2025 Transfer Portal Thread

[Vols till I fall]

How bad is the JP Estrella injury?

 

[TROLLVOL]

Unfortunately, that could make sense. The staff would absolutely love to have him another year. He will have a spot if he wants it and the NCAA allows. Tony Allen averaged 8.1 ppg for his career in the NBA and you’d better believe he always had a roster spot.

A 5th year isn’t an option for this years players.

 

[VolGee4]

Disclaimer - This is complete speculation on my part, but it is based in the talk that we hear ZZ and Gainey's name tossed around a lot as candidates to potentially return, and not so much Mashack and Milicic.

I...again, personal opinion...believe the staff loves Mashack's defense, effort, and leadership. I also believe he is probably viewed as a finished product, as in he's reached his ceiling. That ceiling is that of a fantastic defender and an offensive liability. I also don't necessarily believe that the offensive hole he creates is entirely talent-driven. I think he is just very passive on that end of the floor. In today's game, you can't have someone who just won't look to score when they have an opportunity. It makes your team far too easy to defend. If Barnes and Co. believe they can find an offensive player who is 60% of the defender Mashack was, I think they'd prefer to try that route and have 5 offensive threats on the floor.

Mashack would be a great fit with San Diego St. if he chose to play a 5th year. Defensive-minded program that will appreciate his approach, his voice and leadership, and it's closer to home where his family can see him more easily.

Maybe someone like @stoernerfumbles can validate that opinion. Or blow holes in it like a 12-gauge. I'm certainly open to being wrong.

Agree on his offensive game. I am not sure the coaches told him not to shoot. He was just passive. Heck, he shot 35% from 3 and 36% last year. That's not bad. We want Rice, and he was 37% this year although on much more volume.

 

[VolGee4]

A 5th year isn’t an option for this years players.

That hasn't been decided yet, but it may end up that way.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Hope I'm wrong, but how does this work with fitting in Ament at the 4? Feels like not much room at all.

You don’t turn down a talent like Ament, but you also don’t turn down Carey at the time he wants in…if you somehow land Ament then you have a good problem of options at the 4 as well as some versatility also.

 

[rockytop25]

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Sebastian Mack committed to Missouri

 

[VolsNetClippers2025]

You don’t turn down a talent like Ament, but you also don’t turn down Carey at the time he wants in…if you somehow land Ament then you have a good problem of options at the 4 as well as some versatility also.

Totally, just don't know what happens to guys like Phillips. Would of course rather have Ament + the good problem of too many options, just thinking about how it would impact distribution of minutes/locker room over course of season.

And beyond that, reading tea leaves, staff getting Carey maybe shows that Ament chances aren't that high.

 

[swchandler1988]

How bad is the JP Estrella injury?

He played in 3-4 games in November before he had season ending surgery to fix a stress fracture (I think it was a stress fracture). So he's been recovering from the surgery.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Totally, just don't know what happens to guys like Phillips. Would of course rather have Ament + the good problem of too many options, just thinking about how it would impact distribution of minutes/locker room over course of season.

And beyond that, reading tea leaves, staff getting Carey maybe shows that Ament chances aren't that high.

As others have said Ament can also play the 3, ton of versatility there…as for tea leaves, I don’t think it means anything either way, again you don’t pass on quality like Carey on the hope that you can land Ament.

 

[ArdentVol]

Pat Kelsey’s master plan puts Louisville in position to land 5-star Nate Ament

Nate Ament is the No. 4 overall recruit in the class of 2025, and the Louisville Cardinals are one of five programs in his final five schools. The top five team

bigredlouie.com

 

[BatteredVol44]

I agree with this, but also with the other poster that said Jamai is a finished product. Best case if we keep him is that he focuses on being a defensive specialist surrounded by better offensive talent that can help mitigate his offensive liability.

