MBB TPT2 TRANSFER PORTAL THREAD 2

Oh I agree, I guess my point is, the roster as a whole looks too similar to last season for me to think we will be much better. We have lots of depth players but not enough difference makers in the top 8 or 9. I am excited about McCollum but it will be tough for him to be much better than Grant was over the course of the full season. I think a healthy Hugley will/should be an upgrade from Tanner. But we have gotten worse at the four. So I think we need Cooper to really hit the ground running, and/or for Los and Oweh to really make a leap.

Does it really look like last year though?

Outside of what would APPEAR to be vastly improved outside shooting, we HAVE gotten longer and seemingly more athletic. We'll see if it translates.

I guy like Dunn may simply have been a bad fit at UNC...he has length, athleticism and he shot (on film) doesn't look bad. He could be a sleeper that needs a change. He was fairly highly ranked coming out of HS. Not being a huge contributor at a UNC doesn't mean you can't play.

As for the guys we have now...I think we'll improve.
 
as expected

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1666270297446666241?s=20[/TWEET]

Hard to compete with the defending champ / blue blood program.

Disappointing nonetheless as we didn’t upgrade the 4 spot to date. It looks like a wash to me at 4 year over year, so hopefully the rest of the starters/reserves can bridge the gap.

The UNC player would be a solid addition, but not the answer at the 4.
 
Hard to compete with the defending champ / blue blood program.

Disappointing nonetheless as we didn’t upgrade the 4 spot to date. It looks like a wash to me at 4 year over year, so hopefully the rest of the starters/reserves can bridge the gap.

The UNC player would be a solid addition, but not the answer at the 4.

If Moore can hold his own...play good D and give us similar production as Hill I think we've improved elsewhere...how much? I don't know.

We'll definitely be more athletic, which goes a long way on the court. I'm curious who is going to score but we've accomplished getting longer and more athletic
 
Does it really look like last year though?

Outside of what would APPEAR to be vastly improved outside shooting, we HAVE gotten longer and seemingly more athletic. We'll see if it translates.

I guy like Dunn may simply have been a bad fit at UNC...he has length, athleticism and he shot (on film) doesn't look bad. He could be a sleeper that needs a change. He was fairly highly ranked coming out of HS. Not being a huge contributor at a UNC doesn't mean you can't play.

As for the guys we have now...I think we'll improve.

Bam is a better athlete than any of the new guys, and we all know how little that meant once the games started. Marvin Johnson was our best athlete two seasons ago and barely played for 2/3 of the season. Being athletic is nice, but if guys like Soares, Moore, and Dunn are so athletic, doesn't it make you think that perhaps the reason they didn't make bigger impacts at their prior schools is because they aren't very skilled? With all the talk of athleticism I've read on this board, you'd think we added three or four absolute studs. My guess is once Big 12 play starts, we will still be outmanned most nights athletically.

And I truly don't mean this to sound pissy toward you, but I don't care what someone's shot mechanics look like. The ball either goes in, or it doesn't. Maybe some of these guys are great at HORSE, but with opposing teams on the court and thousands of people in the stands, none of them has shown an ability to make shots in D-1 games. I am the president of the Jalen Hill fan club, but I will be the first to admit that even though Lon and Porter often spoke about wanting him to shoot more 3s because they considered him a good shooter, the results were never there in game action. If Hill was back, I don't think many people here would have expected him to make 35-38% on a higher volume of 3s next season. But because we haven't personally seen the new guys miss a lot of shots, there seems to be this thinking that they may/probably will outperform what their career numbers show.

You are right that some guys do thrive in a new setting. Hell, I would love if we have a reverse Alondes Williams situation, and one of the transfers comes in and sets the world on fire. But those are the exception, not the rule.
 
Bam is a better athlete than any of the new guys, and we all know how little that meant once the games started. Marvin Johnson was our best athlete two seasons ago and barely played for 2/3 of the season. Being athletic is nice, but if guys like Soares, Moore, and Dunn are so athletic, doesn't it make you think that perhaps the reason they didn't make bigger impacts at their prior schools is because they aren't very skilled? With all the talk of athleticism I've read on this board, you'd think we added three or four absolute studs. My guess is once Big 12 play starts, we will still be outmanned most nights athletically.

And I truly don't mean this to sound pissy toward you, but I don't care what someone's shot mechanics look like. The ball either goes in, or it doesn't. Maybe some of these guys are great at HORSE, but with opposing teams on the court and thousands of people in the stands, none of them has shown an ability to make shots in D-1 games. I am the president of the Jalen Hill fan club, but I will be the first to admit that even though Lon and Porter often spoke about wanting him to shoot more 3s because they considered him a good shooter, the results were never there in game action. If Hill was back, I don't think many people here would have expected him to make 35-38% on a higher volume of 3s next season. But because we haven't personally seen the new guys miss a lot of shots, there seems to be this thinking that they may/probably will outperform what their career numbers show.

You are right that some guys do thrive in a new setting. Hell, I would love if we have a reverse Alondes Williams situation, and one of the transfers comes in and sets the world on fire. But those are the exception, not the rule.

