Productivity is productivity IMO. Need a guy who has been productive rather than taking chances on kids who may have the 'look'.
Take a guy like Josh Cohen. He played 3 seasons at Saint Francis in PA, 5ppg, 12ppg, then blew up as a junior. 22 ppg, 8 rpg, shot 59% from the field. Player of the Year in the league.
Transferred to UMass - probably a level and a half up from the NEC - and is now averaging 16 ppg, 7 rpg, shooting 55% from the field.
He's 6-10, not super athletic but knows how to play, knows how to be productive. Had 19 pts, 7 rebs. vs. West Virginia. Could you ever see McLeod having 19 points and 7 rebounds against anyone? We probably could have had him if we tried but we took a kid that has far less production and was tall.
Kids are out there that can play, and at this point I do not believe we should be taking chances on kids who are 7-0 and athletic but can't produce points or rebounds,
Patterson, Hima, McLeod... they're all the same. Tall guys who can move a little bit, might be able to block a few shots, but have no transferrable basketball skills. Bad hands, no feel, no ball skills, very few post moves.