same player for us as he has been for UNC if this team expects to maximize its potential. we already have a great back court. i'd we're going to add another guard it cannot be a guy who thinks he's going to continue to play 35 minutes a game while taking 14 shots every night at 36% from the field and under 30% from three. a lesser player who knows his role could be much more valuable than caleb love. this is reminding me of teams adding russell westbrook and kyrie irving and expecting to get better simply because those guys are big names. i do not see how he fits, or why we want him. 

again, signing him for the player who he is makes no sense; signing him and asking/expecting him to suddenly become a more efficient, more role-player like guy who doesn't dominate the ball also doesn't make sense. this is shaka smart all over again if we sign him. just sign the most highly ranked players, regardless of style or fit. no thank you.  do not want. 

Edited May 19, 2023 by shadow_operative

[Rockethorn1978 6100]

I mean doubt we get him so it won’t matter, I’m probably caught up in the name more than anything else. I just know we need more guards but with us adding Hunter back he probably won’t fit who we are and I still don’t know what that will even look like under RT. 

[HookEm 2467]

6 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

believing that this current Texas roster could compete for the league title next year is completely irrational.

First, betting on anyone except the Jayhawks in ANY year would be a bad bet given how dominant they have been. I'm not saying we will win the conference, but I am saying we will compete for it.  Last year was the toughest the conference has ever been and we finished 2nd and won the Big-12 Tourney.  I think we could be similarly competitive this year, even if we don't add any additional pieces.

I think this year’s roster stacks up VERY well vs. the roster last year:

• PG – Hunter (’23) vs. Hunter (’24) – Moderate upgrade. Hunter will be a year older and was also injured a good bit of last year. He should be improved in all facets.
• SG – Carr (’23) vs. Aẞmas (’24) – Slight upgrade.  Both are great players, but I give the edge to Aẞmas.  Carr is a better defender, but Aẞmas is a better scorer and is extremely efficient given his usage.  Aẞmas has Big 12 Conference PoY potential (and has already been NCAA All-Region, something Carr never did).
• SF – Allen (’23) vs. Cunningham (’23) – Slight downgrade, but you all know I’m team Cunningham.  Honestly the team played better last year when Allen was hurt and Cunningham got more minutes.  Allen is the better player, but I’m not sure he is a better winner.
• PF – Disu (’23) vs. Disu (’24) – Moderate upgrade. I’m assuming we get March Disu for a whole year, when he was playing like a 1^st team All-American and setting Texas tournament scoring records
• PF/C – Mitchell (’23) vs. Shedrick (’24) – Big upgrade. Shedrick was already better than Mitchell last year and gets another year to improve.  Shedrick will be a better interior defender, better shooter (79% vs 40% FT!) and better all around player

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Bench – Rice (’23) vs. Weaver (’24) – Big downgrade.  Rice was the man. Weaver looks like he will be very good, but Rice was a proven, mature former conference PoY.  This is the big missing piece in 2024.
• Bench  – Bishop (’23) vs. Onyema (’24) – Moderate downgrade.  Bishop brought maturity, poise and toughness.  Onyema will be a senior and bring some of that as well, but I don’t think he will be as impactful as Bishop
• Bench – Morris (’23) vs. Anamekwe (’24) – Big downgrade.  Morris was young and inconsistent, but he still provided an occasional spark or big moment.  Anamekwe is still probably a year from contributing more than garbage time.
• Bench – Cunningham (’23) vs. ????? (’24) – Big downgrade, for now.

Bottom line, for me we have a better starting 5 than we had last year when we were a few bad calls from playing in a Final Four and possibly cutting down the nets.  We have two legit All-American candidates in Aẞmas and Disu.  We finally have an enforcer big man and he can actually shoot free throws.  We have one of the best backcourts in the country.

The big difference is in our bench.  Rice, Morris and Bishop were way better than Weaver and Onyema.  That said, all of our starters have played 30+ minutes in their career.  And Weaver can play starter minutes.  We don’t NEED a super deep bench. In fact, I think our bench hurt us a little last year because it kept players from getting in a rhythm.  Morris and Mitchell both would have been better if they had gotten more minutes.

