Class of 2018 PF/C Osun Osunniyi (CT) to St. Bonaventure

[JazzNC]

I think a third center is more important than some have stated. That third center would be invaluable, even if he only plays 8-10 min a game. No one knows what the health status of our centers will be next season (or anyone on the team for that matter). I don't see anyone posting that the bigs will definitely be injured next year. It's impossible to predict the health of any player. My general philosophy when trying to predict odds that something will or won't happen: the best predictor of the future is the past. In this case, I think it's just as likely that Sidibe has more problems as it is that he is 100%, especially when we factor in that he has an inflammatory condition. I hope the staff can somehow find a good center at such a late stage in the recruiting process.

 

[AZOrange]

Terrible. The losses in recruiting are starting to get ridiculous.

Sarcasm I hope?

 

[Sherman20]

I think this kid could be a really good player

Which is the reason some people are bummed that we missed on him. He seems like a diamond in the rough, even if it takes him a season to develop. But losing him to the Bonnies isn’t the end of the world and may be explainable based on his relationship with a Bonnies assistant (if that’s a real thing). I liked the idea of getting a high upside-guy like Osun now and getting him in our system to develop, instead of being forced to try and land a top 50 or top 100 big man in 2019.

 

[jdubs30]

Did anyone hear what his coach said during the announcement? Said that after LaSalle let their staff go, OO wanted to stay with LaSalle but it didn’t work out. Whatever that means. Also said besides the final 3, other schools who wanted him were VT, Pitt and a 3rd I forget.

Kid might have wanted a smaller conference; nothing wrong with that

 

[Dinkyspond]

It was a Faustian bargain. We lose this kid but Tyus comes back. I'll take that in a minute.

 

[two3zone]

Kid might have wanted a smaller conference; nothing wrong with that

Excuses are endless why we can’t fill the roster. Sanctions don’t work anymore so here we go.

 

[two3zone]

It was a Faustian bargain. We lose this kid but Tyus comes back. I'll take that in a minute.

Sure, but that’s not looking good.

Moyer bails, 2 late recruits bolt to much lesser teams, Bazley doesn’t want to come, and Battle is mid 2nd round to undrafted and he won’t come back.

 

[cuseattle]

And now, we move on.

 

[moqui]

woulda been nice to have the insurance policy, but with bs a year ahead of him and aa (or someone like him) coming in a year behind him, i don't think the kid would ever have played & would have transferred out after a couple of years. i think he & his parents were smart enough to see that, too.

 

[cuseguy]

It was a Faustian bargain. We lose this kid but Tyus comes back. I'll take that in a minute.

Tyus isn’t coming back.

 

[two3zone]

woulda been nice to have the insurance policy, but with bs a year ahead of him and aa (or someone like him) coming in a year behind him, i don't think the kid would ever have played & would have transferred out after a couple of years. i think he & his parents were smart enough to see that, too.

With who we've been playing at the 5 since Fab played, there has been ample opportunity for anybody who could play the 5. As of now we have one guy penciled in for 2019-2020 and who knows how his knees are.

If we can't sell center playing time to a kid that our staff liked then that's bad.
Injuries happen, and at the center, we never play a guy 40 minutes there and it's a position prone to fouls. If he had talent. He would've played.

 

[RF2044]

I think a third center is more important than some have stated. That third center would be invaluable, even if he only plays 8-10 min a game. No one
knows what the health status of our centers will be next season (or anyone on the team for that matter). I don't see anyone posting that the bigs will definitely be injured next year. It's impossible to predict the health of any player. My general philosophy when trying to predict odds that something will or won't happen: the best predictor of the future is the past. In this case, I think it's just as likely that Sidibe has more problems as it is that he is 100%, especially when we factor in that he has an inflammatory condition. I hope the staff can somehow find a good center at such a late stage in the recruiting process.

Two quick things.

In the main, I agree with your take that we could have used someone to bolster depth, just in case. But in what world does a third string center get 8-10 minutes a game? Realistically.

Second, there will not be anyone at this point that the staff can find. THIS was the kid who was better than Valdir Manuel that the staff went after. On to 2019.

 

[AZOrange]

Sure, but that’s not looking good.

Moyer bails, 2 late recruits bolt to much lesser teams, Bazley doesn’t want to come, and Battle is mid 2nd round to undrafted and he won’t come back.

Man you’re kind of glossing over the positives...nothing on oshae, jalen, Marek,braswell?

 

[moqui]

With who we've been playing at the 5 since Fab played, there has been ample opportunity for anybody who could play the 5. As of now we have one guy penciled in for 2019-2020 and who knows how his knees are.

If we can't sell center playing time to a kid that our staff liked then that's bad.
Injuries happen, and at the center, we never play a guy 40 minutes there and it's a position prone to fouls. If he had talent. He would've played.

your argument flies in the face of history. jb does not play 3 centers. it is a cold, hard fact

 

[two3zone]

your argument flies in the face of history. jb does not play 3 centers. it is a cold, hard fact

He doesn't. But we also can't seem to have two healthy at the same time.

 

[IthacaMatt]

It doesn’t hurt us unless Sidibe has issues again with his knee.

And Chukwu with his back. See Feb 18 story in the Post Standard.

