Recruiting Needs?

[Lennys Tap]

Wait til the end of the season Brew.  We don’t know anything yet.

NM

[MU82]

Need good, preferably very good, players everywhere.

Need more shooting for sure. Also would be nice to have a "junkyard dog" or two, guys kinda like Jimmy was as a soph. Obviously, would be better to have Jimmy-ish-as-junior/senior kids, but that's too much to hope for!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

36 preseason, 68 now. Getting worse.

T-Rank was 76 preseason and is 66 now.

But, in this case, I think Kenpom was closer to a fair assessment than T-rank was preseason. We've underperformed so far.

[Shooter McGavin]

36 preseason, 68 now. Getting worse.

Ha, my patience does not seem to be paying off.

[MUHoopsFan2]

Agreed, we may need some talent

No we need....FANS IN THE STANDS...regular schedule played and no pandemic!!!

Nothing wrong with the team or the coaching.

just a return back to a stable routine and normalcy is all we needed.  I shouldn't have to have to say this...

This is a Free Pass year to me...I judge nothing and take what I get. They look great, considering the adversity shared by everyone. No fan should be overly critical...

[4everwarriors]

Da chittier da koach, da moore 5 stars ya need, aina?

[vogue65]

Need good, preferably very good, players everywhere.

Need more shooting for sure. Also would be nice to have a "junkyard dog" or two, guys kinda like Jimmy was as a soph. Obviously, would be better to have Jimmy-ish-as-junior/senior kids, but that's too much to hope for!

You won't find a junkyard dog going to the Olympics.
The BOT do not associate with junkyard dogs, they are far to elite for that sort of thing.
I hear they are working at getting Marquette into the Ivy league.

[willie warrior]

Biggest recruiting need is anew Head Coach.

[PBRme]

And players that can grab and hold on to the ball

[cheebs09]

I have to think a wing who can get to the basket. Things open up when DJ drives, but other than that, we mostly have spot up 3 pt shooters or strictly post guys. Koby has some success driving when under control.

It just seems our offense gets bogged down when Carton can’t drive and we pass along the perimeter. Or force it in the post and hope one of our guys wins a 1:1 matchup.

[SaveOD238]

we mostly have spot up 3 pt shooters

Bad spot-up 3-point shooters.  Except maybe GE.

We miss Sacar and Brendan this season a lot more than has been talked about on here.  When those guys were on we were unstoppable.  When they clanked shots we looked terrible.  It's been a whole season the latter without those two guys.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Bad spot-up 3-point shooters.  Except maybe GE.

We miss Sacar and Brendan this season a lot more than has been talked about on here.  When those guys were on we were unstoppable.  When they clanked shots we looked terrible.  It's been a whole season the latter without those two guys.

How are Jamal (40%), Koby (38.9%), and Garcia (38.1%) bad three point shooters but Sacar (39.2%) and Bailey (38.3%) good three point shooters?

[MUfan12]

We miss Sacar and Brendan this season a lot more than has been talked about on here. 

Maybe Sacar, but this post was the first time this season I've thought about Brendan Bailey.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

From a depth perception here's my best guess at next year's depth chart (assuming no defections and no COVID seniors):

PG: Carton, Torrence, Mitchell, Jones
SG: Elliott, Carton, Akanno, Perez, Mitchell, Torrence, Jones
SF: Akanno?, Perez?, Jones, Ighodaro, Lewis, Elliott, Garcia
PF: Lewis, Garcia, Ighodaro, Aidoo
C: Garcia, Aidoo, Lewis, Ighodaro

So from this perspective, unless the staff is confident that Akanno will make a big leap or that Perez will be ready after his redshirt, it looks like the 2-3 is where we need the most help, unless you want roll out a huge lineup of 2 guards and Lewis, Garcia, and Aidoo. Would probably need to change our base defense to zone if that was the plan.

From a replace skills perspective we are set to graduate:
42% of our scoring (1st, 4th, and 6th scorers)
40% of our rebounding (3rd, 4th, and 5th rebounders)
39% of our assists (2nd, 4th, and 5th assisters)
42% of our steals (2nd, 3rd, and 5th stealers)
52% of our blocks (Theo)
41% of our 2Ps (4th, 5th, and 6th 2P shooters)
45% of our 3Ps (1st, 3rd, and 8th 3P shooters)

This is a very basic way to look at things because it doesn't take into account how efficient these guys are but can give you an idea of what skills are going out the door. Biggest one is rim protector but we theoretically address that with Aidoo. Next largest is 3P shooter which matches what a few people have said in this thread already. I believe all three of our recruits can shoot the three but not sure how ready they will be.

You could also look at the perspective of what is MU missing this season that we could address. Here's where MU ranks in the 8 factors from best to worse:
eFG% Allowed: 50th in D1
Off Reb%: 75th
eFG%: 115th
FTR: 125th
FTR Allowed: 175th
Off Reb% Allowed: 179th
Turnover%: 223rd
Turnover% Allowed: 330rd

So based on this, the GLARING deficiency on this team is turnovers on both sides of the ball. There's no excuse for the offensive turnovers. On the defensive end that is a style choice by Wojo which can work but isn't this season. We may get some addition by subtraction on the offensive side as our second worst offender will graduate (Theo at 27.2%) and his minutes will likely go to two more surehanded bigs in Garcia (17.4%) and Lewis (14.8%). Ultimately, I think these numbers will need to be improved by coaching more than recruiting and its hard to have faith that will happen.

