Former Centerville team mates enter portal
Guard Gabe Cupps Indiana
Forward Jonathan Powell WVU... WVU coach just took IU job.
Could Powell follow to IU?
Or does UD have a chance with both guys?
My guess is, Powell follows the money, whatever the source. He switched high schools. He’ll switch colleges.
I’m guessing they saw a need to get more size on the wings…and had the pockets to make that happen.
Mathus Hronsky from Duquesne, 6’8” 205 had 6 and then 16 points against us, is in the portal.
Jermahri Hill, 6’5” 185, from Ball State who had 25 points against us, is in the portal. I was very impressed with this guy who originally played for a junior college. He has real tenacity when he saw his team was getting blown out.
Sounds like the “never say die” kind of guy we need, and with decent length on the wing, too. In this environment: why not give him a look?
Austin Parks, 6’10” 260 from St. Mary’s Ohio and Ohio State is in the portal. I thought that Dayton had recruited him, at some point? His stats at Ohio Stste are abysmal.
Luke Bangboye, 6’10” 200 from VCU is in the portal. He scored 5 and 2 points against us in 2 games.
I’d still take this guy. His upside is terrific, but I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t follow Odom to UVA.
Whomever we bring in, they are not going to have the luxury of being "role" guys. We already have role guys (too many). We need 3-4 immediate-impact guys that can and will challenge for 1st and 2nd Team A10. If we don't get that, pull out the bugle and start playing taps. We need at least two guys that are better than Santos and one guy that's better than Cheeks. And one of them probably needs to be a PG. Just having the same talent as this year ain't gonna cut the mustard. This has to be Jordan Sibert/Ibi Watson/Kevin Dillard plug-and-play.
St Francis, who just played in the NCAA and won the NEC is pursuing a change to Div III at the direction of their Board of Directors.
Reminiscent of when UD went Division III in football. St. Francis is about to lose its entire b-ball team to the portal. But I wouldn’t be surprised it that school is the tip of the iceberg. NIL, the portal, agents, etc. have changed the landscape so significantly that small private universities can’t afford the game.
That took a lot of guts to drop from D1 to D3. I think they are the first of many over the next 10 years
Marvel Allen and Jacob Conner have entered the portal
This is the second time I've heard someone say Conner entered the portal, but there's no indication. In fact, I heard specifically Conner and Simon were both staying. Where are you hearing Conner is in the portal?
Has anyone confirmed that Conner is leaving?
Michael Belle of VCU has entered the portal. Not sure if we’d want him, but he chose VCU over us after both Grant and Odom flew overseas to make their case. Not a starter, not good stats, but is 6-8, 220, and athletic. Very limited offensive skills. Hard pass if you ask me.
St. Bonaventure is off to a good start in portal shopping. They nabbed a burly 6-8 Minnesota big who was putting up double doubles late in the season.
I am good with Simon and Conner staying. They both seem like guys who want to be here, and you really need that in bench guys. Is it possible that Allen put his name in the portal to protect himself in the event AG brings in 3 guards? Guys have a smaller opening to enter the portal. It’s just so odd that I’m guessing there’s more to why he entered the portal.
I’m fine with both staying, as long as Conner realizes he has physical gifts (“You can’t coach a guy to be tall”) on which he needs to capitalize. If they both are willing to put in the necessary work, they can both be contributors. And I’ll take a roster that’s 2/3 “contributors”, as long as we have a few bell cows who can leave each other’s girlfriends alone.
I thought Simon got better but still has a way to go. Conner has traits. I think he plays timid based upon those traits... a basketball version of imposters syndrome. Where the h**l was that FAU move and dunk with authority all season? I'm fine with both coming back if they do as long as they are not counted upon as rotational players going into the 1st practice. If they fight their way into the rotation... all good. But going into the offseason they should be looked at as pushing more toward the end of the bench.
