Welcome to the Family Ibi Watson!
 

Ibi Watson
‏
Verified account

@ibi_watson_2
27s28 seconds ago
More
I’m extremely blessed to announce that I am going to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Dayton 🔴⚪️ Go Flyers!

Sit 1, Play 2... Welcome back to Ohio!

LHS, what's the story here? Great athlete with an incredible vertical but seems like an unknown outside of that

Dynamic athlete... Improved his jump shot a great deal... Didn't play a lot, sort of got lost in the shuffle, but should help this program a great deal.

Hopefully he can be Anthony Grant's Jordan Sibert

This is great news! Sounds like he fits what AG is trying to do.

I believe I read Archie tried to recruit him to Dayton before he committed to MI.

Archie offered him

He picked Michigan over Tom Crean's Indiana out of high school

Corey Evans @coreyevans_10
2m2 minutes ago
More Corey Evans Retweeted Matthew Schwade
Good one for the Flyers. Should contribute right away on the wings after his sit out year

Not sure if the UofM board is always nicer to their transfers than we tend to be here, but a lot of nice words were said about Ibi in this thread: http://forum.umhoops.com/t/ibi-watso...erring/3638/13

"Well, that should dull all the transfer speculation.
I always hate to see any Michigan players transfer. I think Ibi was a valuable asset and would have continued to help us win.
I wish him well at his next stop. I think he will do well."

Whenever a player transfers or a coach leaves (Archie), the majority of this board acts like a scorned ex towards them.

What? I think it is a good comparison hopefully lol

Mixed emotions lhs?

I hope so, I'm nervous here

As if we should act some other way????

We are lovers on this board and we were just scorned.

nah... since I started at UD in 04... Dayton Basketball always over UM BBall... Besides if you read the boards on Rivals, 247, etc, Nothing but love and wishing him good luck for Ibi from the UM Fanbase

I'd be a lot nicer to everyone if we were playing in the S16 every year.

Off-season workouts are underway for the Michigan men's basketball team, and Ibi Watson is already turning heads when it comes to metrics.

The 6-foot-5 sophomore wing apparently set a new team record in the vertical leap on Friday, jumping 44 1/2 inches to touch 12 feet, 1/2 inches, strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson tweeted out.

To help put this in perspective, the vertical jump record at the NBA Draft combine is 46 inches, set by Memphis' D.J. Stephens in 2013.

http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/inde...ichigan_b.html

Brian Gregory's dream player

Well, I have to think that Dayton will be the first program with both an Ibi and an Obi on the roster!

Man I wish we had him this year, but he'll be a nice addition next year with his great athleticism and a year to develop. Mikesell, Landers, Toppin (?), Policelli. I'm not sure we'll have a real stud level athletic specimen for that team, so this is what was needed. Add in 2 junior guards in Crutcher and Davis, I like the look of that team next year.

Nicely done.

"2 on 1 fast break, Ibi to Obi, back to Ibi, up to Obi, SLAMS IT HOME"

Can we also get a Wan?

More on Watson.

https://www.whio.com/sports/dayton-a...afaosbtGcehKI/

As in "And Wan" ?

Hopefully not !
 

Like Frank Iguodala ? :rolleyes:

Jordan Sibert only averaged 3.0 points a game during his sophomore year at OSU. I think it's a legit comparison.

As in Obi Wan Kenobi

While his stats are entirely unimpressive at UM: https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb...-watson-1.html
The one thing that stands out to me is his increase from 0 offensive rebounds and 8 DRB in his freshman season to 11 ORB and 10 DRB his sophomore season. Illustrates an improvement in size. I like when guys (especially guards) are good offensive rebounders.