So put this all together and I think this team's number one need for next season is a 3 who can shoot from deep and plays aggressive enough D to force some turnovers. So a 3 and D specialist. Maybe Dexter or Jose can grow into that but that's a lot to expect. I wouldn't be surprised to see the staff target another Justin Turner type grad transfer (or regular transfer if the proposal passes).

This could all change in an instant of course if Carton and/or Garcia goes pro or another significant player transfers. I'm pretty confident Garcia will be back. I'm confident Carton won't get drafted but that doesn't mean he won't leave. I haven't heard anything about any other transfers but most programs have at least one.

[tower912]

So, switchables.

[Freedom Fighter]

Never been about recruiting with Wojo. We need a new coach.

[SaveOD238]

How are Jamal (40%), Koby (38.9%), and Garcia (38.1%) bad three point shooters but Sacar (39.2%) and Bailey (38.3%) good three point shooters?

Get out of here with your statistics. 

What would those stats look like if we were just talking conference games?  Because I'm seeing 3-16 and 10-33 in the last two losses.

[MuggsyB]

One issue we have had with the exception of the Rowsey/Howard season (and they're sub 6 footers) is we have not had good ball handlers on our rosters.  I'm not talking about literally being able to dribble, but more multiple guys that can make consistent plays off the bounce. 

You could also argue that we really haven't had a true playmaker.  Rowsey had his moments, and DJ is capable, but when players 2,3, 4, 5 cannot pass off the dribble it makes things tough.  Poor roster construction even if you make the argument we have recruited well at times.

[franklinjerry]

Wojo's recruiting stance on a point guard is odd, based on his own college career. The only true PG I believe we've had in this era is Traci Carter who saw Marcus in his path? Not Cheatham, not Duane Wilson, not Andrew, not Marcus, not Koby and I believe DJ is more of a 2 than a 1.
I realize the historical days of running a half court offense through your PG is history but with our struggles?????

[McLintock]

Wojo's recruiting stance on a point guard is odd, based on his own college career. The only true PG I believe we've had in this era is Traci Carter who saw Marcus in his path? Not Cheatham, not Duane Wilson, not Andrew, not Marcus, not Koby and I believe DJ is more of a 2 than a 1.
I realize the historical days of running a half court offense through your PG is history but with our struggles?????

It only seems like we’ve never had a true pg because there isn’t actually an offense to run. As noted above the top recruiting need is a head coach. Someone that can form a group of players into more than the sum of its parts. Or at least the sum of its parts.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Of course there is an offense to run.  Good lord please at least make your criticisms accurate ones.

Carton is a decent PG now.  He will be better as he gains more experience.

[MU82]

Carton definitely is a major-college PG and he has pro potential. He's not small, he's got a burst, he's got way-above-average athletic ability, he can break down his man to create for himself and others, he can finish around the hoop, he has the ability to hit 3s, he can play D when he focuses.

That's why he has been a starting PG in the Big Ten and Big East, and why he is on some draft boards.

He needs to improve his handle and his decision-making.

DJ is our most important player, obviously, and our best player by a pretty wide margin IMHO. Would love to see him come back under a better coaching staff, yes, but would just love to see him come back period. Selfishly, it would help our team, yes, but I also think it would improve his NBA chances.

[McLintock]

Of course there is an offense to run.  Good lord please at least make your criticisms accurate ones.

Carton is a decent PG now.  He will be better as he gains more experience.

Agree to disagree.  If MU had a set offense it ran year after year it would have players that learned their roles in that offense, developed their skills to fit that role and then/therefore wouldn't turn the ball over so much year after year after year.  Unless you think MU just has poor players or players that aren't interested in improving themselves.  I don't believe that.  Wojo is just making it up as he goes along - there is nothing that MU has hung its hat on under Wojo on either end of the court.  Too much of the offense is based on freelance and MU doesn't have good enough players to run it or good enough coaching to execute it - take your pick.

[BCHoopster]

DJ does a lot of good but he has no jump shot yet, basically shoots a set shot so for him it is hard get his shot off in the lane or stop on a dime. Until he learns that hard to think he is a pro. Secondly, if Elliott is your 2 guard next year that would be a problem, to soft a player.

[brewcity77]

Agree to disagree.  If MU had a set offense it ran year after year it would have players that learned their roles in that offense, developed their skills to fit that role and then/therefore wouldn't turn the ball over so much year after year after year.  Unless you think MU just has poor players or players that aren't interested in improving themselves.  I don't believe that.  Wojo is just making it up as he goes along - there is nothing that MU has hung its hat on under Wojo on either end of the court.  Too much of the offense is based on freelance and MU doesn't have good enough players to run it or good enough coaching to execute it - take your pick.

This is preposterous. You don't string together top-50 offenses by making it up as you go along. Wojo has plenty of failings, but he's done pretty well offensively.