Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
"Houston Wins!" as the Cougars Wrap Up 4 Players in Week 1 of Portal Kombat
127 Plays1 month ago
Welcome to Episode #80 of the No Conference for Old Men Podcast.
This is our 1st offseason episode of season 3. And just like with the previous 2 years, the 3 old men discuss the major Portal commitments and roster decisions made after Week 1 of the Portal season. The Houston coaching staff clearly had a plan and executed it flawlessly. As they quickly retained all 3 of our top 7 players from this past season that hadn't graduated or declared for the NBA Draft, and then quickly pivoted to identifying & then locking down our targeted 4 Portal additions that will be key to the rotation next season. The Coaching staff had clearly taken learnings from previous seasons to construct a roster than will be rich in offensive firepower & size, deep in D1 experience, & back to that "Dawg Mentality" that was missing this past season. Add 2 elite freshmen into the mix, and we have the potential recipe for another run for the Final 4 & a National Championship next year.
So we’ll kick things off with our thoughts around the 4 key Transfer Portal adds in Thomas, Gillespie, Hadnot, & East. Then take a look at how we each respectively see rotations playing out going into next season. And then we'll close things off by taking a quick look at how some of our counterparts in the XII fared so far in the Portal ahead of next season.
- No Conference for Old Men is available for free via Spotify / Apple Podcast / SoundCloud & the GoCoogs.com YouTube page; we're also available via the Republic of Football Podcast feed from the folks at Dave Campbell's College Podcast Network as their only basketball-centric offering
- Intro / Exit music: Ground Zero provided by FreeBeats.io
- Please follow us on https://gocoogs.com/old-men/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Off-Season Focus
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome folks to episode number 80 of the No Conference for Old Men podcast. Podcast where we're thrilled guys. We're talking to Houston Cougars basketball with just a little bit of big 12 coverage added in as well. And proud members of the gocougs.com network, the undisputed number one Houston Cougars content provider. And the calendar has hit April and we're dropping our off season portal episode after finally getting a clear picture of next year's
Key Returning Players and Newcomers
00:00:25
Speaker
lineup. with a knockout punch early in portal combat as the staff brings in a haul that will largely determine lineups.
00:00:34
Speaker
And kind of the fortunes for next season is nine kids are departing via graduation. We've got a couple heading into the NBA draft, as well as, you know, some some folks that unfortunately headed into the portal in Harwell, Latt, and McFarlane. Donors again stepped up big time, allowing for the staff to bring back three of our key contributors this past season in starting big man Jojo, Tuggler and top rotational players in Mercy Miller and Chase McCarty.
Major Recruits from the Transfer Portal
00:01:02
Speaker
And to go along with that three man core, we also retain promising youngsters Cordell Jefferson and Bryce Jackson to pair with our two star freshmen Deane and Alozi. So to mix in with the seven on the roster, we bring in four key contributors from the portal that are expected to contribute major minutes in the rotation next season.
00:01:21
Speaker
But the headline here, folks, is that this roster will provide for a deep and hungry team of kids heading into next season. Most it have already demonstrated high performance the Division ah division One level for another Big 12 championship and national title run.
00:01:36
Speaker
Again, all three of us are back with Tom Lidiak, former coach, Bill Walker, former player, and myself, Steve Chang, analytics guy for this episode. So we'll kick things off with our thoughts, taking a closer look at the four key transfer portal ads in Thomas, Gillespie, Hadnod, and East.
00:01:53
Speaker
and then take a look at how each of us respectively see the rotations potentially playing out going
Securing Transfer Targets Swiftly
00:01:59
Speaker
into next season. And then we're going to close things off by taking a quick look at how some of our counterparts in the Big 12 fared in the portal, at least so far ahead of next season.
00:02:08
Speaker
Okay, let's get into it, guys. Huge news as well. Executed plan to quickly lock up the staff's desired targets in week one of the portal. Tom, why don't you kick things off with your thoughts on Deaton Thomas, Delrico Gillespie, Corey Hadnott, and Braden East?
Deedon Thomas as Crucial Point Guard
00:02:25
Speaker
Well, the first thing, you know, had to find a point guard. i think that was the number one priority. ah You know, Kelvin Sampson's noted for his team's point guard play.
00:02:38
Speaker
ah They're like an extension of the coach, so that was the most important position to fill. lot of names were thrown around for a while there. It looked like a we were going to Marcus Burton, ah you know the guard from from Notre Dame.
00:02:51
Speaker
you know Scuttlebutt says we offered ah this amount of money, and he went back and kind of used that offer to get more from another school. So ah we kind of had to go to plan plan plan b or c And we ended up signing Deedon Thomas, LSU, and people who followed the u of H ah program last couple of years ah know that that name came came up ah came up often.
Point Guard Strategy Discussion
00:03:20
Speaker
He was a teammate of Sadlots, Las Vegas guy, so ah him and Milo, Suzanne, are are really good buds. Most people, me included,
00:03:32
Speaker
um In the words of our former drunken head football coach, I thought that ship had sailed. Yeah, you know yeah me too. So kind of a shocker that you know that the the point guard we ended up is Deedon Thomas.
00:03:49
Speaker
And if Kelvin Sampson wants him, then that's all i that's all I need to know. Played at UNLV for, I think, two seasons, then ends up going to LSU. Their coach gets fired.
00:04:02
Speaker
ah What I like about him is to assist the assist to turnover ratio. um i can't believe i I can't remember what it is. is It's four just four to one. head four eight Four to one.
00:04:13
Speaker
ah I think his turnover stats are are good, too. i mean You think about what we need is you know a point guard.
00:04:24
Speaker
Yeah, he can score. but can also distribute the ball. um you know Chase is the kind of guy that's not going able to create his own shot, you know so he's
Securing Power Forward Delrico Gillespie
00:04:34
Speaker
going to have to have some type of you know drive and kick opportunities.
00:04:38
Speaker
So point guard was set there, ended up getting Deedon Thomas. And then the the the second, I think, position a priority was to get a four man. Yeah. agree And then we got to make it some assumptions here because we're not privy to, you know, the war room or whatever with, with Kelvin and staff, but ah you can make it an assumption that, you know, Jojo starts at the five and probably mercy McCarty at the, at the two of the three.
00:05:05
Speaker
So you got your point guard, you got your two field, you got your three, and then go out and get a power forward. That really doesn't shoot you know doesn't shoot a whole lot of threes. And if you look at, and I'm talking about, is it Del Rico?
00:05:18
Speaker
Del Rico. Del Rico? Yep. Del Rico Gillespie. He's coming from Kent State.
Team Lineup and Player Roles
00:05:24
Speaker
There's a connection there. ah between Kelvin and the Kent State coach. That's Rob Senderoff. He was an assistant at IU, and and Kelvin was the head coach there.
