Power Forward Khadeem Lattin NOT coming

[moomoo]

He said it is between Texas and Oklahoma.

That leaves Jabari Craig and Tory Miller as the only KNOWN bigs left on the board for 2014.

Guys, I know college hoops is guard and switchable driven, and I actually like the fact that Marquette is known for those players.  But while I was reading one of the college hoops magazines over he weekend, a quote stood out to me.  It said, while the writer was doubting another team's chances to go far in the tourney (a team that I can't remember right now), something to the effect of "You'd be hard to find a national championship team in the last twenty years with no one on their roster greater than 6 foot 8 inches". 

Ouch.

[GGGG]

I would be surprised if MU doesn't land a big in this class.  If not Miller or Craig, then someone else...spring signing...Juco transfer...whatever.

[Abode4life]

He said it is between Texas and Oklahoma.

That leaves Jabari Craig and Tory Miller as the only KNOWN bigs left on the board for 2014.

Guys, I know college hoops is guard and switchable driven, and I actually like the fact that Marquette is known for those players.  But while I was reading one of the college hoops magazines over he weekend, a quote stood out to me.  It said, while the writer was doubting another team's chances to go far in the tourney (a team that I can't remember right now), something to the effect of "You'd be hard to find a national championship team in the last twenty years with no one on their roster greater than 6 foot 8 inches". 

Ouch.

Good thing Taylor supposedly grew to 6"9!

[Litehouse]

Is Jabari Craig planning on coming for a visit?  I've never seen him play, but from the reviews he sounds a little bit like Ousmane Barro, athletic big that can run the floor.

[GGGG]

Is Jabari Craig planning on coming for a visit?  I've never seen him play, but from the reviews he's sounds a little bit like Ousmane Barro, athletic big that can run the floor.

Nothing is scheduled yet.

Miller is coming to madness along with Ahmed Hill and Marial Shayok. 

[Markusquette]

I don't see us mentioned with Craig on any recruiting sites.  Doesn't seem very likely.  As for bigs available, Miller seems like a more athletic Davante.  Hope we can land him.

[MUCrew]

Nothing is scheduled yet.

Miller is coming to madness along with Ahmed Hill and Marial Shayok.  

Shayok may be leaning towards UL, via twitter.  Can't find the exact tweet, but it was something I saw over the weekend.

Edit: Cassell Jr.  NOT Shayok

[GGGG]

Shayok may be leaning towards UL, via twitter.  Can't find the exact tweet, but it was something I saw over the weekend.

Are you sure you aren't thinking Cassell?  He was on an official there last weekend.  I don't think Shayok is even on their radar.

[MUCrew]

Are you sure you aren't thinking Cassell?  He was on an official there last weekend.  I don't think Shayok is even on their radar.

Yup that was him.  My bad

[Dawson Rental]

I don't see us mentioned with Craig on any recruiting sites.  Doesn't seem very likely.  As for bigs available, Miller seems like a more athletic Davante.  Hope we can land him.

Miller will be a quality player, but implying that he'll be better than Davante is foolish.  Davante has a very unique skill set.  I don't expect to see anyone as skilled at creating his own shot in the paint and with his free throw prowess anytime soon at Marquette.

[bilsu]

Miller will be a quality player, but implying that he'll be better than Davante is foolish.  Davante has a very unique skill set.  I don't expect to see anyone as skilled at creating his own shot in the paint and with his free throw prowess anytime soon at Marquette.

He is not likely to be a better offensive player, but he could be a better rebounder and defender. Outside of getting rebounds on his own misses Gardner is not a great rebounder. For what it is worth the Iowa board, who is also hoping to get Miller, think he is a Colorado lean.

[brewcity77]

A few thoughts on this...

• Didn't expect Lattin. Would have been a nice player, but I think the staff moved on awhile ago. Hadn't heard us mentioned in months.
  
• McKay is between 6'9" and 6'10" without shoes, as I recall
  
• Cassell seemed between us and Mizzou before UL came into the picture. I think Pitino lands him, though may be disappointed to do so after having two top PGs decommit and Cassell not really being a PG.
  
• Craig would be a surprise. His stock seems to be soaring.
  
• I like our odds with Miller. He got out of Colorado without a commit. I think Buzz goes full-force for him at Madness. We haven't had commits at Madness in a few years. I think this year we could see 2-3.
  
• Miller does look like a more athletic Davante. That doesn't mean he'll be better than Davante. As Murs points out, Davante is incredibly unique, but that doesn't change that Miller has a similar frame and playing style with more athleticism. There are just some things that go Davante's way that other men his size simply can't muster (free throws, wildly off-balance putbacks, etc).