I'm probably reading into it too much because of the low sample size, but I thought that was interesting.

https://umhoops.com/2015/07/28/rundo...n-to-michigan/

Run down on him when committed to Michigan

That UD originally recruited him probably didnt hurt. Familiar with the school and academic/program goals. Reaching out, even when its Grant, is a hand he had seen before. Didnt have to start from scratch. Ohio kid. Good fit. Sibert literally couldnt get on the court at Ohio State. His shooting percentage was terrible when he did. And yet name another UD jumpshooter in the last 20 years at UD that made more clutch Js. The Fort Wayne bomb, 24fter vs Syracuse w/50 seconds left, and cold-blooded knife-twister vs Boise will live forever. They didnt just change outcomes. They changed seasons and changed UD MBB history as it will be told.

Hopefully Watson has that same upside and just needs a platform and playing time to show himself.

Heard from the grapevine bucky is taking pronunciation classes.

Broken link.

should be fixed

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/c...ton/551702002/


http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/inde...rt_river_index

Bucky can still say Bud Light

I love these posts from lhsgolf19.

Me too lol

good to have someone who comes from winning programs at the high school and college level in the locker room. AG mentioned that'll he'll be good for the younger players on the roster.

Big character and chemistry upgrade with a guy like Ibi

When will Coach Grant get something done?😆
Good job AG and staff.

And an "oh my Obi!" from Bucky!

I like this a lot. The upside is huge and you can't play it safe with every scholarship. Great athlete, improved his 3pt % a great deal this past season and has a year off to keep working on it.

He also spent the last 2 years on a team that was having great success and was 40 minutes away from winning a National Championship this year. That type of experience will help him, even if he wasn't getting a lot of minutes.

If AG goes back to man to man more often this is exactly the type of guy that can guard anyone on a switch

I like that he has a Sit Year. Seems jacked in upper body fromone picture.

Good size at 6 foot 5". On paper it doesn't look like a great pickup.

But paper don't play da games! Hope it works out.

Welcome Ibi!

Check out Sibert's stats from tOSU. His transfer didn't look good on paper either.

There's a reason he went to UM...they don't recruit projects.

Ibi has a vertical leap of 44.5".

That is some very serious hops, better that Chris Wright if you can imagine that.

Certainly agree stats don't always tell the story.

Sibert was a top 50-75 recruit in the country. If hadn't broken his leg in high school there was legitimate thought that he might have been a borderline McDonald's AA caliber player

Watson was a 3 star recruit who was ranked around 200 in the country who had two power conference offers, Tom Crean's Indiana and Michigan.

With his athletic ability and combine measurables if he's skilled at basketball he's a top 10 pick.

He's in striking distance of the NBA draft combine record

Obidiah way, there will be no one Toppin that. :rolleyes:
Unless Ibi a high flying Transfer from Michigan of course. :)

Welcome to the Flyer Family, Ibi! Glad to have you in the fold!
Posted via Mobile Device

Just for Bucky's sake
 

OK, just for Bucky . . . Is it IHbee or EYEbee ???

You can't coach height or hops...either a guy has it or he doesn't.

I can hear it now on national TV. Starting at guard is “THE MICHIGAN transfer Ibi Watson”. Or maybe it doesn’t matter as much since it is only Michigan and not an in-srate rival like THE Ohio State University?
Posted via Mobile Device

Probably not as often. Don't recall Vee being constantly referred to as the "Georgetown transfer", or Josh from Bradley

One other detail. I think his former coach at Pickerington is a guy who played HS hoops in Dayton, 15-20 years ago. If that's the case, I'm thinking he probably put a good word in for Dayton basketball in general.

I understand your drift on this, but actually you certainly can teach hops. The training the HS kids undertake these days goes a long way to adding to their vertical. My grandson is a conditioned Senior all district football player in HS, and he and a whole gaggle of his teammates under 6' can now touch the rim. I was shocked at the progress they made with lifting and squats and weighted jumps. They also work on explosiveness.

I genuinely have no idea what we can expect out of Ibi on the offensive side of the ball. He's got the size and athletic ability to really help out on containing dribble penetration on defense. He's pretty intriguing on the defensive side of the ball being a bigger guard/wing who could probably defend multiple positions.