00:05:34
Speaker
So I'm sure Kelvin got the lowdown on Gillespie. But he looks like a rugged guy. He's big. He's like 6'8", 235 or something like that. He just looks like a dude you wouldn't want to mess with. ah you know Kind of a quintessential power forward.
00:05:49
Speaker
He did shoot some threes at Kent State. I don't think you'll see him shoot a lot of threes. ah His form makes JoJo Tugler look like Steph Curry if you see him shoot. ah But just looks like a rugged guy, double-double guy. i don't know how many double-doubles he got, but he got a lot. 22. Yeah, he and Carlos. twenty did Did he? 22, he led the nation. Oofta, oofta. And, you know,
00:06:16
Speaker
That's its kind of what we needed. We don't you know need to go back kind of where he had the three-guard, two-big lineup, you know the Roberts, the Francis, the JoJo, the three-headed monster we had.
00:06:31
Speaker
So you got your – making the assumption, you got your starting five there, and then ah then you're going to fit the pieces with the bench, starting with Deane, the big seven-footer,
00:06:45
Speaker
I heard that we have you know
Recruitment Strategies and Player Impact
00:06:47
Speaker
plans for him. you know He's going be a big part part of what we do. Then we go out and we get ah Corey Hadnott II. I think he's a Cy Creek grad.
00:06:57
Speaker
He calls Atlanta his home, though, and he's he's going to be a big piece, too. um He can shoot. He can score. he can get to the rim. That's going to be that's goingnna be important, get to the free throw line. um And you look at Mercy, too. Mercy's able to get to the rim, too.
00:07:16
Speaker
ah And then we fill it out. We go with... ah Braden East, who is also a Houston area native from Stafford high school played for Lamar for Alvin
Statistical Analysis of Recruits
00:07:29
Speaker
Brooks.
00:07:30
Speaker
He's another guy like a a rugged rebounder and all these guys that we picked up so far, except for Thomas or, or mid major guys. Yeah. that did well at that level that are, you know, looking to come in and and step in and play in the Big 12 and contribute rather than and going out and getting, you know, other guys from other P4 programs.
00:07:53
Speaker
ah Good haul. Good haul for U of H. And then, you know, you're looking at Bryce Jackson, ah too, and you throw him in there but with a mix. But we're just talking about poorly guys right now. So a good.
00:08:07
Speaker
Uh, you know, those four guys I think are exactly what, uh, Kelvin the staff needed. Yeah, completely agree. How about you, Bill, from a player's perspective? Well,
00:08:20
Speaker
three point guards I liked, I liked, uh, uh, ahead of Thomas, uh, the one I really liked was shell stat at, at Oregon. oh really That was your favorite one. Okay.
00:08:33
Speaker
Yeah. I really liked him. Wow. I like him and Burton. Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of was my guy. So one a and one B, you know, Louisville offered a ton for shelf stats.
00:08:50
Speaker
he went there and, uh, uh, Burton ended up getting 4 million to go to Indiana. So that, that, uh, yeah, he, you know was kind of playing U of H in Indiana.
00:09:05
Speaker
back and forth and, uh, yeah, 4 million to go to Indiana. Uh, and then, uh, and then, uh, uh, teleported, uh, Auburn. I, I, I like him as well. Uh, yeah, I wasn't expecting Thomas. He, he wasn't really on the radar, but, but, uh, you know, teleport, uh, uh, recited Auburn and, uh,
00:09:31
Speaker
So yeah, we get Thomas ah and you alluded to it, Tom. I mean, I mean, he, he protects the ball, which which is going to be big in our offense. It's that's what Kelvin wants. You know, he's not a, he he's kind of a small guard. he I mean, he's, he's six one, but he's, he's not a physical guard at all.
00:09:53
Speaker
Quite honestly, he wasn't a great defender at UNLV or at, or at LSU. um So, you know, it'll be, it'll be interesting. He'll, he'll certainly have his work cut out for him. Uh, and, uh, but, but the fact that he likes, he he wants to be here. He wants to play under Calvin. I think is obviously a good sign. Uh, he lefty. He's, he's an average shooter.
00:10:21
Speaker
i mean, he scored 15 points, uh, uh, did dish out six and a half assists. And we've talked about that. He's, he's going to get the ball to people, which is good. He is a pure point guard, ah but not a great shooter. And you know, that, that could be an issue for us again this year, the, the perimeter shooting we'll, we'll have to see.
00:10:44
Speaker
ah But we'll get to that a little more as we go on. Gillespie, Gillespie is my, I think my favorite. of the four. I really like Gillespie. He was all Mac first team, all Mac defensive team. He, he's a good player averaged almost 18 points, 11 over 11 boards, over 51% from the field. He shot right around 80%, almost 79, 80% from the line. So he,
00:11:15
Speaker
right around eighty percent almost seventy nine eighty percent from the line so Yeah, i just I like everything about him. he he's He's got a huge motor.
00:11:26
Speaker
he's he's a He's absolutely a Calvin type of guy. He's going to play hard on the defensive end. ah he's i just I really like Gillespie. I think he's gonna he's going to step in and he's going to help us out significantly on the inside.
00:11:43
Speaker
ah Had not... had not ah You know, we'll we'll see. 6'3 guard from Purdue-Fort Wayne. ah Cy Creek, you high school at Cy Creek.
00:11:58
Speaker
um yeah I know you, I think, Tom, you had mentioned him him possibly playing some points. He's a two-guard, 6'3, two-guard.
00:12:10
Speaker
he He did dish out four assists ah at Purdue-Fort Wayne, 21-point per game score. This guy though is a shoot first player. Uh, he wants the ball in his hands all the time. I've, I've seen a little bit of his highlights.
00:12:26
Speaker
He, he demands the ball. So it's going to be interesting, uh, when he's on the floor with, with Thomas, uh, I don't see him as much of a point guard. I see him more as ah a, a, a peer two that really wants the ball, but, uh,
00:12:47
Speaker
You a little bit of an undersized two, but, you know, great scorer. and And that's certainly going to help. ah The shooting is is good, not great.
00:13:02
Speaker
So it's not like we're bringing in a, ah you know, a really pure outside shooter, but, but he is, he is a big time scorer. Well, his overall field goal percentage is pretty good though for a guard.
00:13:15
Speaker
hes yeah but he he He takes, but he takes the ball to the hoop. Absolutely. yeah Yeah. He he's, he's, he's a penetrator. Yeah. He he's, yeah, he's not going to be a, ah a consistent three point shooter.
00:13:31
Speaker
ah it Maybe, maybe the the shot will develop, but, uh, but he wasn't, he wasn't yeah terrible right at like 30, 36. That wasn't, I mean, compared to, yeah, about 36%, which isn't bad. Yeah.
