Lets get real. What big time recruit wants to play on this shit-show?

Shut this page down until next season

1/29/2016 10:09:39 AM

Dennis Smith Jr., the #1 point guard in the country?

1/29/2016 10:10:28 AM

^committed in September, prior to the shit-show beginning.

1/29/2016 10:53:21 AM

that's not how recruiting works

1/29/2016 11:05:00 AM

It's weird because while it looks like our team sucks this year....we should be extremely deep and experienced next year. Kind of like how UNC only signed that dipstick Luke Maye and back-up shooting guard from Virginia and missed out on all of the big time and even mid-tier recruits.

If you look at our roster...we SHOULD still have the same three big men getting a ton of minutes in Anya, Freeman, and Abu.

Our wings will be absolutely stacked with Martin, Martin, Rowan, Dorn, and Henderson.

Then we have D Smith.

While we think a majority of those guys suck balls, they really don't. We've been competitive in pretty much every game this year, we just don't have that shooter (HENDERSON) that can consistently make open shots. Our bigs have also struggled on the offensive end for the most part.

But if you're a highly touted wing that wants to play 30 minutes a game and jump to the league in one year (like say...Alkins)...would you go to state who has two junior 6'7" wings (Martins), a 6'5" sophomore who is getting big minutes and is probably one of our best shooters (Rowan), a CUSA freshmen of the year transfer (Dorn), and a senior transfer from West Virginia who averaged 15 points a game two years ago?

Consequently, if you're a big man who wants to get big minutes right away...you want to come play for a team that has one bad-ass big dude (Abu), one guy who leads the ACC in blocks (Anya), and workhorse Freeman who has gotten big minutes for three straight years? Not saying a guy like Udoka couldn't come in and get big minutes, it would just make sense for him to go elsewhere.

Honestly, our biggest need might still be back-up PG for Smith, although I think guys like Dorn and Henderson could fill in much better than Martin has this year.

We just need our guys to hit open shots and for our big guys to stop missing layups. I think/hope Martin[s] and Rowan will improve their outside shooting next year and Dorn and Henderson will add some punch and more consistently. I would also think that the bigs would improve.

While I would have loved to add Udoka and Alkins...it was a reach given our current lineup. Realistically, we should be shooting for a back-up PG (top 75-100 guy) and a some depth in the frontcourt to give us fouls and our big men a breather (again...another top 75-100 guy).

And hopefully Kirk will be serviceable by his junior year!

1/29/2016 11:35:11 AM

The main reason we suck this year is that we don't have any guards outside of Cat. We'll get big help there next year with Dorn, Henderson, Smith, and potentially Cat.

I think the NEXT biggest reason we suck is that Anya and Freeman aren't skilled enough to run the high-post offense. You have to be a threat to shoot, drive, and/or dish from the high post for it to work. That's one reason CJL was so good there ... even TJ when he played the 4. Freeman can kind of pass, but he can't shoot or penetrate. Anya can't do shit. That's where missing on a guy like Ingram really hurts. He'd be a unreal in this offense.

So I'd say finding a skilled big man is a big need. Or just bulk Cody Martin up so he can play more inside. Or just scrap the damn offense and run something else.

1/29/2016 12:51:23 PM

^Great post.

One question, since we obviously don't have the bigs skilled enough to run the high post, why dont we just run a small line up with Cody in the high post? Is it because he would be over matched defensively at the 4?

It just seems that BJAnya and Freeman are huge offensive liabilities, and their defense is not enough to make up for those liabilities. Why don't we just run a small line up with a 3-4 defense?

1/29/2016 1:01:03 PM

Quote :

"since we obviously don't have the bigs skilled enough to run the high post, why dont we just run a small line up with Cody in the high post?"

Because we have less skilled guards than we do bigs.

1/29/2016 1:43:58 PM

^^Seems like we have been scoring a decent number of points (minus UNC game) recently, but have been getting blown up on defense. (77th in scoring for the season 87th in points allowed)

[Edited on January 29, 2016 at 1:46 PM. Reason : ^^]

1/29/2016 1:46:09 PM

^but we played good D against UNC. Go figure.

1/29/2016 1:47:11 PM

Quote :

"Lets get real. What big time recruit wants to play on this shit-show?"

Well, if we're discussing Alkins, I think a lot of people think St. John's is his favorite, and he's going on an OV there this weekend. And they're 0-8 in conference play.

1/29/2016 2:09:10 PM

Depth is a big issue too though. Our guys get tired in the 2nd half (one of the reasons Duke blew us up in the 2nd half). We can't run maintain high intensity on offense and defense for 40 minutes. We have our spurts, but that is about it. Pitt was an anomaly.

