2023 Portal Transfers

[The Equalizer]

Well said. There's no question that bringing in an high- level replacement would help tremendously. It's just that when the downside-messing with the system/culture what got us to where we are-outweighs the upside of a high-level transfer. It comes down to a balance scale decision, and I think Shaka passes on the transfer option.

Not very often that I disagree with Goose, but I do on this matter.

How do you explain Shaka's recruitment of Joson Sanon?  Do you really think Shaka told the #12 ranked HS player that he's going to be a backup for two or three years while Zaide Lowrey and Damarius Owens work through their eligibility?

The mere fact that Shaka is already recruiting over a couple of guys yet to play their first game demonstrates that fealty to culture is going to take a back seat to building the best team possible. If there's an opportunity to improve the team, he's going to take it.

[lawdog77]

How do you explain Shaka's recruitment of Joson Sanon?  Do you really think Shaka told the #12 ranked HS player that he's going to be a backup for two or three years while Zaide Lowrey and Damarius Owens work through their eligibility?

The mere fact that Shaka is already recruiting over a couple of guys yet to play their first game demonstrates that fealty to culture is going to take a back seat to building the best team possible. If there's an opportunity to improve the team, he's going to take it.

Big difference between Shaka recruiting high school kids versus grabbing a guy from the portal

[Scoop Snoop]

Big difference between Shaka recruiting high school kids versus grabbing a guy from the portal

If it supports his belief, let a minor detail like this slide.

[Goose]

Shaka has picked up four guys from the portal and everyone fit his culture and were not major gets on paper. Not sure why anyone would not believe that there are similar fits every year. I do not Shaka is going to chase the big fish, but there are a lot of talented players in the portal every year that can be a good fit.

[Uncle Rico]

Shaka has picked up four guys from the portal and everyone fit his culture and were not major gets on paper. Not sure why anyone would not believe that there are similar fits every year. I do not Shaka is going to chase the big fish, but there are a lot of talented players in the portal every year that can be a good fit.

This

Also, the kid better damn well not have good sidewalks

[jfp61]

Shaka has picked up four guys from the portal and everyone fit his culture and were not major gets on paper. Not sure why anyone would not believe that there are similar fits every year. I do not Shaka is going to chase the big fish, but there are a lot of talented players in the portal every year that can be a good fit.

And if shaka does chase a big fish that's probably a bad thing because it means Omax told him he is 100% gone.  And then we can probably throw away our top 5 team/ NCAA Championship aspirations.

[SaveOD238]

Two former MU targets went in the portal today

D'Marco Dunn and Mac Etienne

https://twitter.com/jeffborzello/status/1656746354306084873

https://twitter.com/247HSHoops/status/1656724772477075462

Etienne didn't really live up to the hype at UCLA, but he could fill that "back up big" role we need.  I don't know much about his defensive ability though, and that's probably what we're looking for more than anything.

[brewcity77]

And if shaka does chase a big fish that's probably a bad thing because it means Omax told him he is 100% gone.  And then we can probably throw away our top 5 team/ NCAA Championship aspirations.

If we lose O-Max and add no one, I fully expect next year's offense to be better and think top-5 and NCAA Championship are still completely valid expectations. We're better with him, but we're still one of the best teams in the country without him.

[The Equalizer]

Big difference between Shaka recruiting high school kids versus grabbing a guy from the portal

Not to the player getting recruited over.

[jfp61]

How do you explain Shaka's recruitment of Joson Sanon?  Do you really think Shaka told the #12 ranked HS player that he's going to be a backup for two or three years while Zaide Lowrey and Damarius Owens work through their eligibility?

The mere fact that Shaka is already recruiting over a couple of guys yet to play their first game demonstrates that fealty to culture is going to take a back seat to building the best team possible. If there's an opportunity to improve the team, he's going to take it.

Joson Sanon, who shaka has been already recruiting for over a year, is still only 16 years old and in the class of 2025. Shaka started recruiting him when he was going into his sophmore year. At the time he was at BABC, the same AAU team as Tre Norman. Working with CJ Ward who also trained Tyler Kolek and was his prep school coach.

The basis and backbone of Shaka's recruiting is relationships not "improvement at all costs". You recruit people by telling them the truth, trying to help them accomplish their goals.

Also..... Joson Sanon is clearly a guard if you have watched him play. Likely a combo/two guard.

[We R Final Four]

Shaka has picked up four guys from the portal and everyone fit his culture and were not major gets on paper. Not sure why anyone would not believe that there are similar fits every year. I do not Shaka is going to chase the big fish, but there are a lot of talented players in the portal every year that can be a good fit.