00:13:45
Speaker
Yeah. No, it's not bad. Um, but, uh,
00:13:51
Speaker
Yeah, so we'll we'll see what happens there. He also isn't a very, he's he's been about a 65% free throw shooter, which is that's bad which which is not great, but you we'll see. and then And then East, yeah, like you said, Tom Stafford kid, and he his father and had died of cancer and he and he really died.
00:14:15
Speaker
know dealt with that. And and it kind of that was kind of the reason that he really wasn't recruited at all. And Alvin Brooks brought him to to Lamar. and And yeah i mean, 13 points, 13 and a half points, nine boards. he's He's going to be the best fourth big man that that we've had.
00:14:38
Speaker
i mean, he's He's a good player and he's and he's and he works his butt off. He's another great, great Calvin U of H culture kid works hard. He's he's providing us with a ton of depth on the front line. And so, yeah, I like I like that heading into the season. So, yeah, that's what I think about the four. Nice.
00:15:06
Speaker
And I'll just say, i I know there's a lot of angst among fans around how many replacements from the portal we're going to have to bring in this offseason. And maybe I'm the exception guys here, but this is probably the most excited I've been in the offseason. Just fascinating. to see what coach and the staff do after the learnings from having built teams from within over time early in his tenure, and then going to a one and done heavy team this past season. And now you've got this opportunity to truly assemble a team via, you know, you want to call it free agency with a proper funding.
00:15:42
Speaker
What are you going to you know add to the mix while you still have the defensive unicorn and Tuggler around for one more round? Yeah. And I mentioned this on Around Town's podcast earlier this week as well. But from a roster build perspective, my thought process has changed a little bit over the past few years with our team. I've historically focused on length, athleticism, toughness, and the, if you want to call it defensive intensity, or at least physicality demonstrated in order to survive in our culture and and system. If that really offensive efficiency was kind of a distant fifth,
00:16:17
Speaker
for what I was looking for in kids. And then there was something I listened to in an interview with a defensive minded coach that we all despise, but respect in Dan Hurley. And it really just resonated with me, guys. i mean, he said, I'm now recruiting offensive players that are tough and willing to defend for you. I'm no longer going after defensive hard playing guys that were going to have to teach them to play great offense.
00:16:42
Speaker
I've made that mistake. And then Gino Auriemma was also on that interview and his response basically reaffirmed that. And he just said, yeah, yeah, no that's impossible to teach.
00:16:56
Speaker
And it's after that pivot when UConn started making this incredible run recently. And I believe we're starting to head down that same path with more funding and the ability to attract more top tier talent. And I think we're going to start seeing that play out in the portal this year as well.
00:17:11
Speaker
Now going into this portal class, and I'm going to give a shout out to a poster on kookfans.com with a handle Joe Pryor for being the most well-informed person I have come across on Houston men's basketball recruiting that that I've seen because he's been spot on going on three years that we've been podcasting.
00:17:31
Speaker
He doesn't always state the player by name, but he'll leave hints on the very day a kid enters the portal if he's a high party for our staff. So I just want to give a shout out to Joe Pryor, whoever you are, to you know for sharing your insights, is I don't know the guy, never met the guy.
00:17:49
Speaker
ah But boy, he is spot on. Now, going into this class, point guard, most important position in Coach Sampson's scheme and culture building. You guys had highlighted early rumors around, you know, maybe Pettiford, Hagerty.
00:18:04
Speaker
It really, I'm not quite as high on those. But then as more kids entered the portal, we started hearing about Schellstadt from Oregon, which i was I was pretty high on. And I've i've seen him out here on the West.
00:18:15
Speaker
And then finally, Marcus Burton of Notre Dame. And he's the kid that I love. And I'm not going to backtrack on that. He was in on the first weekend of visits. Then... you know, things kind of turn quickly as it it as it always does in the portal. And it looked like it just wasn't going to be a fit or a go for us.
00:18:33
Speaker
But this coaching staff always has a plan and quickly pivot to, as you guys know, Deed and Thomas that everyone knows. Great player, perfect for our our program in terms of how he plays the point guard position.
00:18:47
Speaker
A kid we've been recruiting endlessly. probably had a chance potentially to have gotten him twice, you know once out of high school and then potentially through the transfer portal. Honestly, I wanted Burton.
00:18:58
Speaker
But I've got a bit of a biased view since you know Thomas stiffed us twice, but strictly looking at his game, I think it's a great fit. 15 points, 6.5 assists, 4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio.
00:19:11
Speaker
Player boss score, 6.3. That was the second highest of all the kids that we listed after Burton. And actually much higher than Shellstat, Pettiford, or Hagerty. He's not the best shooter, as you guys highlighted, but he gets to the rim, which is actually going to recurring theme in this portal class. And he's basically going to point guard one from the day he arrives on campus.
00:19:33
Speaker
Now at the wing position, and what I'm including both two and three positions here, but I'm more focused on the two given we've got McCarty and Jackson at the three. So we really need someone to rotate with Miller, at the two.
00:19:46
Speaker
Rumors had been around Miles Bird from San Diego State, yeah but of course he was high on every team's list. Hadn't heard too many other names other than Bashir from KSU and then Alex Wilkins from Furman, who actually I i really like, but those were never confirmed.
00:20:03
Speaker
And then the whispers around a dynamic kid and Hadnot from Purdue Fort Wayne started to surface as soon as he entered the portal. Perfect fit for how we want to play. This kid is pure. If you look at his shot, and his shot chart, it is pure three point or at the rim. There's no mid range in this kid's game. I mean, you look at the dots and you might see one or two around, but it's all right at the rim or or at the arc. Dynamic player.
00:20:33
Speaker
And I'm afraid to say this as a comp, but kind of reminds me of a, it gives me kind of John Morant vibes, dare I say. And the beauty of his game is that he can play both the two and the one as a backup point guard. And I know, Bill, you may have your doubts, but I think that's what's been communicated to him.
00:20:52
Speaker
uh during the recruiting visit because he had kind of stated that in the the chris baldwin uh interview as well so we'll see here's my hunch here's my hunch allegedly we told lj crier you know he he would get to play some point too yeah but but he did a little bit he did little bit i think that might that's probably what end up with uh you know with had not uh Well, I'll be curious to see what you guys, once we get to the second segment around kind of rotations, who you guys have in mind to back up at the point guard. Because, i mean I mean, had not had three and a half assists playing the off guard on a team that really didn't have anyone else. And so that's that's pretty good. Like I said, he see's ah he's a ball-dominant player. he he has he had the ball in his hands all the time at Purdue Fort Wayne. And so...
00:21:45
Speaker
this but there was no way he yeah yeah There was no way he couldn't couldn't have assists in addition to the scoring because he he just had the ball all the time. And in he and that's that's how he wanted it. That's how he plays. So, yeah, yeah it'll it'll be it'll be an interesting transition.
00:22:03
Speaker
Yeah. Now, if you go to the big, and I'll include the four and the the five positions here, together. we We clearly missed the low post scoring of like a Roberts or a Carlton this year.