I like the Carey pick up because part of what can help somebody like Mashack is having some interior threats that open up some midrange jumpers for him. Mashack is not a 3pt threat, but he could develop as a semi consistent midrange guy with support from aggressive rebounders at the rim to clean up anything he misses. Plus, defenses seemed to just ignore him when he had the ball unless he got into the paint. Make them suffer by making him a primary defender with the ability to pick up 6-10 points on short range jumper.

Mashack's not a 3pt threat unless he's playing Alabama

 

[oldaaucoach]

IMO that feels like Carey took that spot, not that they’re similar at all, but Alvaro is a 4/5, I don’t see much room in the frontcourt currently

I had visions of Carey backing up Alvaro at the 4 position.

 

[BatteredVol44]

 

[TrippieRedd]

Wonder if the 1.3 mil is accurate we paid for Carey (going by on3)

They reported 1.5 for Gillespie, which seemed to be accurate….right?

 

[Vol49er]

Wonder if the 1.3 mil is accurate we paid for Carey (going by on3)

They reported 1.5 for Gillespie, which seemed to be accurate….right?

Not dissing Carey, happy to have him. I’d be surprised if he got that close to what Gillespie got. Then again, it seems we got Gillespie for well below market value (also, it’s STILL SO WEIRD talking about college recruits like this)

 

[TrippieRedd]

Not dissing Carey, happy to have him. I’d be surprised if he got that close to what Gillespie got. Then again, it seems we got Gillespie for well below market value (also, it’s STILL SO WEIRD talking about college recruits like this)

Hey it could be WAY off.

Just saw our NIL value which was 2.8 mil. Last night, it was 1.5mil.

Just curious if it was accurate is all

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Hey it could be WAY off.

Just saw our NIL value which was 2.8 mil. Last night, it was 1.5mil.

Just curious if it was accurate is all

I’ve never heard a verifiably accurate number regarding any player. It always seems to be some blend of bs, variable incentives and a real base. We upped our annual basketball budget by over 2mm after missing on McNeely. We can’t compete with Duke, Louisville etc on raw numbers, but we are paying over many programs and substantially over last year.

 

[T2P_Priceless]

Disclaimer - This is complete speculation on my part, but it is based in the talk that we hear ZZ and Gainey's name tossed around a lot as candidates to potentially return, and not so much Mashack and Milicic.

I...again, personal opinion...believe the staff loves Mashack's defense, effort, and leadership. I also believe he is probably viewed as a finished product, as in he's reached his ceiling. That ceiling is that of a fantastic defender and an offensive liability. I also don't necessarily believe that the offensive hole he creates is entirely talent-driven. I think he is just very passive on that end of the floor. In today's game, you can't have someone who just won't look to score when they have an opportunity. It makes your team far too easy to defend. If Barnes and Co. believe they can find an offensive player who is 60% of the defender Mashack was, I think they'd prefer to try that route and have 5 offensive threats on the floor.

Mashack would be a great fit with San Diego St. if he chose to play a 5th year. Defensive-minded program that will appreciate his approach, his voice and leadership, and it's closer to home where his family can see him more easily.

Maybe someone like @stoernerfumbles can validate that opinion. Or blow holes in it like a 12-gauge. I'm certainly open to being wrong.

How could it work with Gill and ZZ both on the team? Would Gill be ok at the 2 and if we get Rice would he be at the 3? I don’t think those guys are ok with not starting and CRG already told Gill he has the keys to the team

 

[TrippieRedd]

How could it work with Gill and ZZ both on the team? Would Gill be ok at the 2 and if we get Rice would he be at the 3? I don’t think those guys are ok with not starting and CRG already told Gill he has the keys to the team

Imagine telling the kid you have the keys, then bring ZZ back lol

 

[BatteredVol44]

Imagine telling the kid you have the keys, then bring ZZ back lol

Oof I cannot imagine how this would go lol

 

[LibertyVol]

I agree with this, but also with the other poster that said Jamai is a finished product. Best case if we keep him is that he focuses on being a defensive specialist surrounded by better offensive talent that can help mitigate his offensive liability.