And things are only going to get better from here.  We will add 1-2 more players who could range from role player to borderline superstar.  If that happens, Cunningham moves to the bench and we could end up with a considerably better starting 5 and only a slightly worse bench. 

I need to take a long look at KU and see how well their pieces fit together. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

i agree with a lot of your points, with the big exception being the depth part. we had pretty decent health last year considering the grind that this league is. i think we need more depth added to the roster before we start thinking that we can compete with the likes of KU. 

[TexArcher 37989]

2 hours ago, MotownHorn said:

Personally I think there's a chance that Brock has a longer and more successful NBA career than Dillon Mitchell

 

2 hours ago, MotownHorn said:

You don't watch much basketball these days if you don't think a 6'6" guy who defends hard and shoots 40% from 3 has no shot at the NBA.

 

Brock is way too slow to guard an NBA 3, and he's way too small to guard an NBA 4.  And he ain't shooting 40% on contested threes in the NBA.  I like him as much as the next guy, but I expect he's on the radar of exactly zero NBA teams, unless they just want a white boy to sell a few D League tickets in Des Moines or something.

 

[HookEm 2467]

Looking at former Big-12 Tourney MVPs and Disu is in some solid-ass company.  Man what a collection of great players. 

Disu is one of the very few who have come back for another year.  Here are all of them in the 25+ years of the Big 12::

• Devonte Graham - Came back to KU and made an All-Region team and was a Wooden Finalist
• Georges Niang - Came back to ISU and made an All-Region team and won the Karl Malone award
• Mario Chalmers - Came back to KU, won a National Title and Tourney MoP
• Hollis Price - Came back to OU and won Tourney MVP again the next year along with a 2nd team All-American award
• Jeff Boschee - Won as a freshman at KU. Came back to start over 100 more games 
• Paul Pierce - Came back to KU and won Tourney MVP again the next year along with a 1st team All-American award

I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a tremendous year from Disu next year. He was playing like an absolute monster to finish the year including being the first NCAA player in 20+ years to get  28 points, 10 boards, 2 steals without a turnover in a tourney game.

[Hank_Hill 18891]

41 minutes ago, HookEm said:

First, betting on anyone except the Jayhawks in ANY year would be a bad bet given how dominant they have been. I'm not saying we will win the conference, but I am saying we will compete for it.  Last year was the toughest the conference has ever been and we finished 2nd and won the Big-12 Tourney.  I think we could be similarly competitive this year, even if we don't add any additional pieces.

I think this year’s roster stacks up VERY well vs. the roster last year:

• PG – Hunter (’23) vs. Hunter (’24) – Moderate upgrade. Hunter will be a year older and was also injured a good bit of last year. He should be improved in all facets.
• SG – Carr (’23) vs. Aẞmas (’24) – Slight upgrade.  Both are great players, but I give the edge to Aẞmas.  Carr is a better defender, but Aẞmas is a better scorer and is extremely efficient given his usage.  Aẞmas has Big 12 Conference PoY potential (and has already been NCAA All-Region, something Carr never did).
• SF – Allen (’23) vs. Cunningham (’23) – Slight downgrade, but you all know I’m team Cunningham.  Honestly the team played better last year when Allen was hurt and Cunningham got more minutes.  Allen is the better player, but I’m not sure he is a better winner.
• PF – Disu (’23) vs. Disu (’24) – Moderate upgrade. I’m assuming we get March Disu for a whole year, when he was playing like a 1^st team All-American and setting Texas tournament scoring records
• PF/C – Mitchell (’23) vs. Shedrick (’24) – Big upgrade. Shedrick was already better than Mitchell last year and gets another year to improve.  Shedrick will be a better interior defender, better shooter (79% vs 40% FT!) and better all around player

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Bench – Rice (’23) vs. Weaver (’24) – Big downgrade.  Rice was the man. Weaver looks like he will be very good, but Rice was a proven, mature former conference PoY.  This is the big missing piece in 2024.
• Bench  – Bishop (’23) vs. Onyema (’24) – Moderate downgrade.  Bishop brought maturity, poise and toughness.  Onyema will be a senior and bring some of that as well, but I don’t think he will be as impactful as Bishop
• Bench – Morris (’23) vs. Anamekwe (’24) – Big downgrade.  Morris was young and inconsistent, but he still provided an occasional spark or big moment.  Anamekwe is still probably a year from contributing more than garbage time.
• Bench – Cunningham (’23) vs. ????? (’24) – Big downgrade, for now.

