2023 Transfer Portal Thread

[bravesfan]

Well, guess I'll go ahead and get this one started...

 

[Patriotsince81]

Point guard please. Struck out last year. Need a homer this year.

 

[GMUgemini]

Point guard please. Struck out last year. Need a homer this year.

We need another Schwartz-like player, someone who can score at all three levels. And that’s true whether Ticket stays or leaves.

If Oduro goes next is a scoring big (which is going to be next to impossible to get). The Ojiako/Henry combo isn’t going to do enough offensively.

Polite played really well to end the season, I don’t think a PG is as pressing of a need as off the ball scorers will be.

 

[GMU79]

Point guard please. Struck out last year. Need a homer this year.

Yes. RP has improved, but he's not "The Answer." At least need a PG in waiting.

 

[tblack33]

I personally feel comfortable with the Ginika/Henry combo if Oduro leaves, the A10 isn’t built on big men for the most part, and that combo probably puts us somewhere around the top 5 for bigs assuming Ticket comes back at the 4.

I still think we need a PG, and a splashy one at that. I don’t know that we’ll get one, or go after one, and it may again end up looking like a pretty big mistake like it did this year.

 

[masonhoops1984]

Assuming ticket and Josh leave, Need lot more than just a PG! Polite at least looks like he wants to play basketball. No 2-3-4 guards. Henry and Ojikao may be ok. A lineup of Ojikao Henry polite dinkins and Fernandez will be least talented and softest team in A10. If pre season rankings came out today mason very well may be picked dead last. What’s most disappointing is the high school recruits English has brought in are as soft as they come. Fernandez needs a serious reality check, his lack of boxing out or playing defense is deeply concerning. He’s a huge disappointment. How is a kid out of Richmond that soft? The kid out of miller plays zero defense and is going to have to redshirt to Learn how to rebound and play defense. Blake jones is a 3-5 minute player. Polite Henry and Ojikao may be it. No less than 3-4 portal players are needed. Next year may be insanely brutal if there’s not some serious transfers.

 

[hoops10]

Assuming ticket and Josh leave, Need lot more than just a PG! Polite at least looks like he wants to play basketball. No 2-3-4 guards. Henry and Ojikao may be ok. A lineup of Ojikao Henry polite dinkins and Fernandez will be least talented and softest team in A10. If pre season rankings came out today mason very well may be picked dead last. What’s most disappointing is the high school recruits English has brought in are as soft as they come. Fernandez needs a serious reality check, his lack of boxing out or playing defense is deeply concerning. He’s a huge disappointment. How is a kid out of Richmond that soft? The kid out of miller plays zero defense and is going to have to redshirt to Learn how to rebound and play defense. Blake jones is a 3-5 minute player. Polite Henry and Ojikao may be it. No less than 3-4 portal players are needed. Next year may be insanely brutal if there’s not some serious transfers.

 

[GMUgemini]

If Ticket sticks around I would say he’s playing out of position at the 4, but also unless he becomes suddenly 1000% more aggressive taking his defender off the dribble playing then4 is his best spot here.

Being concerned about Fernandez’s defense is just recency bias. Dude can play defense. He gets lost off the ball sometimes, but I think he’ll be fine. A little more concerned with his shooting for next year.

Need to find at least one starter in the portal, probably a big wing (like I said a Schwartz type, someone not afraid to mix it up and who has a good kid-range game.

Big concern about depth 1-4 after this season. Dinkins, Blake, Nnaji not showing a whole evidence that any of them will be able to take a big step forward next year (Dinkins maybe. He does a few things no one else on the team seems to want to do—one of which is to get to the second level of a zone and knock down a 15 foot jumper, also liked his moxie a few times just riding up and hitting a 3 in his defenders face).

If there’s any freshman in this class who might be ready to play big minutes right away, my money is on Rich Barron, but I wouldn’t count on it.

I’m really rooting for Nnaji. He’s got the size and physique and ballhandling to play out of the 4 and be a nightmare if he can put it together.

 

[tblack33]

If Ticket sticks around I would say he’s playing out of position at the 4, but also unless he becomes suddenly 1000% more aggressive taking his defender off the dribble playing then4 is his best spot here.

Being concerned about Fernandez’s defense is just recency bias. Dude can play defense. He gets lost off the ball sometimes, but I think he’ll be fine. A little more concerned with his shooting for next year.

Need to find at least one starter in the portal, probably a big wing (like I said a Schwartz type, someone not afraid to mix it up and who has a good kid-range game.

Big concern about depth 1-4 after this season. Dinkins, Blake, Nnaji not showing a whole evidence that any of them will be able to take a big step forward next year (Dinkins maybe. He does a few things no one else on the team seems to want to do—one of which is to get to the second level of a zone and knock down a 15 foot jumper, also liked his moxie a few times just riding up and hitting a 3 in his defenders face).

If there’s any freshman in this class who might be ready to play big minutes right away, my money is on Rich Barron, but I wouldn’t count on it.

I’m really rooting for Nnaji. He’s got the size and physique and ballhandling to play out of the 4 and be a nightmare if he can put it together.

Agreed that he’s not a traditional 4, but I think we were at our best this year when he was playing in that spot as a stretch so you had at least two shooters with 1 big on the floor. Defensively you can line him up against whoever you want on the court, he’s gonna lock them down.

I’m not worried about Fernandez at all. Played his way into a starting spot this year, and that came with some freshman growing pains. Think he’ll take a big step forward this off-season. I’m also rooting for Nnaji, I think he got stuck behind some big minutes getters for us this season, and expect he’ll make some good strides with a full off-season under his belt. He’s still got two upperclassmen playing ahead of him so don’t think we need to necessarily press him for minutes quite yet. Agreed on our depth at the 1-2 guard spots, really do not want to go into next season almost entirely reliant on underclassmen at those key positions.

