Class of 2024 SF Keitenn Bristow (TX) Portal to Alabama

[RedtheGOB]

I agree. Sadiq has a very high ceiling, if he stays I could really see a Stacey Augmon type player. Someone who can change a game on defense. First year Stacy wasn’t a big offensive player, grew into a solid scorer and shooter in later years at UNLV. White has a high motor combined with elite athleticism. Can’t wait to watch him defend.

Both of you stole my posts at the same time. We are not going to overpay just to get a bench piece and don't have the luxury of saying that oh yea don't worry about those Freshman they aren't going to see the court. Alabama is Alabama they will just overpay.

 

[baggerbob]

Both of you stole my posts at the same time. We are not going to overpay just to get a bench piece and don't have the luxury of saying that oh yea don't worry about those Freshman they aren't going to see the court. Alabama is Alabama they will just overpay.

Our 2 best teams 1987, and 2003 had a forward, and a center who could protect the paint. DC and Rony, Hak and McNeal.

 

[Chicago44s]

This guy was the Aldi brand Donnie anyway.

 

[Cusefan0307]

We have completely stalled out in the portal. Pretty disappointing.

They're being strategic and in no rush. Kline's words himself.

 

[Orangezoo]

They're being strategic and in no rush. Kline's words himself.

Which is smart. With a head coach that has a lot to learn and a couple years where clearly there were gaps in both talent and team chemistry it’s about putting together the most effective team with guys who know the game , play hard and have the talent to win.

 

[Cappy3]

Which is smart. With a head coach that has a lot to learn and a couple years where clearly there were gaps in both talent and team chemistry it’s about putting together the most effective team with guys who know the game , play hard and have the talent to win.

Great in theory, but the portal is rapidly thinning out.

 

[Sherman20]

They're being strategic and in no rush. Kline's words himself.

But we were clearly trying to get this guy…and Deng, and Valencia…but just keep losing out and having to pivot. It sounds to me like we don’t have the upper echelon NIL largesse that’s been touted. We should have landed Deng or Valencia without any issue. Hopefully an under the radar overseas player emerges and Kline has the connects.

 

[Cusefan0307]

But we were clearly trying to get this guy…and Deng, and Valencia…but just keep losing out and having to pivot. It sounds to me like we don’t have the upper echelon NIL largesse that’s been touted. We should have landed Deng or Valencia without any issue. Hopefully an under the radar overseas player emerges and Kline has the connects.

Deng and Valencia are going to start at their new schools. They wouldn't have here. Bristow is likely going to get more money at Bama. If we haven't added anyone in a month then it may be time to complain.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Great in theory, but the portal is rapidly thinning out.

You're just wrong. There's tons left. It's not thinning out for bench role players that we need.

If we were looking for a starting point guard or guys to play 30+ mins in the ACC yea it's thin, that's not us.

We're looking for guys to come and play 5-10 mins maybe 15 tops if our freshman and centers are busts or maybe they get no minutes at all. Oh yea and we're not overpaying above what their talent level is like some schools.

So yea guys are prob not going to line up to come into those roles right away, but at some point guys will start sweating. This is all one big game of musical chairs and there ain't enough chairs.

 

[Cappy3]

You're just wrong. There's tons left. It's not thinning out for bench role players that we need.

If we were looking for a starting point guard or guys to play 30+ mins in the ACC yea it's thin, that's not us.

We're looking for guys to come and play 5-10 mins maybe 15 tops if our freshman and centers are busts or maybe they get no minutes at all. Oh yea and we're not overpaying above what their talent level is like some schools.

So yea guys are prob not going to line up to come into those roles right away, but at some point guys will start sweating. This is all one big game of musical chairs and there ain't enough chairs.

Well, that’s not what we’ve been looking at. No way Dent or Valencia, or even Bristow were gonna play only 5-10 minutes. We need a competent backup forward who has decent size and can shoot. Those guys don’t grow on trees, and won’t last until August.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Well, that’s not what we’ve been looking at. No way Dent or Valencia, or even Bristow were gonna play only 5-10 minutes. We need a competent backup forward who has decent size and can shoot. Those guys don’t grow on trees, and won’t last until August.

I think 15 minutes is likely the peak time that forward gets. Kiyan and Sadiq are going to be in the rotation off the bench. Whether people agree with that or not is another story. In the backup forward market there's still Tyler Betsey, Sean Stewart, or the Euro market as an option.

 

[Sherman20]

You're just wrong. There's tons left. It's not thinning out for bench role players that we need.

If we were looking for a starting point guard or guys to play 30+ mins in the ACC yea it's thin, that's not us.

We're looking for guys to come and play 5-10 mins maybe 15 tops if our freshman and centers are busts or maybe they get no minutes at all. Oh yea and we're not overpaying above what their talent level is like some schools.

So yea guys are prob not going to line up to come into those roles right away, but at some point guys will start sweating. This is all one big game of musical chairs and there ain't enough chairs.

