2025-26 ROSTER

[Bilzz]

1 hour ago, gobillsgo said:

Think the bolded is incorrect.  Fair enough on other points. I guess I should say nothing would really surprise me these days transfer wise. 

He didn't sign an NLI, but both Schertz and Pikaar have said that he was going to ISU to play for Schertz and then decided to follow to SLU. Not sure if it was a Post Dispatch article or on Twitter.

[billikenfan05]

1 hour ago, gobillsgo said:

Think the bolded is incorrect.  Fair enough on other points. I guess I should say nothing would really surprise me these days transfer wise. 

He was an Indiana State commit.

[gobillsgo]

39 minutes ago, Bilzz said:

He didn't sign an NLI, but both Schertz and Pikaar have said that he was going to ISU to play for Schertz and then decided to follow to SLU. Not sure if it was a Post Dispatch article or on Twitter.

 

31 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

He was an Indiana State commit.

https://x.com/westpinebills/status/1782442853509038449?s=46&t=nfn8rwvSVcv8bUH2TNwIIw
 

i guess this is what you are referring to, but he never announced a commitment to Indiana State. Splitting hairs I guess. 

[Bilzz]

8 minutes ago, gobillsgo said:

 

https://x.com/westpinebills/status/1782442853509038449?s=46&t=nfn8rwvSVcv8bUH2TNwIIw
 

i guess this is what you are referring to, but he never announced a commitment to Indiana State. Splitting hairs I guess. 

The only point was that he is kind of a "Schertz guy" and I'm not sure his prospects for playing time or NLI money would look better outside of Schertz's system. He could definitely leave, but I would be a little surprised unles he feels like he's getting recruited over.

[gabriel]

easy guy to cheer for, class act 

[ACE]

On 3/19/2025 at 12:00 PM, ACE said:

In his post-game comments Schertz talked about "overhauling" the roster this offseason. More athleticism is what he kept going back to. The current roster is not good and there is a lot of uncertainty with some injured players. A lot of work needs to be done. Next year will be a 15-man roster. Here is how it stands heading into portal season...

1) Avilla

2) Anya - Good defender and rebounder, but limited offensively. Got a lot more playing time than originally planned due to Casey and Thames injuries. Hopefully he goes down to about 15-18 mpg next year. Still a valuable player

3) McCottry - Rough around the edges, but the upside is very exciting. Athletic and versatile. I think Schertz should have given playing time sooner when Thames went down, but he did get valuable experience down the stretch. A key player heading into next season, gotta keep him. With a bigger role, he should really help our defense.

4)  Thames - Who knows. I hope they figure out what the deal is. I feel bad for the kid. I really liked the potential he flashed early in the season. I will feel much better about the roster if he returns and is back at 100%.

5) Dotzler - Another injury question. Not really sure what we have since he didn't really play much. I would like to see him back. (GONE)

6) Casey - You can learn a lot of by listening to Schertz interviews. In the preseason, he would often talk about Thames and Hughes (returning players) - of course he said positive things about all the players, but he talked a lot more about Thames in glowing terms than Hughes.. that's when I figured he wasn't very high on Larry. In the same way, he would often talk about the two new transfer bigs at the same time (Anya and Casey). He was much more positive about Anya. This is a long way of saying, even before the injury, I don't think Casey was going to have a big role. Now with the injury, I'm fine if we free up the scholarship. GONE

5) Warlick - I think he's a good "glue guy" to keep in the system for a while - I think Schertz likes him, although he doesn't have the "athleticism" Schertz has talked about needing on the roster. I hope he stays, but not crushed if he leaves.

6)  Pikaar - I liked the potential he flashed in the William Woods game, but then again it was William Woods. On the season averaged just 1 ppg and 1 rbg. With the lack of depth, there were opportunities for Max to get some PT, and Schertz didn't give it to him. I'm fine seeing what he can do in year two, but Schertz is bringing in two other skinny bigs next year. I think if Schertz believed in his upside, there was an opportunity for more minutes throughout the season, especially with all the injuries on the roster.

9) Brockhoff - I just don't see anyway he's coming back. If he couldn't get playing time on this depleted roster, it's not likely to happen in the future.

7) Hutson - He had a big HS season, he could be a nice scorer off the bench. The kid seems like a winner

Laczkowski - Seems like a little shorter Pikaar type player. I never expect tall skinny freshmen to contribute their first year and just hope I'm wrong

9) Kerr - Same expectation for tall, skinny freshmen

10) Otieno

11) Jones

12) Open

13) Open

14) Open

15) Open

I see a minimum of 4 available scholarships and as many as 7. 

 

Updated, Two down, four to go.

