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Post by sudog03 on Mar 19, 2023 7:59:40 GMT -5
3 of our 4 best players by metric are departing. One area we really improved in this season was 3p shooting % (211th to 45th). Our 3 best 3 point shooters by percentage are departing. It's going to be really difficult to replace that kind of production next year. I feel like this is going to be more of a rebuild than a reload, and that's fine. I think with 2 successful offseasons, we can build back to having a really good team. To not take a step back is probably asking the staff to go 3 for 3 in the portal in the offseason, and I think that's really hard for anyone to do. We bring back 2-3 good pieces, let's play the youngsters we are bringing in a lot and build back for 2 years from now. And yes, let's please focus on having an improved half court defense. Being 330th in the country in 3pt defense and 309th in FT rate puts too much pressure on your offense.
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Post by SU DOG on Mar 19, 2023 10:50:54 GMT -5
Three best by percentage yeah, but Glover only made 17 3-pointers all year. To me, the big question is what about A J? If he is staying, that is big. I don't think it will take 2 years to be good. I actually like our chances for next season. I agree that we need to have success in the Portal, but somehow Samford usually does. We have some really good players returning that I think can propel us to be contenders. I do, however, totally agree that the defense needs to improve and another area that also needs work is assists. Being 8th in the conference in assists is way too low.
Related Note -Last week our signee (6-4 shooting G) from Knoxville was crowned Mr. Basketball in the State of Tennessee for his school's classification. It may take a while for him to develop, but I like his potential.
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Post by sudog03 on Mar 19, 2023 13:00:38 GMT -5
Around the League (current players in portal in parenthesis)
ETSU (3) - new coach Brooks Savage is not an idiot, so that's an upgrade for them. Very experienced coach in the SoCon.
Furman (0) - Would expect Bob Richey to be taking a job, I would imagine they will promote from within as they did with Richey. Lose a lot with Slawson and Bothwell exhausting their eligibility, but also bring some very good pieces back if they can keep them out of the portal.
Mercer (5) - waiting for their coach's contract to expire
Citadel (6)/VMI(6) - Last one to leave turn out the lights
Wofford (5) - trying to find a coach that will work for free. Kinda unbelievable that their AD who has made an absolute mess of their two flagship programs is still around.
Western Carolina (1) - Really impressed with the program being built here. 4 of the top 6 scorers listed as seniors.
UNCG (0) - hard to know what this means with the COVID year, but 6 of their 7 top scorers were listed as seniors.
UTC (0) - Can Earl win without Stephens? About to find out. 3 of top 4 scorers listed as seniors.
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Post by Smurf on Mar 19, 2023 16:14:08 GMT -5
Positionally, in the portal, we need to find someone who can consistently give us production in the paint. In other words, we need to find a Logan Dye (preferably a healthy Logan Dye). And yes, we need to find a two guard who can be an efficient scorer from deep and can also defend on the other end. This will be absolutely paramount if we lose Staton-McCray to the portal. And thirdly, we obviously need to find a replacement for Glover. His ability to breakdown defenses creates a lot of problems for opponents. That will be sorely missed.
Bucky has done well in the portal by bringing in players he had previously known, but that is a small pool. How will he do signing kids that he doesn't already know? Can he sell the product well enough to fill these three missing pieces? I don't know, but we lose an awful lot and it is going to take a big haul to match what we have lost.
Interesting to see what the freshmen bring to the table, but unless this is a homerun class, I look for them to be role type players next year than major contributors.
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Post by Cujo on Mar 19, 2023 21:54:17 GMT -5
If you want to win, Bucky needs to recruit speed. He has taken a number of portal transfers who are average to slow of foot even for the SoCon standards and especially for his style of play. Glover was quick, but average quick for what need needs. If you want to play fast and frenetic, you need faster players that we have on our roster. You can recruit Mr. Basketball and hit the portal, but hitting the portal to grab average players with average athleticism typically achieve average results.
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Post by hotdiggitydog on Mar 20, 2023 21:55:14 GMT -5
Marcellus Vail in the transfer portal. Didn't see the court much this year.
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Post by Cujo on Mar 21, 2023 7:40:04 GMT -5
Seemed like a straight up good kid, who kept his attitude in the right place through adversity. You don’t get these years back, so go somewhere you can finish your career on the court. I wish him nothing but the best.
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Post by sudog03 on Mar 22, 2023 10:12:47 GMT -5
After their vast success of a 8-10 conference record, Wofford has removed the interim tag from their head coach.
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Post by Smurf on Mar 22, 2023 10:30:02 GMT -5
In the 2018-2019 season, Wofford basketball finished the season at 30-5 (18-0) and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing by six to Kentucky. In 2018, they finished the football season at 9-4 (6-2) and made it to the second round of the FCS playoffs; in 2019, they finished 9-4 (7-1) and made a playoff appearance.
Things have certainly deteriorated in Spartanburg.
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Post by drew0311 on Mar 23, 2023 15:13:25 GMT -5
Hope we go after Joseph Yesafu from Kansas. He started at Drake. Explosive guard. Not on Kansas Level but definetly would kill it in the SoCon. Lot's of good transfers out there. Hopefully we start hearing some names soon.
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