1/29/2016 2:13:55 PM

^^ I didnt think it was possible to be worse than we are this year.

1/29/2016 4:18:37 PM

You're being pretty silly. Yeah, we have a shitty record, and we've had some shitty stretches in some of the games, but we've been competitive in almost every game. As has been reiterated in this thread, probably our biggest problem was two unexpected departures and an early season injury that has led to zero depth.

1/29/2016 4:21:10 PM

Quote :

"The main reason we suck this year is that we don't have any guards outside of Cat. We'll get big help there next year with Dorn, Henderson, Smith, and potentially Cat."

Other than the fact that Cat is 100% gone after this year, I totally agree with this.

We could deal with Freeman & Anya's offensive "contributions" last year because we had Lacey, Turner & Cat in the backcourt to score the ball. Right now we just have Cat. We manage to look like a legitimate team when Martin & Rowan can make a couple of 3's.

We'll add Dorn, Henderson & DSJ next year and be back to being a tournament team, but in year 6 I hope we see some real strides as a program under Gott and climb up the ACC standings. Kind of hard to see that happening without someone else in the post that can score the ball to compliment Abu, or finally having a team that isn't completely shitty on the defensive end.

1/29/2016 7:54:35 PM

^^

Quote :

"competitive"

So is that our standard? Have you no pride man?


Also, a coaches job is to know his players enough so that there are no unexpected departures.

[Edited on January 30, 2016 at 10:03 AM. Reason : ***]

1/30/2016 10:01:30 AM

Theres a kid out of raleigh named Anthony Barber. He doesn't win many games but is killing it at a 7A school. its time to start recruiting him big time.

1/30/2016 1:44:32 PM

We have offered 6'10" Cheickna Dembele who has been skyrocketing up recruiting boards. A big that shoots 80%+ FT!

2/10/2016 10:22:51 PM

^^^Name me one school that has had no players either transfer or declare for the draft and not get drafted, in the last 5 years.

2/10/2016 10:24:36 PM

Name one school that has had more than us in the last 5 years

2/10/2016 10:58:43 PM

burden of proof is on you

2/10/2016 11:34:58 PM

UAB football

2/10/2016 11:45:44 PM

I demand you prove me wrong!

2/10/2016 11:53:25 PM

would've replied differently, but I recalled this

message_topic.aspx?topic=646847&page=1#16309718

2/11/2016 12:01:25 AM

lol

2/11/2016 8:41:21 AM

Going to lose our #1 scoring option 4 straight years to the pros...with only 2 being drafted.

Yes, DSJr will be our best player and top scorer next year.

2/11/2016 8:48:50 AM

Pretty sure Cat will be drafted in the 2nd rd

2/11/2016 10:01:44 AM

^for all he is doing right now, he has some pretty big flaws in his game (and that's obvious to my untrained eye) and Im curious what the scouts will think.

2/11/2016 10:53:26 AM

What are his "big flaws"? From my untrained eye, he's worked on and vastly improved on a lot of his flaws from previous seasons and really honed his skills. Sure, he's got room for some improvement, but I don't see "big flaws".

2/11/2016 10:56:11 AM

plays for nc state

2/11/2016 11:04:06 AM

Well yeah, that, and he could stand to be an inch or two taller and a few pounds heavier (without losing any speed).

2/11/2016 11:07:00 AM

^^^ really?

2/11/2016 12:33:45 PM

what do you mean, "really?"? What are his "big flaws" that you see? Can you verbalize them?

2/11/2016 12:38:36 PM

Cat's only flaw is his size. He's not small...but the NBA is getting bigger and bigger. While Cat is fast/quick as shit...he doesn't exactly jump out of the gym or have a quick release. He's not going to be a starting point guard you can build around, but I think he can be a great 2nd team, spark off the bench type of point guard.

2/11/2016 12:47:25 PM

^Yep. he's not short but he's pretty slender. He'd take a beating if he played big minutes.

His speed/quickness alone will set him apart from most PG's. He doesn't have great court vision and isn't a lethal shooter, but he's good enough at both to be a solid backup now ... maybe something more down the road.

The biggest thing is that he's gotten A LOT better every year. Kind of makes you wonder what his ceiling is. I could see him being a Reggie Jackson type player, maybe even Jeff Teague

2/11/2016 1:07:09 PM

Kemba Lite.

2/11/2016 1:39:49 PM

There is very little news on recruiting. Is anyone on the radar besides Alkins, Bruno Fernando, and Taurean Thompson?