So please enlighten me. Who are the 6th and 7th men/key subs off the bench next year? Souare might be one. Maybe. But who else? We need key bench pieces, not guys playing 5-15 minutes.

 

[Sherman20]

I think 15 minutes is likely the peak time that forward gets. Kiyan and Sadiq are going to be in the rotation off the bench. Whether people agree with that or not is another story. In the backup forward market there's still Tyler Betsey, Sean Stewart, or the Euro market as an option.

Sadiq is very raw. I don’t think we can rely on him for much. Maybe he’s the 8th or 9th man. Kiyan is gonna need time to adjust but could eventually be a spark plug and have a freshman Buddy Boeheim type of role. I hope. But I don’t think we should go into the season banking on that. Plus there’s always injuries.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

We need more impact players. Taking a roster that is now possibly still only a bubble team and looking to fill in back end/practice players is not a way to better our chances. People keep touting our overall portal ranking as if it means something. We got:

George: Nat'l 70 / SG 18
Soare: Nat'l 376 / PF 83
Zephir: Nat'l - / -
Kingz: Nat'l 141 / SG 37
Kyle: Nat'l 299 / PF 68

Yes, we improved athleticism. We improved the point situation tremendously, and that's going to end up making Red look much more competent than he is. But, for a team trying to get into the top 25 after a lonnnnnng absence, getting only one transfer who was 'top 25' at his position is not a reason to start planning a parade. If, for some reason, the staff/Kline has already promised those six guys certain minutes/starting positions before finalizing a roster... that seems "premature." Seems like 'contentment." Seems like expectations have been capped.

We were told that our NIL situation was "fine" and "good" and not something to worry about, yet here we are, getting outbid and outpromised. This is going to be a very interesting season, (ir-)regardless of who else fleshes out the roster, but it's beginning to feel like we're going to need to rely on Kiyan and Sadiq a bit more than i'd like. Kiyan's all-star/showcase game needs to be evaluated in context. That's not what we're getting for 2025-26 against ACC competition.

 

[Cusefan0307]

We need more impact players. Taking a roster that is now possibly still only a bubble team and looking to fill in back end/practice players is not a way to better our chances. People keep touting our overall portal ranking as if it means something. We got:

George: Nat'l 70 / SG 18
Soare: Nat'l 376 / PF 83
Zephir: Nat'l - / -
Kingz: Nat'l 141 / SG 37
Kyle: Nat'l 299 / PF 68

Yes, we improved athleticism. We improved the point situation tremendously, and that's going to end up making Red look much more competent than he is. But, for a team trying to get into the top 25 after a lonnnnnng absence, getting only one transfer who was 'top 25' at his position is not a reason to start planning a parade. If, for some reason, the staff/Kline has already promised those six guys certain minutes/starting positions before finalizing a roster... that seems "premature." Seems like 'contentment." Seems like expectations have been capped.

We were told that our NIL situation was "fine" and "good" and not something to worry about, yet here we are, getting outbid and outpromised. This is going to be a very interesting season, (ir-)regardless of who else fleshes out the roster, but it's beginning to feel like we're going to need to rely on Kiyan and Sadiq a bit more than i'd like. Kiyan's all-star/showcase game needs to be evaluated in context. That's not what we're getting for 2025-26 against ACC competition.

I don’t know where you’re getting your rankings from, but they are completely garbage. I am not sure if you actually watched him, but George is absolutely not a shooting guard whatsoever. He was the 13th ranked pg in the portal.

FWIW we have the 15th newcomer class according to 247 which is good for 4th in the ACC behind Duke, Louisville and UNC. Anything we do or don’t do this year is going to come down to Red’s coaching.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I don’t know where you’re getting your rankings from, but they are completely garbage. I am not sure if you actually watched him, but George is absolutely not a shooting guard whatsoever. He was the 13th ranked pg in the portal.

FWIW we have the 15th newcomer class according to 247 which is good for 4th in the ACC behind Duke, Louisville and UNC. Anything we do or don’t do this year is going to come down to Red’s coaching.

Your argument is with on3.

College Basketball Transfer Portal

The latest 2026 college basketball players that have entered the transfer portal.

www.on3.com

I'm sure you could find different numbers. And then there'd be an argument with those. Tends to come down to what you want to believe... That's not my point.

I agree with the listing of George as a 2G as being 'odd,' but i cited what i saw as the first resource i found.

And, as i said before, a ranking of an entire 'class—newcomers or frosh or whatever—has proven to be irrelevant.

 

[RedtheGOB]

I don’t know where you’re getting your rankings from, but they are completely garbage. I am not sure if you actually watched him, but George is absolutely not a shooting guard whatsoever. He was the 13th ranked pg in the portal.

FWIW we have the 15th newcomer class according to 247 which is good for 4th in the ACC behind Duke, Louisville and UNC. Anything we do or don’t do this year is going to come down to Red’s coaching.

Thank you. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here today. There are not that many minutes left on this team for guys in the portal.