As for a certain Qatari, I am actually ok with giving him another year. I am willing to concede that not everyone is ready to move half way around the world and that could have severely impacted his confidence and his play. Again, as long as he is at the end of the bench. I am absolutely ok with us taking some long shot chances on international players if it allows us to focus the NIL money on the top 7-8 players. But now we have a couple freshman and potentially the end of the bench.
We NEED starters transferring in.
Does anyone know if Cupps and Powell were on campus?
George Mason lost Jalen Haynes to the portal. I thought he was a senior??? Guess he gets a grad year. Anyway, huge loss for them. He’ll find a fat bag of cash at some P4 school.
I agree about that Conner drive and flushing it down with authority vs. FAU. Where the h*ll was that ALL season??? D*mn, if he's got that in his repertoire, then I want to see that every single friggin game, preferably multiple times every game. Smh.
He doesn't even look to shoot the large majority of the time, he hardly ever even looks at the basket when he has the ball. That makes it so much easier on the defense, it's 5 vs. 4 when we have the ball, the opposition doesn't even have to hardly guard Conner because they know he almost never shoots.
It's almost like Grant is putting the fear of God into these guys: run the offense exactly as I state, or you will ride the bench.
I agree about that Conner drive and flushing it down with authority vs. FAU. Where the h*ll was that ALL season??? D*mn, if he's got that in his repertoire, then I want to see that every single friggin game, preferably multiple times every game. Smh.
He doesn't even look to shoot the large majority of the time, he hardly ever even looks at the basket when he has the ball. That makes it so much easier on the defense, it's 5 vs. 4 when we have the ball, the opposition doesn't even have to hardly guard Conner because they know he almost never shoots.
It's almost like Grant is putting the fear of God into these guys: run the offense exactly as I state, or you will ride the bench.
Regarding your last statement, IF that’s the message that Grant is delivering (my way or the bench), maybe the announced Portal entries are, in part, a sign of players saying, “Or, maybe I’ll just leave.” I’m sure that’s part, but not all, of it.
And regarding the part about Conner’s dribble drive and flush, I think every remaining player besides Moussa showed a few flashes during the season that give me hope that he can contribute next year. Not to the level of Cheeks-type production, but a positive contribution, nonetheless. That said, we need at least 2 starters and 2 productive bench guys to arrive via the Portal just to be competitive next year. Otherwise, we’re staring down the barrel of a .500 season, at best.
It's almost like Grant is putting the fear of God into these guys: run the offense exactly as I state, or you will ride the bench.
Bingo! I've been saying this for years now. Not sure about the fear of God but his system is so rigid it stifles players creativity and in turn their offensive skills.
Cheeks is a great example. Although he played better offensively this year, I still don't think he ever reached his true scoring potential. This guy had been a "scorer" his whole life, yet when he came here he was a role player.
Cohill is another one who was a prolific scorer his whole life but here he was reduced to a shadow of himself. Now I'm not saying Cohill would have been the savior, but he should have had more offensive punch than he had while he was here and that showed when he went to YSU.
Mongolian Mike, while limited in many ways (and who has a dad with unrealistic expectations for him), did have a creative offensive game but was held back here. He is someone that should have been allowed to make his freshman mistakes while playing his type of game and then grew and got better in year two, three and beyond if he stayed.
When people used to complain about Elvis' bad shot selection, which I agree was bad at many times, I didn't mind because he was one of the few guys since AG got here that would just say to h**l with the offense and try to make something happen.
I saw that 3 guys entered the portal from Rhode Island, Fuchs, Wright, and Farrell I think. Fuchs was a starter I think. Not a good development for Archie it seems.
Maybe, maybe not. Transfers are obviously happening all over the country, even to the best coaches out there. Fuchs was a starter last year but came off the bench this year. He's a good player but not a difference maker. The other two are definitely expendable. The key is, can you bring in better players than the ones who leave. With these three it's definitely possible to bring in better. He brought in a few good ones last year. So, in the end this could be a plus for Archie. Only time will tell.
