Dotzler, Thames, Casey

[WVBilliken]

Schertz seems to keep a tight lid on the status of injured players.  I haven't read or heard a peep about their recovery status?, will they be at SLU next year?, etc.

Casey remains a mystery ... a top 100 prospect who did virtually nothing in two years at Miami U.  Dozier looked like a keeper based on his play before getting injured.  Seems he could be a replacement for Kobe Johnson to me.  Thames, looked healthy and happy on the sidelines at the Davidson game.  Can he make a return or is he headed the Fred Thatch route, never to play again?

[shempie]

I belive Stu has said a couple of times that Dotzler was going to move into a starter's role pre injury. Based on the recovery path of Javonte Perkins, I think we need to be cautious on our expecations for him (Dotzler) next year (assuming he stays). 

[Fraz]

If Dotz was ahead of Kobe, he can play.  Cuz Kobe can play

[willie]

We have no idea who is coming back. While Kobe has been great I think Doltzier is more of a pure point. 

[wgstl]

17 minutes ago, Fraz said:

If Dotz was ahead of Kobe, he can play.  Cuz Kobe can play

But was that because Kobe hadn't broken out of his shell yet?  There was nothing special about Kobe pre conf play. 

Also not sure there's any info worth telling about Dotzler, its a long road to recovery.

Casey wasn't ready to play this year.  Was it because or an injury or more of a project who needed time?  My guess is they knew he did have some sort of back injury that presented them with the chance to give him a year to get healthy and learn the system better and get a redshirt without wasting a year on the bench. 

[ARon]

It's likely going to be a VERY different team next season.  But welcome to college basketball in 2025.

[slu72]

Thames status interests me the most. He was playing at a high level pre cramping issues. It would be an awful blow to him personally if he’s got an illness that prevents him from playing a game he loves. Get well, Kellen. 

[SLU_Nick]

1 hour ago, slu72 said:

Thames status interests me the most. He was playing at a high level pre cramping issues. It would be an awful blow to him personally if he’s got an illness that prevents him from playing a game he loves. Get well, Kellen. 

Casey interests me the most.  In that locker room video, he looks so good in street clothes.  I can see why Miami took a flyer on him. 

But Markhi Strickland also interested me…

 

[HoosierPal]

17 hours ago, wgstl said:

But was that because Kobe hadn't broken out of his shell yet?  There was nothing special about Kobe pre conf play. 

Also not sure there's any info worth telling about Dotzler, its a long road to recovery.

Casey wasn't ready to play this year.  Was it because or an injury or more of a project who needed time?  My guess is they knew he did have some sort of back injury that presented them with the chance to give him a year to get healthy and learn the system better and get a redshirt without wasting a year on the bench. 

It was the Wichita State game where Schertz was quoted as saying  Dotzler was going to start that game.  As you remember, Johnson was coming off of a shoulder issue. He had played in the LMU game, but was certainly not in full game shape.  While Dotzler was slated to start the Wichita State game, I seriously doubt Schertz was anointing him as a permanent starter.

Dotzler will come into next season with a total of 112 minutes of college ball.  He has scored 34 points.  He has 7 total assists and 8 turnovers.  I would put him into a category of a 'seasoned freshman'.  Observing Schertz' system for a year will be a huge plus for him.  Schertz has commented he does like Josiah's ability to get downhill.  The mix of next season's roster will be interesting.  Avila is the only player from the mix we know today that I would put in ink he starts and plays 32+ minutes per game.  There will be movement through the portal on incoming and outgoing players. 

[slu72]

Thames status interests me the most. He was playing at a high level pre cramping issues. It would be an awful blow to him personally if he’s got an illness that prevents him from playing a game he loves. Get well, Kellen. 

[gobillsgo]

2 hours ago, slu72 said:

Thames status interests me the most. He was playing at a high level pre cramping issues. It would be an awful blow to him personally if he’s got an illness that prevents him from playing a game he loves. Get well, Kellen. 

Unfortunately he seems to be going the way of Fred Thatch.  Promising player that can’t stay on the court, and no one really knows why or how to fix it. 

[Crewsorlose]

A core of healthy Thames, Dotzler, Anya, and Avila is a good place to start. Let's hope they keep the three current frosh (McCottry seems like he could be all-league as a junior). I imagine they move on from Casey and Brockhoff. They've signed the three frosh for next year. I suspect they try to get a Kobe Johnson type and an Anya type who can protect the rim a little from the transfer market. Also a score-first lead guard. I'd love it if they also picked up Zyree Collins. Absolute baller. I'll die on that hill. 

[Box and Won]

20 minutes ago, gobillsgo said:

Unfortunately he seems to be going the way of Fred Thatch.  Promising player that can’t stay on the court, and no one really knows why or how to fix it. 

Thatch at least played a fair amount. This is shaping up like more of a Femi John situation.

[gobillsgo]

3 minutes ago, Box and Won said:

Thatch at least played a fair amount. This is shaping up like more of a Femi John situation.