[Markusquette]

Miller will be a quality player, but implying that he'll be better than Davante is foolish.  Davante has a very unique skill set.  I don't expect to see anyone as skilled at creating his own shot in the paint and with his free throw prowess anytime soon at Marquette.

Whoa whoa, I never implied he would be better.  Just because someone appears to be more athletic (in a basketball sense) does not imply that at all.  I'm comparing the two of them when Davante was in high school.  I don't recall ever seeing Davante get up and dunk quite the way that Miller is doing in some of the highlight videos I have seen.  There were a number of times so far at Marquette where DG barely converted wide open dunks in-game.  And Tory seems to be a bit faster overall. 

The overall comparison is merely because of their similarity in build and a bruiser PF style of play.  I won't say that he doesn't have the potential to become better, because we have no clue.  Not a single fan knew Davante would grow to be the player he is today, so all judgment is reserved.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I would be surprised if MU doesn't land a big in this class.  If not Miller or Craig, then someone else...spring signing...Juco transfer...whatever.

What about Travon Bunch? I know nothing about him but a 6"10 3 star in our own backyard seems like it should be a priority. I think he has a scholarship offer from Buzz. Anyone know anything about him?

[brewcity77]

What about Travon Bunch? I know nothing about him but a 6"10 3 star in our own backyard seems like it should be a priority. I think he has a scholarship offer from Buzz. Anyone know anything about him?

I get the sense Bunch is behind quite a few names in the pecking order. If we miss out on guys like Craig and Miller, it wouldn't surprise me to see us pursue him more seriously.

[brandx]

Guys, I know college hoops is guard and switchable driven, and I actually like the fact that Marquette is known for those players.  But while I was reading one of the college hoops magazines over he weekend, a quote stood out to me.  It said, while the writer was doubting another team's chances to go far in the tourney (a team that I can't remember right now), something to the effect of "You'd be hard to find a national championship team in the last twenty years with no one on their roster greater than 6 foot 8 inches". 

Ouch.

And we're stuck with only three. Should we concede now?

[kmwtrucks]

Teams that have no height, general have to rely on outside shooting.  To win 6 games in a row you need to be able to win without shooting the ball well, and more to the point win not shooting the ball well from the outside, which means you need to get extra possessions, one big way is OFF rebounds and not giving up OFF rebounds, which is not a trademark of small teams.

Just look at the Mid Majors that have gone to S16 or E8 they all had size.

[Stretchdeltsig]

If Taylor is 6'9" why is listed at 6'7" on the MU roster?

It seems that the MU roster tends to list the players' heights shorter than reality.

[GGGG]

If Taylor is 6'9" why is listed at 6'7" on the MU roster?

There was talk of him still growing and that he is now up to 6'9".  Not sure if that is the case or not.

[bilsu]

If Taylor is 6'9" why is listed at 6'7" on the MU roster?

It seems that the MU roster tends to list the players' heights shorter than reality.

The roster the last time I looked also listed Gardner at 290, I do not think they bothered to change data from last year except for additions and deletions.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Has anyone checked on Willie?

[MUCrew]

Are you sure you aren't thinking Cassell?  He was on an official there last weekend.  I don't think Shayok is even on their radar.

Speaking of Shayok, 247 predicting MU (8 of 8)

http://247sports.com/Player/Marial-Shayok-29300

[esotericmindguy]

Speaking of Shayok, 247 predicting MU (8 of 8)

http://247sports.com/Player/Marial-Shayok-29300

Shayok, Harris, Hill and Cohen? If Shayok and Hill commit I'm left confused, especially considering the wings and guards coming in this year.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

Not every offer is created equally. I'm guessing Hill absolutely has a spot set aside for him if he wants it. I would hazard to guess that Shayok and Cassell have an invitation to demonstrate their interest and Buzz would be willing to oversign for Tory Miller (or potentially pass on Shayok/Cassell). I'd also imagine Buzz has his people scouring the JUCO ranks for a big.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Shayok, Harris, Hill and Cohen? If Shayok and Hill commit I'm left confused, especially considering the wings and guards coming in this year.

I do agree but I'm not as worried as I used to be. If Taylor truly grew to 6"9, then we can afford to wait to 2015 for a big. Buzz has offers out to six or seven top 50 bigs in 2015. We will land one of them.

There's also the possibility of oversigning with either Miller, Craig, Bunch, a juco, or a senior transfer. We seem to lose at least a player a year to unexpected circumstances.