sluggo said:

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Civil Bear said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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There is no doubt Devin physically is a Pac 12 level player at a key position, and he also is young and maturing having reclassified from the 2021 to 2020 high school class. This is a good pick-up - he was OC player of the year as a junior. Since people, like parents, read this site, I'm not going into specifics, but the present roster has several scholarship players on it, who are not P5 level players. If this guy can replace Brown next season, that is a plus. But there still is no reliable scorer on this team for Devin to pass to presently

Unless Fox finds an inside/bigs scoring to replace Brown and Ant, this next season is a double digit conference finish. About half the minutes and scoring are gone with Shepard (a better player than some think), Brown and Ant gone. They need players that can score right now. I'm assuming Fox has one open scholie left to get this right. This should not be news to anyone.

In a more competitive environment, Fox would have been forced to cut bait on certain players, and the portal does have guys who can play at the P5 level.

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Brown is gone?

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No, I think he means Kelly.

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Well, he's definitely not going to replace Kelly. I'd be mildly surprised if he even starts.

Civil Bear said:

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sluggo said:

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Civil Bear said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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There is no doubt Devin physically is a Pac 12 level player at a key position, and he also is young and maturing having reclassified from the 2021 to 2020 high school class. This is a good pick-up - he was OC player of the year as a junior. Since people, like parents, read this site, I'm not going into specifics, but the present roster has several scholarship players on it, who are not P5 level players. If this guy can replace Brown next season, that is a plus. But there still is no reliable scorer on this team for Devin to pass to presently

Unless Fox finds an inside/bigs scoring to replace Brown and Ant, this next season is a double digit conference finish. About half the minutes and scoring are gone with Shepard (a better player than some think), Brown and Ant gone. They need players that can score right now. I'm assuming Fox has one open scholie left to get this right. This should not be news to anyone.

In a more competitive environment, Fox would have been forced to cut bait on certain players, and the portal does have guys who can play at the P5 level.

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Brown is gone?

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No, I think he means Kelly.

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Well, he's definitely not going to replace Kelly. I'd be mildly surprised if he even starts.

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Who would you be mildly surprised if he starts, Askew or Brown?

The better player should start at PG. My fear is Fox starts them alongside each other "for defense." Much like Braun started Randle alongside Nikola. Of course, what made that worse is that Braun team had amazing front court depth that this team lacks.

A lot depends on whether Fox uses the remaining scholarship for a 2 or a 4/5.

sluggo said:

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Civil Bear said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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There is no doubt Devin physically is a Pac 12 level player at a key position, and he also is young and maturing having reclassified from the 2021 to 2020 high school class. This is a good pick-up - he was OC player of the year as a junior. Since people, like parents, read this site, I'm not going into specifics, but the present roster has several scholarship players on it, who are not P5 level players. If this guy can replace Brown next season, that is a plus. But there still is no reliable scorer on this team for Devin to pass to presently

Unless Fox finds an inside/bigs scoring to replace Brown and Ant, this next season is a double digit conference finish. About half the minutes and scoring are gone with Shepard (a better player than some think), Brown and Ant gone. They need players that can score right now. I'm assuming Fox has one open scholie left to get this right. This should not be news to anyone.

In a more competitive environment, Fox would have been forced to cut bait on certain players, and the portal does have guys who can play at the P5 level.

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Brown is gone?

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No, I think he means Kelly.

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Crap, your right I meant Kelly, sorry.

I'd be mildly surprised if Fox doesn't start Brown and Askew together. Unless he lands a bona fide Pac-12 shooting guard.

stu said:

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I'd be mildly surprised if Fox doesn't start Brown and Askew together. Unless he lands a bona fide Pac-12 shooting guard.

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2 guys in the backcourt that can't shoot certainly wouldn't be ideal, but it's not like Fox has a lot to work with. Didn't Celestine play some 2?

Sure, Celestine can play SG. But with just one PG and Celestine on the floor we'd have 3 guys with limited perimeter skills. We don't have enough shooters but Brown, Askew, and Celestine can at least handle the ball and pass. Maybe Roberson will develop or Fox will find a shooter. Hope so.

stu said:

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Sure, Celestine can play SG. But with just one PG and Celestine on the floor we'd have 3 guys with limited perimeter skills. We don't have enough shooters but Brown, Askew, and Celestine can at least handle the ball and pass. Maybe Roberson will develop or Fox will find a shooter. Hope so.

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Our best returning players based on last years' advanced stats (WS/40)
1. Lars .122
2. Kuany .102
3. Alajiki .087
4. Askew .079
5. Celestine .075
6. Anywanu .055
7. Brown .039
8. Hyder -.007
9. Roberson -.013

Plus Okafer, Newell, Bowser and one more.