I have no idea how much zone AG wants to play but a 6'5 guy with bounce is a good fit for the top of a zone.

Point well taken, guys can certainly improve but if you have a standing vertical leap of 40”+ you have the man upstairs to thank, not training.

Have an Ibi Xmas present !
 

Just for Christmas fun, here are some Ibi Watson clips showing off his many skills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPPoV46ANTo Watch for #1 on the list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw7TWDIFQV0

Merry Christmas to Flyer Nation.

Watch Ibi in the long clip, I couldn't help but envision Ibi and Obi above the rim next season. And Crutcher recording about 10 assists every game.

Ibi is a BG type athletically

The more I watch the film, the more he looks like Marcus Johnson. While Johnson was not All A10, he was a very athletic guy who brought excitement to the game. The potential to be a real good defender and team guy.

I have no idea what idea he brings to the table on offense.

I can see him being bringing real value on defense with his size/athleticism. Switches on man to man defense, help defense and maybe some weak side shot blocking

Clearly he has the wheels and hops to fill the lane on the break. Does he have the skills to run the fast break efficiently. I dunno. Looks to be a guy that could cause real issues for our opponents if we ever get enough healthy depth to press full court.

are transfers all0owed to practice with the teamn?. if yes, has Coach Grant said anything about him?

Yes and there has been statements made but not by grant

The Obi and Ibi Show!

More importantly. How is #7, #7 on this list? How is #2, #2? The audacity.....

@sullymygoodname
23h23 hours ago
More
Larry Hansgen just wrapped up on ESPN Radio with @1410Kinner couple interesting comments: 1. Grant is going to go with the hottest 5 on any given night. 2. Many people look like idiots for thinking SJU would contend. 3. Ibi Watson probably UDs best player right now.

What if we don't have 5 "hot" players on a given night? Like last night?

Ibi Watson is the real deal. He has looked very, very good in practice this year.

better chances you can find 5 guys playing well when you have 13 to choose from

NCKevi: Exactly! That was the main reason we had the Elite 8 run. Well the depth, plus the height and athleticism.

Maybe we can get back to that level next year with the transfers and recruits coming in. Should be 2+ deep at every position if everyone stays...

I can't wait to see the day when Crutcher actually has his legs at the end of games

Is our scout teaming wearing us out?
 

So in the past few days I have heard Ibi is the best player and a few comment that UD has the best scout team in the country and is making our guys work hard to prepare for upcoming opponents.

With our very short bench, is AG working the guys too hard in practice? Is Josh having to bang with Jordy everyday? Is Watson wearing out Davis? Time to ease up on practice and be fresher come game day?

If that's true, than Davis probably finds himself coming off the bench next year with the stating back court consisting of Crutcher and Watson.

Crutcher
Watson
Landers
Toppin
Tshimanga

Sixth Man: Mikesell
Bench Shooter: Davis
Backup PG: Cohill
3rd Big: Chase Johnson
Defensive Specialist: Matos

Outside looking in: Chatman, Polocelli, Sissoko (redshirt?)

Chatman will flat out be the backup point guard. Don't think Tshianga starts over Mikesell. But it is about playing time. There are so many good pieces next year, this will be fun. We will then have posts about who is playing best, and who should play more minutes, instead of who is failing to get it done.

I highly doubt Chatman will be on the outside looking in. He will play point as well as the two.

I think Chase will start over somebody, and it might be Landers. I think I could take your bottom 5 and beat your top 5. Which says a lot about our depth next year even I lose.

Watson and Jordy have a lot to prove to gain a starting slot from the git-go. Johnson is starting material if he is cleared health-wise. Matos is a lot more playa than just a defensive specialist.

This is getting to be fun. :banana:

Ibi to Obi to Wan! All we need is a Kenobi.