Bottom line, for me we have a better starting 5 than we had last year when we were a few bad calls from playing in a Final Four and possibly cutting down the nets.  We have two legit All-American candidates in Aẞmas and Disu.  We finally have an enforcer big man and he can actually shoot free throws.  We have one of the best backcourts in the country.

The big difference is in our bench.  Rice, Morris and Bishop were way better than Weaver and Onyema.  That said, all of our starters have played 30+ minutes in their career.  And Weaver can play starter minutes.  We don’t NEED a super deep bench. In fact, I think our bench hurt us a little last year because it kept players from getting in a rhythm.  Morris and Mitchell both would have been better if they had gotten more minutes.

And things are only going to get better from here.  We will add 1-2 more players who could range from role player to borderline superstar.  If that happens, Cunningham moves to the bench and we could end up with a considerably better starting 5 and only a slightly worse bench. 

I need to take a long look at KU and see how well their pieces fit together. 

This. Nobody is saying we should be favored to win the Big 12, just that we should be competitive and in the conversation. That isn't "irrational sunshine pumping", it's a reasonable expectation that we should have every year going forward with this program. 

[Snake Diggity 4625]

1 hour ago, HookEm said:

First, betting on anyone except the Jayhawks in ANY year would be a bad bet given how dominant they have been. I'm not saying we will win the conference, but I am saying we will compete for it.  Last year was the toughest the conference has ever been and we finished 2nd and won the Big-12 Tourney.  I think we could be similarly competitive this year, even if we don't add any additional pieces.

I think this year’s roster stacks up VERY well vs. the roster last year:

• PG – Hunter (’23) vs. Hunter (’24) – Moderate upgrade. Hunter will be a year older and was also injured a good bit of last year. He should be improved in all facets.
• SG – Carr (’23) vs. Aẞmas (’24) – Slight upgrade.  Both are great players, but I give the edge to Aẞmas.  Carr is a better defender, but Aẞmas is a better scorer and is extremely efficient given his usage.  Aẞmas has Big 12 Conference PoY potential (and has already been NCAA All-Region, something Carr never did).
• SF – Allen (’23) vs. Cunningham (’23) – Slight downgrade, but you all know I’m team Cunningham.  Honestly the team played better last year when Allen was hurt and Cunningham got more minutes.  Allen is the better player, but I’m not sure he is a better winner.
• PF – Disu (’23) vs. Disu (’24) – Moderate upgrade. I’m assuming we get March Disu for a whole year, when he was playing like a 1^st team All-American and setting Texas tournament scoring records
• PF/C – Mitchell (’23) vs. Shedrick (’24) – Big upgrade. Shedrick was already better than Mitchell last year and gets another year to improve.  Shedrick will be a better interior defender, better shooter (79% vs 40% FT!) and better all around player

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Bench – Rice (’23) vs. Weaver (’24) – Big downgrade.  Rice was the man. Weaver looks like he will be very good, but Rice was a proven, mature former conference PoY.  This is the big missing piece in 2024.
• Bench  – Bishop (’23) vs. Onyema (’24) – Moderate downgrade.  Bishop brought maturity, poise and toughness.  Onyema will be a senior and bring some of that as well, but I don’t think he will be as impactful as Bishop
• Bench – Morris (’23) vs. Anamekwe (’24) – Big downgrade.  Morris was young and inconsistent, but he still provided an occasional spark or big moment.  Anamekwe is still probably a year from contributing more than garbage time.
• Bench – Cunningham (’23) vs. ????? (’24) – Big downgrade, for now.

Bottom line, for me we have a better starting 5 than we had last year when we were a few bad calls from playing in a Final Four and possibly cutting down the nets.  We have two legit All-American candidates in Aẞmas and Disu.  We finally have an enforcer big man and he can actually shoot free throws.  We have one of the best backcourts in the country.

