Scholarships

[Sherman20]

We don’t need 13 or even 12 scholie players. Rarely give 13 and will never play that many. Buddy will get a scholie. We have 12 to give this year. We aren’t getting to 12.

There’s an outside chance we get to 12. If Battle comes back and both Braswell and Osun choose Syracuse, that would bring us to 12 (with Buddy still going under scholarship). There’s also the possibility that a traditional transfer materializes in May or June that Cuse coaches actually want and can get (a la Gbibije, Hughes, Chukwu, and Wesley Johnson). But I agree that it’s more likely we’ll have 11 guys on the roster next season. And as you said, traditionally we’ve almost never used all 13. Typically one scholarship goes to a walk on. The first year of sanctions really hurt us when we only had 10 scholarships, and even the next two years were pretty bad when we had only 11, mostly because roster management and recruiting become more of a challenge when you have less scholarships to offer and hence a smaller margin for error.

 

[Sherman20]

so let buddy walk on and burn that schollie on any 6'10 grad transfer with post experience. given that we lost BAZ and the others seem to battle constant issues. do think think there is a certain "stigma" being labeled a "walk-on" ? or do you believe buddy needs free meals , education and lodging for the next 4 years ?

It’s about the stigma or perceived stigma. For team-building and chemistry reasons, the coaches want Buddy to be on equal footing with his teammates and make them understand and accept that he’s good enough to deserve a scholarship (this is especially important since he’s the coach’s son).

 

[dasher]

I can't disagree with this enough. We have been playing from behind with ships for so long, I would like to play from in front. Buddy should walk on. His play will determine how other players view him. Let's give that ship to a project and see if we can develop someone.

 

[realorange]

It’s about the stigma or perceived stigma. For team-building and chemistry reasons, the coaches want Buddy to be on equal footing with his teammates and make them understand and accept that he’s good enough to deserve a scholarship (this is especially important since he’s the coach’s son).

And as you said in your previous post, we aren't going to use all the scholies anyway.

 

[rrlbees]

I can't disagree with this enough. We have been playing from behind with ships for so long, I would like to play from in front. Buddy should walk on. His play will determine how other players view him. Let's give that ship to a project and see if we can develop someone.

Which scholarship? We have plenty.

 

[rrlbees]

There’s an outside chance we get to 12. If Battle comes back and both Braswell and Osun choose Syracuse, that would bring us to 12 (with Buddy still going under scholarship). There’s also the possibility that a traditional transfer materializes in May or June that Cuse coaches actually want and can get (a la Gbibije, Hughes, Chukwu, and Wesley Johnson). But I agree that it’s more likely we’ll have 11 guys on the roster next season. And as you said, traditionally we’ve almost never used all 13. Typically one scholarship goes to a walk on. The first year of sanctions really hurt us when we only had 10 scholarships, and even the next two years were pretty bad when we had only 11, mostly because roster management and recruiting become more of a challenge when you have less scholarships to offer and hence a smaller margin for error.

The limits had their effect. But one thing people forget us the limits we also received for the number of coaches being on the road. Makes relationship building that much tougher.

 

[dasher]

Which scholarship? We have plenty.

We have one more if we don't use it on a kid we don't have to use it on. There is no down side to having Buddy walk on. None. Only upside

 

[SUOrangeSU]

Would love for us to go traditional transfer as well..that way, we don't have to go too crazy on class size for 19

 

[rrlbees]

We have one more if we don't use it on a kid we don't have to use it on. There is no down side to having Buddy walk on. None. Only upside

Agree to disagree.

 

[tbonezone]

interesting arguments both ways. that's what makes america great,. i would rather keep it in pocket and shop it rather than spend it on a kid who clearly doesn't need it. too many scholarships available is a good thing.
who knows what crisis looms or deal suddenly becomes available.

 

[reedny]

Unless we have exceptionally versatile players, usually we need 4 guards, 4 forwards and 3 centers. Yes our guards are, to an extent, interchangeable. But as we've seen the last couple years, it really helps to have a true PG that can run the team and a backup at SG. So 4 guards (2/2) is the right number unless we want to have our shorts in a bunch all year.

Forward is also interchangeable, to an extent. We can swap a big SG for a forward ... but we pay the price. Our rebounding margin finally went positive this past year b/c we had long guys that could rebound at both forward spots and a 7-footer in the middle. It makes a difference. Unfortunately, bigs pick up fouls like ants on sugar. With only 2 centers, one gets hurt or BOTH pick up fouls, now you're swapping in forwards (MD) and taking a hit. So 3 centers is not really a luxury ... it's smart roster management. Same thing at forward ... you cheat disaster with 3 ... if one guy gets hurt you're SOL with no backup.

That's 11 minimum. We've had our shorts down so often the last few years we forgot what depth was. That's about to change this week.

 

[Jasoncuse]

We have one more if we don't use it on a kid we don't have to use it on. There is no down side to having Buddy walk on. None. Only upside

If we pass on adding Braswell, Osun or a traditional transfer to give Buddy a scholarship, that seems like an issue.

I fully agree with you, but at this point, I can't see how we fill all the open scholarships. That's where I've had the issue. We struggled in recent years to fill our 10 scholarships and we still haven't learned from it. Maybe last year's lack of depth was the perfect storm of issues, but there should be absolute no excuses moving forward. If we don't have depth, enough shooters, scorers or interior bodies, that's 100% on the staff.

With what looks like another major roster churn in the next year/two years, adding a traditional transfer at forward would be ideal. I'm guessing it's not happening at this point, though.

 

[SWC75]

Unless we have exceptionally versatile players, usually we need 4 guards, 4 forwards and 3 centers. Yes our guards are, to an extent, interchangeable. But as we've seen the last couple years, it really helps to have a true PG that can run the team, get into the lane and make other players better. FH is now playing that role .. but it took a couple years. Sure, Tyus could bring the ball up to take some of the pressure off. But that doesn't make him a PG. Frank also could play off the ball (in some ways this suits him better). HW did his best to sub in. But we had no real backup at SG. So having 4 guards (2/2) is the right number unless we want to have our shorts in a bunch all year like we have.

Forward is also interchangeable, to an extent. We can swap a big SG for a forward ... but we pay the price. Our rebounding margin finally went positive this past year b/c we had long guys that could rebound at both forward spots and a 7-footer in the middle. It makes a difference. Unfortunately, bigs pick up fouls like ants on sugar. With only 2 centers, one gets hurt or BOTH pick up fouls, now you're swapping in forwards (MD) and taking a hit. So 3 centers is not really a luxury ... it's smart roster management. Forward you cheat disaster with 3. But 4's the right number -- with only 3 if one guy gets hurt you're SOL with no backup.

That's 11 minimum. Not counting walkons. We've had our shorts down so often the last few years we forgot what depth was. That's about to change this week.

My formula for depth: The number of players who earn the coach's trust to make positive contributions in close games plus the number of different positions they can play.