We need another 2 guys to play a few mins off the bench. Those guys are out there but they aren't going to have 4 and 5 stars next to their names or come up at the top of the 247 or on3 lists.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Your argument is with on3.

College Basketball Transfer Portal

The latest 2026 college basketball players that have entered the transfer portal.

www.on3.com

I'm sure you could find different numbers. And then there'd be an argument with those. Tends to come down to what you want to believe... That's not my point.

I agree with the listing of George as a 2G as being 'odd,' but i cited what i saw as the first resource i found.

And, as i said before, a ranking of an entire 'class—newcomers or frosh or whatever—has proven to be irrelevant.

Ok so where do you think JJ and Freeman would've landed on the portal tracking sites? Funny how they don't show up on the sites even though they're our biggest offseason pickups because they didn't go anywhere.

They're not done in the portal and I doubt we have any idea who the last piece or 2 will be until it's out there. I'm just happy Kline is the GM and not some people posting here today.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Your argument is with on3.

College Basketball Transfer Portal

The latest 2026 college basketball players that have entered the transfer portal.

www.on3.com

I'm sure you could find different numbers. And then there'd be an argument with those. Tends to come down to what you want to believe... That's not my point.

I agree with the listing of George as a 2G as being 'odd,' but i cited what i saw as the first resource i found.

And, as i said before, a ranking of an entire 'class—newcomers or frosh or whatever—has proven to be irrelevant.

It’s not just odd. It’s inaccurate. Of course if someone is recruiting him as a sg his ranking should be that low because he isn’t one. Literally no one recruited him as one.

 

[pearl31]

Not even worth trying to discuss roster construction and potential quality with folks entrenched in WE SUCK RED SUCKS worldview

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Ok so where do you think JJ and Freeman would've landed on the portal tracking sites? Funny how they don't show up on the sites even though they're our biggest offseason pickups because they didn't go anywhere.

They're not done in the portal and I doubt we have any idea who the last piece or 2 will be until it's out there. I'm just happy Kline is the GM and not some people posting here today.

I don’t understand. Why would I rank retained players vs portal transfers? What would be the point? You’d have to do the same with every other team. Which is my point about ranking total ‘classes’—they don’t factor what a team actually needs, and they dismiss how much playing time an inexperienced incoming freshman might get. Among other issues.

Youre also going to have to demonstrate how your perspective is better than “some of the people posting here today.“ You agree with everything Kline says? Didn’t he just say we’re doing things “strategically” to rationalize not getting the targets who decided against us recently? You trust Red? After last year?

We‘re not projected to be in the top 50 in the “too early” lists I’ve seen. And people think we should be content with just adding some ‘bench guys?’

 

[Zelda Zonk]

It’s not just odd. It’s inaccurate. Of course if someone is recruiting him as a sg his ranking should be that low because he isn’t one. Literally no one recruited him as one.

I’m not defending that. That’s one ‘glitch.’ As I said, I chose the one site I had been using for other player references. I didn’t cherry-pick a site that makes us look good. Choose another, then.

But, whenever a fan decides his guy should be ranked higher, he should also show why the guys ahead of him shouldn’t be there.…

 

[Cusefan0307]

I’m not defending that. That’s one ‘glitch.’ As I said, I chose the one site I had been using for other player references. I didn’t cherry-pick a site that makes us look good. Choose another, then.

But, whenever a fan decides his guy should be ranked higher, he should also show why the guys ahead of him shouldn’t be there.…

If I was cherry picking I would have used ESPN’s ranking that has him 26th overall and the 8th best pg overall.

I’m not even a Red fan. I think he stinks as a coach, but he has plenty enough to win with next year. If he doesn’t that’s on him.

 

[Niastri]

Our 2 best teams 1987, and 2003 had a forward, and a center who could protect the paint. DC and Rony, Hak and McNeal.

Craig Forth averaged 2.7 blocks per 40 minutes that championship season as well. He only played 17 minutes and McNeil 18. Anthony had .9 blocks per game as well.

The whole team averaged 7.1 per game… The NCAA leader had only 6.2 per game this past season.

 

[Niastri]

So please enlighten me. Who are the 6th and 7th men/key subs off the bench next year? Souare might be one. Maybe. But who else? We need key bench pieces, not guys playing 5-15 minutes.

I would say, at this time, the top seven is Freeman, George, Starling, Kingz, Kyle, Souare and White. A lot of experience and talent in that top 7. Then Anthony and Fennell are 8th and 9th, with Womack and Zephir getting (hopefully) spot minutes if there are fouls or injuries.

Essentially, we are playing with a platoon of White and Kingz at small forward.

The quality of any given transfer could push guys down the rotation, or the last player could be another break glass in case of emergency.

Guys like Deng and Valencia would have taken minutes from White. I think Bristow would have been below him in the depth chart.

I would love getting somebody to push Souare or even Kyle down the depth chart, but I don’t think that guy exists in the portal currently.

A guy as good as Grant-Foster would be amazing, he might even compete for starters minutes. But he’d still be 6th man.