I'm not attacking you here,we just have a different opinion on where we were last year. I didn't think this was a GOOD team but they competed well with the upper level teams in the conference on MOST nights. You talk like there was a giant chasm between athleticism and I don't feel that was the case. I DID think we had trouble offensively at times without a go-to scorer we could get it to and let him go. I don't know that we have that now but I do think we got longer and I think we DID improve athletically.

I think Moore is more athletic than Hill (better basketball player? I don't know about that but I think he is a better athlete)

I think Sherfield was a little miscast as the "dude"....he could play and was decent but struggled at times when everything fell on his shoulders. He'd have great spurts then completely disappear. I think McCollum is a solid replacement.

Darthard I think will surprise alot of people. He has good size at 6'4", can shoot it some and is a good defender. I think he will be good.

Hugley, in my opinion, is going to be better for us than Groves. I think he will be a better rebounder and he brings a lot more physicality than Groves and that is going to be a better fit for what we need.

Cooper is ultra athletic but we'll see how he adjusts to the college game. Cole could very possibly be the 4 type that we need but it remains to be seen as far as his recovery from the knee injury.

Soares is athletic. I think he is more of a role player but he could surprise us. He played minutes at Oregon and his stats in JUCO were pretty good. So the ability is there. He doesn't have to come in and be a 20 ppg scorer.

I think Hill is the only real player that we will miss some but hopefully the others will be able to provide some of what he brought to the table.

Dunn has some skill. I am just curious if it was an issue of getting more opportunities or just being behind some top shelf guys on a national runner-up team and then this year I don't know.

The HORSE comment I'll just say your shooting form and mechanics make a huge difference. He shot almost 33% in a smallish sample size so given opportunity he may raise that up a little. If he can shoot anywhere close to 35-36% (not an unfathomable jump from 32.4%) then I'd say that would be success. Confidence and opportunity can do wonders.
 
Last edited:
I'm not attacking you here,we just have a different opinion on where we were last year. I didn't think this as a GOOD team but they competed well with the upper level teams in the conference on MOST nights. You talk like there was a giant chasm between athleticism and I don't feel that was the case. I DID think we had trouble offensively at times without a go-to scorer we could get it to and let him go. I don't know that we have that now but I do think we got longer and I think we DID improve athletically.

I think Moore is more athletic than Hill (better basketball player? I don't know about that but I think he is a better athlete)

I think Sherfield was a little miscast as the "dude"....he could play and was decent but struggled at times when everything fell on his shoulders. He's have great spurts then completely disappear. I think McCollum is a solid replacement.

Darthard I think will surprise alot of people. He has good size at 6'4", can shoot it some and is a good defender. I think he will be good.

Hugley, in my opinion, is going to be better for us than Groves. I think he will be a better rebounder and he brings a lot more physicality than Groves and that is going to be a better fit for what we need.

Cooper is ultra athletic but we'll see how he adjusts to the college game. Cole could very possibly be the 4 type that we need but it remains to be seen as far as his recovery from the knee injury.

Soares is athletic. I think he is more of a role player but he could surprise us. He played minutes at Oregon and his stats in JUCO were pretty good. So the ability is there. He doesn't have to come in and be a 20 ppg scorer.

I think Hill is the only real player that we will miss some but hopefully the others will be able to provide some of what he brought to the table.

Dunn has some skill. I am just curious if it was an issue of getting more opportunities or just being behind some top shelf guys on a national runner-up team and then this year I don't know.

The HORSE comment I'll just say your shooting form and mechanics make a huge difference. He shot almost 33% in a smallish sample size so given opportunity he may raise that up a little. If he can shoot anywhere close to 35-36% (not an unfathomable jump from 32.4%) then I'd say that would be success. Confidence and opportunity can do wonders.

great post thank you
 
Wasn't Dunn like a top 60 HS player?? You take that and his athleticism all day. He's looking like the 8-10th type role player at the moment with high ish potential.

I think we got better no matter what at this point. My reasons/hopes.

1. Los and Oweh get much better and have gained much needed experience.
2. Hugley is better than Groves
3. We are much longer/athletic
4. I'm really high on Cooper.. like next big thing(NBA type hype) :)

Worries:
1. Hugley isn't the guy/hurt/lazy??
2. We struggle to score/shoot it

I'm not super concerned with who plays at the 4. We have multiple guys that can play 2-4 spots.
 
great post thank you

I agree with a fair amount of what you say, but definitely disagree with the comment that there wasn’t a huge gap between us and most of the teams in the conference when it comes to athleticism. Take away Bam, who barely played, and who did have that could be considered even an average athlete by Big 12 standards? Hill probably is the guy who could come closest to holding his own, but even he was average at best for a guy his height. Other than Jalen’s dunk against Bama, I can’t recall a single dunk by the team that made me think wow, that was impressive. Tanner, Jacob, and CJ are well below average. Grant is no better than average for a PG. Bam barely saw the floor. Los and Oweh are athletic, but they don’t stand out in this league. Bijan can jump but some here have said they think he lacks lateral quickness. Frankly, we looked like a mid major most nights, especially against the top four or five teams in the league, but also against OSU. So even if we are more athletic this season, that’s a pretty low bar to clear, and won’t necessarily mean we are on par with our opponents.

