Rivals150 guard Julian Roper announced his verbal commitment to the Wildcats on Monday.
Julian Roper is Northwestern's first 2021 commit
Julian Roper is Northwestern's first 2021 commit
Told you: Julian Roper is NU's first 2021 hoop commit
- Thread starter lou v
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Nice write-up. Roper is a great start to the class -- looks like yet another fluid guard, the likes of which NU has been sorely lacking for a while now. I still have nightmares of the season without a PG.
It is good to see that NU is still in contention for six players to fill the remaining two spots. Obviously, Baldwin Jr. + Christie is the dream. But even adding two of the three in Simmons/Bates/Hunter would give NU an incredible foundation of three Top 150 guards to build upon.
It is good to see that NU is still in contention for six players to fill the remaining two spots. Obviously, Baldwin Jr. + Christie is the dream. But even adding two of the three in Simmons/Bates/Hunter would give NU an incredible foundation of three Top 150 guards to build upon.
They’re not gonna be scared off by a 3* kid, and depth is always a good thing. Take the bird in the hand, keep hunting the one in the bush.
Oof, that one stung a bit. I was really excited about Bam based on his tape and reports.
Congrats to Roper and welcome! Go Cats... Let's do this!
Think this is a diff. situation w/ Bam.
VTech was Bam's last P5 offer, and he had the option of going to a program like UF when he committed to the 'Cats.
In all likelihood, Bam changed his mind b/c he wanted to be closer to home, and he may not have initially committed if UVA had offered him.
Roper could have opted for dOSU or his other finalist, UW, which are relatively close to home.
Neither MSU or UM offered him and even if 1 or the other did at a later point, seems like Roper already has a chip on his shoulder w/ regard to his home state schools overlooking him/seeing him as a 2nd tier option.
247 has him as the 7th highest (since 2000).
https://247sports.com/college/northwestern/Sport/Basketball/AllTimeRecruits/
I am looking forward to the day Julian Roper signs so we can all welcome him properly. His anticipated arrival will continue the boost to the guard position that was the weakest position group on the team this year.
Already, for next year, the group goes from Spencer, Buie and Greer to:
PG: Buie (Soph), Greer (Jr.), Berry (Fr.)
SG: Gaines (RS Jr.), Audige (RS Soph), Berry (Fr.)
Gaines and Audige both have the ability to guard the 2 and 3.
This is a huge improvement in terms of both minutes guys will have to play and more importantly, defensively. Roper will just add to the depth upon his arrival. I'd expect the opening night pairing for next season to be Buie and Gaines with Audige and Berry next up. I think Greer proved capable at the end of the year to merit 5-10 minutes a game. This will allow Collins to bring Berry along when/if he is ready. He won't be forced to play. Same will be true when Roper arrives.
As I look at the roster now:
Center: Young, Nance, Nicholson
PF: Nance, Beran
SF: Kopp, Beran
SG: Gaines, Audige, Berry
PG: Buie, Greer, Berry
Everyone has at least 2 years of eligibility left and their are 3 open spots. To me, the missing piece is an athletic SF.
Already, for next year, the group goes from Spencer, Buie and Greer to:
PG: Buie (Soph), Greer (Jr.), Berry (Fr.)
SG: Gaines (RS Jr.), Audige (RS Soph), Berry (Fr.)
Gaines and Audige both have the ability to guard the 2 and 3.
This is a huge improvement in terms of both minutes guys will have to play and more importantly, defensively. Roper will just add to the depth upon his arrival. I'd expect the opening night pairing for next season to be Buie and Gaines with Audige and Berry next up. I think Greer proved capable at the end of the year to merit 5-10 minutes a game. This will allow Collins to bring Berry along when/if he is ready. He won't be forced to play. Same will be true when Roper arrives.
As I look at the roster now:
Center: Young, Nance, Nicholson
PF: Nance, Beran
SF: Kopp, Beran
SG: Gaines, Audige, Berry
PG: Buie, Greer, Berry
Everyone has at least 2 years of eligibility left and their are 3 open spots. To me, the missing piece is an athletic SF.
Gaines could slot in at the SF position at times. It depends on a number of things, including just how capable Audige and Berry are on offense and whether Gaines is at least a Sanjay-level 3-point shooter (i.e. will make them when wide open).
Kopp is obviously NU's most dangerous scorer but it seemed like he lost his legs late in games last year. Maybe he'll get stronger in the offseason but I wouldn't mind bringing his minutes down from 32.3 to something more like 27-28.
Is CC really going into this season with 3 unused scholarships? WTF is going on? Have we ever had a season without at least one if not two or more significant player outages for whatever reason? With the transfer market as full as it is, how are there not at least two guys able to come in and help fill the bench and provide some insurance against the unpredictable??
I think he planned to have just 2 unused in 2020, didn't expect Jones to leave. He has a bit of an issue with class timings. At most he will have 1 more scholarship for 2021 if Gaines doesn't return. If he gave out scholarships to incoming FYs in 2020, then he'd have less for 2021. I agree this is likely going to hurt this season because as you say someone is always injured.
Have you not seen that NU is in on a handful of grad transfers? I’d expect at least one.
I have not. I prefer to take limited input from message boards, draw a conclusion that feeds into my anger management issues, and then fly off the handle. This is a message board, right?
I have not. I prefer to take limited input from message boards, draw a conclusion that feeds into my anger management issues, and then fly off the handle. This is a message board, right?
LOL well-played.
I have not. I prefer to take limited input from message boards, draw a conclusion that feeds into my anger management issues, and then fly off the handle. This is a message board, right?
LOL! Post of the Week!
No argument from me—really nice group of players, and now that Emoni’s team is an academy, they have the field to themselves. Roper has some development remaining on his outside shot but he’ll be a good one.