Who do we have new coming in for next season?
I think I've got this correct, correct me if I am wrong.
Seniors...4...Smith(got a redshirt year due to injury), Bennett, Jack, Conner
Juniors...1...Simon
Sophomores...3...Frenchie, Mousa, and Allen(took a redshirt year his freshman year)
Freshmen...2...Friery and McKie
So, that's 10 players. TBD what happens with players transferring in and out with the portal. The portal opens this year around one week after Selection Sunday iinm. Last year iinm it opened up the day after Selection Sunday.
The A10 scholarship tree is sort of obsolete I guess because of all the transferring.
https://verbalcommits.com/schools/dayton
A10 scholarship tree:
https://www.basketballforum.com/threads/scholarship-tree.426071/page-7#replies
There’s a strong suspicion that Malachi may be moving on, since he was recognized on Senior Day. For my part, I’d like him to come back. But that still leaves us woefully thin at the 2-4 slots, unless Allen has fully recovered and Friery and McKie come in as strong as Ashman and Young did in 1996, or the returning players show a lot more than they did this past season.
You have to recruit a team every season. VCU has 5 fifth year seniors that get a ton of minutes. Shulga, Russell, Bamisile, Jackson and Clark. I don't think VCU is bothered by it. They will have a new team (and likely a new coach) next year.
I feel like in today's game we need to be more athletic and longer than we have been recently. Still need them to be skilled, but athletic as well.
Wow. On paper this looks really bad. No way we win 15 with this roster.
The roster will change before fall. We should get at least three transfers, and they better be good.
whether Mali stays or goes, AG needs to bring in a PG who can play 30 minutes per game and make an all A10 team. Mali isn’t that guy. If he wants to come off the bench and play minimal minutes, that’s great. He would be a great bench player. He just can’t be the starter. He can’t play anywhere near as many minutes.
I think we have a minimum of 3 and as many as 7 transfer out this year. Just opinion. I'm not sure if I think the Over/Under should be 4.5 or 5.5 but 3 feels very light.
As Longtime said, the ones coming in better be good. Probably still a chance we add another HS recruit but there sure weren't many mentions of visits during the season. We cannot have the level of production we got from this season's transfers. Curious if the Mali transferring post was speculation (like mine) or a well sourced rumor.
This is likely to be the craziest off season we have ever experienced. Hopefully, it leads to something better than what we saw on the court this year. And hopefully, this is not an annual thing.
It's extremely unlikely there are any unsigned seniors who would be looking to commit. The two who are coming in are 3*s. Might be good eventually, but not likely to set the world on fire. The ones remaining outside of L'Etang and Bennett, should be moving on, but I question whether they will or not. Next season has a much higher propensity to be even less than this season than not. But, I guess we'll see what happens.
Mali was preseason 2nd team All-A10 all conference going in to his sophomore year then he had ankle and knee issues and is not the same player who used to be. IIRC he was preseason all-defensive team as well. I suspect he will be moving on.
I don't think a HS kid is likely but there are kids let out of their LOI and ones that blow up their Sr year. I don't know how NIL factors into a kid being let out of his LOI.
I think we will have 5-6 new comers not currently on the roster as constructed. The problem is we need 4 of them to be legitimate starters. L'Etang is the only given. Friery and McKie are unknown. If Allen is back, he is more so because of injuries. Of the others that are eligible to return, I think they are all bench players.
Smith could probably be a legitimate starter depending on the roster construction. I am about to do my taxes; I know someday death will find me. I suppose along with watching Smith take the ball down the lane and knowing before the second dribble that he will take an ill advised shot that is easily blocked, life's inevitabilities would all still be in place.
Bennett brings grit and value. He's just not a starter. Someone has to be at the end of the bench. I'm ok with 1 or 2 of the others sticking as long as that is where they stick. You know, assuming there is no Devin Oliver effect.
Whoever is monitoring the portal over the next few months is possibly the most important person in the athletic department.
About Bennett, don’t forget that he was the starting PG on an NCAA tournament team just 1 year ago. I’ll concede that the team in question also had an All-American at Center and the best 3-point shooter in the country at the 3. But Bennett also has another year of experience under his belt.
No, our biggest needs for next year are on the wings and at the 4. Friery could be the answer at the 4, but expecting him to match Santos’s production is sheer lunacy. If Allen doesn’t need a complete sandblasting to get the rust off, after 2 years of inactivity, he could be a valuable asset at 2 or 3, but that’s a huge “if”. McKie could also be a valuable asset at the 2, but he’s in the same category as Friery. Simon at the 4 brings essentially the same value as Jack at the 5: valuable substitute minutes, with the hope of a +/- 0 while they’re on the court. Conner? After watching him for a year, I’m not sure what he brings.
