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I keep hearing about how awesome constant pressing and running all game is. But I didn't see any of those teams in the Sweet 16. I did see a bunch of teams that excelled in halfcourt offense or halfcourt defense. Why is that?

I think we'll find out where McKissic is going as well today

I miss moytoy

Seeing your ", per sources" gave me a good laugh lol

From the transfers thread: 6-2, 185 lb. junior from Detroit. He spent the last two seasons at Oakland after starting out at Cleveland State, where he scored 10.8 PPG as a freshman. Averaged 23.1 MPG and 13.6 PPG this season after averaging 19.5 points last season in 38.1 MPG. Looks like the downturn in minutes and production was caused by a series of injuries - car accident right before the season that messed up his shoulder, hip injury vs. Toledo, ankle injury vs. Cleveland State. Went off for back-to-back 30+ point performances vs. Michigan State and Oklahoma State after his shoulder improved. His shooting volume is incredible - he took 12.6 3-pointers per game last season, and still shot 9.9 per game this year (he led the nation in 3PA). He made over 40% of his threes as a freshman at CSU, on over 7 attempts a game. Percentages went down to 32.3% last year and 33.0% this season, so I'd like to see those improve. There's no way he can keep that volume up if he moves up a level, so maybe when his shot selection isn't "all the shots" the percentages will naturally go up a bit. He's an excellent FT shooter, around 80% for his career. So he's high volume, low efficiency and can be feast or famine - check out his game log. 10-20 from 3 vs. Oklahoma State! Two games later he was 1-10. He takes 75% of his shots from the perimeter but can create anywhere, key word being create. I sort of wonder how that would play alongside Perkins, who likely expects to be taking the most shots next season. One of my fears is the offense stalling out if we try to force too much through him, or him just trying to do too much at times, so it certainly could alleviate pressure to have an absolutely fearless bomber come along. We have some other guys who can score, though. Having him, Perkins, Jimerson, and our other shooting threats hopefully means they're all able to get good shots. There's just no way he can shoot the same volume here.

How many role players have we signed that have multiple 30 point games on their resume?

-you remember the bad, I remember the made 3's, nice dunks and from all accounts a good teammate

Off the bat it seems like Fordham just out-hired DePaul.

He was given a chance to start. He showed he has the ability to be a very impactful player. He also disappeared quite a bit. Watching games I always wondered which DJ was going to show up. To me it seemed like he lacked the killer instinct. The talent is there. I don’t know him personally but he seems like a quality person. I wish him the best. But he didn’t seize his opportunity.

I think it's more that Coach Ford is reluctant to change his "stripes." Jacobs would thrive in a "system" featuring constant pressure defense and an attacking, early-strike offense. A bully-ball, half-court grinding style doesn't fit Jacobs's game (nor Strickland's — or Hargrove's, to a lesser extent). Ford always talks about playing uptempo, in the offseason — and he probably also hints at that when recruiting — but then he can't maintain that for a full season (or even a third of a season) and reverts back to a 7- to 8-man rotation that leaves some guys frustrated. I'm not saying this to be overly critical of him, but I think if he would or could commit to a player-friendly style (for the type of players he mainly recruits) and maintain it for the whole season, the results would be longer post-season runs, more success, and greater retention of talent.

Didn't you post that he was clueless earlier in the thread, deleted it when he said it was what he was told by SLU and now that he seeked out clarification from SLU to make sure we are getting correct information, you are calling him stupid? I guess I just don't get it. I appreciate him first reporting what he was told and second, trying to clarify by reaching out to SLU to make sure the information is correct. SLU did almost have Tatum visit campus when it was a dead recruiting period and was trying to schedule a game after conference tournament when it isn't allowed. Not like they don't make mistakes so telling Stu wrong information seems realistic.

Well actually it doesn't matter if French and Goodwin stay or leave. Three seniors = Three scholarships no matter how many stay or leave.

Yuri, and 3 of Rashad, Gibson. and Perk and TJ would be a nightmare to defend especially if TJ can shoot the 3 like he has with more volume. With good spacing it'd be almost impossible to guard them all on the perimeter. Over play it and TJ or Perk beat you to the hole.

Lol. I'll bite my tongue and say that is a perfect display of those two.

What’s his major?

With only having seen highlights and looked over his BRef page, I like the signing. Travis looks to be focusing on spacing, which plays to the strength of having Yuri on the roster. A guy who can heat up quickly off the bench is always a nice thing to have on the team.

Pistol, would you mind posting what you have on him?

This is a kid I was expecting would transfer.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it...but I am hearing Hyland (VCU) will be declaring for the NBA draft.

I get that Rashad Williams can score. I would rather have Mckissic. That seems like a no brained to me, but who knows what will happen.

It's interesting how potential transfers can only be compared to former transfers. Does Rashad Williams have nothing in common with former Billikens that started their careers here? Kind of like how white guys are only compared to other white guys, etc.

Well at least they didn’t go for a ManBearPig

I agree that he is a role player if you put him on a good team. I'm just pointing out that, at his best, he's the explosive kind.

