So Verbal Commits has NU with 2 spots left, It has has with one offer, Patrick Baldwin Jr. Verbal Commits does not always get every offer out there . Our we waiting for the transfer portal to sort itself out and we will grab a couple transfers? If we get transfers we are probably looking for them to be of use this season.....so what positions?
2 SPOTS....1 1 improbable offer
- Thread starter loyolacat
- Start date
Yes. I assume Baldwin (the dad) had at least a decent relationship with Collins so I am very confident that Collins knows if we are not still an option. If that is the case (very likely), then I assume we are looking for a shooter to try to fill Kopp's spot.
Aren't you describing Ryan Greer? We also have Buie, Audige, Berry that can handle the ball even before the incoming guys. Assuming you're thinking of the transfer market as the most likely source, I would target more depth at wing or big before another PG, personally. Especially anyone who has proven to be a consistent shooter at either of those positions - we need help stretching out defenses. Barring that, adding a playable big who can give us more depth on D inside (and more fouls, if I'm being honest) to get through a rough Big Ten conference schedule is what I would like. I'm sure getting either is easier said than done.
Here's the current eligibility breakdown of scholarship players for the upcoming season. (C19) reflects the extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic.
Williams - SR (C19)
Nance - JR (C19)
Greer - JR (C19)
Young - SO (C19, RS)
Audige - SO (C19, RS)
Buie - SO (C19)
Beran - SO (C19)
Berry - FR (C19)
Nicholson - FR (C19)
Barnhizer - FR
Roper - FR
Simmons - FR
That leaves one open scholarship for 2021-22, and Williams is the only player who will exhaust his eligibility this year.
Williams - SR (C19)
Nance - JR (C19)
Greer - JR (C19)
Young - SO (C19, RS)
Audige - SO (C19, RS)
Buie - SO (C19)
Beran - SO (C19)
Berry - FR (C19)
Nicholson - FR (C19)
Barnhizer - FR
Roper - FR
Simmons - FR
That leaves one open scholarship for 2021-22, and Williams is the only player who will exhaust his eligibility this year.
The idea that Ryan Greer keep defenses honest it, to me, ludicrous. If a confident dude was given as much freedom by other teams as RG does, he'd average double digits with Greer's minutes.
I can understand the preference for a wing though. Not mine, but I can.
I saw zero desire from CC to develop Berry at the point. So, even if he starts playing PG this year, it's still developmental. Relying on freshmen? I'll pass. Relying on Audige? Maybe, he was not 1/2 bad. But , ultimately, it boils down to Buie having disappeared from a good part of last season. One can argue it was worse than disappearing considering the number of wasted shots. It happens again and we are in trouble in a year we have dreams of playing in March. Portal must have a senior to come in for one season, and step up/flat out replace Buie if needed.
Fully agree with this thinking! Should be combing the portal. A shooter would be nice, a PG would be better, a PG who can shoot would be ideal.
Doesn't he have to decide by Saturday? Wouldn't the national deadline for accepting college offers apply to athletes as well?
Yeah i mean i'm not saying Greer is great or anything but what you were describing (experienced PG, team first player which i take to mean distributes the ball and is responsible not so much scoring) sounded to me like him. I guess i interpreted "keeps defenses honest" differently than what you meant.
If we can find a good PG that can score then that's great. I was thinking that consistent 3pt shooting (if he can score in other ways great!) seems to be the biggest hole in our team, and after that I was thinking a big just to provide depth against the B1G interior guys we face. But if I were Collins I think it would sort of be a "best player available / BPA" type situation moreso than specifically targeting one thing with that slot.
PS- I did just look and Elyjah Williams shot 42% from 3 last year which is good - not on very high volume (1.0-2.4 per game) but still could be helpful considering we shot 35% as a team and the only guys above 42% were Ryan Young (1-2, 50%) and Ryan Greer (8-17, 47%). Next best were Berry, Nance, Buie all in the 36-37% range, with Nance and Berry having very similar rates of taking 3pt shots per game as Williams did (though against much tougher defenses, presumably). Buie's 3pt rate was almost double Berry / Nance / Williams at just under 5 3pt shots per game. Beran, Gaines, Audige, Kopp were all in the 33-35% per game range.