Long story short: we need to retain L’Etang and Bennett, and get at least 2-3 from the Portal who can contribute immediately.
Based on this year my guess is AG is done with senior year transfers. His best pick ups all had 2+years of eligibility. As for the bench folks, I know it is a different time, but does love of the school and what UD stands for after graduation stand for anything anymore????
I don’t see where anyone other than Frenchie would have any chance of moving up. I can’t see Conner leaving. If Simon leaves, he would end up in a lesser conference. Jack and Mousa haven’t done anything to improve their situation. Mali’s broken. It would be a bit sad to see guys prefer to play at a lesser program. Recruiting needs to improve.
In this age of transfer portal / NIL the answer to the question you posed is NO.
We have to have much improved guard play. We don’t have to be SJU good, but we have to be significantly better. I agree that Bennett would be good to keep and can be a part of a rotation. The problem with Bennett and Mali at the point is that they aren’t consistent threats for scoring off the bounce. They lack the size you see across college ball today. While it would be great to hit the mother load with an under recruited guy like Brian Roberts, I would be thrilled to get a Ramod Marshall type.
I too would be thrilled to get Ramod Marshall 2.0, if he’s out there. But that’s not our top priority right now.
I would contend that Bennett has been leaps and bounds ahead of Mali in terms of scoring off the bounce. Bennett at least has shown the good sense to try a floater from 8-12 feet once he gets in the lane. Mali, for all his good attributes (A/T ratio, defensive tenacity, etc.), reminds me of the song “High Hopes” every time he drives the lane.
Would I prefer to have someone with Cheeks’ size and hops trying that floater? Absolutely. But with losing Cheeks and Santos, our more immediate priorities are the 4 and the wing. We had only 1 active scholarship player between 6’0” and 6’6” this past season, and he’s graduating. That means we need wings. And we’ve seen what Conner and Simon have to offer, and neither will be confused with Santos any time soon. Therefore, finding an alternative to Bennett at the point is, at its highest, Priority #3.
I’m OK with Bennett as our starting PG next year with his work ethic, quickness and experience, so long as our 2 guard is 6’2 or better and can bring scoring, hopefully both from outside AND being able to finish at the rim. I know, easier said than done, but we cannot operate with two guards under 6 ft no matter what their attributes are.
AG didn't use Bennet at the point this year with two other PG's that struggled all year so I'm not sure he'll use him there next year unless there are injuries.
Yes, but AG might have made promises to Posh, and he’s a guy who rewards loyalty, which meant Mali might have gotten some consideration. Plus, while Bennett is no Brea, his outside shot was better than either Mali’s or Posh’s, which made him a better candidate for the 2 (given that Cheeks had to play the 3, or we would have seen more of Conner and/or Simon).
I hear ya and i think you're right. But if the staff is playing people on promises and loyalty instead of what's best for the team, then that's another strike against them in my book.
Aside from Mousa, I'd like to retain as much as possible. It seems weird for Mali to go somewhere else. Would another team really pay him more? For what? I'd be pretty surprised if he ever wore a different jersey.
The main focus has to be Bennett and Frenchie. I did not realize Cheeks was out of a eligibility, that is a real gut shot.
I also didn't realize how low the overall number is even if we retain everyone (highly unlikely). That means even in a best case scenario the staff needs to get three more players.
Next Year ...
Wait til' next year, we'll get em next year
Was that the favorite reframe of Chicago or Boston MLB teams for years?
The transfer portal opens Monday March 24.
Men's basketball transfer portal window: Monday, March 24 - Tuesday, April 22
From the link:
Ahead of the 2024-25 academic calendar year, the NCAA adopted changes to the transfer portal window. Rather than allowing student-athletes 45 days to make a decision, they now have just 30 days to enter the portal.
For both men's and women's basketball, the transfer portal for the 2024-25 academic year will open one day after the conclusion of the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
At that time, 91% of teams in both men's and women's basketball will have concluded their seasons.
There are also some exceptions to this year's transfer portal window. Student-athletes whose coach leaves the school will have an additionally 30 days to enter the portal, beginning the day after the coach's departure.
Additionally, student-athletes who will be graduate transfers can enter the transfer portal at any point during the academic calendar year, but must be entered by the final day of the transfer window.
I don't know the redshirt rules, so I would only question is Allen will be considered Freshman or Sophomore. Is there still a medical redshirt?
I think it is still up in the air whether Allen will get a second red shirt year. More than likely he’ll begin the season as a sophomore but the NCAA seems to be more liberal than it used to be on granting multiple medical redshirts.