MSU fans saw him score 23 in the first half against them. Aaron Wheeler (Purdue) is off the board to St. John's. Former SLU offer Kyler Edwards (Texas Tech) is in the portal.

from following this guy's hype on twitter... MSU fans wanted Izzo to go after him. He's a pretty big time transfer. I would be very happy with this get but that's just me.

Not a joke they waited until today to interview because his buyout dropped by $1mil. Interviewed and hired, Texas AD Chris Del Conte aka CDC is pretty damn good. Texas hired him away from TCU and in the last year he's hired a new FB coach, Women's BB Coach (whose been amazing this year), and now BB coach. He's also raised money for a $383mil new Arena and practice facility. If you go to Baseball or Football you'll see him in a Burnt Orange Blazer engaging anyone that approaches. There's been some rumbling in this thread regarding Texas bumbling other coaching hires that was under previous AD Steve Patterson who everyone hated because he was just hatable and turrible. For some reason he was hired from the Portland Trailblazers. Only good thing he did was start alcohol sales at FB games which earned about $6mil that season. There were also other assertions of why someone would leave a TTU or Arkansas for Texas. To quote Waylon Jenning's lyrics from "Bob Wills is Still the King"......"if you've never been there, I guess you ain't been told." Austin and Lubbock are very different places. Lubbock is a nice town 5 hour drive from anywhere. Austin is central and has a lot to offer. Recruiting two metroplexes of 6.5mil people just 3 hours away in either direction loaded with talent. Texas has 2 teams in the Final 4. UT is the flagship, it is King Kong and Godzilla put together in both political pull and money. It is a challenge because that brings expectations. Beard has the cache. I'm pumped, I think Beard can do some waiver magic and have this thing righted fairly quickly.

Rashad Williams is a big-time shooter. Don’t let the low efficiency numbers fool you too much - he took a LOT of contested threes and led the nation in 3 point field goal attempts. I have confidence in his ability to shoot at a high-level in the A-10 and Ford seems laser focused on bringing in another shooter. Personally, I have concerns about his defense. He has good hands but is on the smaller side and not an outstanding athlete from what I can tell. I’m not a huge fan of him playing next to Yuri for that reason. We are low on guards right now and low on shooting so if we end up bringing in Williams as a rotation guard who provides shooting off the bench it makes sense to me. If he is being recruited to play big minutes I will be disappointed.

Worked out for Matt Dougherty.

Just started following Coach Ford and Michael Wilson on Twitter, and Wilson followed him. Worth diving into: 6-2, 185 lb. junior from Detroit. He spent the last two seasons at Oakland after starting out at Cleveland State, where he scored 10.8 PPG as a freshman. Averaged 23.1 MPG and 13.6 PPG this season after averaging 19.5 points last season in 38.1 MPG. Looks like the downturn in minutes and production was caused by a series of injuries - car accident right before the season that messed up his shoulder, hip injury vs. Toledo, ankle injury vs. Cleveland State. Went off for back-to-back 30+ point performances vs. Michigan State and Oklahoma State after his shoulder improved. His shooting volume is incredible - he took 12.6 3-pointers per game last season, and still shot 9.9 per game this year. He made over 40% of his threes as a freshman at CSU, on over 7 attempts a game. Percentages went down to 32.3% last year and 33.0% this season, so I'd like to see those improve. There's no way he can keep that volume up if he moves up a level, so maybe when his shot selection isn't "all the shots" the percentages will naturally go up a bit. He's an excellent FT shooter, around 80% for his career. So he's high volume, low efficiency and can be feast or famine - check out his game log. 10-20 from 3 vs. Oklahoma State! Two games later he was 1-10. I sort of wonder how that would play alongside Perkins, who likely expects to be taking the most shots next season. One of my fears is the offense stalling out if we try to force too much through him, or him just trying to do too much at times, so it certainly could alleviate pressure to have an absolutely fearless bomber come along. We have some other guys who can score, though, so it could just be a weird dynamic.

Because they have skilled offensive basketball players. Not by constant defensive pressure. Not by outrunning their offensive deficiencies. You can't, at least not against good defense.

-you mean for their (FU's) football coach? makes me recall "our new coach, Brad Soderberger"

What is Villanova's system?

Updated. @Pistol: I have Ryan Murphy listed as a senior at Duquesne. He was at Pitt, declared for Tulane, then came over and played this year for the Dukes. I assume that makes him now in need of a decision .... take the extra yearo r move on. So far, no declaration in the Murphy camp. Murphy played in 9 games for the Dukes this year at 13 mpg and 3.2 ppg.

My best guesses: PSA Cardinals pipeline. SLU wants to be known up and down the program. Christian Nunez connection. He's a Dominican-American guy from NYC, just like Carbuccia. He also tweeted yesterday that he "can't wait to see [his] family tomorrow" so he very well may have seen Carbuccia in some context today. He's not officially a recruiting assistant (Director of Player Development) but he can communicate back to the staff if he sees or otherwise knows about a player. Carbuccia is really good. Watch whatever video you can see. Dude doesn't play like he's in eighth grade.

