Class of 2022 PF Jaret Valencia (TX/Colombia) Portal to Wichita St

[Niastri]

Shot over 40% from 3 during his freshman year

87 three point attempts over 60 low major career games. If he’s wide open, you don’t mind him shooting it. He’s actually a pretty good shooter, partially because he’s very selective.

Valencia’s .379 career three point shooting would have been the second best team percentage in ACC play last season… Behind only Duke’s team shooting of .386.

Only 20 teams shot three pointers at 38% clip last season.

If Valencia is out there with Freeman, Kingz, Starling and George, he’s solid enough of a threat to make a three that you can’t really afford to leave him alone. That opens up the floor for everybody else.

 

[General20]

87 three point attempts over 60 low major career games. If he’s wide open, you don’t mind him shooting it. He’s actually a pretty good shooter, partially because he’s very selective.

Valencia’s .379 career three point shooting would have been the second best team percentage in ACC play last season… Behind only Duke’s team shooting of .386.

Only 20 teams shot three pointers at 38% clip last season.

If Valencia is out there with Freeman, Kingz, Starling and George, he’s solid enough of a threat to make a three that you can’t really afford to leave him alone. That opens up the floor for everybody else.

I think it's less about how many 3s he makes and more about if the D will leave him open from 3 or not.

George, Starling, and Freeman will all be elite at driving to the basket. If Freeman and Valencia both need to be guarded behind the 3 point line (thus a wide open lane for drives) and are also stout enough to guard the rim and rebound, that would be a very good line up for us.

 

[grepal]

You and I feel the same about that. It seems the coaches are more confident with Kyle and Souare being effective at center than you and I are. I think our two big men both could be really good… I wish we were hedging our bets on them better. Freeman being a regular in our center rotation feels risky at best.

But, the fact that we haven’t been connected to another C or even a PF/C lately is a strong indicator.

They are going with another 6’9 or so SF/PF and throwing lots of tall, lean athletes at you. They are hoping that will be enough.

(With a side of hoping the new S&C coach gets these skinny guys less skinny.)

Playing guys out of their preferred position is asking them to portal out. We need a 5man who can split time or at least give us 10 to 12 minutes a game and 5 hard fouls

 

[althea]

Playing guys out of their preferred position is asking them to portal out. We need a 5man who can split time or at least give us 10 to 12 minutes a game and 5 hard fouls

I think that is Souares job.

 

[CuseSaint26]

I tend to put a lot of stock in social media activity…not always reliable but has been throughout this portal cycle.

It seems this is trending toward Jaret Valencia being the wing we get for a bench role. Noah Lobdell and the Data Analytics guy is following now.

This move tells me they are prioritizing athleticism, last years team was majorly lacking. This years team could be Top 3 in the ACC in terms of pure athleticism.

I did like Deng and Bristow but you can’t blame the staff for staying true to a vision of a versatile, athletic roster where every player is made better by a true PG (George). This team is going to play similar to a high major Florida Gulf Coast (Lob City version). Let’s hope they can defend but if it doesn’t work out, it’s not for lack of capable defenders.

 

[orangepassion]

I wonder why all his stats went down last year.

 

[SanDiegoCuse]

I wonder why all his stats went down last year.

He was battling injuries for the first half of the season.

 

[Cusefan0307]

He was battling injuries for the first half of the season.

Right in our wheelhouse.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Playing guys out of their preferred position is asking them to portal out. We need a 5man who can split time or at least give us 10 to 12 minutes a game and 5 hard fouls

Petar would have been a cheaper option to keep for that role.

 

[Niastri]

Petar would have been a cheaper option to keep for that role.

I’m not sure if this post is being critical of Souare or Valencia. Both are way more athletic than Majstarovic. I think they are both taller as well. Neither has set the world on fire so far, but I would take either over Petar, and definitely both.

I don’t care if they save money, I want to win games. The new guys help us do that better than Majstorovic.

 

[23Zone]

I’m not sure if this post is being critical of Souare or Valencia. Both are way more athletic than Majstarovic. I think they are both taller as well. Neither has set the world on fire so far, but I would take either over Petar, and definitely both.

I don’t care if they save money, I want to win games. The new guys help us do that better than Majstorovic.

Agree, I think Valencia can provide us with some serious Juice.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I’m not sure if this post is being critical of Souare or Valencia. Both are way more athletic than Majstarovic. I think they are both taller as well. Neither has set the world on fire so far, but I would take either over Petar, and definitely both.

I don’t care if they save money, I want to win games. The new guys help us do that better than Majstorovic.

It's not necessarily critical of either guy. Just saying that if we are running out of money to get a third center, it might have been cheaper to keep the guy we already had, and tell him he could compete for the backup minutes with the other guy (Souare). Now we need to buy another guy.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Across the country there are maybe 12-15 of those guys and maybe 8 or 9 (or less) that are elite.

Thank you!

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Petar would have been a cheaper option to keep for that role.

Assumes he wanted to stay. It was a brutal winter

 

[Sherman20]

You and I feel the same about that. It seems the coaches are more confident with Kyle and Souare being effective at center than you and I are. I think our two big men both could be really good… I wish we were hedging our bets on them better. Freeman being a regular in our center rotation feels risky at best.

But, the fact that we haven’t been connected to another C or even a PF/C lately is a strong indicator.

They are going with another 6’9 or so SF/PF and throwing lots of tall, lean athletes at you. They are hoping that will be enough.

(With a side of hoping the new S&C coach gets these skinny guys less skinny.)

The one thing that makes me feel better is that Kyle has a crazy wing span and athleticism. Wing span and hops are really more important than height for rim protection. You don’t block shots with your head. But bulk is important too for banging with bodies down low.