[Edited on February 12, 2016 at 9:49 AM. Reason : And this Cheickna Dembele dude?]

2/12/2016 9:49:09 AM

i think Thompson is a long shot. i know we offered that Cheickna dude. i really don't know anything about Bruno Fernando.

i'm guessing 2016 recruiting will be kinda quiet until the end of the season when guys transfer, reclassify, coaches get fired and recruits decommit...stuff like that.

[Edited on February 12, 2016 at 10:28 AM. Reason : i god dang can't spell]

2/12/2016 10:27:54 AM

ESPN clip about Alkins says Arizona and St. John's are the likely choice for him. Mentioned State and UNC being in the mix along with Indiana and UK as long shots. What a damn shit year for basketball all around other than DSJ commitment and Cat balling out.

2/25/2016 7:53:54 PM

Backing the Pack had a post about a couple of post players we're looking at and have offers out to. Gotta figure we land at least one of them. With Freeman's injury issue and Anya being awful we need to add someone alongside Abu tin the post that has some idea of how to score the ball.

2/25/2016 8:24:45 PM

I hope we add 1-2 competent bigs as we will have some depth at 1-3 next year, but nothing on the inside except Abu and Anya. Freeman's issues sound like they may persist. We really need an 8-9 man rotation next year. Wish Kirk was getting burn this year to help him next season.

2/25/2016 8:32:43 PM

^not to mention that after next year, we lose Anya, Freeman and Abu could go pro. So it'd be nice to not have to rely on freshmen bigs in 2017-18.

2/26/2016 7:27:55 AM

I don't think Freeman now has "issues" because he has a stress reaction in his leg, hell Anya had the same injury in January and no one was the wiser. We just limited his minutes, same thing we'll do with Freeman.

It's a non-issue until it's a stress fracture, so basically this is just Gott getting out in front of explaining why Freeman is about to start playing less minutes than Anya for a few weeks.

Hell, if we had a little more depth I'd say rest him until he's 100% and just focus on next year.

We're focused on bigs right now, and Gott and Co. are going hard to land some solid guys. Obviously missing on Bam was a huge blow and set us back, but we still have a premiere PG and plenty of PT to offer. We have at least 3 starters for next year sitting on the bench right now.

2/26/2016 7:50:03 AM

This just can't be a 1 person class. Have to figure DSJ is here 1 maybe 2 years and then we are again left with an empty class. Couple that with the previous class and the future is pretty bleak.

Out of curiosity went back and looked and had to go back to 05-06 before I found a roster that had more than 2 contributing seniors on it. The current formula just isn't working. We either need to go the Miami route where you get the best 4 year guys you can(do what the mid-majors do but better), or we need to start hitting on the bigger names more often. This middle of the road thing where we have a pretty great player all the time but then no other great players around them or no depth is getting old. Also doesn't help that we get just good enough players to leave early(late round draft picks if at all) but not good enough to push us to an ACC title game or beyond the Sweet 16. I feel like we are always saving scholarships for players that we never get.

2/26/2016 9:27:05 AM

Quote :

"Anya had the same injury in January and no one was the wiser. We just limited his minutes, same thing we'll do with Freeman. "

He did?

2/26/2016 9:40:01 AM

Maybe gott needs someone else to do his recruiting for him. He did a great job with sid's players

2/26/2016 9:40:49 AM

again, it doesnt matter how many fucking recruits we get. the problem is not the players' talent. well, maybe rowan excepted

2/26/2016 10:31:22 AM

Gott has never been a good defensive coach, but part of the issue with the defense this year has been the fact that we've been playing a 7 man rotation and one of them is a total liability on the defensive end. Throw Dorn, DSJ & Henderson into the mix, take out Cat, and we improve on that end next year (although it wouldn't be hard to do with how damn bad we've been this year).

2/26/2016 11:18:51 AM

simply from a depth perspective, but none of those guys are good defensive players. Neither is anya, abu, rowan, and the martins are inconsistent.

2/26/2016 11:21:17 AM

Quote :

"Out of curiosity went back and looked and had to go back to 05-06 before I found a roster that had more than 2 contributing seniors on it. The current formula just isn't working. We either need to go the Miami route where you get the best 4 year guys you can(do what the mid-majors do but better), or we need to start hitting on the bigger names more often. This middle of the road thing where we have a pretty great player all the time but then no other great players around them or no depth is getting old. Also doesn't help that we get just good enough players to leave early(late round draft picks if at all) but not good enough to push us to an ACC title game or beyond the Sweet 16. I feel like we are always saving scholarships for players that we never get."

This!

2/26/2016 11:54:57 AM