(debunked) Rumor: Froling Dismissed from Team

[Its DJOver]

Next year MU will have 3 Power forwards.  Add Morrow and Joey.  Sam is a stretch forward, and I am pretty sure he will have a hard time guarding players like
Mikal Bridges or anyone like him.  The question that has to be answered is can Morrow guard a 3.  If he can then, you can play them together.  I still see Cain,
Anim and maybe Bailey playing the small forward.  There will be more interchangeable parts next year, that is for sure.  Like to have one of the three bigs make a
big jump.  It would be Theo or Harry, I think you have seen the best from Matt.

I think Sam would guard a 3 before Ed ever does, and maybe using Bridges as an examples is a bad choice since very few people in the country can guard him and he will be drafted in the lottery.

I think any lineup with Harry next year will not necessarily be 1-5.  I think it will most likely be 2 bigs, 2 guards, and Sam/Cain/Bailey.  The bigs and the guards will be interchangeable, and you just play whats the best match-up on D. 

[tower912]

Sam can guard a 3.   He may get beat off the dribble from time to time, but as opposed to years past, there will actually be size behind him playing help defense.   

[DCHoopster]

Good thing Bridges will be in the NBA!

I think Sam will primarily play the 3 next year.

You really think he can guard players Bridges, Desi, Foster or Thomas, or anyone like that?  They will blow right by him.  Yes, most of those guys are gone next
year, but others will be there much like those guys.

[🏀]

You really think he can guard players Bridges, Desi, Foster or Thomas, or anyone like that?  They will blow right by him.  Yes, most of those guys are gone next
year, but others will be there much like those guys.

He absolutely can.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Not hearing anything about a dismissal. Lots of speculation on him going back home after the season or transferring... But nothing definitive just people assuming he's not happy with his role.

What I do know is this,  if Harry makes the trip to NYC,  he wasn't dismissed. If he plays a single minute from here on out then he hasn't told Wojo he's leaving yet. I know for a fact that Wojo would not play a player who has told him that he is leaving the team.

[Nukem2]

Not hearing anything about a dismissal. Lots of speculation on him going back home after the season or transferring... But nothing definitive just people assuming he's not happy with his role.

What I do know is this,  if Harry makes the trip to NYC,  he wasn't dismissed. If he plays a single minute from here on out then he hasn't told Wojo he's leaving yet. I know for a fact that Wojo would not play a player who has told him that he is leaving the team.

Yup.  Haanif Cheatham and Traci Carter are Exhibits #1 and #2 of that fact.  As soon as they said they were transferring, they were no longer on the team.   

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

You really think he can guard players Bridges, Desi, Foster or Thomas, or anyone like that?  They will blow right by him.  Yes, most of those guys are gone next
year, but others will be there much like those guys.

Guard them? Absolutely. Lock them down?  No... But very few people can. And three of those guys will be gone fo sho, and I think the 4th one goes too.

Foster and Thomas also aren't 3s... They are 2s who sometimes play the 3

[Daniel]

If Harry is yet another player unhappy with his role, or wants to go home, or whatever, theynanother mis-read by the staff, especially after sitting out a year to potentially play in like 15 games or less.  But recruiting is a tough game.   I like Harry and hope he stays. 

[Herman Cain]

Sam can guard a 3.   He may get beat off the dribble from time to time, but as opposed to years past, there will actually be size behind him playing help defense.

Several times this year Sam guarded players like Brunson.

[DCHoopster]

Guard them? Absolutely. Lock them down?  No... But very few people can. And three of those guys will be gone fo sho, and I think the 4th one goes too.

Foster and Thomas also aren't 3s... They are 2s who sometimes play the 3

I know most of those players will be gone, but other 6'6" small forwards will be there.  Diallo, Strus, and teams playing 3 guards.  But can they guard Sam as well.
So it is fun to conjecture.

[DCHoopster]

Several times this year Sam guarded players like Brunson.

I say this about Sam, he really improved his game over his freshman to soph season,  He could not even dribble the ball as frosh nor post a player.  His next big move,
is to improve his jumping ability and lateral quickness.  I can see him working on that this summer.  Guarding a Brunson no, but a small forward, yes.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

If Harry is yet another player unhappy with his role, or wants to go home, or whatever, theynanother mis-read by the staff, especially after sitting out a year to potentially play in like 15 games or less.  But recruiting is a tough game.   I like Harry and hope he stays.

Hard to have 13 guys all pleased with the roles. 

[Daniel]

Hard to have 13 guys all pleased with the roles.

True - but someone did an analysis on our turnover rate and the national average is about 40% and ours was closer to 60%.  But I agree - I can't even remember when we had 13 schollie players last lol

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Did you hear something about this, or are you just assuming he's still with the team since there hasn't been any news about it?

This is what I heard.  Reliable source.  Felt the need to nip this rumor in the bud.

[DCHoopster]

True - but someone did an analysis on our turnover rate and the national average is about 40% and ours was closer to 60%.  But I agree - I can't even remember when we had 13 schollie players last lol

Since most teams play 9 players or 10 tops, you can see why kids transfer.  They want to play.  Happens everywhere.  Most teams do not have 13, they have lots
of walk-ons.  If MU gets that 13th player next year, how happy will be Froling, Eke, and Bailey be.  Or for that matter, Heldt and Anim, as those three mentioned before
might be better.  Have to bring it everyday in practice.  That is what most coaches want.  MU has been short most of Wojos tenure here until next year.