Schertz adding size and athleticism as promised. Need a couple more shooters. I would also like a junkyard dog, defensive stopper type player. A stretch big to back-up Robbie would also be nice.

[Zink]

19 minutes ago, ACE said:

Updated, Two down, four to go.

Schertz adding size and athleticism as promised. Need a couple more shooters. I would also like a junkyard dog, defensive stopper type player. A stretch big to back-up Robbie would also be nice.

Feel like a “creator” is our biggest need at this stage, no?
 

Who on the current roster is going to bring the ball up and initiate the offense or create scoring opportunities on isolation plays? 
 

Still have a glaring Swope-shaped hole in the roster from my perspective. 

[CenHudDude]

33 minutes ago, Zink said:

Feel like a “creator” is our biggest need at this stage, no?
 

Who on the current roster is going to bring the ball up and initiate the offense or create scoring opportunities on isolation plays? 
 

Still have a glaring Swope-shaped hole in the roster from my perspective. 

Q. Jones is described as a shot creator with 4 assists per game.  He also has .9 blocks and 1.3 steals/game.  He should help with bringing up the ball and also on D, no?

[HoosierPal]

26 minutes ago, CenHudDude said:

Q. Jones is described as a shot creator with 4 assists per game.  He also has .9 blocks and 1.3 steals/game.  He should help with bringing up the ball and also on D, no?

Read Stu's column this afternoon on Jones for your answer.

[BillsfaninKC]

If we continue to make headway in the portal, and bring in players who we think will help, will CJS be more inclined to use role players more? Or do we think it's going to be hard for him to use his bench? 

I know we can't answer that definitively, but it's something I'll continue to think about. 

[Zink]

17 hours ago, CenHudDude said:

Q. Jones is described as a shot creator with 4 assists per game.  He also has .9 blocks and 1.3 steals/game.  He should help with bringing up the ball and also on D, no?

The Trilly video noted that he wasn’t very good shooting off the dribble though, which limits him a bit in that regard. Definitely seems like a good passer, which is awesome, but I think it’s more TBD if he can be the guy with the ball in his hands in crunch time or with the shot clock winding down. 

[billikenfan05]

In some way this offseason is a lot like that Moneyball scene where they are trying to replace specific numbers. Personally, I don't necessarily want 2 guys of Swope and Jimerson's scoring #s, I want 4 guys that can replace those points. Really would like to see a deeper rotation around 8-9 guys on a given night. 

[3star_recruit]

3 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

In some way this offseason is a lot like that Moneyball scene where they are trying to replace specific numbers. Personally, I don't necessarily want 2 guys of Swope and Jimerson's scoring #s, I want 4 guys that can replace those points. Really would like to see a deeper rotation around 8-9 guys on a given night. 

I think you'll be waiting a long time.  I don't believe Coach Schertz has ever had a 9 player rotation in his college coaching career.

[SLUMS81]

I would like to see a healthy Dotzler decide to stay at SLU.

[billikenfan05]

47 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

I think you'll be waiting a long time.  I don't believe Coach Schertz has ever had a 9 player rotation in his college coaching career.

Maybe. 

[HoosierPal]

1 hour ago, 3star_recruit said:

I think you'll be waiting a long time.  I don't believe Coach Schertz has ever had a 9 player rotation in his college coaching career.

And that leads to my question, who is going to sit next season.  Does it even make sense to fill all 15 scholarship players, via the portal, or does Schertz give one or two to a "Walk-On".  Robbie went 34 mpg, Jones 35 mpg, and Otieno 31 mpg.  We have no idea if Jones or Otieno will adapt to Schertz' system, but assuming they do we are already at a crunch for minutes.  We all assume McCrotty will be in the high 20's.  Not much PT left.  As you state, Schertz won't go 9 deep on his primary rotation.  He had the option to go 9 deep this season, but elected to keep Brockhoff on the bench.  By my definition, Pikaar's minutes didn't qualify as rotational. 

(BTW, did you see who lead the NCAA in minute played?  Drake's Stiritz at 39.2 mpg followed by his Drake teammate Mascari at 38.3 mpg.  Gibson was 3rd.)

[brianstl]

I don't think we can make a judgement on if Schertz is willing to play a bigger rotation or not.  He has never had a roster that has been deep enough with talent to go 8 or 9 deep with significant minutes.  It may turn out that he isn't willing to go that deep, but he has to have a roster with that kind of talent first before we can say with certainty that is the case. 