 

[JazzNC]

Two quick things.

In the main, I agree with your take that we could have used someone to bolster depth, just in case. But in what world does a third string center get 8-10 minutes a game? Realistically.

Second, there will not be anyone at this point that the staff can find. THIS was the kid who was better than Valdir Manuel that the staff went after. On to 2019.

I didn't explain myself clearly, my bad. What I meant was that a third center would be invaluable (in the case that Sidibe or Chukwu got hurt). Even if he only played 8 min a game, that's enough to give the healthy center a blow and limit minutes to 32 mpg. I didn't really mean that the 3rd string center would average 8-10 mpg (that of course would not happen).

As to your second point, I realize that there's no one left for the staff to recruit. My statement was said (if I'm being honest) with a touch of sarcasm. It's why I held so strongly that losing OO was unacceptable. Not because OO is a huge can't miss 5 star stud, but because there's no one left. Someone above wrote that before we could blame lack of depth on sanctions. Now we can't. Maybe the staff should reevaluate playing time so that more than 6-7 guys play? Maybe that would help recruiting?

I don't know what the answer is. Where is our recruiting niche? I posted a few months ago that I thought that maybe we should be looking more at the guys ranked in the 100-200 range? High 3 star to low 4 star program guys. Of course nothing is black and white, but we're not going to routinely recruit on par with Duke or Kentucky. Occasionally we may land a stud guy, but more often than not, they're winning that battle. I think it's a delicate balancing act. If we aim too high we get left at the alter, but if we aim too low we lose guys like Golden, OO, Khalif Battle, etc. It's not easy, that's for sure. But I think some of our more recent misses over the last few years we can learn from.

 

[IthacaMatt]

your argument flies in the face of history. jb does not play 3 centers. it is a cold, hard fact

2011 - Rick Jackson, Fab Melo & Baye Keita played at least 33 games each.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Not a huge disappointment. If he believes he's a St. Bonaventure level player, maybe we all should, too?

No, this is a blow. This kid was good enough to play here. He'll be a key player for the Bonnies. We've got 2 centers coming off injuries. Need a third guy badly, just so if one is hurt, he doesn't still have to play.

 

[Day2]

Sure, but that’s not looking good.

Moyer bails, 2 late recruits bolt to much lesser teams, Bazley doesn’t want to come, and Battle is mid 2nd round to undrafted and he won’t come back.

Who cares about Moyer and Golden? I would rather have Braswell. Had Bazley stayed, Brissett might have gone. No Battle means more PT for Carey.

Would we have more talent with Bazley and Battle? Sure. Chemistry matters, though. Without them, we might have a better team. Who knows?

 

[IthacaMatt]

Seen too many posts act like our two centers are guaranteed to be hurt and this kid would be needed as the savior...none of which is true. I for one am excited to see what a healthy BS can give us. Yes he may not be cured for good but the surgery should help a lot for this season. If he can work to get a little stronger that will also help support his knee and reduce the stress.

OO would have been a nice get, but was nothing near a must have. If we require a third center this year, having one would not fix the problem that resulted in the need.

Sidibe had tendonitis all year long, with only stretches of time he wasn't hurt.

Chukwu hurt his lower back on Feb 18 (he said something popped, which is not a muscle strain, it's a spasm or God forbid a disk). He could barely run up and down the floor the last 4 weeks of the season.

Here's the bottom line. If either one of these guys gets hurt this year, guess what? He still has to play. That's great for recovery.

If we have a third guy, even if he is only A-10 level as a frosh, he was MVP of a high caliber prep league championship game. He's a late bloomer. Taurean Thompson was a late bloomer, too.

If we have that third guy, the guy who's hurt doesn't have to play. He can sit out that game.

 

[Gotothehole]

You can spin however you want. This was not a positive development. It appears that we no love from the Biggs since a certain coach left. Do any you of think we compete in the ACC without a post game? Something has to change .

 

[moqui]

Sidibe had tendonitis all year long, with only stretches of time he wasn't hurt.

Chukwu hurt his lower back on Feb 18 (he said something popped, which is not a muscle strain, it's a spasm or God forbid a disk). He could barely run up and down the floor the last 4 weeks of the season.

Here's the bottom line. If either one of these guys gets hurt this year, guess what? He still has to play. That's great for recovery.

If we have a third guy, even if he is only A-10 level as a frosh, he was MVP of a high caliber prep league championship game. He's a late bloomer. Taurean Thompson was a late bloomer, too.

If we have that third guy, the guy who's hurt doesn't have to play. He can sit out that game.

yup; woulda been great to have him. but he has his own goals.
your desire for an insurance policy has absolutely no impact on his desire to find the situation where he can maximize his court time

 

[bnoro]

WELP I'LL JUST SEE YOU GUYS IN THE CBI NEXT SEASON. FIRE BOEHEIM AND GMAC.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

The past three seasons, Marek and Snidely Whiplash played ‘emergency center’ for us. A third string C for 18-19 would have been more than just a luxury.

I don’t know how good Osun might have been for us, but the injury precedent at the position gives me not much confidence that we will have 2 healthy centers for a full year. That said, I don’t at all fault this kid’s decision or the staff for not ‘convincing’ him.