The big difference is in our bench.  Rice, Morris and Bishop were way better than Weaver and Onyema.  That said, all of our starters have played 30+ minutes in their career.  And Weaver can play starter minutes.  We don’t NEED a super deep bench. In fact, I think our bench hurt us a little last year because it kept players from getting in a rhythm.  Morris and Mitchell both would have been better if they had gotten more minutes.

And things are only going to get better from here.  We will add 1-2 more players who could range from role player to borderline superstar.  If that happens, Cunningham moves to the bench and we could end up with a considerably better starting 5 and only a slightly worse bench. 

I need to take a long look at KU and see how well their pieces fit together. 

Ok I’m sold.  If we add a Rice clone, that pushes Weaver into replacing Morris and Anamekwe into replacing 2023 Cunningham. We are one player away from being a legit contender and are a Sweet 16 contender as-is.

[MotownHorn 1770]

1 hour ago, TexArcher said:

 

 

Brock is way too slow to guard an NBA 3, and he's way too small to guard an NBA 4.  And he ain't shooting 40% on contested threes in the NBA.  I like him as much as the next guy, but I expect he's on the radar of exactly zero NBA teams, unless they just want a white boy to sell a few D League tickets in Des Moines or something.

 

Is PJ Tucker a lot faster than Brock? Because he’s an inch shorter and has made a long, lucrative career with his defense, rebounding, hustle, and ability to hit open 3s

[shadow_operative 15932]

PJ Tucker was an All American and the Big XII POY his junior year. 

Edited May 19, 2023 by shadow_operative

[VinyVango 694]

I like Brock as a player but his pro ceiling is probably a couple years in the developmental league or oversees someplace in the euro league

He’s kinda stuck in the no man’s land between guard and forward, which is a non issue on college but would be exposed in the nba

[ztejas 43515]

51 minutes ago, MotownHorn said:

Is PJ Tucker a lot faster than Brock? Because he’s an inch shorter and has made a long, lucrative career with his defense, rebounding, hustle, and ability to hit open 3s

Bro stop.

[TexArcher 37989]

46 minutes ago, MotownHorn said:

Is PJ Tucker a lot faster than Brock? Because he’s an inch shorter and has made a long, lucrative career with his defense, rebounding, hustle, and ability to hit open 3s

Yeah, and PJ was signficantly better at all of those things, not least of all because he probably benches double what Brock does.

In what world do you see Brock Cunningham blocking out NBA power forwards for a rebound and it working, or Brock d-ing them up and not getting abused over and over?

I can't do this anymore.  I like Brock.  He's not an NBA player.  I'll buy you his Nikes when they come out if I'm wrong.

 

[CashMcCoy 3199]

I’m guessing Brock will be rich as fuck without ever playing a minute of pro ball.

[ztejas 43515]

Yeah why would Brock want to play in the NBA anyway. He'll go into commercial real estate and get a wakeboard boat and crush puss. 

[jimmyjazz 45997]

Man, I love what Brock brings to this team, but . . . PJ?  That's some delusion.  PJ was a monster and carried it thru nearly two decades both in the NBA and overseas.  

Brock doesn't have that in him.

[Js1 85446]

2 hours ago, ztejas said:

Yeah why would Brock want to play in the NBA anyway. He'll go into commercial real estate and get a wakeboard boat and crush puss. 

He’s already doing 2 of 3 these days 

[Hank_Hill 18891]

3 hours ago, MotownHorn said:

Is PJ Tucker a lot faster than Brock? Because he’s an inch shorter and has made a long, lucrative career with his defense, rebounding, hustle, and ability to hit open 3s

Tom Brady and I are both awkward white guys who crush hot Brazilian ass, why shouldn't I make it in the league?

[Rockethorn1978 6100]

Ok I’d take cam spencer. 3 point shooting is a must in college basketball and he’s elite at it. Sign him up.

[shadow_operative 15932]

don't know much about spencer seeing as i just learned of his existence today, but yes, i would love a pure bred shooter to be our third guard with the two studs we already have.

Edited May 20, 2023 by shadow_operative

[Burt Macklin 19038]

9 hours ago, MotownHorn said:

Agreed 100%

Personally I think there's a chance that Brock has a longer and more successful NBA career than Dillon Mitchell

 

5 hours ago, MotownHorn said:

Is PJ Tucker a lot faster than Brock? Because he’s an inch shorter and has made a long, lucrative career with his defense, rebounding, hustle, and ability to hit open 3s

DetroitHorn coming in with the room temperature IQ takes again, I see. 

