drewstapes;842674502 said:
Let's assume Brown leaves. I still think Cal is a tournament team, and borderline top 25 team with Rabb, Matthews, Bird, the two 7 footers and the point guard platoon. Especially if Domingo improves and they add a decent grad transfer. Without Rabb, it becomes tough because you have to rely on Bird and Matthews for all your scoring.
I'd still be surprised the two come back. JB can get a lot better as a basketball payer obviously, but he can't improve his draft status that much compared to the risk. If Rabb is projected to get drafted 10-15 - it actually makes some economic sense for him to come back, get stronger, extend his range are try to get into the 5-7 draft range next year.
I just wonder, with the two assistants gone and the Cuonzo situation still unsettled, why would Rabb decide to stay if this isn't worked out by the May deadline. He can't go into the summer not knowing who will coach the team.
Brown and Rabb are 2 of 3 freshmen in the DraftExpress 1st Round Mock that haven't declared yet (Deyonta Davis of Michigan State is the only other). That they haven't declared yet had to be good news. Hopefully, the administration gets their heads out of their a** and comes to a conclusion on this "investigation." I'm sure that CM's status will be a factor in their decisions.
Looking at the mocks, it's alarming to me that several players are leaving early despite only being projected as 2nd Round picks. Murray from UW is all over the board. Some have him Lotto, some have him early 2nd.
To me, Rabb is the guy we need back most. He was our most important player this past season (led the team in Win Shares per 40 min by a large margin) and there's pretty much no way we can replace his presence on both ends of the floor, especially on the boards.
Of course, an improved and more polished Brown would be frightening for our opponents. But we have some a couple of guys who are starters themselves, so his loss wouldn't be as impactful. But with Ty gone, Jaylen wouldn't have to fight for possession control as the other guys are either shooters or ball movers.
Without Brown and Rabb, it's tough to see an NCAA bid from what's left. It's not impossible, but CM's first season had a team with decent personnel that finished 7-11 in conference.