I suspect the only place where people are operating like we’re still in contention for him is on this message board
yeah my mistake. Verbal Commits has Williams listed as a verbal and not an LOI...I am assuming that has to do with some NCAA signing periods.....As others have posted NU seemed to have better numbers with Young in the lineup.. I think this is because he was the only one that did not get pushed around and helped to create and maintain space inside. So I think who they get with the remaining scholarship depends on how they see Nicholson developing for next year and if the incoming freshman are ready to contribute immediately. It is one thing to not have a physical presence if you are way quicker than everyone, which we were not. Looking at the top 5 teams in the Big10 they were able to hit the 3 AND have a physical presence which makes the defense spread the floor and give your guards more room to operate.
I just wanted to highlight this. I think it's the most on-target assessment out here in weeks - especially the "beggars can't be choosers" reality.
For me, it was generally a simple equation last year. When NU shoots well from three, they win. And they didn't have enough consistent three-point shooters.
It would be nice if they were more disciplined in their shot selection, but I've given up on that.
Also, Nance is generally out of position. His game isn't strong/tough enough to create an advantage at the five on offense or defense.
And Young isn't a 25 m/g answer at that position on a good team either.
A third guy with Nance and Young would be a nice second option. However, teams would still clog the middle and wait for NU to clank 30% from 3 with a low number of free throws.
Is there some pandemic rule that allows the Cats to apply for a 14th scholarship?
I'm with you on the best player available in general. But this is not a developmental year where we go find another diamond in the rough like Audige (needing time to develop). It's time to plug holes with someone seasoned (not necessarily by age, just a mature game).
1) What are the chances we find a good 3 pt shooter, who can get open more than Kopp did? I say close to zero. I am sure there are plenty of players in the portal with good percentages. Can they get open in the B1G? I remember a guy who averaged 20+ and transferred to NU and struggled.
2) We lost 1 1/2 wings (considering Gaines as a 1/2 wing 1/2 guard. We already landed one, probably as good as we can hope for. Appears to be able to at least keep defenses honest, but probably not getting many looks himself
3) The freshmen are all, on paper, promising guys. It is reasonably to expect some contribution from them. Where? Probably off the ball, and not at PG. So we have some added help there
I'm trying to find analogies, as I'm not thinking of a Mike Smith who averaged 20 before going to MI and happily take a different role. We are not landing one of those. I'm thinking about all the guys like the PG at Loyola. No great stats necessarily, but good enough shooter and slasher the defenders don't back off. But mostly mature enough to run an offense in a poised manner.
In my mind there are a handful of guys like that in the portal, from mid majors, that would come to NU. It's a matter of watching boat loads of film. And hopefully having a network of contacts strong enough to get referrals.
You can only sign one LOI in your career, so transfers typically don’t become “official” until they show up for the first day of class. They can sign financial aid papers, but those aren’t binding on the player. He can still go somewhere else without penalty until he shows up for class the first time.
If you want to argue it will be tough to find a quality 3-pt shooter in the portal - even at Kopp's level, I can understand that.
If you believe someone will come in, not know the offense as well and not get open as much as Kopp, maaaaaaaaaybe I can buy that.
I don't agree at all that Kopp did anything special off the ball to get himself open more than a replacement-level player.
Kopp has that nice little drive-and-pull-up from the FT line that gets him open, but he didn't use that nearly enough.
I can see how the argument gets confusing. I don't want to make it seem like it's only about comparing abilities to get open. Because it so often depends on what the team runs. We looked for Kopp, so even with a lack of ability to get open, he was going to put up a lot of shots.
We get the next guy, say it's the Fairleigh Dickinson kid, we might not be looking to get him open at all. He might not be a player looking to shoot trailing 3's like Kopp did. It's all very relative.
But think about the fact that we had Vic Law and Pardon as the center of our offense a couple of years ago. And 21 pt average Ryan Taylor struggled against defenses in the B1G. So, barring getting a stud, who can create his own shot, getting open more easily, there's a very strong chance we get nothing from the best available wing we can get in the portal. I hope the FD kid at least brings more physicality and grit.
My argument is not about Kopp, getting open, etc. It's about whether we benefit more from another wing or from an experienced point guard.