[hobbes2702 13049]

10 hours ago, MotownHorn said:

Agreed 100%

Personally I think there's a chance that Brock has a longer and more successful NBA career than Dillon Mitchell

Brock will play zero nba minutes ever

[closetohumping 17453]

11 hours ago, VinyVango said:

I like Brock as a player but his pro ceiling is probably a couple years in the developmental league or oversees someplace in the euro league

He’s kinda stuck in the no man’s land between guard and forward, which is a non issue on college but would be exposed in the nba

I’d get into coaching if I were him

[LTtxfan 49308]

Old news, but didn't see in thread so adding for folks who like this stuff...

 

[Rickylovesweed 14516]

Some interesting quotes in this article. Sounds like Kaluma might be returning to college. Also, it sure sounds like Dillon Mitchell thinks we recruited over him in the portal if I'm interpreting these quotes correctly. 

"Just seeing what their roster looks like. We’ll see how this process goes, but if not, we’ll see how they will use me. Obviously, there are different ways. Expecting different ways. Looking at their roster and seeing where I’d fit in. They’ve picked up some good guys, I know that for sure.” 

https://247sports.com/longformarticle/nba-combine-notebook-kentucky-stars-speak-out-latest-on-top-unco-210460601/#2170394

 

[HtownHorn 14751]

2 hours ago, Rickylovesweed said:

Some interesting quotes in this article. Sounds like Kaluma might be returning to college. Also, it sure sounds like Dillon Mitchell thinks we recruited over him in the portal if I'm interpreting these quotes correctly. 

"Just seeing what their roster looks like. We’ll see how this process goes, but if not, we’ll see how they will use me. Obviously, there are different ways. Expecting different ways. Looking at their roster and seeing where I’d fit in. They’ve picked up some good guys, I know that for sure.” 

https://247sports.com/longformarticle/nba-combine-notebook-kentucky-stars-speak-out-latest-on-top-unco-210460601/#2170394

 

Mitchell has very little fit with the current roster. If he had a consistent jumper, they could play him on the wing, but he's 4/5, and Texas has those minutes covered for next season.

[Rickylovesweed 14516]

2 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

Mitchell has very little fit with the current roster. If he had a consistent jumper, they could play him on the wing, but he's 4/5, and Texas has those minutes covered for next season.

Yeah and this is even more true if they add Kaluma who can give you minutes at the 3 or 4. 

I'm kind of surprised Mitchell didn't enter the portal but maybe his intention was never to return to college. 

[HtownHorn 14751]

Just now, Rickylovesweed said:

Yeah and this is even more true if they add Kaluma who can give you minutes at the 3 or 4. 

I'm kind of surprised Mitchell didn't enter the portal but maybe his intention was never to return to college. 

Kaluma has just enough offense flexibility to play the wing with Disu and Shedrick. I'd still prefer a big guard that shoots in the 38%+ range.

[Rickylovesweed 14516]

2 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

Kaluma has just enough offense flexibility to play the wing with Disu and Shedrick. I'd still prefer a big guard that shoots in the 38%+ range.

Various justifications for all options. 

Spencer is the best shooter out of all the options. Love is the most athletic and probably best option for another ball handler. Kaluma is the best defender and probably the best all-around player out of the 3 but he's a tweener between the 3/4. 

I think we have a lot of offensive options already. Out of the 3, I think I prefer Kaluma if you believe he can legitimately play at the 3/wing. Also, Kaluma has plenty of offensive game too. 

 

[HtownHorn 14751]

16 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

Various justifications for all options. 

Spencer is the best shooter out of all the options. Love is the most athletic and probably best option for another ball handler. Kaluma is the best defender and probably the best all-around player out of the 3 but he's a tweener between the 3/4. 

I think we have a lot of offensive options already. Out of the 3, I think I prefer Kaluma if you believe he can legitimately play at the 3/wing. Also, Kaluma has plenty of offensive game too. 