As for Moore … this is where I get confused. You say you don’t know if he is a better player than Hill. I think there is plenty of proof that Jalen is better. He is a borderline honorable mention all league guy in the best conference in the country, while Moore came off the bench half the time and only played 20 minutes per game for a terrible team. If he was a better player than Jalen, he would have been playing 35 minutes a night on that squad.
 
I'm tired of the "athleticism" argument...we need basketball players.

I do agree there are "more athletic" basketball guys and maybe that's the point...I'm sure it is.

The one guy, couple of years back...had the crazy hair tied up...he was held up on this board as our "best athlete" but couldn't play basketball worth a lick...need both.

I hope we have both...athletes that can shoot, dribble, move their feet, and know the game...
 
I agree with a fair amount of what you say, but definitely disagree with the comment that there wasn’t a huge gap between us and most of the teams in the conference when it comes to athleticism. Take away Bam, who barely played, and who did have that could be considered even an average athlete by Big 12 standards? Hill probably is the guy who could come closest to holding his own, but even he was average at best for a guy his height. Other than Jalen’s dunk against Bama, I can’t recall a single dunk by the team that made me think wow, that was impressive. Tanner, Jacob, and CJ are well below average. Grant is no better than average for a PG. Bam barely saw the floor. Los and Oweh are athletic, but they don’t stand out in this league. Bijan can jump but some here have said they think he lacks lateral quickness. Frankly, we looked like a mid major most nights, especially against the top four or five teams in the league, but also against OSU. So even if we are more athletic this season, that’s a pretty low bar to clear, and won’t necessarily mean we are on par with our opponents.

As for Moore … this is where I get confused. You say you don’t know if he is a better player than Hill. I think there is plenty of proof that Jalen is better. He is a borderline honorable mention all league guy in the best conference in the country, while Moore came off the bench half the time and only played 20 minutes per game for a terrible team. If he was a better player than Jalen, he would have been playing 35 minutes a night on that squad.

I think any one of the transfer guards are more athletic than CJ or Bijan. I don't really think that is debatable. Sherfield was ok but I think McCollum is a decent trade off.

As for Moore I haven't watched GT much but the film I saw showed definite athleticism. Just watching him run and jump shows that. One alley-oop play on a highlight showed some springs and was a play we didn't see a lot of here recently. I'm not expecting Moore to be a world beater...I just want to see him be similar in results to Hill. Ideally someone steps up, whether it's Moore or someone else and gives us positive minutes. If we improve at multiple positions and improve depth then I think we see a marked improvement.

We can agree to disagree on how far we were from being competitive or not. I understand your point about losing to OSU and a few other games. For me, the competitive games we played vs Texas and KU and some others show a different light on the overall picture. I think things can be taken from all those that are both good and bad.

It's fair for you to see the negative side and just as fair for those of us that look at the positive things because we ALL hope there is improvement this year. We WANT the same thing. Hopefully we see the needle move in the right direction.
 
Great points by KC, North Carolina, and Wichita!

While we did compete well with some very good teams on a handful of occasions, we also lost by double digits 8 times (and by 20+ 4 times) in 19 games against b12 teams. I would say we were capable of being competitive, but weren't consistently competitive or competitive overall in our league. In tennis, we would be called a dangerous floater in the draw. We won't win the tournament, but we could take out a top seed on a good day.

As for Moore, he looks like he can be similarly productive as Hill, but it's hard to imagine we don't lose some leadership/intangibles. My other concern is that his playing time dwindled at GT, they brought in more guys, and he left. Hopefully, it was just a bad fit and he flourishes at OU, but it's not a positive trajectory.

Overall, I'm optimistic that the incoming talent will be better than what we lost. Some of the outgoing players gave us very little, so we should be able to make some gains there even if their replacements aren't huge contributors. I'm excited about Hugley and McCollum as upgrades. It also looks like we will have some athletic wing defenders and slashers. I'm not convinced, however, that we have moved the needle enough to significantly improve our record against another tough schedule. I'd love to be convinced early in 2024, though!
 
Well a surprise portal entry, Paul Mulcahy, 6-7 guard out of Rutgers. Now that would bring a lot of sunshine.
 
Hard to keep pumping sunshine...

I'm kind of hoping we use the last scholly on a grad transfer rather than sit on it.

I'm MOSTLY pleased with who we've added for next year. There are a couple I'm on the fence about but hoping for the best. I'm just not a big believer in unused scholarships if you can use one on a grad transfer. It's never a bad thing to throw a one-year chance at someone who MIGHT be able to help you. I'd prefer it to be a big but I'd take the best shooter we could find too.

I'll just shake my head and sit in the corner
 
Slim chance but might as well reach out

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/ThePortalReport/status/1667236221519536128[/TWEET]
 
Back
Top