 

[RedtheGOB]

I tend to put a lot of stock in social media activity…not always reliable but has been throughout this portal cycle.

It seems this is trending toward Jaret Valencia being the wing we get for a bench role. Noah Lobdell and the Data Analytics guy is following now.

This move tells me they are prioritizing athleticism, last years team was majorly lacking. This years team could be Top 3 in the ACC in terms of pure athleticism.

I did like Deng and Bristow but you can’t blame the staff for staying true to a vision of a versatile, athletic roster where every player is made better by a true PG (George). This team is going to play similar to a high major Florida Gulf Coast (Lob City version). Let’s hope they can defend but if it doesn’t work out, it’s not for lack of capable defenders.

I'm ok with this. Looking at metrics especially only a few stat categories is a sure way to get into trouble when the pieces come together.

Get the height, length and athleticism first. Then expect the stats translate over as expected. Lesson learned, Don't buy a player just on stats and especially just one stat or few.

 

[bnoro]

Petar would have been a cheaper option to keep for that role.

Petar was brutal any time he had to play the 5 this year.

 

[KevMonstah]

his inexperience aside, 6'8, 215 is not a center, regardless of this 'position-less basketball stuff'.
maybe against lesser schools, but sooner or later you bump into a team that can make use of a
true big guy, or you face a bruiser who outweighs him by 30 lbs.

same concern i have with putting donnie, sadiq, valencia, deng, or bristow in the position, and
possibly even kyle. don't quite understand why they did not jump all over bradshaw when he
was available. sure his ask was high, given the UK->OSU past and the jump to Memphis, but
c'mon, career averages of like 6 pts and 3.5 rebs? the counter would be "ballard wanted the same,
but at least he averaged a double double. get real." get a true C, not a skinny PF type you've never
shown the ability to bulk up into a "power" forward.

kev

 

[Orangezoo]

I just don’t understand the obsession with having a stereotypical true 5 man as a must have to be successful. If you are going to play a zone - as we did many years, then it makes more sense.

In todays game that is so much more perimeter oriented you just run 2 big forwards, a small forward/wing and 2 guards and play with some combination of that in terms of your depth.

Having a true 5 man 6-11 and up who isn’t a liability on one side of the court is an uncommon commodity today. Many good teams play with 3 forwards.

 

[CuseMan4]

This is going to be the most athletic Cuse team in awhile. Since before Buddy and Girard. Which is nice to see. Where we obviously had more talent than the kid majors and lower level teams but we could also just put athlete them and win by 20. That’s what this years team is looking like. Should be an exciting and fun to team to watch if we get out and run. If we get stuck in half court sets it will be a tough watch in my opinion. This team is clearly built to get out and run and not the half court sets lol

 

[Orangezoo]

This is going to be the most athletic Cuse team in awhile. Since before Buddy and Girard. Which is nice to see. Where we obviously had more talent than the kid majors and lower level teams but we could also just put athlete them and win by 20. That’s what this years team is looking like. Should be an exciting and fun to team to watch if we get out and run. If we get stuck in half court sets it will be a tough watch in my opinion. This team is clearly built to get out and run and not the half court sets lol

To me that’s why it’s key George is a good pick and roll PG. I have to presume that will be a big part of what half court will look like when that’s how we are forced to play.

Along with having a few guys who can win the iso matchups as needed and create for themselves.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Petar was brutal any time he had to play the 5 this year.

It was pretty ridiculous how many tough games we put him in to play down the stretch. It was like ok Petar everyone else is sucking so get in there and do something. That's how ill equipped we were with everything last year.

 

[Cusefan0307]

This is going to be the most athletic Cuse team in awhile. Since before Buddy and Girard. Which is nice to see. Where we obviously had more talent than the kid majors and lower level teams but we could also just put athlete them and win by 20. That’s what this years team is looking like. Should be an exciting and fun to team to watch if we get out and run. If we get stuck in half court sets it will be a tough watch in my opinion. This team is clearly built to get out and run and not the half court sets lol

Exactly what scares me, because outside of Kingz I really question our shooting. Will require forcing turnovers which was a problem last year. Love the athleticism, but Sadiq, Valencia, and Souare seem redundant.

 

[CuseMan4]

Exactly what scares me, because outside of Kingz I really question our shooting. Will require forcing turnovers which was a problem last year. Love the athleticism, but Sadiq, Valencia, and Souare seem redundant.

We’ll be fine shooting wise. Kingz can light it up. Kiyan, Fennell, Womack can shoot the ball. Obviously tbd about their playing time.
Starling is serviceable and when he’s hot he’s a great shooter but he’s streaky.
George can shoot. I bet his percentage is in the high 30’s, low 40s this year. And I think Freeman has some potential there. He showed last year he’s capable of hitting the shot. Just needs to work on it this off-season and be more consistent.

I also like that this year we have a few guys that can get their own shot in George and Starling.
Freeman and Kingz are capable as well but I think George and Starling excel there

 

[OmahaCuse]

I just don’t understand the obsession with having a stereotypical true 5 man as a must have to be successful. If you are going to play a zone - as we did many years, then it makes more sense.

In todays game that is so much more perimeter oriented you just run 2 big forwards, a small forward/wing and 2 guards and play with some combination of that in terms of your depth.

Having a true 5 man 6-11 and up who isn’t a liability on one side of the court is an uncommon commodity today. Many good teams play with 3 forwards.

You double the post with quickness, guards come down and hack. Play the athletic game like Houston. I would rather give up 2 point baskets in the post than 3’s.