00:22:18
Speaker
and It was clearly a priority this portal season. Early rumors had us focused around Keanu Dawes from Utah, Houston kid, who I loved. i fully admit I love him, but there was talk that his dollar demands were I'd say, i don't want to say that we couldn't afford him because I think we're very well funded, but his dollar demands were beyond the value our staff placed on either his contributions or the position itself. And he just recently signed with Kansas. I came across an article and I can't remember which which one it was, but you know, it was data packed and all that. And basically it was saying is that, uh, big, what big men are getting are overinflated.
00:23:02
Speaker
Yeah. Well, it's kind of the Michigan dynamic. Everyone's a copycat now. They saw what what they did to win the championship. Now you're seeing everyone go after bigs. And you're right.
00:23:14
Speaker
You're right. I saw that article as well. Yeah. Monkey see, monkey do, you know. Yeah, exactly. But it was interesting, right? As the portal opening got close, we started hearing about one kid over and over again. And then a second one, I'd say more discreetly. And Delrico Gillespie from Kent State was the one that was the perfect fit and associated with us from the get go.
00:23:35
Speaker
And Delrico Gillespie is a name that KOOK fans posted. Joe Pryor basically highlighted like minutes after he entered the portal as our number one big target.
00:23:48
Speaker
Anyways, i I love his game as well, just like you, Bill. ah you know Jamie Hollingsworth from gocougs.com wrote up his scouting report, and you know it was a great comp he provided around Norchad O'Meara from Miami.
00:24:03
Speaker
That just killed us while he was at Baylor. But after I watched his game, my my comp is actually Zach Randolph from Michigan State and I'd say most known for his time with the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. Kind of the movement and the style of play and the physicality in terms of how he scores in that low post scoring that that we've had missing, I think is the is kind of my comp. And I think he's the perfect complement to Tugler inside.
00:24:35
Speaker
um As you guys highlighted, as well, first team all-Mac and impressively first team all-defense in the Mac. And so I think he's a starter from day one as well out of this portal class. The other big that maybe a hidden gem that was quietly associated with us early on was Braden East from Lamar, Houston kid, as you guys highlighted, played for Alvin Brooks. So kind of a logical step to join our program, especially after Brooks was let go.
00:25:04
Speaker
blue collar kid. you know What I love about both of the bigs is that they've both endured hardship in life and they nothing's come easy for them. They've had to come up through the ranks, you know play at the mid-major level, and now's their shot coming up to to kind of prove themselves.
00:25:25
Speaker
You know, you guys know I like to do player box score plus minus, and he was a player box score plus minus plus 1.5 on a horrible team, just a horrible team.
00:25:36
Speaker
But I think he's also going to be the perfect complement to Tugler and Gillespie up front and ready to contribute along with freshman Deane front for a big four rotation next season that that we just didn't have.
00:25:49
Speaker
And so those are the four kids already on the books. I expect us to sign maybe two more deep bench pieces. ah And my preference, my personal preference, would be to get some a couple of dead-eye shooters with some length to join.
00:26:05
Speaker
um And I think there's also a possibility of maybe getting a developmental big. That might be a freshman that that no one's heard of as another kid on the roster. Now let's get into projecting the lineups and rotations going into next season? Granted, we haven't seen these kids live yet, nor have you know and any practices obviously occurred. But just given what we've known ah from their previous stops as well as game tape that we've seen, how do you guys see the rotations rounding out next season? And Bill, you can go first from a player's perspective.
00:26:39
Speaker
but I think the starting lineup, at least right now, is pretty obvious. I think it's ah clearly Thomas at the point. Mercy at the two chase at the three Gillespie at the four and Jojo at the five. Yeah. ah In terms of everyone else, I think even though he's young and freshmen coming in, I think, well, I think Thomas is going to play a ton of minutes. Yeah.
00:27:13
Speaker
and But I think that Lozzi is going to get some minutes at the point as well. Okay. you think he's... Okay. Yeah, i that's that's what I would think right now. I think Hadnott's going to play behind Mercy, but I think they're going to... The minutes are going to be, at least at this point, the minutes are going to be pretty pretty even or close to it anyway.
00:27:42
Speaker
and And yeah, maybe Hadnott will play some point, but I'd rather see Thomas playing a lot of minutes.
00:27:54
Speaker
I think Hadnott can be really good at the two and maybe maybe take a lot of minutes from Mercy. We'll we'll see what happens, but I just...
00:28:06
Speaker
I hope he can can convert to be more of ah a point guard, but right now i just don't see him as a point guard. Hey, Bill. I mean, one of the one of the things we we haven't mentioned, and I don't want to jinx anything either, but since you mentioned – you know, expecting Thomas to play a lot of minutes, which, which I, I agree, right. He's the only pure experienced point guard that we've had, but he's had injury problems the last two seasons going where he's missed. He has a lot of games. I know. So that, that's where we gotta be.
00:28:41
Speaker
We gotta be concerned, right? Yeah. Yes. Correct. Uh, the three, it's going to be chase and Bryce Jackson. Yeah.
00:28:55
Speaker
And then Gillespie, Gillespie, as I mentioned, uh, uh, East, I think East will kind of be the backup at the four. I mean, they're, they're both similar guys, but Gillespie is more skilled and just, just going to be more productive and, and, and is a good player. But East East is going to contribute. He's absolutely going to contribute. And then of course, uh, uh, Deane, uh,
00:29:23
Speaker
And he's going to obviously get a lot of minutes. and and Yeah, it'll be interesting. yeah i think with both Gillespie and Deane and East, I think that allows JoJo to play more of what he's played prior to last year.
00:29:43
Speaker
i think it'll allow him to be more active on the offensive boards. ah I think it'll... I think he's going to be, it's going to allow him to be much more productive because we've got the inside guys, the guys that are comfortable playing inside. And that's all three of the, of our big men aside from Jojo.
00:30:06
Speaker
And I think it's going to allow him to return to, to what he was doing prior to last year when he tried to and take over that role as the, the inside post player, which, which,
00:30:22
Speaker
it yeah really didn't entirely pan out. And, and yeah, I, I, I just, I really, really like our, our frontline going into this year. Yeah. So do I, I mean, and the way, and the way, yeah, the way everyone plays, ah where they're comfortable playing, where they, but where they're productive. I, I, I love our frontline.
00:30:47
Speaker
Nice. So, I mean, you talked about HadDot and maybe not, have maybe not thinking he you could back up the point guard position. So are you seeing him be back up to strictly Miller, or do you think he's going to play some three as well?
00:31:06
Speaker
mean, where is he going to get his minutes? No, no, three. he's i mean, he's six three He's he' is a little bit of an undersized. Yeah. He's too, right. Yeah.
00:31:19
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So no, I don't see him at the three at all. I mean, yes, I do see him because of his experience and, you know great player in the horizon league.
