Bilzz

Yeah, I guess the wildcard is how Schertz is going to approach playing time. He was only 6 or 7 deep most games at ISU. Does he view Hughes as a starter? Did he bring Dotzler in as the starting 'point guard'? Is Casey going to be the primary back up for Avila or is more of the Jayson Kent role from last year's team? Dotzler, Casey, Thames, and Hughes all seemingly have potential (Thames and Hughes definitely do), but I agree we probably need one more sure-thing for the roster.

So what's everyone thinking with remaining four? Another transfer big Another transfer guard Freshman guard Freshman big?

Yeah. I think this is the correct take. For whatever reason, no one though Julian would come. There was hope about Conwell, but always with an acknowledgment that he would probably have P5 options. IMO, Kent has been the only true miss since the start of the portal, and we can't compete with Texas.

Hoping that a couple of the transfers who came in in the last week are just waiting on Avila and Swope to commit before committing? Didn't Schertz say something at the NIL dinner about Avila and Swope breaking the damn open or something?

I don't think this is true since the school can't pay recruits directly. It has to go through the NIL collectives. The collectives and the school aren't "supposed" to coordinate. So I don't think the school could contribute to the NIL fund?

I've been pushing some form of this system for a while in conversations. Multi-year NIL deals with the schools, reinstate the two-time transfer rule (assuming it can pass legal muster), and tie a buy out to the NIL deals like they do for coaches. That way there's still a financial benefit to the school that develops a kid. Although, I think a system similar to the MLB/Japan posting system would be better. The "new" school would be required to pay a fee to the "old" school equal to a set percentage of the NIL deal that is signed at the new school. That way you're not requiring kids to buy out their own NIL deals with funds they may not have in order to transfer.

Correct. Swope, Kent, & Julian had 1 year left. Conwell and Avila have 2.

Trilly Scoops, Daily Updates, and the SLU specific thread.

Yeah, pretty much what I meant. Julian wasn't a protypical PG. Mainly need to make sure you've got guys capable of breaking the press, if necessary.

I could see Larry Hughes being the back-up PG. Did a decent job spelling Yuri in 22-23 and in Schertz's offense, the distributive aspect of the PG role isn't as important.

Damn

Julian was the closest they had to a PG last year.

I had the same thought. Also, Avila fits well within the Schertz offense. I'm not sure there is as much value at other schools.

Who did you think it was about? It seemed clearly geared towards Gibson.

Absolutely.

WPB said on Twitter that Brett Putz is 1 of the 2.

Question for people more knowledgeable than me at xs and os. Given that Avila is a true stretch 4 is it out the question that another similar type (Pryor/Turnbull/etc..) could also get significant minutes with them both on the floor? Or does that hurt too much defensively?

Schertz was a finalist for him at ISU. Re-opened his recruitment today. Could be a coincidence, but probably worth keeping an eye on it.

The head of ISU's collective said today that they've got commitments to get their NIL to $270k. We were at $400K last year. If their beat writer is saying we're almost a million more, then we're in the $1.2 million range. 3X where we were last year.

If true, the donors stepped up BIG TIME

I'd love it if Schertz could work Thames into the model because I think he's got a lot of potential, but of the six guys on ISU's team that played essentially in every game, here's the stats: 40% on 129 attempts 42% on 259 attempts 36% on 306 attempts 36% on 80 attempts 45% on 85 attempts 36% on 112 attempts The ISU offense leads to a lot more open looks. Gibby would probably thrive not having to spend 35 minutes weaving every game to even be able to take a shot. He was also 40% on 212 attempts in 2022-23 when SLU had a decent PG. Larry was also 41% on 29 attempts in 2022-23. Djorde was very efficient in a small sample size. Do we think Thames can maintain a 36% 3P% if he had to 2.5x or 3x his attempts? If he was also 0 for 1 in limited time in 2022-23. Thames' game is much more akin to Goodwin. I'm obviously not saying he's Goodwin, but he gots a lot of his points on drives, offensive rebounds, etc.. Schertz offense runs through shooters. Tons and tons of potential. I just have questions if he fits the mold.

If Tate is going to be kept around (as has been suggested), I'm sure Schertz has had time to review the roster and backchannel to Tate who he wants to keep and who he doesn't. Having watched a bunch of Indy State the last couple weeks, the only players from last year who would seem to fit the system would be Hughes, Gibby, and Curcic. A couple observations. All his bigs are highly-skilled passers who can shoot a little. He's mentioned his offense runs through the five. Zhang, Ezewiro, and SVB don't really fit the mold. He needs a Connor Turnbull/Brock Vice type. The spacing created by the offense leads to a lot of open threes and his guys are all pretty decent shooters. As much as I like Kellen, I don't think he's a strong enough shooter to thrive in that offense. Hughes, Gibby, and Curcic seem to be options, though.

Again, I'm not sure what the point would be. It was private message. Its not like I'm a national writer or anything that he could get clout with. Just someone he's met a few times through one of his sons and talks SLU basketball on occasion.

He has nothing to gain by lying to me in a private twitter message about a phone call he had with Schertz. This isn't the same thing as him pushing Ahearn or being buddies with Ford. He didn't say it was a lock, only that Schertz told him that he expected his starting five to follow. Again, could SLU get "outbid"... sure. But the ISU guys received little to no NIL money this year. I would have to think Schertz would know roughly what it would take to get his guys to follow him and made sure the NIL funding would be there for anyone he wanted to bring with him.