At this point, based on the above, I go with the 5 best players: Lars, Kuany, Alajiki, Celestine, Askew as my starting 5. If you play Brown, Askew and Celestine then you probably have Alajiki, statistically our best 3 pt shooter, on the bench.

What this roster needs more than anything, IMO, is a 2 guard who is at least halfway decent at everything, but pretty-good-or-better from beyond the arc.

This is his evaluation as a college recruit. Perhaps his shooting will return as he adjusts to the college game and gets more minutes.

"Good physique for a point guard. More of a smooth athlete than an explosive athlete. Great body control and change of pace with enough of a burst. Dangerous three-point shooter with ability to score at all three levels. Has the ball on a string as a handler"

oski003 said:

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This is his evaluation as a college recruit. Perhaps his shooting will return as he adjusts to the college game and gets more minutes.

"Good physique for a point guard. More of a smooth athlete than an explosive athlete. Great body control and change of pace with enough of a burst. Dangerous three-point shooter with ability to score at all three levels. Has the ball on a string as a handler"

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He has played in 59 college games.

Overall he was 23 of 79 (.291) from 3.
At Kentucky he was 15 of 54 (.278) from 3.
At Texas he was 8 of 25 (.320) from 3.

So signs of improvement in his shooting at Texas. Also, note that Shepherd was only 35 of 120 (.292) from 3 last year, so people saying Askew can put up Shepherd like numbers if he just shoots a lot more may well be right.

rkt88edmo said:

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Very excited, to have him. I think we've had some excellent talent boosting the team coming through transfers, not that it is overcoming our outflow of talent, but I think it is helping us stabilize.

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This team could be middle of the conference if we still had Bradley and Kelly.

But we don't.

Whose fault is that?

dimitrig said:

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rkt88edmo said:

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Very excited, to have him. I think we've had some excellent talent boosting the team coming through transfers, not that it is overcoming our outflow of talent, but I think it is helping us stabilize.

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This team could be middle of the conference if we still had Bradley and Kelly.

But we don't.

Whose fault is that?

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I agree, the early transfers are really hurting us. When we had Jabari and Twall and Wallace playing together as juniors and seniors they really gave us a lift, and there are so many times it takes a middling player until that jr or snr year to really breakout (Solomon Hughes). Sadly, when they bounce out after their frosh or soph year we don't get to receive the benefit of that maturity and growth, which actually is a real problem, it makes the carrying cost of the frosh and soph scholarships for non-immediate impact players much riskier because they can walk with no consequences other than not getting their degree here.

Intuit said:

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Washington State lost promising young big men Efe Abogidi and Mouhamed Gueye both choosing to enter the transfer portal.

May 2nd Detailed description of Gueye (All- PAC!-12 Freshman Team) situation

WSU men's basketball dealt another big blow as Mouhamed Gueye enters transfer portal | The Seattle Times

Mouhamed Gueye Pos: PF, Height: 6-10, Weight: 205, High School: Prolific Prep, City: Napa, CA, Class: FR, 21-22 STATISTICS: PTS 7.4, REB 5.2, AST 0.5, FG% 49.1, MIN 22

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"likely lose its five regular starters in Gueye, Abogidi, Roberts, Williams and graduated point guard Michael Flowers."

this is an issue for teams like WSU.. they somehow assemble a very good team of talented players, even out recruiting the blue bloods for some players ... then they have a good season and their all gone

prior to the 100% free agency all the time, WSU would have had a better shot and keeping some of those players

however, they have been recruiting oversea players very well (most of their team are foreign players), and got a commitment from a top 30 forward/center from overseas

also with their academics, they have a much larger pool from the transfer portal than Cal, so can reload faster

it will be interesting to see what Smith can do this season

As a local homer I think it will be more interesting to see if Cal's coach can fill his open scholarship with a talented tall guy that can effectively offset the recent transfer.

HoopDreams said:

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Intuit said:

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Washington State lost promising young big men Efe Abogidi and Mouhamed Gueye both choosing to enter the transfer portal.