00:31:32
Speaker
I have no doubt that, that he'll be on the floor with, with mercy at times. Uh, Yeah, it just we'll see what happens. ah And I'm sure he's going to he's goingnna handle the ball a lot. He's going to be with the coaching staff this offseason.
00:31:54
Speaker
they're They're probably going to do everything they can to coach him up on on trying to adjust to playing more point. But from everything I've seen of him, he's just right now he's not a point guard.
00:32:12
Speaker
He's just not a point guard, but but he's a ball dominant guard. So, but you know, it the transition could very well happen.
00:32:23
Speaker
So do you equate kind of how he plays kind of like kind of like Sasser when he was here? Not not a point guard, but he could play stints at the point, right?
00:32:35
Speaker
Yeah, I... Well... he He's not the shooter that Sasser was or is. So yeah he he's more of a – he's a take the ball to the rim a lot guy. And and like you said, he he also fires up a lot of threes.
00:32:57
Speaker
ah But, ah yeah, I – Yeah, it'll be fascinating. I think in terms of – sorry, I just think in terms of the point guard, he's he's's he's a project. He's still a project. and and Yeah, I'd agree.
00:33:12
Speaker
Yeah, so you know we'll we'll see what happens. i And again, we we talk about this all the time, but we all just entirely trust the coaching staff. Yeah. And so in terms of getting him to to play more point guard,
00:33:31
Speaker
I have no doubts that they can, they can make it happen to an extent. Yeah. We'll just have to see. Uh, but, uh, yeah. And if, and if, and he'll have to, I guess, if, if they're trying to,
00:33:48
Speaker
ah you know, load management, I guess with, with Thomas because of the injuries, you know what, we'll have to see there as well. But, um, you know and And maybe they'll try to have Mercy handle the ball a bit. He's clearly not a natural point guard. but ah But the you know I think it'll be when Thomas is not in the game, it'll be a little bit of committee, I guess. And, you know...
00:34:23
Speaker
Yeah, I just, I hope Thomas is able to play a lot of minutes. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I would agree. How about you, Tom, from a coach's perspective around the rotations?
00:34:34
Speaker
Well, the way I'm looking at it is, you know, the guys we got through the portal, I think it was obvious ah that what the the one of the big priorities was to improve our rebounding.
00:34:47
Speaker
ah especially our guards. We didn't get a whole lot from Milo's or E-man as far as rebounding goes. Last couple of years in Kelvin's system,
00:34:58
Speaker
His two and three, he said, is basically the same position. The only time it's really different is on out-of-bounds plays or ah your press attack or you know the few times you play zone. it's It's different. But if you look at our twos and threes last few years, it was basically the same position. you know we had Minos and Eman at that position.
00:35:20
Speaker
Offensive rebound and philosophy of Kelvin's is he's always sent two back. on the shot in the and, and three guys, usually, usually the three, four and five go to the boards, unless the three shoots it, then he's back.
00:35:36
Speaker
And they usually have designated spots to get to. ah You want to have like a rebounding triangle. You want to get to the, you want to get to the weak side board. And if you ever watch, ah you know, and I used to make some clips and put them on, ah you know, some of the message boards, a couple examples beyond Ronnie Brooks and Nate Hinton. It didn't matter where they were on the,
00:35:56
Speaker
where they were on the court, when the shot went up, they would sprint, you know, sometimes 30 feet and get to their spot, whether it was the weak side, you weak side board, whether it was in front of the rim. I just didn't see that last year. Agreed.
00:36:12
Speaker
So I think with, ah you know, I don't think the plan last year was Chase to play any of the four. If you recall, I think it was kind of made in the middle of the summer to put him there.
00:36:24
Speaker
ah With him strictly playing three, i think automatically our rebounding is going to improve agree um you know on on both sides, on the offensive end, defensive end. Another thing I'm looking at is with four quality bigs, I think it's going to tell us that we're not going to play a lot of small ball four. you know We're going to go pretty much with three guards and and the two bigs, you know and you can When you did a pick and roll game, you can you can roll one guy and then replace the other guy at the top and maybe do some high-low.
00:37:01
Speaker
I don't know. you know when a lot of times when we went small ball four is when the other team, we were getting beaten off the dribble like Chris and he couldn't guard on the perimeter.
00:37:13
Speaker
And that forced us to go you know to a smaller smaller lineup. A question I have is you know what happens next year When the other team goes small, you know do our bigs, do they have a lateral quickness, the foot quickness you know to guard a smaller guy on the perimeter?
00:37:32
Speaker
I don't know. What do you guys think on that? I think JoJo can. Okay. Yeah. And if you watch – Well, I'll tell you another thing, and this is why I think Alozi is going to get playing time. he He averaged six and a half rebounds or so in in high school. He is a rebounding guard. he He's – And it's been mentioned that he's, and I think, Tom, you said before we started, he's been referred to as kind of a Jamal Shad Jr. He is a strong, strong guard.
00:38:07
Speaker
he He will rebound. ah He does rebound. And I think he's, because of that, and he's a good guy. is not only a strong defender, but he likes to defend. He he likes to get in players' faces.
00:38:23
Speaker
He's not like the... the quite honestly, like, like Flemings or, or use, and he, he will pick up the defender, getting their grill, you know, right at half court, he gets right in their faces and, and he's, he's athletic, he's strong and he rebounds. So I think all those, all those attributes are going to get him more minutes this year, even as a freshman.
00:38:46
Speaker
Yep. So, yeah. So, you know, I don't think you're lot small ball four. Then I guess i guess that's what I'm saying. you would we we wouldn' we wouldn't have brought we We wouldn't have brought in, you know, those guys, to you know, to have four bigs if we were going if we were not going to play them, you know, more than 90% of the time.
00:39:05
Speaker
of yeah We talked about shooting or lack thereof. Another question I have is, okay, so if we do get an offensive rebound, who would kick the ball out to? In the past, it was Milo could hit an open three you know off of an offensive rebound. ah ah Sharp could.
00:39:22
Speaker
um So you know we're probably going to have to be a great offensive rebounding team if we if we don't shoot the ball well. Another question I have, it'll be interesting see, is at the three spot, McCarty, ah when he goes out, does staff have confidence that Bryce Jackson, he's not going to true freshman. He's going redshirt freshman.
00:39:47
Speaker
Does he get all the minutes at that at that spot? you know Let's say Chase gets in foul trouble. He picks up ah his second foul with 13 minutes left in the half in a Big 12 game. We're on the road playing Kansas. you know just Does Bryce come in and does he play all those minutes or or you know does the staff have another plan? Do they have a plan of maybe going a little bit smaller at the three, playing maybe had not, you know, Mercy deed in at the at the one, two, and three.