He'd be a junior next season. Numbers are up from last season, when he averaged 13.1 PPG and 6.6 RPG. Slashline is .573/.265/.734, all down a bit from last season but shooting 57% on that volume is eye opening. Not a great three point shooter but good enough to keep defenses honest, with that size. From Scott Burgess: "Super impressed with Mineral Area sophomore PF Malevy Leons. Mobile 4 can really shoot it with a free & easy stroke. Bouncy around the rim on both ends finishing slams & swatting shots." From before the season: "Leons is highly skilled, athletic and plays primarily on perimeter. He can create mismatches all over the court and shoot over anybody. He uses his length well and has a high IQ. Now standing at 6'10, Leons is looking to improve on a stellar freshman season. He is working on adding strength as he gets ready for the 4 year level. He currently has offers from schools in the Missouri Valley, C-USA, Big Sky, MAC, Horizon and Sun Belt. Multiple HM schools are keeping in touch with Leons but haven't offered yet. Right now, he plans to wait until the Spring before making a decision. He hopes to be able to take several visits to schools to get a better feel for programs." I don't buy the "plays primarily on the perimeter" line, given that he shoots 3.4 3-pointers per game and scores 19 points a game. He's getting to the rim and apparently is great in transition. Coaches are following him on Twitter from NKU, East Carolina, St. John's, Georgia Southern, SEMO, Southern Miss, Utah Valley, Montana State, Jacksonville State, Chicago State, McNeese State, Evansville, Holy Cross, Towson, Creighton, Eastern Michigan, Youngstown State, UMass-Lowell, Murray State, UC-Riverside, Florida Atlantic, Nebraska, Morehead State, Stetson, Loyola-Chicago, Sam Houston State, Tulsa, South Carolina State, New Orleans, UIC, Tennessee-Martin, Fresno State, SIUC, South Dakota State, Cleveland State, Bethune-Cookman, Coastal Carolina, Oregon State, and Iona. So yeah, the whole gamut.

Didnt want to start a new thread but SLU offered Danny Carbuccia. Class of 25

If you put Yuri more in the 15-20mpg range, and played DJ more, along with J-Good, as duel PGs, I think the team has a higher ceiling. Yuri is a pure PG, but there were too many games where we could have used more scoring and more length on D. Jacobs had the best basketball body on the team. I'll say it again: Ford mismanaged it. DJ should have gotten more of Yuri's minutes last year and this year. Ford was always willing to give Yuri the keys and Jacobs has a higher ceiling as a player. I think Ford is enamored with Yuri's leadership, toughness, and passing. I get it. I love Yuri too. Jacobs didn't have a great motor and got disciplined for something in Feb 2020. Also seemed like the kind of player who didn't appreciate getting yelled at constantly.

Markhi the same player with a higher cieling. Free him. Dj underachieved every year here/ struggled with injuries but he seemed like a great teammate and hopefully he can continue his career successfully elsewhere. You trolls are funny lol.

We're always going to have good guards transfer because that's where most of the talent on a good team is. There are ton of mid-major programs that could use a Demarius Jacobs. Not just from a talent perspective, but character wise. Demarius battled back from a tough freshman year to become a valuable contributor to this team. I want all players that demonstrate that level of character to do well, whether they finish as Billikens or not.

If Martin is such a great guy why is the whole team leaving?

Ford took us from the cellar to top 4 in the conference. His entire tenure has been incrementally "more and better results." The trendline has us as a top 2 team in the very near future. That's what most success stories look like -- long and boring.

I would like to see the Bills get another 3 point shooter for next year.

Context is important. Prior to the URI game, where Jacobs got injured, he was shooting 10-19 from 3-point for 52%. Following that injury, he was 1-14 from 3. IMO, the injury was a bigger reason for DJ's late season decline than Covid. I think people forget who efficient Jacobs was early in the season, I think there was even a thread started that he was a leading candidate for conference 6th man of the year.

Jacobs and Hargrove are much better three point shooters than they were as freshmen. Unless the media tells us what happens in their summer workouts, it's all speculation.

I am not sure that’s fair... but how many guys spend their summer shooting with their D1 head coach? Gyms, spring/summer leagues were affected last year for all due to covid And Yuri needs to work on finishing in the lane and among the trees as well Hard to get a fair read on Coach Ford. He inherited nothing, then devastated for 2 years by S2 and then 2 MORE years by COVID

I think in that scenario all of those guards would play a lot of matchups and you’d have a lot of versatility. In a game where Jimerson is a good matchup it’s hard to take him off the floor. But there would be other scenarios where you’d need more defensive versatility and athleticism and Thatch or Mckissic would make more sense. I think it’s a little silly to argue who would get the last spots when all of them would play a ton of minutes. Not to mention that if Goodwin were to return and Mckissic were to come, I have to imagine we’d see a guard or two transfer out.

Thad Matta is the oldest looking 53 year old in the country.

He talked to Missouri and Florida today. Believe it or not K State gave a great recruiting pitch lol. Guess I should have read the article 1st . I believe that's his six in order of interest from what I am hearing.