Lawrence is still there as well. I'd go Spencer, Lawrence, Love, and Kaluma.

 

Nevermind on Lawrence, apparently he's staying in the draft.

Edited May 20, 2023 by HtownHorn

[Firemans4Horn 18117]

[Ignatius 4017]

On 5/19/2023 at 6:10 PM, MotownHorn said:

Is PJ Tucker a lot faster than Brock? Because he’s an inch shorter and has made a long, lucrative career with his defense, rebounding, hustle, and ability to hit open 3s

Dude for real?

[Blotto 23560]

3 hours ago, Ignatius said:

Dude for real?

This website is great for so many reasons, lulz. 

[jimmyjazz 45997]

I don't know, I think Brock is on the cusp of being Big XII Player of the Year and 2nd Team All-American.

For fuck's sake.

[HookEm 2467]

Brock is great but I can't see him doing any better than 3rd Team All-American.  C'mon. 

[MotownHorn 1770]

Donald Trump will never be president! 

[HtownHorn 14751]

From Gerry today.

Texas has Zoom calls set up with Love and Spencer next week. Would take both if they could, and likely shut it down. Kaluma and Spencer have real interest in Texas.

[Rickylovesweed 14516]

4 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

From Gerry today.

Texas has Zoom calls set up with Love and Spencer next week. Would take both if they could, and likely shut it down. Kaluma and Spencer have real interest in Texas.

Feels like we should take Kaluma with one of the guards don't you think? But I guess just take whichever 2 want to come. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

for the love of god take kaluma and spencer and let love go miss a shit ton of stupid shots somewhere else. i can't overstate how much better kaluma + spencer is vs kaluma + love.

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by shadow_operative

[shadow_operative 15932]

anyone in the "RT RT he's our man!!!" camp needs to pray that we don't sign love. because guess what- you don't get to vociferously champion RT and then bitch when his team underachieves because he signed a ball dominating guard who takes away from (arguably) our two best players. the fact that we're so interested in him when we already have two excellent guards is a pretty big red flag. 

[Rickylovesweed 14516]

The Creighton boards were saying that Kaluma was really prioritizing NIL. Spencer also said as much. 

We must be throwing $ around. If you can just buy players I hope that's what we're doing. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

we'd better be throwing serious $$$ around after the way this offseason started. the first month was a mass exodus. and again, with so many of our obscenely rich nba alums championing RT, NIL $ can't be an excuse- we have to lead the way. 

Edited May 22, 2023 by shadow_operative

[Rickylovesweed 14516]

Yeah, I think a lot of people saw the Holland news as Texas not spending $. 

Or maybe Texas didn't think a FR was worth as much as Arkansas is paying? NIL allocation is an interesting topic. If you are comparing a player like Kaluma and Holland, I would hope we are prioritizing Kaluma. Not to get on this 5 star FR tangent again but that's just how I feel. 

[HookEm 2467]

14 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

anyone in the "RT RT he's our man!!!" camp needs to pray that we don't sign love. because guess what- you don't get to vociferously champion RT and then bitch when his team underachieves because he signed a ball dominating guard who takes away from (arguably) our two best players. the fact that we're so interested in him when we already have two excellent guards is a pretty big red flag. 

I don't think it is a problem at all to sign Caleb Love.  The guy is a year removed from leading his team to the National Final game while earning All Tournament honors.  I have no doubt that Hunter, Love and Abmas could figure out how to coexist as a 3-guard lineup (probably the best one in the country).  Love has the size to play the 3 at the college level.  He wouldn't be a ball dominating guard in that case, but rather a primary scoring threat off the wing.  

He's probably not coming here anyway so it doesn't matter, but none of the UNC fans were shitting on him a year ago. Did he suddenly forget how to play basketball? 

[shadow_operative 15932]

love's tourney performance is analogous to UNC's late season/tourney performance- an outlier among a much bigger, more reliable body of work. UNC came into last season ranked no.1 in america based off that tourney performance and in the end they were an epic failure that didn't even make the 2023 tourney. caleb love is the perfect representative/analog for that team. much like shaka's random/inexplicable tourney run, the entire rest of the body of work screams, "stay away." 

Edited May 22, 2023 by shadow_operative