00:40:16
Speaker
So that that's a question I had was, was you know, how's the staff, what's their plan for that? And I'm saying this, they they all got a plan. I'm not, you know, we believe in in Kelvin and staff and all this, but these are questions outsiders have. And then let's say Deedon gets in foul trouble, needs ah needs a rest or whatever, gets hurt, hopefully not.
00:40:39
Speaker
Yeah, who who comes in and plays the point? Where does Jefferson where does jefferson fit in in all this? ah You know, you don't hear staff talk about him much anymore.
00:40:49
Speaker
You hear staff talk about Jackson that they're really high on. ah You know, while losy does Oloze come in there? Does Jefferson come in there to run the point? Does Mercy come in there?
00:41:00
Speaker
Does Hadnock slide over? So those are the some things I think you need to need to you know keep an eye on. I think most of us are in agreement on the starting five.
00:41:12
Speaker
I think most of us are on board you know with Hadnock probably coming in and Deion A being the first two guys off the bench. So there's there's your top seven. Who's that eighth guy? Because we know that toward the end of the year, once conference starts, we don't usually play is you know as many guys. It usually is pared down to about an eight-man rotation.
00:41:33
Speaker
So who is that eighth guy? Is it Jackson? Is it Jefferson? You know, Eloze. Eloze, East. East. It's East.
00:41:45
Speaker
So, so that was the fouls. I think it's going to be East. So that would really put us at a four man big rotation. Yeah. And.
00:41:57
Speaker
a four man guard rotation, you know, between the three spots that, you know, the one, two and three, then you have four guys playing the lion's share of those minutes. If you're talking about our starting three and then you got, and then you got had not.
00:42:11
Speaker
So ah it'll be interesting, you know, ah you know, there's a a whole off season to go, you know, then there's, there's practices in the fall and, and then the games and all that until, and until the big 12 play.
00:42:26
Speaker
Uh, that's kind of the way I see it. As far as those other roster spots are filled. Normally we carry anywhere from 13 to 14 players right now. We have 11 on the roster.
00:42:37
Speaker
it'll be interesting to see how the staff fills out, uh, those other two, three spots. What do you want for those two, three spots? Uh, consider, I don't consider our lack of shooting. Yeah.
00:42:51
Speaker
If you know, uh,
00:42:55
Speaker
What happens if teams zone us? you know you know We don't have a Sharp right now that you know can go on a heater. maybe Maybe it's McCarty. I'm thinking that McCarty can go on a heater like Sharp goes on one, like in that Utah game.
00:43:09
Speaker
ah I kind of expect McCarty a couple of times a year to go on one of those stretches that he had against Oklahoma State. Yeah. You know, where he hit. Well, hopefully Mercy as well.
00:43:21
Speaker
Yeah. And I think with consistent minutes, we're mercy season in too mercy mercy gets Mercy has a longer leash. He's he's getting more consistent minutes.
00:43:33
Speaker
I actually think ill there's no doubt that we'll get more rebounding yes from from Mercy than we did with Sharp. but I don't know what the deal with E-Man was as far as you know getting getting some offensive rebounds or defensive rebounds, but a little bit of time Mercy got. you know he He gets in there and And he rebounds. So I think our production from that from that position actually I think can can can be better.
00:44:03
Speaker
And Mercy can get to the basket too. ah He's got a knack for finishing. He can finish with both hands. We've seen a little little bit of that in games that mattered. And we've seen Mercy drill some threes. But I just think with those consistent minutes, you're going to see a big leap.
00:44:21
Speaker
ah from from Mercy. Now that he's, you kind of figure he's got the confidence of Kelvin now that we didn't go out there and really try to over-recruit over Mercy or McCarty.
00:44:36
Speaker
Okay. I mean, yeah, i mean I'm expecting us to be ah a team that gets to the free throw line a lot yeah this this upcoming season. A lot of free throws and Yeah, I think it's going to be a little different than it was last year where where you know there were games where we we shot a hell of a lot of three-pointers.
00:45:02
Speaker
yeah his he i just see I don't see that quite as much this year. You get back to Gillespie's comp. yeah How about Draymond Green without people you know without the part where you kick people in the nuts all the time?
00:45:15
Speaker
That's a good comp too. But I think you know he's a little, maybe a little bit more skilled ah offensively than Draymond. Gillespie just looks like a dude. He just looks like a dude. So I'm excited because...
00:45:31
Speaker
yeah so i'm imic you know i'm excited because We automatically went – we got age and we got experience, you know, ah right off the bat. We're not going to be – we're not to be a ah young team because remember last year, four of our top eight guys were freshmen. Yeah. You know, we had three true freshmen.
00:45:53
Speaker
We had McCarty who was a redshirt freshman. So, four of our top eight were where frosh. You know, even though those newcomers, they got to come in and learn our defense – But the the difference is is they've had you know two, three years of Division I coaching.
00:46:11
Speaker
yep And yet, not all the coaching is the same. Not all man-to-man is the same, but a lot of it love is. you know yeah And even physical growth, right, after two to three years. Yeah. Another thing, and Bill alluded to this, was you know defense at the point of attack, ah ah you know,
00:46:31
Speaker
I don't know about Thomas. I just, you know, we're not going to see that bulldog mentality. Get up, get in your grill. No, absolutely not. And that's what I, and that's what I thought we were going to get with, with Burton. Burton was, you know, just like a, like a middle linebacker type, like a shed, you know, just. Well, Pettiford as well.
00:46:52
Speaker
Yeah. But, but that's why that, and again, I'm, kind of beating a dead horse, but that's why I think Alozi is going to get minutes, at least at this point. Maybe. Because he jefferson know was the kind of guy that is that guy. you know Jefferson. Just injuries, though, with him. We don't know how healthy he is. True.
00:47:15
Speaker
I just never hear staff talk about him you know much. and Maybe it's because he's been injured or whatever. He's been hurt. but i just I think Alozi is significantly more skilled.
00:47:26
Speaker
The Jefferson. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And he's bigger and he's stronger. yeah I like a low Z. Yeah.
00:47:38
Speaker
I mean, for, for me guys, you know, I love me some, some mercy Miller, right? I've been kind of singing his praises even during the the regular season this past season. But if you look at the the lineups, even with Fleming, Sharp, who's on and Sinead gone from this defense, we do get two of our top three defenders statistically back in tugger who was a plus six. defensive player box score plus minus. And then it was actually Mercy Miller at 5.0 defensive player box score plus minus in limited minutes.
00:48:11
Speaker
Then you factor in improvement we expect from both Miller and McCarty, who will now finally get to focus on the three versus guarding a bigger four. And I think the addition of Mac defensive first team or Gillespie into the mix. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, i'm I'm highly confident that our staff and crafted the defense that will return to top three, even even though we may be missing something initially at the point of attack, I think...
00:48:37
Speaker
ah You know, certainly from a foul perspective from JoJo, because every game, you know, you can count on at least one foul being him covering off for Senac's mistake defensively.