A transfer coming to MU this year on a top 5 team, getting 22 minutes/game would be the definition of chasing a big fish.

[Goose]

Final Four

You obviously have more confidence that the incoming freshmen can replace the minutes lost by an Omax departure. Fair enough. Again, time will tell. For the record, if someone is signed, I will be curious to see the take of some scoopers. I would hope it would be disappointment because of how it would upset the culture and there are not 22 minutes available.

[jfp61]

If we lose O-Max and add no one, I fully expect next year's offense to be better and think top-5 and NCAA Championship are still completely valid expectations. We're better with him, but we're still one of the best teams in the country without him.

For me i see it like this.

If Omax comes back, I don't think MU will leave the top 12 no matter what happens. And we might sit at 3rd all season and have a shot at an NCAA championship.

If he doesn't come back, it will take Shaka breaking through with multiple guys again to reach those top 5 heights. I think realistically without him we would sit around 10th, and have a floor near the back half of the top 25 and a ceiling of 5th or 6th. It would rely too heavily on Joplin and Gold becoming viable defensive players.

We just don't have a path to a top 20 defense without Omax.

[jfp61]

Not to the player getting recruited over.

Sanon is a guard. It will just really be Sean Jones and Tre Norman on the roster. And he and Tre know each other.

[Nukem2]

For me i see it like this.

If Omax comes back, I don't think MU will leave the top 12 no matter what happens. And we might sit at 3rd all season and have a shot at an NCAA championship.

If he doesn't come back, it will take Shaka breaking through with multiple guys again to reach those top 5 heights. I think realistically without him we would sit around 10th, and have a floor near the back half of the top 25 and a ceiling of 5th or 6th. It would rely too heavily on Joplin and Gold becoming viable defensive players.

We just don't have a path to a top 20 defense without Omax.

Agree. The D without OMax's length and flexibility is just far different.

[bilsu]

avid

To not fill a valuable spot on preseason top 10 team seems crazy to me. Time will tell what will happen, but I am betting an addition to the team.

One of the things which made us good last year was team chemistry. Bringing in a transfer can have a negative effect on this. I be happy if they brought back Wrightsel, because he fit in with the team chemistry and would be a valuable practice player. Bringing in a player from the transfer portal is bringing in someone, who was not happy were they were at.

[MU82]

I believe Shaka is very capable of recruiting talented players at every position while still being honest with his players and still focusing on "culture."

One could argue that signing Lowery and Norman was "recruiting over" Chase and Sean, but that would be a poor argument IMHO. This isn't bitty ball. Athletes have to earn their spots, and a coach who wants to contend for conference titles and deep NCAAT runs must keep recruiting talented players. A big part of a coach's job is handling egos, and I think Shaka's pretty good at that.

Basically, I'm in the "I trust Shaka" camp. I simply assume that if he brings in somebody, especially if O-Max leaves, Shaka will feel good about what that player will bring both on the court and to the program's culture.

[We R Final Four]

Final Four

You obviously have more confidence that the incoming freshmen can replace the minutes lost by an Omax departure. Fair enough. Again, time will tell. For the record, if someone is signed, I will be curious to see the take of some scoopers. I would hope it would be disappointment because of how it would upset the culture and there are not 22 minutes available.

Goose-

You are backpedaling a little bit here.
If OMax doesn't return...
You have gone from....we need a high impacter transfer who will get 20-22 minutes/gm to..........I think we will sign someone.
It would not shock me to see Zach or a Jayce Johnson (Oso backup) 10-12 minute guy come on board, but Omax will not be replaced by Omax 2.0 through the portal.
Shaka's strength lies in his ability to develop a team. He knows what he's doing. He hasn't bumped his head. He is not going to sign a high impact transfer, which means giving him $$, to satisfy your expectations.
If Omax doesn't return, I expect Jop, Ben, Chase and maybe others to fill any voids. Shaka's staff is a creative bunch.
As far as the freshman, I don't expect any of them to significantly replace OMax minutes.
I hope Tre is what we want him to be as a frosh, but I dont think he is figuring into this equation.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Bill Self transfers in Dickinson and then loses a McDonald's AA as a result. MU has a chance to win it all next year, so damn right Shaka should bring in an impact transfer if he has the chance. Losing Omax makes the team weaker, and last year's team had holes to start with (namely rebounding).

[The Equalizer]

Joson Sanon, who shaka has been already recruiting for over a year, is still only 16 years old and in the class of 2025. Shaka started recruiting him when he was going into his sophmore year. At the time he was at BABC, the same AAU team as Tre Norman. Working with CJ Ward who also trained Tyler Kolek and was his prep school coach.