Maybe, maybe not. Transfers are obviously happening all over the country, even to the best coaches out there. Fuchs was a starter last year but came off the bench this year. He's a good player but not a difference maker. The other two are definitely expendable. The key is, can you bring in better players than the ones who leave. With these three it's definitely possible to bring in better. He brought in a few good ones last year. So, in the end this could be a plus for Archie. Only time will tell.
Ok, I wasn't sure about Farrell and Wright. Just seems like losing Fuchs is gonna hurt RI significantly.
Just seems like Archie is running out of time. Another bad year will definitely cause more doubts. He needs momentum to justify keeping him around. He hasn't hit it big in the portal yet it seems. Looks like a real tough situation with RI not seeming to have a lot of NIL $.
It's a tough world out there.
If he had a do-over, I am not sure that he takes the RI job.
I thought he hit it pretty good in the portal last year, but I thought they underachieved with the talent they had.
I wonder what decisions he would change. Was Indiana worth it? His inability or unwillingness to unpack his suitcases is a problem. He just doesn’t become part of a community. We’ve been lucky with OP, Gregory, and AG.
I wonder what decisions he would change. Was Indiana worth it? His inability or unwillingness to unpack his suitcases is a problem. He just doesn’t become part of a community. We’ve been lucky with OP, Gregory, and AG.
Agree, was it worth it? What was he making at IU? $5 mil/year? Iinm, he had two years left on his contract, and they paid him $10 mil when he was fired.
All of this relocating has to take a heavy toll on your family, friendships, and your health/stress level.
I thought UD offered him close to what IU was paying him.
Sadly, Gabe Cupps committed to OSU over UD.
Before people freak out, we tried... our NIL offer was much as OSU's... tough for a mid-major these days
If UD's offer was the same as OSU (which I am skeptical. They have deeper pockets), that tells you about the state of NIL and mid majors. Super competitive disadvantage.
It’s not a portal deal, but Greer officially reopened his recruitment. He’s not a PG, but he would be a nice addition.
Quincy Ballard from Wichita State, 6’11” 251 sure looks like a big guy and he scored 22 points in one game this year. He is in the portal. I’m guessing that he has one year left of eligibility as he is listed as a senior.
Anybody notice that St. Bonaventure has 7 guys in the transfer portal. What’s the story there?
Justin Pippen, 6’3” 180, from Michigan is in the portal. He is the son of Scotty Pippen (Chicago Bulls fame, and brother of Scotty Pippen Jr. that we played against at Vanderbilt who is now in the G League).
Baraka Okojie, 6’3” 175 from Memphis and formerly George Mason is in the portal. I was most impressed with his quickness when he played at George Mason.
Above, I have picked a 6’11, 6’10, two 6’7, 6’5 and two 6’3 guys. If Anthony Grant would just pick up these guys that I have mentioned; I think we would have a pretty good team next year. But, what do I know? There are going to be more young men joining the portal as the NCAA games finish. I think guys are waiting until the end of their season to put their names in the portal.
https://twitter.com/VerbalCommits/status/1905349668953096525
Maybe one to watch... the 6'3" freshman had a really good freshman season at St. Francis (PA) and showed ouy during their First Four loss to Alabama State... Was NEC Rookie of the Year (just like Javon)... Starred at Wayne HS
David Jablonski's Flyer Connection email newsletter today had some interesting (nothing spicy about the university/coach) information in it about Malachi’s reasoning and experiences so far in the transfer portal. Additionally, David says that Jacob Connor is staying for his Senior year.
The newsletter also says there could still be more players who enter the transfer portal and that we should know more about the remaining players decisions one way or another by this weekend (so maybe later today/possibly over the weekend).
Could the other possible transfers be Mousa and Simon? That would leave only Frenchie, Conner, and Bennett. That’s a tough look.
