The Official “Regular Posters of the Basketball Forum” Thread

#16,403
#16,403
TrippieRedd said:
“Edwards said he’ll go into the spring and summer focusing on two areas of his game. He needs to improve his 3-point shooting and he needs to continue to get better on the defensive end.”

BJ Edwards: ‘I’m just ready to see what next year looks like’

obviously things could change.
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Yeah if you're talking about his quotes after the FAU game then that doesn't mean anything. Some guys don't hit the portal until late. I'm not going to belive he's sticking around until next November when he's on the sideline for the first game.
 
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#16,405
#16,405
If Santi or JJJ come back, what position would y’all like to add with our lone spot. I think it’s pretty clear that we need another PG option with ZZ likely sidelined. Obviously the number of spots could change but if Santi comes back, I wouldn’t mind adding a post like Ike as I think SV and mashack could suffice with the possibility of BJ progressing. However, if JJJ comes back I think we need to add a scoring 1 or CG.
 
#16,406
#16,406
CornbreadVol said:
If Santi or JJJ come back, what position would y’all like to add with our lone spot. I think it’s pretty clear that we need another PG option with ZZ likely sidelined. Obviously the number of spots could change but if Santi comes back, I wouldn’t mind adding a post like Ike as I think SV and mashack could suffice with the possibility of BJ progressing. However, if JJJ comes back I think we need to add a scoring 1 or CG.
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If Santi comes back, I’d guess that likely means that BJE is gone. That would essentially slam the door shut on him getting major minutes next season, especially if the plan is to bring in another guard. If both come back, I think it’s likely we have a departure that allows another opening.

Either way, I think Ike could be the biggest impact transfer we could get short of someone like Love coming in and fully buying into the team style and system.
 
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#16,407
#16,407
CornbreadVol said:
If Santi or JJJ come back, what position would y’all like to add with our lone spot. I think it’s pretty clear that we need another PG option with ZZ likely sidelined. Obviously the number of spots could change but if Santi comes back, I wouldn’t mind adding a post like Ike as I think SV and mashack could suffice with the possibility of BJ progressing. However, if JJJ comes back I think we need to add a scoring 1 or CG.
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I have a feeling if a senior comes back someone on this roster will hit the portal. Fewer minutes to compete for at that point.

But, to answer your question, if we do just have one spot I still think we need to prioritize a PG. If this season didn’t make it abundantly clear how important a PG is then no season ever will.

You can roll with Awaka, Estrella, and Aidoo in the post and hope for the best. You CANNOT go into next season with a gimpy ZZ who hasn’t fully recovered and no true PG. You just can’t.
 
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#16,408
#16,408
berryvol said:
If Santi comes back, I’d guess that likely means that BJE is gone. That would essentially slam the door shut on him getting major minutes next season, especially if the plan is to bring in another guard. If both come back, I think it’s likely we have a departure that allows another opening.

Either way, I think Ike could be the biggest impact transfer we could get short of someone like Love coming in and fully buying into the team style and system.
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I agree although I wouldn’t be so sure on BJ if Santi comes back. I think he has a chance to earn 15 ish minutes with ZZ coming back and his familiarity with the system. I think that likely means we would go after a Big.
 
#16,409
#16,409
TheMookieMonster said:
I have a feeling if a senior comes back someone on this roster will hit the portal. Fewer minutes to compete for at that point.

But, to answer your question, if we do just have one spot I still think we need to prioritize a PG. If this season didn’t make it abundantly clear how important a PG is then no season ever will.

You can roll with Awaka, Estrella, and Aidoo in the post and hope for the best. You CANNOT go into next season with a gimpy ZZ who hasn’t fully recovered and no true PG. You just can’t.
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I agree but I wasn’t too disappointed with Mashak’s handle, think he could develop similar to JRich.
 
#16,411
#16,411
TheMookieMonster said:
Mashack made huge improvements, that’s true. But, I still don’t like him as a primary ball handler and I think his impact will be far greater off the ball.
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True, just saying it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I never really hope that a kid leaves UT but I do think that if BJ does leave it will serve our team better this year as I think there is better talent in the portal.
 
#16,412
#16,412
berryvol said:
If Santi comes back, I’d guess that likely means that BJE is gone. That would essentially slam the door shut on him getting major minutes next season, especially if the plan is to bring in another guard. If both come back, I think it’s likely we have a departure that allows another opening.

Either way, I think Ike could be the biggest impact transfer we could get short of someone like Love coming in and fully buying into the team style and system.
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That makes for an interesting talking point. Would you take the proven product of Santiago Vescovi for one more year, or the unknown potential of BJ Edwards for three more years?
 
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#16,415
#16,415
cncchris33 said:
That makes for an interesting talking point. Would you take the proven product of Santiago Vescovi for one more year, or the unknown potential of BJ Edwards for three more years?
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I think for me, it’s Santi fairly easily. Next year’s team could still be really good with both Phillips and Dillione. At that point, we’re just 1-2 pieces away from another Top 10 team if Santi returns, IMO. You can replace BJ long-term, especially with how we’ve recruited recently. I want to prioritize the present, and I don’t want next year to be a rebuilding year. Go all in.
 
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#16,416
#16,416
cncchris33 said:
That makes for an interesting talking point. Would you take the proven product of Santiago Vescovi for one more year, or the unknown potential of BJ Edwards for three more years?
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Especially if you get another PG in the portal, Santi. Santi at the 2 would be ideal. If he were coming back for PG duties it would be a tougher question.
 