That was the other player that came to mind, but I thought he had an identifiable structural issue with his knee or something, that just never got better.  Could be wrong on that. With Thatch and Thames it seems like no one can say what the problem is. 

[WVBilliken]

1 hour ago, Crewsorlose said:

A core of healthy Thames, Dotzler, Anya, and Avila is a good place to start. Let's hope they keep the three current frosh (McCottry seems like he could be all-league as a junior). I imagine they move on from Casey and Brockhoff. They've signed the three frosh for next year. I suspect they try to get a Kobe Johnson type and an Anya type who can protect the rim a little from the transfer market. Also a score-first lead guard. I'd love it if they also picked up Zyree Collins. Absolute baller. I'll die on that hill. 

For "an absolute baller" Collins has a very weak looking offer list. Any insight on why interest is not too high?   https://247sports.com/Player/zyree-collins-46143734/

[VeniceMenace]

20 hours ago, willie said:

We have no idea who is coming back. While Kobe has been great I think Doltzier is more of a pure point. 

Need a pure point, or two or three....biggest frustration with this team is turnover margin...on average two more per game vs. the opposition...under Majerus the average was four fewer per game vs. the opposition. 

[3star_recruit]

57 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

For "an absolute baller" Collins has a very weak looking offer list. Any insight on why interest is not too high?   https://247sports.com/Player/zyree-collins-46143734/

He's a 6'0 combo guard with good but not great athleticism.  In the Portal Age, that equates to low and mid-major offers out of high school.

[Crewsorlose]

7 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

He's a 6'0 combo guard with good but not great athleticism.  In the Portal Age, that equates to low and mid-major offers out of high school.

I think a lot of it is the appeal to the transfer portal and the sense that young guards who aren't playing right out of the gate will look to reclassify. Tennessee brought him down for a visit this winter. I don't know if they offered. Given what Yuri did with a light offer list, I'd trust the pedigree and the eye test. He can score at three levels. 

[3star_recruit]

5 minutes ago, Crewsorlose said:

I think a lot of it is the appeal to the transfer portal and the sense that young guards who aren't playing right out of the gate will look to reclassify. Tennessee brought him down for a visit this winter. I don't know if they offered. Given what Yuri did with a light offer list, I'd trust the pedigree and the eye test. He can score at three levels. 

In the pre-Portal era, Zyree would move up the rotation each year until he's a starter by year 3.  In the current era, if he only plays 10 min a game as freshman, he either transfers or is recruited over through the portal.  It's ass-backwards, but the best chance of Zyree succeeding at SLU is via the portal after he toils for 1-2 years elsewhere in obscurity.

[WVBilliken]

9 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

In the pre-Portal era, Zyree would move up the rotation each year until he's a starter by year 3.  In the current era, if he only plays 10 min a game as freshman, he either transfers or is recruited over through the portal.  It's ass-backwards, but the best chance of Zyree succeeding at SLU is via the portal after he toils for 1-2 years elsewhere in obscurity.

But .... Schertz seems to put a lot of emphasis on HS recruiting.  He's got 3 coming in next year, perhaps more to come?

[3star_recruit]

19 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

But .... Schertz seems to put a lot of emphasis on HS recruiting.  He's got 3 coming in next year, perhaps more to come?

So far, nobody under 6'4.  Small combo guards out of high school are the ones most impacted by the portal because their upside is not obvious.  It's how Schertz got Swope.  Put up numbers at a low-major, then Schertz landed him through the portal.

[wgstl]

4 hours ago, HoosierPal said:

It was the Wichita State game where Schertz was quoted as saying  Dotzler was going to start that game.  As you remember, Johnson was coming off of a shoulder issue. He had played in the LMU game, but was certainly not in full game shape.  While Dotzler was slated to start the Wichita State game, I seriously doubt Schertz was anointing him as a permanent starter.

Right but what Im saying is Johnson wasn't doing much in OOC to be a sure starter or anything close like that.  Dotzler might have been the better player at the time of the WSU or whatever, but would he better than Johnson at this point in time? Dotzler perhaps fits Schertz system more, but Johnson over the last 2 months has been arguably our best player. 

[TMBilliken2013]

Johnson has been great but still does not give us much in terms of playmaking from the guard position. I think that was the main thing the staff was hoping for with Dotzler especially to lessen the load for Swope on the perimeter. 

[billiken_roy]

3 hours ago, WVBilliken said:

For "an absolute baller" Collins has a very weak looking offer list. Any insight on why interest is not too high?   https://247sports.com/Player/zyree-collins-46143734/

i believe he's even shorter than his too short brother.

[billiken_roy]

1 hour ago, WVBilliken said:

But .... Schertz seems to put a lot of emphasis on HS recruiting.  He's got 3 coming in next year, perhaps more to come?

he has to have practive players the incoming freshmen committed were not high major recruits thus they were likely cheap buys.   just my opinion   i have no inside information on why he recruited 3 incoming freshmen.