The basis and backbone of Shaka's recruiting is relationships not "improvement at all costs". You recruit people by telling them the truth, trying to help them accomplish their goals.

Also..... Joson Sanon is clearly a guard if you have watched him play. Likely a combo/two guard.

Your opinion notwithstanding, ESPN, On3, Rivals, 247, etc. all list him as a SF.  And that's how he's identified in just about every article on his play and recruitment.  It doesn't matter because regardless of position, there are other players already on the roster in his position.

I also don't see Sonan on Tre's BABC team roster, so are they really on the same team, or just in the same program?
https://www.theseasonticket.com/roster/show/6092280-babc-3ssb-ma-?subseason=726284
Possibly the same program, but different teams?

The basis and backbone of Shaka's recruiting is relationships not "improvement at all costs". You recruit people by telling them the truth, trying to help them accomplish their goals.

Shaka is recruiting a potential 5-star player who blew up recently and he's been building that relationship for years. If Sonan commits to Marquette, he will likely pass multiple players on the depth chart on the day he arrives.  In other words, someone is most likely getting recruited over.

At the same time, some here swear up and down that Shaka would never recruit over his current players because he values relationships and culture too much to risk it in order to land a better recruit.

These are incompatible situations.

My observation is that since Shaka hasn't backed off Sanon after he blew up, the latter statement lacks credibility.
 

[Its DJOver]

Didn't Shaka recruit over Keeyan when he got Gold?

If Shaka thinks there is a need for an upgrade in talent, he should address that.  He wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't.

[brewcity77]

For me i see it like this.

If Omax comes back, I don't think MU will leave the top 12 no matter what happens. And we might sit at 3rd all season and have a shot at an NCAA championship.

If he doesn't come back, it will take Shaka breaking through with multiple guys again to reach those top 5 heights. I think realistically without him we would sit around 10th, and have a floor near the back half of the top 25 and a ceiling of 5th or 6th. It would rely too heavily on Joplin and Gold becoming viable defensive players.

We just don't have a path to a top 20 defense without Omax.

Defensively he'll be tough to replace. Will need a lot of improvement from Joplin and Gold, though Jop's hands (and ability to generate turnovers) got better as the year went on, and while the first year results with Oso/Gold weren't great on defense, I think there's a lot of tinkering that could be done there to make that duo work on the defensive end. Maybe deploy Oso as the post on offense with Gold on the wing, then switch and let Oso take the bigger wing/forward while Gold provides rim protection on the defensive end.

I think there was definitely some worry about the defense regressing without Morsell and Kuath (and to a lesser extent, Justin) and instead it improved. I wouldn't put it past this staff to continue to get defensive improvement as these players get more comfortable in the system. Top-20 might be a steep hill to climb, but I think #1 offense and top-30 defense is on the table even without O-Max.

That would be similar to two of the last three champions. Entering the tournament, Baylor was ranked #44 and Kansas was ranked #29 in adjusted defensive efficiency.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Joson Sanon, who shaka has been already recruiting for over a year, is still only 16 years old and in the class of 2025. Shaka started recruiting him when he was going into his sophmore year. At the time he was at BABC, the same AAU team as Tre Norman. Working with CJ Ward who also trained Tyler Kolek and was his prep school coach.

I am still perplexed on Tyler's high school recruitment. At first, I thought maybe he was just an under the radar guy. But, his dad was a great college player, he came from a great AAU program who also produced Connaughton, went to a known basketball prep team, was known by Cooley and other BE coaches. How the heck is his best offer George Mason and how the heck do their play him at 2G?

At least with Dwade and Crowder there were academics involved on their misses...but next to Jimmy Butler (although there was a mythical Kentucky offer), has here been a bigger miss by the rating services? Incredible success story for Tyler and Shaka.

[Goose]

Final Four

I am not backpedaling at all. I think Shaka brings in a guy that will play 20-22 minutes and fill the Omax role. I am saying no one on here, myself included, had heard of Omax, Kolek or Kur before their arrival and I believe there is that type of player out there for next season.

[MU82]

Didn't Shaka recruit over Keeyan when he got Gold?

If Shaka thinks there is a need for an upgrade in talent, he should address that.  He wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't.

Yessir.

This notion that Shaka is too good a guy to not "recruit over" a current or incoming player is silliness.

You bring in talented players and create competition for playing time, and the best players win most of that playing time. And if you are good at the very important ego-management part of your job, your team chemistry and culture are A-OK.