00:48:50
Speaker
Right. And so I think Gillespie is just a better defensive player. And that'll kind of lessen the load for for JoJo. Offensively, I'm not going to lie that we lose a ton, right? Top four scorers, especially Flemings, who was highly efficient at a plus 6.3 offensive player box score plus minus.
00:49:08
Speaker
However, we're adding some, I'd say, a much more talented and efficient offensive talent in Thomas himself, who was a plus 5.9. Had not was a plus 3.7 offensively. and both of whom take it to the hole with aggression versus this past season where we're kind of meandering around and settling for mid-rangers or three-pointers as the clock's winding down. i expect us to get back to pounded inside until the opponent submits mentality this next season. And and I'm here for it, guys. I'm really looking forward to it.
00:49:43
Speaker
Now, if you focus on what we've gotten in, you know, really hungry dog mentality, kids demonstrate contributions with a willingness to take it hard to the rim. I expect all things being equal, just like you guys, Deaton Thomas point guard, Mercy Miller shooting guard, Chase McCarty,
00:50:02
Speaker
Small four to start on the perimeter. You got to reward, you know, guys that have stuck with you that understand the the defense, you know, all things being equal at the five. I think there's no doubt my favorite player, Jojo, will be anchoring the defense and you got to go with Gillespie.
00:50:20
Speaker
You know, at the four, I think he brings the physicality inside, scoring and rebounding and the defensive credentials ah to start from day one. I expect it to feel a lot like when Tugler and Roberts were a tandem from two seasons ago. And with that starting five, I expect the first person off the bench to be Hadnock.
00:50:42
Speaker
And I do think he's going to get the first shot at ah backing up the point guard as well as Miller. I mean, again...
00:50:53
Speaker
you know, as a combo guard, ah he did a great job from an assist perspective. So i expect him to play as many minutes as our starting wing players, even though he's coming off the bench. And I think that's why we were able to sign him.
00:51:09
Speaker
For our four and five positions, this is where I think it really gets fun from the bench because I expect both Deane and East to contribute next season and contribute a lot more. agree. Yeah. I mean, a lot more than what most fans are even expecting.
00:51:25
Speaker
The talent and size that these two bring to the table will allow us to play more aggressively inside than we've been able to do since, I'd say going all the way back to 22, when we had Carlton, White, Roberts, and Chaney.
00:51:39
Speaker
I don't think we've had a foursome as good as that until this coming season. And then the X factors for me are going to be Bryce Jackson at the three and Alozi at the one. I agree. I'd love to see what he can do. At least he's the one guard that can bring it defensively. And so I think that's what's going to help a Losey get onto the, onto the court and rebounding and rebounding though. I think with this team, it's not even going to be needed. I think we're going to be,
00:52:08
Speaker
but We're going to be top two rebounding in the country this next season is my prediction. I feel like this roster already has enough proven depth that it's going to allow us to come in waves with different matchups, unlike this past season. And we're going to have a lot more offensive firepower as well.
00:52:28
Speaker
So now what why don't we finally take a look? I know we're getting short on time, but let's take a look at what other teams in the in the Big 12 have done in the portal. Granted, you know it's still early and and a lot of teams aren't done yet at and maybe a little bit worrisome that they're not done yet.
00:52:48
Speaker
But Tom, why don't you start off from a a coach's perspective on maybe a a few tidbits from the the rest of the Big 12? I'll just focus on one team real quick, guys, since I live up here here in Iowa and there's a lot of Iowa State fans. all I'll focus on them.
00:53:03
Speaker
They lost a lot of key players. They lost Tame and Lipsy, four-year starter at point guard. Lost Justin Jefferson, their power forward, awesome player. Everybody. They lost virtually everybody.
00:53:18
Speaker
They lost Nate Heisey, who provided some ah who provided ah you know some uh, some keen playing time off the bench at the, at the guard position. They, I talked to an Iowa state guy and he's pretty connected to the program and he's pretty, really excited about who they got, who they got coming in and pretty much their roster is complete already.
00:53:41
Speaker
They brought, they brought in five guys and they, they signed them right away. TJ Otzenberger, he goes with the, uh, the, mostly of the mid majors, not a whole lot of high majors that they, they bring in.
00:53:54
Speaker
Uh, And it was a point guard position that I was interested in. and They brought in a guy from from Bradley. about five He's like 5'11". He's good, though. Yeah, Jaquan Johnson.
00:54:05
Speaker
yeah ah His nickname is Bully. um But I'm talking to my ah ah Iowa State acquaintance. And like I said, he's pretty connected with the program.
00:54:16
Speaker
ah He's not going to start. He's not? No, they're going to put Kilian Turey. At the point guard, he's got size to raise, you know, 6'3", 205. He started at the two this past year.
00:54:30
Speaker
i am shocked. Yeah, i was i I was too. I was too. ah So, ah He's telling me, you know, Ture will man the point.
00:54:42
Speaker
ah Jamari and Bateman was hit some huge shots against us. ah He's going to – From Milwaukee. Is he? Yep. Who's not from Milwaukee on that team, you know? ah So Bateman at the two, but they brought in a guy from UNI Northern Iowa named Leon Bond who's guy who's who's athletic as hell. He's a good player. Yeah, he'll play the three.
00:55:07
Speaker
Buchanan, I can't remember his first name, it's like Blake. Blake Buchanan will be at the the five man, even though my Iowa State guy thinks that Plata is a better player, but TJ likes Buchanan's toughness.
00:55:24
Speaker
And at the four, there's a transfer from Northwestern. I think he's he's going to be a sophomore. His name is Trey Singleton. ah They really really like him. And then you've got some bench pieces.
00:55:36
Speaker
You've got Ryan Prather who will come in. He's from Robert Morris. He's a sharpshooter. You have, let's see. and know they brought another one. Manning from Kansas State. Yeah, yeah. Taj Manning. Taj Manning. From K-State. And he's...
00:55:50
Speaker
He, I believe, is the only – well, Singleton came from Northwestern. yeah But man Manning, we'll get to see what kind of player Manning is. Simply, he goes from the coaching of – coaching in quotes, air quotes, from Jerome Tang to to TJ and staff. so Yeah.
00:56:08
Speaker
Yeah, and then Jaquan Johnson, the guy from Bradley, will come off come off the bench, and and he'll play probably the the the one the two. Yeah. they really They really like that squad. they he thinks they're going to be really, really gritty and tough.
00:56:23
Speaker
I think so, too. and Yeah, the and the thing about it is, Their roster's complete, so they had deeds and they had you know they had a profile what kind of players they want, and they went out and they got them. So expect ISU, when we talk about our preseason picks next fall, expect me to put them in in the in the top three, maybe maybe top two. Yeah.