May 2nd Detailed description of Gueye (All- PAC!-12 Freshman Team) situation

WSU men's basketball dealt another big blow as Mouhamed Gueye enters transfer portal | The Seattle Times

Mouhamed Gueye Pos: PF, Height: 6-10, Weight: 205, High School: Prolific Prep, City: Napa, CA, Class: FR, 21-22 STATISTICS: PTS 7.4, REB 5.2, AST 0.5, FG% 49.1, MIN 22

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"likely lose its five regular starters in Gueye, Abogidi, Roberts, Williams and graduated point guard Michael Flowers."

this is an issue for teams like WSU.. they somehow assemble a very good team of talented players, even out recruiting the blue bloods for some players ... then they have a good season and their all gone

prior to the 100% free agency all the time, WSU would have had a better shot and keeping some of those players

however, they have been recruiting oversea players very well (most of their team are foreign players), and got a commitment from a top 30 forward/center from overseas

also with their academics, they have a much larger pool from the transfer portal than Cal, so can reload faster

it will be interesting to see what Smith can do this season

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The god on earth Smith who we should have taken instead of Fox. He lost his whole team. Either no nil deals or the players dont like him. This is the wild west.

oskidunker said:

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HoopDreams said:

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Intuit said:

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Washington State lost promising young big men Efe Abogidi and Mouhamed Gueye both choosing to enter the transfer portal.

May 2nd Detailed description of Gueye (All- PAC!-12 Freshman Team) situation

WSU men's basketball dealt another big blow as Mouhamed Gueye enters transfer portal | The Seattle Times

Mouhamed Gueye Pos: PF, Height: 6-10, Weight: 205, High School: Prolific Prep, City: Napa, CA, Class: FR, 21-22 STATISTICS: PTS 7.4, REB 5.2, AST 0.5, FG% 49.1, MIN 22

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"likely lose its five regular starters in Gueye, Abogidi, Roberts, Williams and graduated point guard Michael Flowers."

this is an issue for teams like WSU.. they somehow assemble a very good team of talented players, even out recruiting the blue bloods for some players ... then they have a good season and their all gone

prior to the 100% free agency all the time, WSU would have had a better shot and keeping some of those players

however, they have been recruiting oversea players very well (most of their team are foreign players), and got a commitment from a top 30 forward/center from overseas

also with their academics, they have a much larger pool from the transfer portal than Cal, so can reload faster

it will be interesting to see what Smith can do this season

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The god on earth Smith who we should have taken instead of Fox. He lost his whole team. Either no nil deals or the players dont like him. This is the wild west.

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I don't know about "God on Earth" but he has done a great job of turning around 3 out of 3 programs. Don't know what is going on now at WSU, but the Palouse is a much tougher sell than New York or San Francisco (or Berkeley) for players from urban areas or overseas. We will see what team he ends up with this year. I still think he would have been a good coach for us.

Civil Bear said:

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stu said:

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I'd be mildly surprised if Fox doesn't start Brown and Askew together. Unless he lands a bona fide Pac-12 shooting guard.

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2 guys in the backcourt that can't shoot certainly wouldn't be ideal, but it's not like Fox has a lot to work with. Didn't Celestine play some 2?

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At least Askew looks like he can shoot. Brown doesn't.

dimitrig said:

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rkt88edmo said:

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Very excited, to have him. I think we've had some excellent talent boosting the team coming through transfers, not that it is overcoming our outflow of talent, but I think it is helping us stabilize.

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This team could be middle of the conference if we still had Bradley and Kelly.

But we don't.

Whose fault is that?

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We had Bradley and Kelly and were not middle of the conference.

And this thread is about a new recruit and how he fits in, not about your agenda to fire a coach for other reasons than this recruit.

KoreAmBear said:

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Those Mater Dei guys sure like moving around. The last two we had moved pretty quickly: Gary Franklin Jr. and Justice Sueing.

I think MD attracts that type of player.

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My option is that MD players think they are better than they are because the program feeds their egos. Their high school gym is more packed than Haas.

KoreAmBear said:

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Those Mater Dei guys sure like moving around. The last two we had moved pretty quickly: Gary Franklin Jr. and Justice Sueing.

I think MD attracts that type of player.

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Mater Dei is in Orange County. They became a power by recruiting kids from other schools outside the area (especially L.A), so kids that go there are willing to go for the opportunity to play at a higher profile place than their home school. Justice Sueing went there from Maryknoll In Honolulu, but really it was just to play higher level basketball and get more exposure.

Sueing is returning for 4th year at Ohio State. He loved Cal, but decidedly did not like the new coach and entered the portal within days of meeting him.

He has always been a great kid, a leader, and smart, he was PAC-12 All-Academic as a freshman and as a sophomore at Cal. He has played multiple positions at Ohio State, including PG.

KoreAmBear said:

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Those Mater Dei guys sure like moving around. The last two we had moved pretty quickly: Gary Franklin Jr. and Justice Sueing.

I think MD attracts that type of player.

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For the most part they start out shoppers, leaving the local public HS for better pastures. It goes on everywhere, not just MD.

Lived in LG for years and Bellarmine quietly the same.