[willie]

32 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

And that leads to my question, who is going to sit next season.  Does it even make sense to fill all 15 scholarship players, via the portal, or does Schertz give one or two to a "Walk-On".  Robbie went 34 mpg, Jones 35 mpg, and Otieno 31 mpg.  We have no idea if Jones or Otieno will adapt to Schertz' system, but assuming they do we are already at a crunch for minutes.  We all assume McCrotty will be in the high 20's.  Not much PT left.  As you state, Schertz won't go 9 deep on his primary rotation.  He had the option to go 9 deep this season, but elected to keep Brockhoff on the bench.  By my definition, Pikaar's minutes didn't qualify as rotational. 

(BTW, did you see who lead the NCAA in minute played?  Drake's Stiritz at 39.2 mpg followed by his Drake teammate Mascari at 38.3 mpg.  Gibson was 3rd.)

I would be shocked if   we filled 15 scholarships. 

[AGB91]

Does anyone know if Nick Patton will get a scholarship?

With the expansion to fifteen, I would think that might happen.

[3star_recruit]

40 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

And that leads to my question, who is going to sit next season.  Does it even make sense to fill all 15 scholarship players, via the portal, or does Schertz give one or two to a "Walk-On".  Robbie went 34 mpg, Jones 35 mpg, and Otieno 31 mpg.  We have no idea if Jones or Otieno will adapt to Schertz' system, but assuming they do we are already at a crunch for minutes.  We all assume McCrotty will be in the high 20's.  Not much PT left.  As you state, Schertz won't go 9 deep on his primary rotation.  He had the option to go 9 deep this season, but elected to keep Brockhoff on the bench.  By my definition, Pikaar's minutes didn't qualify as rotational. 

(BTW, did you see who lead the NCAA in minute played?  Drake's Stiritz at 39.2 mpg followed by his Drake teammate Mascari at 38.3 mpg.  Gibson was 3rd.)

There's no downside to filling out all 15 scholarships.  There's plenty of kids out here who will happily accept a one-year scholarship at a mid-major to avoid playing at a low-major.  They can always move down at the end of the year if it doesn't work out.  The low-major is the eternal safety school.

[willie]

17 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

There's no downside to filling out all 15 scholarships.  There's plenty of kids out here who will happily accept a one-year scholarship at a mid-major to avoid playing at a low-major.  They can always move down at the end of the year if it doesn't work out.  The low-major is the eternal safety school.

The downside is that it cost the university some money. While not a big deal in the total budget it does cost. 

[billikenfan05]

16 minutes ago, willie said:

The downside is that it cost the university some money. While not a big deal in the total budget it does cost. 

If we’re discussing budget over 15 scholarship players, it’s time to shut down the program because clearly the budgetary concerns are that serious.

[billiken_roy]

1 hour ago, HoosierPal said:

And that leads to my question, who is going to sit next season.  Does it even make sense to fill all 15 scholarship players, via the portal, or does Schertz give one or two to a "Walk-On".  Robbie went 34 mpg, Jones 35 mpg, and Otieno 31 mpg.  We have no idea if Jones or Otieno will adapt to Schertz' system, but assuming they do we are already at a crunch for minutes.  We all assume McCrotty will be in the high 20's.  Not much PT left.  As you state, Schertz won't go 9 deep on his primary rotation.  He had the option to go 9 deep this season, but elected to keep Brockhoff on the bench.  By my definition, Pikaar's minutes didn't qualify as rotational. 

(BTW, did you see who lead the NCAA in minute played?  Drake's Stiritz at 39.2 mpg followed by his Drake teammate Mascari at 38.3 mpg.  Gibson was 3rd.)

well you never know when we are going to have 4-5 players get season ending injuries and/or players leave the program in the middle of the season.   i would have never thought we would lose all of our middle of the roster players and be left with our starters and the bottom 4 players on the bench as we had happen this past year.   we keep 2 or 3 of those out players it would have changed the whole season imo.   

so fill the roster with the best basketball players you can get.   spend the money.   dont leave money on he table imo.  

[billiken_roy]

21 minutes ago, willie said:

The downside is that it cost the university some money. While not a big deal in the total budget it does cost. 

i seriously doubt the university bucked up a cent.   what money we paid out last year was whatever our whales ponied up which obviously wasnt enough.  i would bet the university will continue to cry "we are in debt" while they have their multi billion dollar endowment that "cant be touched".   (which is b.s.  they can always cash investments in they will just have to pay penalties or substitute alternate collateral)  when you are talking billions.   a penalty will be paltry compared to the balance.  remember, a billion is 1,000 million.   keep it in perspective.   the time is now.  we either go big or we are doomed to mid level in the conference which will never get us a D1 invite when the inevitable split comes.  

[Dr. Holly Hills]

Has there been any new information surface on Thames?  If he's going to try to play next year (with us) and if any progress  has been made in diagnosing and treating his medical issues?