I will argue that finding an impact PG is more important in college than finding a center. I do think to be an elite team we need to find a decent center but I am more focused on being a tournament team and looking like a competitive team on both ends and we need a leader at lead guard for that in college IMO. So I would spend my money on PG first and then center. I would focus my recruiting and development on wing players. In this day and age with the portal that is how I would build my team
we havent had a good PG in a long time...and this years team looks to be doomd due to a lack of one
but it should not really be that hard to find ACC level players at both positions. both positions are essential and vital.
I think an adequate PG should be easier to find than it has been...they simply need size to defend guards and an ability to distribute the ball (and hopfully shoot 3s as well)...those skills arent really that rare...whereas a big who can truly play is a bit harder to find.
it is poor talent ID and recruiting...not poor resource allocation
if the question is star center and decent pg or star PG and decent center...then it could go either way, and I agree...but even then i would still go with star center...last years final 4 teams seemed to all have plus big men...for me its essential to be decent. nc state having a center they could play through got them very far out of nowhere...so thats why i like the lampkin pickup...i think people underestimate his impact bc hes been injured and the pg has just been sooo so bad.
im tired of combo guards who cant play point running the offense...or mini PGS the size of walkons who cannot defend the position...and im tired of centers that have bricks for hands or cannot play defense and arent really even truly basketball players just tall guys who got recruited...
for me i go center first, then PG...with an eye towards getting both in the portal
is 2 starters in the portal too much to ask in this era???
yea I know I'm arguing with some of the peanut gallery. Now that we are rebounding well people forget just how terrible we were at rebounding for the last forever. Texas Tech is a top 20 rebounding team right now and we beat them on the boards by 9 (39-30). We are a top 25 rebounding team. That's because Eddie takes up space under the hoop and battles then Donnie and Davis/Petar are the vacuum cleaners
Please people go look up total team rebounding % on Teamrankings.
Last year we were #330, 2 years ago we were #230. This year we are #24. Donnie is at #30 in rebounds in the country the top P4 Freshman rebounder in the country!, the next P4 Freshman in rebounds is Mr Cooper Flagg in the 60's.
imo this is the only reason the texas and texas tech games werent blowout losses...it huge that the team can rebound as well as they can and it just hasnt shown up in the Wins-Losses (yet)
because:
1. PG play sucks
2. 3 point shooting (cough chris bell) has been dreadful (aside from choppa)
1 and 2 are very much related
and 3...eddie has been playing hurt...which hopefully doesnt continue or he will make even mre of a difference than he already has
If your center is going cost you the season if they get hurt your roster construction is terrible. You don't need amazing centers, just a 6'10" 240-250 pounder that can rebound and be physical. Our recent backups are usually 7'3" and weigh 150 pounds and have only been playing basketball for 4 years. We have had entirely too many "project" centers that never get out of the prototype stage.
I don't want guys who "can play PG." I want a real PG and I want to spend more money on that than injury prone centers.
If your center is going cost you the season if they get hurt your roster construction is terrible. You don't need amazing centers, just a 6'10" 240-250 pounder that can rebound and be physical. Our recent backups are usually 7'3" and weigh 150 pounds and have only been playing basketball for 4 years. We have had entirely too many "project" centers that never get out of the prototype stage.
I don't want guys who "can play PG." I want a real PG and I want to spend more money on that than injury prone centers.
Personally I still think Matt Langel form Colgate would be an awesome hire for the 'Cuse if we are looking in the next year or two. Dude knows what he's doing
Stud PGs don’t grow on trees. Roach was one of the top PGs in the portal, and he’s not even all that great and Baylor’s fourth or fifth leading scorer. And I think it’ll be hard to land a guy like Kadary.
Personally I still think Matt Lange form Colgate would be an awesome hire for the 'Cuse if we are looking in the next year or two. Dude knows what he's doing
Personally I still think Matt Langel form Colgate would be an awesome hire for the 'Cuse if we are looking in the next year or two. Dude knows what he's doing
Kid looks like he has the kind of game Chris Mullen had. Good handle, good vision, shoots the 3 lights-out and makes all the heady plays. Big kid, too, around 6-5 or so.
I think Donnie may be back. He is only sneaking into the first round right now, although there's a lot of season still to play. Even Jerami Grant took a couple years, and if Donnie returns, we could have a very talented team next year.
Kid looks like he has the kind of game Chris Mullen had. Good handle, good vision, shoots the 3 lights-out and makes all the heady plays. Big kid, too, around 6-5 or so.
I still watch the video from GT (Jan 2023) when Jesse got the rebound, passed it to Judah, who threw a 3/4 court pass (almost alley-oop) to Maliq for a slam.
Is that true though? Bulldog said he's getting 4 years. Assuming the wheels don't fall off Kenny Payne style, assuming he wins 19 this year and 19 next but misses the tournament (so three straight 19-win years with no tournament), does he get a fourth year?
Is that true though? Bulldog said he's getting 4 years. Assuming the wheels don't fall off Kenny Payne style, assuming he wins 19 this year and 19 next but misses the tournament (so three straight 19-win years with no tournament), does he get a fourth year?
I'd be shocked if this year's team gets to 19 wins... that, in and of itself, would be a relatively positive development.
He shouldn't get 4 years if we're not in the tournament after year 3 IMO.
That said, there seems to be a sentiment that the administration may be OK with mediocrity and not making the tournament regularly.
I certainly hope that is not the case as it would be a new lowbar for the program and an admission we no longer aspire to be an elite program... but the next 2 years will be telling.
I'd be shocked if this year's team gets to 19 wins... that, in and of itself, would be a relatively positive development.
He shouldn't get 4 years if we're not in the tournament after year 3 IMO.
That said, there seems to be a sentiment that the administration may be OK with mediocrity and not making the tournament regularly.
I certainly hope that is not the case as it would be a new lowbar for the program and an admission we no longer aspire to be an elite program... but the next 2 years will be telling.
I think Red definitely should get next year, but then he has to get to the tournament.
The reason I used 19 wins for 3 years is it's pretty much as good as you can do without being in the tournament conversation on selection sunday - just like last year. Some people will argue he should keep getting more years if he hits that benchmark, whereas others will say tournament or bust. If he wins 14-15 each year, it's not much of a question.
I hope our leadership cares about being an elite basketball program even half as much as our fans. I've been worried for a while that's not the case.
Is that true though? Bulldog said he's getting 4 years. Assuming the wheels don't fall off Kenny Payne style, assuming he wins 19 this year and 19 next but misses the tournament (so three straight 19-win years with no tournament), does he get a fourth year?
3 years no tournament = no 4th year for me. I don't care how many wins you get anymore that isn't a measure of success. Making the tournament is. I would rather have 18 wins and make the tournament than 22 wins and miss. The total number of wins now means very little overall.
Against bad teams you need 15+ point wins on a constant basis and you need to beat the Q2 and Q3 by any means necessary and then you need to sprinkle in a few Q1 wins. Your losses can only be Q1 and Q2 losses maybe 1 random Q3 but anything lower will kill you.