Bottom line is that team is going to look drastically different next year and playing time will disbursed quite differently than this season.

I’m as excited and optimistic about next year as anyone. But it is still just a “forecast”. I wish my annual forecasts always matched our P&L. I just had to chuckle a little when I saw your quote/post above. I guess this is what it’s like to be a Browns’ fan........always talking about next year.

I think Coach Grant has stumbled onto something which will make his recruiting efforts much easier.

Ibi - Is our best player on the team according to Larry
Obi - Is our most talented player currently playing (IMHO)

Does everyone see the obvious pattern here?

The staff only needs to recruit players whose name or nickname is two syllables and ends in the letters "BI".

It can't get any easier for Coach and his staff. There has to be a ton of players out there that meet that description.

I think it is a little more complicated than that. The first letter must be a vowel. Look for:

Abi, Ebi, Ubi and sometimes Ybi.

Finally a voice of reason on this Board.

I think Chatman gets 17-20mpg. Hes the most proven of any of the incoming players next season with basically the same stats as Crutcher this season. He's also the most valuable. Another ball handler so Crutcher doesnt have to tank-out at the 5 minute mark of every game and do matador D to protect himself and the team from foul trouble. Chatman will be our Josh Parker.

Other than Jalen, there is nobody that can handle the ball right now. To have two PGs on the court at the same time -- or tag-teaming the position -- will be a huge net positive.

Starting 5 next year:
Crutcher
Davis
Watson
Landers
Toppin

Small, but I think this is what it's going to be to begin the year.

Chatman wouldn't be here and I don't think Grant would have taken him if he couldn't play along side Crutcher.

I wouldn't be surprised if both Chatman and Ibi start

Agreed. For those who aren’t familiar with Chatman, he led Chattanooga in points and assists last year. He can play and will get minutes here. My guess is Crutcher goes from playing 37 minutes per game this year to 25 minutes next year.

And he might have better stats in less minutes and better defense. We are living on the edge with him this year because we have no other option.

Interesting thought from a poster named ODo.

I don't believe there is any way that Jordan Davis starts next year. If he does, that gets me less excited about next year. He has had an extremely disappointing sophomore year in my opinion.

I agree. With Ibi and Jhery in the fold next year, it’s going to be hard for Jordan to get a lot of minutes.

I kind of feel like both Trey and JD may still start but neither will play starter’s minutes. I also wouldn’t be surprised if neither starts next year or at least they don’t end the year starting. I hope both do start all year as to me it’s a positive as that would likely mean they each stepped their games up.
Posted via Mobile Device

One thing I'm not worried about is who's starting next year and who gets the minutes. That will all sort itself out in practices and games. Let's just get through this season the best we can and then we'll let next year take care of itself.

I vote for making it LESS complicated, actually.

Two syllables, ending in a long "eeeee" sound, and you will play like a boss once donning a Flyer uniform.

Next year, we'll have these guys all getting lots of minutes:

Obi
Ibi
Jordy
Rodney

And providing some back-up:

Jhery
Frankie

Somebody: figure out how to get one more year of eligibility for Scoochie! Final Four would be in the bag, baby!

Yikes. Bench the captain Mikesell?

More important than starting is minutes. Right now the starters are playing a lot of minutes. In a long season with bumps and bruises, that wears on them.

Obi started the last game, but look at his minutes. As the season moves on, he has played more and more. Cohill’s minutes have increased also albeit slightly.

Having depth and talent gives the coaches more options.

My guess is Crutcher still logs heavy minutes next year (over 30 mpg).

We should just follow the George Washington model of basketball, and play 6 players at once.

Problem solved.

That's a little too restrictive in my recruiting methodology.

I am able to work with names that have two syllables ending in BI. That opens, up Bobi, Boobi, Cobi, Debi, Doobi, Jebi, etc. We will need to be able to find enough recruits field a team.

Is Tubby Smith available as an assistant?