Omax declares

[goldeneagle91114]

The deadline to put your name is was yesterday. But you can still withdraw and return to NCAA play until May 31st, right?

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

The deadline to put your name is was yesterday. But you can still withdraw and return to NCAA play until May 31st, right?

Yes, that's the NCAA deadline. (The NBA one is a couple of weeks later.)

[GoldenEagles03]

If OMax leaves Marquette should find some NIL donors for this guy.

https://twitter.com/CourtsideFilms/status/1645422219898630144?t=sZPj5KFus0X9d0O-eCCgKA&s=19

Some speculation that Grant Nelson will indeed hit the portal soon.

I'd jump out of my seat if Marquette actually contacted him.

He's going to be off to the NBA next year so it'd be a 1 year thing for whoever gets him.

[avid1010]

Some speculation that Grant Nelson will indeed hit the portal soon.

I'd jump out of my seat if Marquette actually contacted him.

He's going to be off to the NBA next year so it'd be a 1 year thing for whoever gets him.

I think the thought is instead of handing this kid a bag of cash...you recruit a Ben Gold type player to MU...develop him for 3 years...and hope he can do similar things.  Then you use the relationship and growth, along with what NIL $ we have, to keep him from transferring.  I'm not a "never use the portal" guy...but I love how Shaka is handling it...especially given what MU is and isn't.

[lawdog77]

I think the thought is instead of handing this kid a bag of cash...you recruit a Ben Gold type player to MU...develop him for 3 years...and hope he can do similar things.  Then you use the relationship and growth, along with what NIL $ we have, to keep him from transferring.  I'm not a "never use the portal" guy...but I love how Shaka is handling it...especially given what MU is and isn't.

Exactly, throwing big bags of $$ at 1 year players is the direct opposite of what Saka preaches publicly.

[Coleman]

I think the thought is instead of handing this kid a bag of cash...you recruit a Ben Gold type player to MU...develop him for 3 years...and hope he can do similar things.  Then you use the relationship and growth, along with what NIL $ we have, to keep him from transferring.  I'm not a "never use the portal" guy...but I love how Shaka is handling it...especially given what MU is and isn't.

This is definitely Shaka's MO and you're probably right that throwing cash at a 1 year guy isn't something MU will really do much of, if at all.

HOWEVER, next year is a very unique opportunity in that if OMax is gone, we are 1 big guy away from literally being the best team in the country. To me, it might be worth plugging that hole with a 1 year player because of this unique opportunity.

But if not, I still feel good about Gold/Jop stepping up.

[GoldenEagles03]

This is definitely Shaka's MO and you're probably right that throwing cash at a 1 year guy isn't something MU will really do much of, if at all.

HOWEVER, next year is a very unique opportunity in that if OMax is gone, we are 1 big guy away from literally being the best team in the country. To me, it might be worth plugging that hole with a 1 year player because of this unique opportunity.

But if not, I still feel good about Gold/Jop stepping up.

+1

[Goose]

I have said it multiple times, if Shaka thinks this legit top 5 team, he needs to find a fit to replace Omax, if needed. It would be a wasted opportunity not to fill that spot and provide more firepower to the team.

[panda]

I have said it multiple times, if Shaka thinks this legit top 5 team, he needs to find a fit to replace Omax, if needed. It would be a wasted opportunity not to fill that spot and provide more firepower to the team.

Agree - all of this culture talk is great, but when the rubber meets the road, the transfer portal needs to be utilized.

[MuggsyB]

Agree - all of this culture talk is great, but when the rubber meets the road, the transfer portal needs to be utilized.

It's mostly about his defense if he doesn't return.    I would be looking for a 6'6-6'9 switchable who can rebound and defend. 

[Goose]

Muggsy

I agree. Cannot miss out on a golden opportunity, if it is a golden opportunity. We will see how Shaka handles things. If he grabs a portal guy, I am all in for a deep run next season. If not, I trust Shaka building for the long haul.

[BCHoopster]

Goose, it would be a shame not to try and get a wing who can play D and rebound as Joplin or Gold are not great defensive players. They can go small, but to win it all you need another big, unless Amadeu is better then what we think, trust Shaka.

[PointWarrior]

Muggsy

I agree. Cannot miss out on a golden opportunity, if it is a golden opportunity. We will see how Shaka handles things. If he grabs a portal guy, I am all in for a deep run next season. If not, I trust Shaka building for the long haul.

Goose - without Omax, I am not sure it reverts to “building for the long haul”

[rocket surgeon]

regardless if we are a "top 5' or not, we do have a pretty solid squad with a hc who can put the pieces together.  with that being sad, you would think shaka has some options we wouldn't necessarily have had in the past knocking on the door. 

   i'm a 6' 6'-6' 9' banger who can hit the midrange j, i've got MU on the top of my list

[brewcity77]

regardless if we are a "top 5' or not, we do have a pretty solid squad with a hc who can put the pieces together.  with that being sad, you would think shaka has some options we wouldn't necessarily have had in the past knocking on the door. 

   i'm a 6' 6'-6' 9' banger who can hit the midrange j dunk and hit threes, i've got MU on the top of my list

FIFY

[avid1010]

Agree - all of this culture talk is great, but when the rubber meets the road, the transfer portal needs to be utilized.

