The 2026 Transfer Portal

[psyclone]

Kanga has a bright future as a rebounder and defender, but his offense leaves a lot to be desired. Case in point, when he gets an offensive board down deep, if a defender is between him and the basket, he will typically pass to the perimeter rather than muscle a shot back up. Probably not all that bad a thing as, if he gets fouled muscling a shot back up, there is a chance of an empty trip until his FT shooting improves. Also, he needs to work on his back-to-the-basket game in order to improve his offense.

As for points per minute played, Allenspach was at .54 this year, Kanga at .35. In other words, if he played the same number of minutes as Allenspach, Kanga would be projected to score 8.7 per game, as opposed to the 4.6 he averaged. Riley averaged 13.6.

Tom's eyesight is fine.

 

[jruby]

Comparing Kanga and Riley doesn’t really make sense; they’re completely different types of players. The bigger point here is what Tony has already done: he’s brought in multiple players with 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-team credentials. At this level, coaching might matter more than ever. Sure, at the highest levels you can try to “buy” a team, but even then, is that enough?

Look at Duke; they’ve struggled not because of a lack of talent, but because they can’t always close games. They didn’t lose to UConn due to talent. And while talent obviously matters, you can’t expect even the best coach to turn nothing into something. We’ve seen teams with multiple NBA players still fall short. One former coach had three NBA guys and couldn’t even sniff a double bye.

So yes, it’s natural for everyone to feel anxious and want a roster full of all-league players and A-10 standouts. But at some point, you have to trust Tony and his ability to develop players and get more out of them.

Honestly, call me crazy, but the one coach in the league who really worried me is gone now, retired or whatever happened there. Tony can go toe-to-toe with anyone in this league, and he’s already proven he can beat them

 

[tblack33]

Sorry Tom I disagree with ur assessment ,no surprise there. I agree he can score, but offense is only 25% of the game, his defense was a turnstile, guards out rebounded him, and his overall effort was marginal. If Kanga played the minutes Riley got he would have scored very close to Riley's numbers, he out rebounded him, blocked the middle and was a shot blocker, more importantly he played with energy. Not sure what games you were watching but you need to go to an eye Dr and get checked out.

He also would have fouled out before the U4 of the first half every single game. Love Kanga, big fan, but he’s got some learning to do, which is expected for a freshman.

 

[Verdad]

Kanga has a bright future as a rebounder and defender, but his offense leaves a lot to be desired. Case in point, when he gets an offensive board down deep, if a defender is between him and the basket, he will typically pass to the perimeter rather than muscle a shot back up. Probably not all that bad a thing as, if he gets fouled muscling a shot back up, there is a chance of an empty trip until his FT shooting improves. Also, he needs to work on his back-to-the-basket game in order to improve his offense.

As for points per minute played, Allenspach was at .54 this year, Kanga at .35. In other words, if he played the same number of minutes as Allenspach, Kanga would be projected to score 8.7 per game, as opposed to the 4.6 he averaged. Riley averaged 13.6.

Tom's eyesight is fine.

Completely typical for true freshmen bigs to take a couple years to develop offensively - kids like Kanga have just been dunking on everyone since they were 10 years old.

 

[gmutom]

Sorry Tom I disagree with ur assessment ,no surprise there. I agree he can score, but offense is only 25% of the game...

I generously take your Kanga obsession with a grain of salt, mostly because I am also a fan of his upside. The main difference is you mistake upside for current talent. To suggest that Kanga could have matched Riley's offensive output in the same amount of minutes just shows how much your judgment is clouded. You don't even bother to factor in how much Riley's ability to play in the post and on the perimeter created so much space for our guards to shoot and drive the lane.

Despite Riley's obvious and well-stated defensive limitations, he was STILL named one of the top 10 players in the Atlantic 10. Think about that for a moment. In a very, very guard-oriented league, he was deemed by coaches and experts to be one of the league's premiere players. I guess they disagree with your hilarious misconception that offense is only 25% of the game of basketball.

Like you, I am excited about Kanga's potential, but stop putting so much pressure on the kid. I'll be more than happy next season if he can average 10 points and 8 boards while also playing solid defense and staying out of foul trouble. Opposing coaches won't game-plan around him like they did with Riley, but he can still be a very valuable piece to the puzzle Tony is putting together.

 

[NewPatriot]

Sorry Tom I disagree with ur assessment ,no surprise there. I agree he can score, but offense is only 25% of the game, his defense was a turnstile, guards out rebounded him, and his overall effort was marginal. If Kanga played the minutes Riley got he would have scored very close to Riley's numbers, he out rebounded him, blocked the middle and was a shot blocker, more importantly he played with energy. Not sure what games you were watching but you need to go to an eye Dr and get checked out.

You are starting premise that Offense is only 25% percent of the game is incorrect from both performance and analytics stand point.

Our defense was ranked in the top 25 back in 24-25 but our offense was ranked approximately 190-220 most of the year. Consequently, Mason overall kenpom and NET ranking so much that they never be in the conversation for autobid

Alot of that had to do with 3 lack of Ball Handlers, lack of free throw shooting, lack of 3 point shooting.

When it comes to Allensbach, he had better overall FT numbers and pick and pop at respectable %.

The latter forced the opponents big to come out and guard which resulted in open lanes to bucket.

The reason Mason beat vcu on January 10th is Hill and Long were able to take Lewis, Jennings off the dribble to score or get fouled. The 24-25 could not do that because haynes clogged the lane and the guards weren't good enough ball handlers to finish on a consistent basis without turning the ball over.

 

[Patriotsince81]

The offseason is in full swing. Can't wait until May.

 

[DRK331]

6'11 Riley Allenspach is going to Cincinnati per Field of 68:

https://x.com/TheFieldOf68/status/2043746023365869692

6'5 Darren Harris is going to Indiana per Joe Tipton:

https://x.com/JoeTipton/status/2043738095581815177

 

[TheStringer]

6'11 Riley Allenspach is going to Cincinnati per Field of 68:

https://x.com/TheFieldOf68/status/2043746023365869692

6'5 Darren Harris is going to Indiana per Joe Tipton:

https://x.com/JoeTipton/status/2043738095581815177

Weird back to back years our all a10 centers go to Cincy

 

[psyclone]

Weird back to back years our all a10 centers go to Cincy

and under 2 different Bearcat coaches.

 

[DRK331]

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Kanga is returning for his sophomore year per his Instagram.