00:56:47
Speaker
um know we got we got to see what the other teams do in the big 12 right now some of them are i don't know what they're doing uh you and bill might have an idea but some of them some of them i think might be in trouble yeah so about you bill from a player's perspective what do you think of uh our counterparts in the big 12 how are they doing well yeah i won't i won't get into iowa state because we just covered it yeah but There are only two teams in the Big 12 that that ah
00:57:19
Speaker
that so far are are rated in the top 10 portal-wise, and that's us and Iowa State. Exactly. We've covered. Exactly. That's that. ah yeah yeah I'll just mention a few teams, a few teams that are that are consistently at the top who who we compete against, obviously. Kansas, but who who knows what's going on with Kansas? I know. They brought in Dawes.
00:57:44
Speaker
Dawes from Utah. that's it and That's Yeah. they they There have this past, this weekend and and and several days prior, there were a half dozen kids that came in, but but no commitments at this point. It's just been Dawes.
00:58:05
Speaker
Who knows? and They've lost. They've lost a lot. Arizona arizona brought in Arizona's only brought in guards. It's it's Derek Dixon from Carolina.
00:58:18
Speaker
yeah I can't even pronounce this guy's name. Mandaquit. Oh, yeah, from Washington. Guard from Washington. Yeah. Yeah. And then they you know they got a five-star coming in, Caleb Holt, but and another freshman, a four-star, Cameron Holmes. But all four are guards.
00:58:36
Speaker
Nobody big. They thought they were going to get Bryson Tiller from Kansas, and he just signed with Missouri. That's right. so So he's, he's, yeah. So could you say Kansas is bleak?
00:58:49
Speaker
Could you say Kansas is bleeding Kansas right now? You know, historically bleeding Kansas. They just lost the guy to Missouri, you know? Oh yeah. Yeah. You know, Kansas, Missouri. Yeah. Yeah. The big, big rifle. Yeah.
00:59:03
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, and then my favorite school as everyone that's listened to the podcast knows tech, uh, and I'm assuming these guys are probably not the most intelligent, but, uh, if they're going to be tech students, uh, Cruz Davis is actually a great recruiter. Uh, him.
00:59:27
Speaker
And they, they've got a really good, uh, five-star, uh, uh, two guard kind of, kind of two, three, uh, Dakari spear, uh,
00:59:41
Speaker
He's 6'5", with 6'10", wingspan, a really good player. And then ah and then they brought in another solid guard, ah Drake Gibbs, Lawhorn from UNLV, who's a solid scorer. But once again, it's three guards coming in, nothing to replace Toppin or or any other any of the other frontcourt players right now.
01:00:06
Speaker
so Bam Gogway, whoever's saying this, he went portal too. Tech's bringing in guards, and and Kansas has brought in nothing. Hey, Bill, how about Christian Anderson? what What's his status? Draft, or is he coming back? For sure, pro.
01:00:22
Speaker
yeah he's Yeah, from what I understand, he's gone. yeah BYU, actually, I don't know what BYU's done, other than the fact that that Robert Wright just ah decided to come back.
01:00:38
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I'm sure BYU either matched or or or paid more than than anyone else was offering because BYU's always got a jillion dollars that they spend on everybody. Yeah.
01:00:52
Speaker
i mean I mean, I'll cover BYU, um so I won't repeat go repeat any of the the other teams you guys have covered. But BYU was actually the only other team that was consensus top 25 in the portal rankings. So they were number seven on on three. and 20 on 24-7. And they've got three coming in so far, ah but of course also eight going out at this point. And they went a different route than Houston and ISU because all three of their newbies so far are power four players, one from Kentucky, one from Syracuse, and one from Clemson. And of course, most importantly, they're able to retain Rob Wright at point guard. And then the only other team that I'm going to highlight
01:01:38
Speaker
you know, for folks to pay attention to Cincinnati. And they might be the dark horse in terms of ah bringing in talent. And obviously they've got the new coach from Utah State. they're ranked Their poorer classes ranked and but they're not ranked on on three. Because on three, I really enjoy on threes ranking because they take into account incoming and outgoing where 24 seven only looks at incoming. But they've got six coming in and 10 going out. But the coach wants to clean house and get in his own players. They lost a ton, but they're sneaky good so far as they've pulled in two from Utah State. So there'll be some continuity with the coach. And then there's Colvin from Wake Forest, who's also a really, really good
01:02:23
Speaker
good get. And so again, it's still early days. I'd be lying if I didn't say that um I'm smiling a bit watching KU and tech suffer a little bit through this portal season. I know it's, it's still early, but if you look at the rankings of players available, not a lot of good players left and yeah, so you for them to fill out their team. So I'm not sure.
01:02:52
Speaker
I mean, they've they've got to pull a rabbit out of the hat to to kind of recover for next season. So interesting stuff to consider. Anyway, so that's... Based on what they're bringing, based on what what ah these the schools that we historically, or well, it's only been two years in the Big 12, but who we compete against, you know our our weakness last year was was the interior scoring.
01:03:22
Speaker
and to an extent, interior defense. God, we we, I think we've got far and away the best front court in the conference. Yeah. Based on what the other schools, the top schools in the, in the big 12 have lost.
01:03:39
Speaker
And, the fact that they just haven't brought in anybody, I think we have got the absolute dominant front court in the Big 12 right now. Well, we have to see. I think the one caveat is Pete, because Pete has not announced for the NBA yet. and hebay I don't know if his if he's trying to do the math to figure out, can he make more by staying at Arizona versus being like a late first-round pick? and's got up He's got to shit or get off the pot because...
01:04:11
Speaker
If he makes a late decision, um but Arizona's gone arizona screwed. you know Yeah, yeah. yeah Well, they haven't brought anyone in, so that's kind of telling me something, that they're they're hopeful or something.
01:04:23
Speaker
ah but Yeah, but they wanted like I said, they wanted tiller they wanted Tiller badly from Kansas, and and he opted for Missouri. Yeah. so Yeah, I'm assuming Pete's gone. I would assume that as well. But yeah, I'm already looking forward to to next season, and guys. I can't wait for practices to to get started.
01:04:48
Speaker
Same. and um yeah And I'm really interested, and they they might never end up playing, but you know those last couple of roster spots to see what we we do with them.
01:05:00
Speaker
Yeah, I'm curious as well. So that's it for this episode number 80 the No Conference for Old Men podcast. Hope you all enjoyed it. And again, we'd really appreciate it folks would follow, subscribe, or collect our podcast on whatever platform of choice is.
01:05:15
Speaker
We're also available via Dave Campbell's College Podcast Network as our only basketball-centric podcast. Earthagokugs.com YouTube page for those that want to see our old mugs. We appreciate the continued support from all. Also, please give us a follow on our Twitter account, No Conference for Old Men.
01:05:31
Speaker
Thank you all again for listening. And again, as a reminder, we're now into our off-season cadence of one episode per month. So please be on the lookout as our next episode in May drops as we schedule out some in-depth interviews.
01:05:44
Speaker
Take care, everyone. Let's