I like the Carey pick up because part of what can help somebody like Mashack is having some interior threats that open up some midrange jumpers for him. Mashack is not a 3pt threat, but he could develop as a semi consistent midrange guy with support from aggressive rebounders at the rim to clean up anything he misses. Plus, defenses seemed to just ignore him when he had the ball unless he got into the paint. Make them suffer by making him a primary defender with the ability to pick up 6-10 points on short range jumper.

Mashack is a decent offensive threat who can score when he looks for his shot. I think he defers to the other guys because that is his role and they are better on offense than he is. He is a team player all the way. If the 5th year is allowed and he wants to be in orange he will be.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Disclaimer - This is complete speculation on my part, but it is based in the talk that we hear ZZ and Gainey's name tossed around a lot as candidates to potentially return, and not so much Mashack and Milicic.

I...again, personal opinion...believe the staff loves Mashack's defense, effort, and leadership. I also believe he is probably viewed as a finished product, as in he's reached his ceiling. That ceiling is that of a fantastic defender and an offensive liability. I also don't necessarily believe that the offensive hole he creates is entirely talent-driven. I think he is just very passive on that end of the floor. In today's game, you can't have someone who just won't look to score when they have an opportunity. It makes your team far too easy to defend. If Barnes and Co. believe they can find an offensive player who is 60% of the defender Mashack was, I think they'd prefer to try that route and have 5 offensive threats on the floor.

Mashack would be a great fit with San Diego St. if he chose to play a 5th year. Defensive-minded program that will appreciate his approach, his voice and leadership, and it's closer to home where his family can see him more easily.

Maybe someone like @stoernerfumbles can validate that opinion. Or blow holes in it like a 12-gauge. I'm certainly open to being wrong.

Gainey and his dad are the only ones that have overtly said they are waiting for a clear signal on the fifth year. That doesn’t mean ZZ wouldn’t come back, but Gainey believes he can make money and improve his future destination by staying. While a lot of people on this forum claim a clear timeline and understanding of when/how the fifth year discussions will shake out, people close to the situation remain unclear. It’s a mess. After the NCAA takes a position, the conferences have to follow. I think players like Gainey just want a signal telling them likelihood and timeline so they can make a decision. The longer it takes, obviously the less likely that anyone stays. Our staff is operating as though it won’t happen or won’t happen soon enough, but obviously they’d keep the door open for a player like Gainey if they hear signs of a clear future for the fifth year. They are not going to hold spots when good players are available.

 

[JacketVol]

Disclaimer - This is complete speculation on my part, but it is based in the talk that we hear ZZ and Gainey's name tossed around a lot as candidates to potentially return, and not so much Mashack and Milicic.

I...again, personal opinion...believe the staff loves Mashack's defense, effort, and leadership. I also believe he is probably viewed as a finished product, as in he's reached his ceiling. That ceiling is that of a fantastic defender and an offensive liability. I also don't necessarily believe that the offensive hole he creates is entirely talent-driven. I think he is just very passive on that end of the floor. In today's game, you can't have someone who just won't look to score when they have an opportunity. It makes your team far too easy to defend. If Barnes and Co. believe they can find an offensive player who is 60% of the defender Mashack was, I think they'd prefer to try that route and have 5 offensive threats on the floor.

Mashack would be a great fit with San Diego St. if he chose to play a 5th year. Defensive-minded program that will appreciate his approach, his voice and leadership, and it's closer to home where his family can see him more easily.

Maybe someone like @stoernerfumbles can validate that opinion. Or blow holes in it like a 12-gauge. I'm certainly open to being wrong.

I think with Gillespie coming in, having ZZ back would create issues unless it’s been addressed with both prior to G signing. Now Gainey, I would pick him out of the 3 to come back because he became a very good 2 and we need that and he’s good to be a 6th man. He would be the better fit of the 3. Mashack as a role player would be good. I love ZZ but how do you fit him and G unless G is ok to play some 2?

 

[cwbytruckers]

Maybe Barnes is going to adapt the Kim Caldwell approach of ZZ and Gainey comes back. Press and Run. Bazinga