[Herman Cain]

I say this about Sam, he really improved his game over his freshman to soph season,  He could not even dribble the ball as frosh nor post a player.  His next big move,
is to improve his jumping ability and lateral quickness.  I can see him working on that this summer.  Guarding a Brunson no, but a small forward, yes.

I saw him briefly guard Brunson and another quality guard ( can't remember who) this season and Sam used his size well on those occasions. Yes, he is not ready to guard those quick guys every possession, but if he works on the skills you outlined above , I think he can definitely be effective next year against a small forward.

[NickelDimer]

This is what I heard.  Reliable source.  Felt the need to nip this rumor in the bud.

Good. I still think we would've beat DePaul had Harry played last time. Hoping he gets minutes Wednesday. Thanks for the info

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Mods, I think you should change the thread title. Bit of a bad look.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

I would take Harry over Otule, Ooze, Merritt, Grimm, Roseboro, McMorrow, Mbao, Kinsella, Lott, Amorosa.     Pretty any much any 6'10 guy from those two eras except Jackson and Gardner.   And Gardner was 6'7.   Maybe Merritt, but I remember him as a turnover machine who was only successful when playing next to Jackson.   I think time has fogged your memory about the shortcomings of all of those guys and the frustration here over (A) their development and (B) the lack of quality big men that either coach could land.    Granted, Crowder, Hayward, and Butler made lemonade out of lemons and turned having to guard 5 positions into NBA time.   But I think you are letting short term frustration distort long term perspective.       

Are u nuts?? Harry over Merritt?  Harry over ooze or otule??!!!
One can only surmise you never saw those guys play??  Merritt was a 3 yr starter including on a Final Four team, yes people butched he was soft, but that is relative.  He was an Fin bruiser compared to harry with a significantly better offensive skill set.  A Top 75 recruit n 1000 point scorer on loaded teams.  Man thats a topper!!
Also harry in no way shape or form compares to Ooze or Otule.  Chris was an outstanding defensive center and while he did not rebound extremely well could clear the lane for others offensively n defensively.  Ooze additionally while not offensively gufted was extremely athletic and did many of the little things that i have not come close to seeing.
Dont get me wrong, harry has been in flux.  I would like to see him dig in and develop the toughness that is required of a collegiate 5 in a Big 6 conference.  He has the size and has shown some skill but that doesnt matter until he develops the toughness n selfless attitude. 
He is night and day from those three horrible examples, i may even argue id take Grimm and  Lott over him right now.  He has a ton of potential but that is the most over used word in athletics

[Galway Eagle]

Froling in NYC with the team via Snapchat. I feel weird adding people I'm 7 years older than on Snapchat to find out if this rumor was true.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

If Harry is yet another player unhappy with his role, or wants to go home, or whatever, theynanother mis-read by the staff, especially after sitting out a year to potentially play in like 15 games or less.  But recruiting is a tough game.   I like Harry and hope he stays.

I don't see how recruiting Froling can be seen as a miss.  Marquette was looking at Heldt as the starter, with a 6'9" out of the top 100 freshman recruit as his back-up.  How do you NOT take a flyer on a 6-11 skilled big man?

Unless he was blocking us from recruiting a more talented big, which I don't think was the case, anything MU gets out of Harry is gravy.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Next Year's Bigs are Heldt, Froling, Theo, Morrow, Both Hausers and Brenden Bailey.  All are 6'7" or taller.

Otherwise, how do you define "big"?

You left out Ike.

[Loose Cannon]

Froling in NYC with the team via Snapchat. I feel weird adding people I'm 7 years older than on Snapchat to find out if this rumor was true.

Thanks.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

I think we'll just have to agree to disagree because we are on completely different pages. You must see some massive potential in Harry take him over guys who earned their minutes week in and week out. We haven't had any dominant big men, but we've had plenty of good role players who contributed to the teams they were on. Guys like Otule and Ousmanne and Merritt weren't out there single-handedly winning games for their teams, but they played solid minutes and did their jobs well enough. Sure, they could have been replaced by other big men pretty easily, but I'd still say they were better at the roles they played than Harry is now. Maybe Harry makes a big leap this summer, but I just don't see the minutes coming next year for us to ever find out.

Smh totally agree
All three were 3 yr starters on extremely good teams for the bulk of their tenure.  All three of them were starting n significant contributors during this point in their sophomore years.  And its being discussed that harry who cant get off the bench behind lesser player than the three aformentuoned, yet tower would take harry?!
Lay off the crack

[skianth16]

I don't see how recruiting Froling can be seen as a miss.  Marquette was looking at Heldt as the starter, with a 6'9" out of the top 100 freshman recruit as his back-up.  How do you NOT take a flyer on a 6-11 skilled big man?

Unless he was blocking us from recruiting a more talented big, which I don't think was the case, anything MU gets out of Harry is gravy.

If Harry leaves, which is TBD right now, we will have used 2 years worth of scholarships on him with pretty limited output. Hard to find a silver lining there. Wojo knew he'd have Theo and Ike this year with Morrow eligible next year. I don't think he really needed to try to add a big for this year. I get why he did it, but I'm assuming there were other ways he could have tried to fill that scholarship spot.