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#16,417
#16,417
I still would like to see just how good Santi could be if he was on a roster that didn’t put so much pressure on him to be THE scorer. He’s getting all of the attention right now. If we had some guys with the ability to get to the basket, it would open things up so much more for Santi, much like how FAU got a ton of wide open 3’s because the defense had to collapse on the driver. No one collapses on Tennessee because they don’t feel threatened by our ability to score in traffic.
 
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#16,418
#16,418
TheMookieMonster said:
I still would like to see just how good Santi could be if he was on a roster that didn’t put so much pressure on him to be THE scorer. He’s getting all of the attention right now. If we had some guys with the ability to get to the basket, it would open things up so much more for Santi, much like how FAU got a ton of wide open 3’s because the defense had to collapse on the driver. No one collapses on Tennessee because they don’t feel threatened by our ability to score in traffic.
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Mostly did last year with Chandler. He averaged 13 points, shot 40% from three, and hit over 100 threes.
 
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#16,419
#16,419
cncchris33 said:
That makes for an interesting talking point. Would you take the proven product of Santiago Vescovi for one more year, or the unknown potential of BJ Edwards for three more years?
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Yeah it’s definitely a tough one. I would ever so slightly lean Santi for one year, just because you know what you have with him - BJE is a complete unknown and could still transfer later into his career. Having a 5th year guy with the young talent we have next year could really propel the team to the next level, assuming you find 1-2 solid transfer fits. I def wouldn’t fault anyone for saying BJE for the next 3 years though.
 
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#16,420
#16,420
TheMookieMonster said:
I still would like to see just how good Santi could be if he was on a roster that didn’t put so much pressure on him to be THE scorer. He’s getting all of the attention right now. If we had some guys with the ability to get to the basket, it would open things up so much more for Santi, much like how FAU got a ton of wide open 3’s because the defense had to collapse on the driver. No one collapses on Tennessee because they don’t feel threatened by our ability to score in traffic.
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We saw how great he was down the stretch 2 seasons ago with KC opening up the lane and becoming such a great on ball threat. If we can get a resemblance of that from the portal, along with JP developing as a slasher, SV could have a renaissance scoring the ball next year. All he’d have to do is camp out and hit his open shots and I think he could average 15 a game.
 
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#16,421
#16,421
Anyone see where Kim English bet one of his Providence players that had entered the portal that he'd have to return to Providence if English beat him in 1v1? English beat him. That makes for a nice way to engage and get to know your team by leveling with them. Barnes, at his age, obviously can't do that, but it's a pretty neat way to see how English is already bonding and developing relationships with his kids, even those who aren't completely bought in, perhaps, due to the uncertainty of a coaching change.
 
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#16,422
#16,422
TheMookieMonster said:
I think for me, it’s Santi fairly easily. Next year’s team could still be really good with both Phillips and Dillione. At that point, we’re just 1-2 pieces away from another Top 10 team if Santi returns, IMO. You can replace BJ long-term, especially with how we’ve recruited recently. I want to prioritize the present, and I don’t want next year to be a rebuilding year. Go all in.
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Agree 100%. These days with the transfer portal how it is I think the vast majority of the thinking should be orientated towards the next year, not some hypothetical roster you could have three years down the line. It is so much easier to reorient on the fly if you mess up now too
 
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#16,423
#16,423
cncchris33 said:
Anyone see where Kim English bet one of his Providence players that had entered the portal that he'd have to return to Providence if English beat him in 1v1? English beat him. That makes for a nice way to engage and get to know your team by leveling with them. Barnes, at his age, obviously can't do that, but it's a pretty neat way to see how English is already bonding and developing relationships with his kids, even those who aren't completely bought in, perhaps, due to the uncertainty of a coaching change.
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Barnes hater
 
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#16,424
#16,424
Vol49er said:
Agree 100%. These days with the transfer portal how it is I think the vast majority of the thinking should be orientated towards the next year, not some hypothetical roster you could have three years down the line. It is so much easier to reorient on the fly if you mess up now too
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Yep. No such thing as a rebuilding year anymore in the portal era, especially with Barnes having at most 5 years left of coaching, IMO. Every year should be viewed as the most important year, as his chances to get that elusive 2nd Final Four are dwindling.

Obviously there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the roster for next year, but if the right dominoes fall our way there is plenty of reason to believe next year will be better than this year. I truly think losing ORN, Key, and Plavsic will be a net positive for this team. Key was an empty suit all year long and I’m frankly tired of Plavsic’s antics and stupid low-IQ basketball plays.

Lots of young talent on this team. Let’s get Santi back, add some portal vets, watch Freddie Buckets go to work, and have ourselves a hell of a 2023 - 2024 season.
 
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#16,425
#16,425
I fully agree with Mookie on PG being the #1 portal need and that's regardless of who returns.

Aidoo/Awaka/JP/Cade may all benefit more from as many minutes as we can give them next season in the post.

I'd also warn that I still think Julian Phillips is the most likely player to leave that isn't graduating, the only reason it's radio silence is he's going to go through the draft process to see what sort of evaluation he receives.

I'd take Santi back first of the seniors. I think Freddie, DJ, Carr, Mashack all benefit from him being on the team and helping them develop as an example as well as a mentor.
 
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