 

[hoops10]

CKE needs to accept the fact that experienced good players, coming in via the portal is a reality. You can look at other teams like St Louis, Fordham, Duquesne, LaSalle etc and see their approach to winning. They have all signed "portal players" , and are more competitive.
Continuing with let's recruit freshman and expect them to develop is getting old. Not saying it's easy to get top tier portal or recruited players, especially big men, but finishing top four is only possible with better players. Coach has a lot of work ahead of him to figure it out. This is going to be an interesting off season.

 

[tblack33]

It’s weird to think about this just after year two, but I do think the roster decisions they make in this off-season will really end up deciding how successful KE will be here at Mason. A lot of question marks, but that also comes with a lot of opportunities. At this point after two years he knows the players he has on the roster, strengths and weaknesses and all, and will have to make decisions about what will put us in the best position to win. Personally I trust him to make the right decisions and think he’s capable of bringing in the talent we need to win, but this off-season will be really telling for the direction we’re going to go.

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

Bottom line: You win with great guard play and great bigs in the A10 are a luxury item.... Also, every team in this conference needs to be better OOC. This losing to +200 net teams needs to stop.

 

[FreeGunston12]

CKE needs to accept the fact that experienced good players, coming in via the portal is a reality. You can look at other teams like St Louis, Fordham, Duquesne, LaSalle etc and see their approach to winning. They have all signed "portal players" , and are more competitive.
Continuing with let's recruit freshman and expect them to develop is getting old. Not saying it's easy to get top tier portal or recruited players, especially big men, but finishing top four is only possible with better players. Coach has a lot of work ahead of him to figure it out. This is going to be an interesting off season.

What? He's brought in more transfers than freshmen by my count. Schwartz, Cooper, Gaines, Singleton, Ojiako, VBJ, Kabimba compared to Jones, Fernandez, Dinkins, Nnaji, P Oduro.

 

[GMUgemini]

Not sure if anyone listened to the post-game presser but the last question was about momentum for next year with all the seniors leaving.

English: we have 3 seniors leaving for sure, two who are making a decision and we will find out shortly, and then we will see what else is going to happen in this era of attrition.

 

[p8triotfan4life]

Not sure if anyone listened to the post-game presser but the last question was about momentum for next year with all the seniors leaving.

English: we have 3 seniors leaving for sure, two who are making a decision and we will find out shortly, and then we will see what else is going to happen in this era of attrition.

I picked up on that last item as well. CKE is well aware that there will be attrition.

 

[gmujim92]

I’m fine with Kim deciding to start building the program primarily through 4-year players if that’s the direction he decides to go.

To have sustainable success, you have to get to a place where most of your roster is program guys and you bring in 2-3 transfers every season who fit your specific needs.

But we’re also gonna have to be patient because that process takes time.

As much as I hate vcu, all 3 guys they brought in — Johns, Jackson and Shriver — have been very successful in their respective roles this season. None are superstars, 2 come off the bench, but they’ve meshed perfectly with their core program players.

Playing AAU ball and having a new portal team every year is not going to work on our level.

 

[Jack Strop]

Not sure if anyone listened to the post-game presser but the last question was about momentum for next year with all the seniors leaving.

English: we have 3 seniors leaving for sure, two who are making a decision and we will find out shortly, and then we will see what else is going to happen in this era of attrition.

Link? Where do we go to watch/listen?

 

[DRK331]

Link? Where do we go to watch/listen?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1633941925135884289

 

[Earl the Squirrel]

We're still licking our wounds and faced with an uncertain offseason, but guess who's having a chuckle?

Mike Hargett! UC Riverside is still alive in theri conference tourney and Mike's popping threes at a 40%+ clip.

And as I type this the Big East POY, Tyler Kolek, just scored 7 straight points against UConn. In a few minutes Jordan Miller will take the court against Duke.

I know, I know. "Get over it. Stop living in the past," you say. I can't. Sorry.

What I do hope for is this:

1) Kolek drives the baseline and attempts a heavily-contested game-winner right in front of the UConn bench. As Kolek releases the shot we see Danny Hurley's anguished face as he tracks the flight of the ball -- his eyes getting wider and wider with each revolution of the basketball. Kolek's shot lands softly on the front of the rim, bounces once off the backboard before dropping through the basket. As Kolek lifts his hands to the heavens and celebrates with teammates, we see Hurley racing around the court (a la Jim Valvano-style) pleading futilely to anyone who will listen that Kolek pushed off! 48 hurs later and unable to accept the outcome, a visibly distraught and emotional Hurley suffers a mental break and is temporarily committed to a pychiatric facility. Months from now UConn's athletic department releases a statement announcing Danny Hurley will not return and they are commencing a coaching search.

2) Jordan Miller and Isiah Wong play pitch and catch and combine for 30 pts during the 1st half of a tightly contested match. To finish Duke off Coach L throws the scrample D package at Scheyer in the 2nd half and Miami beats the Dookies by 35. In the immediate aftermath Scheyer does not quite break down the way Hurley does (he's younger, after all), but in the days and weeks that follow he develops a series of very noticeable facial tics that plaque him for years to come, and handicap his recruiting efforts, thereby consigning Duke to perrenial also-ran status.

 

[gmutom]

We're still licking our wounds and faced with an uncertain offseason, but guess who's having a chuckle?

Mike Hargett! UC Riverside is still alive in theri conference tourney and Mike's popping threes at a 40%+ clip.

And as I type this the Big East POY, Tyler Kolek, just scored 7 straight points against UConn. In a few minutes Jordan Miller will take the court against Duke.

I know, I know. "Get over it. Stop living in the past," you say. I can't. Sorry.

You are living In the past, Earl! Mike Hargett played for us from 1989-92.