All of this culture talk is 100% important...and it's why MU won the BEAST x2 last year.  Shaka has built this program to heights no one thought he would this quickly...i struggle with suggesting he change his ways and compromise his integrity and culture with his team for a golden opportunity that most likely will not result in a FF run.  I'll take consistently solid teams that will always put MU in a position to make a run.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

regardless if we are a "top 5' or not, we do have a pretty solid squad with a hc who can put the pieces together.  with that being sad, you would think shaka has some options we wouldn't necessarily have had in the past knocking on the door. 

   i'm a 6' 6'-6' 9' banger who can hit the midrange j, i've got MU on the top of my list

Do you watch them play?  Marquette never takes midrange jumpers.

[The Equalizer]

I think the thought is instead of handing this kid a bag of cash...you recruit a Ben Gold type player to MU...develop him for 3 years...and hope he can do similar things.  Then you use the relationship and growth, along with what NIL $ we have, to keep him from transferring.  I'm not a "never use the portal" guy...but I love how Shaka is handling it...especially given what MU is and isn't.

The problem with this thinking is that it's inconsistent with our current scholarship situation.  Everyone ignores that Oso and Kolek are eligible for their COVID year in 24-25.

We are one under for 23-24--and possibly two under if OMax leaves.

With the addition of Parham and Owens, we are one over for 24-25 if everyone returns. Two over if OMax returns.

One can assume that someone is going to leave and the problem will take care of itself. Fair enough.

But what if that doesn't happen?  What if all our younger players want to come back because we have a great team and outstanding culture? What if Kolek and Oso don't quite get over the NBA hump and believe a 5th year at MU is their best option (especially given the focus of our NIL efforts is on retention).

Given we already have a situation where someone HAS to leave early, do we exacerbate it by taking another player who will still be around in 24-25?

[MU82]

The problem with this thinking is that it's inconsistent with our current scholarship situation.  Everyone ignores that Oso and Kolek are eligible for their COVID year in 24-25.

We are one under for 23-24--and possibly two under if OMax leaves.

With the addition of Parham and Owens, we are one over for 24-25 if everyone returns. Two over if OMax returns.

One can assume that someone is going to leave and the problem will take care of itself. Fair enough.

But what if that doesn't happen?  What if all our younger players want to come back because we have a great team and outstanding culture? What if Kolek and Oso don't quite get over the NBA hump and believe a 5th year at MU is their best option (especially given the focus of our NIL efforts is on retention).

Given we already have a situation where someone HAS to leave early, do we exacerbate it by taking another player who will still be around in 24-25?

If you are Shaka, you do not assume Kolek and Oso return for 2024-25. You keep recruiting; you keep building a roster you believe can compete for a national title.

And if one or both happen to return, you deal with it when it happens. That's exactly what Shaka did when he went over 13 this year -- despite the concern of several Scoopers.

There will always be a couple/few players you can strongly suggest would benefit from entering the transfer portal and moving down a level. I don't think it makes Shaka a bad guy that he probably suggested just that to Itejere and Ellis.

[StillAWarrior]

There will always be a couple/few players you can strongly suggest would benefit from entering the transfer portal and moving down a level.

Just ask Coach Deion. 

I don't think it makes Shaka a bad guy that he probably suggested just that to Itejere and Ellis.

Absolutely not. Actually, it's the best thing he could do for them. This was exactly my point when people started speculating that if OMax leaves Itejere or Ellis might decide to come back. It's quite possible -- likely even -- that their decision to enter the portal followed a frank conversation with Shaka during which he told them that he didn't see them cracking the lineup in the foreseeable future. There's only so much playing time to go around. If those guys weren't playing this season (I'm aware Ellis was injured) and Shaka honestly believed that they were going to buried below next year's freshmen on the depth chart, the kindest thing he can do for them is to let them know so they can find a better opportunity for themselves. I suspect Shaka tries to be very honest with his players and sometimes that means telling them that they're never going to see the court and might want to enter the portal.

[panda]

All of this culture talk is 100% important...and it's why MU won the BEAST x2 last year.  Shaka has built this program to heights no one thought he would this quickly...i struggle with suggesting he change his ways and compromise his integrity and culture with his team for a golden opportunity that most likely will not result in a FF run.  I'll take consistently solid teams that will always put MU in a position to make a run.

But it’s also not a reason to look past a transfer that will keep the quality of the team at a high level for next year, because we have a few freshman coming in.

[wadesworld]

The problem with this thinking is that it's inconsistent with our current scholarship situation.  Everyone ignores that Oso and Kolek are eligible for their COVID year in 24-25.

We are one under for 23-24--and possibly two under if OMax leaves.

With the addition of Parham and Owens, we are one over for 24-25 if everyone returns. Two over if OMax returns.

One can assume that someone is going to leave and the problem will take care of itself. Fair enough.

But what if that doesn't happen?  What if all our younger players want to come back because we have a great team and outstanding culture? What if Kolek and Oso don't quite get over the NBA hump and believe a 5th year at MU is their best option (especially given the focus of our NIL efforts is on retention).

Given we already have a situation where someone HAS to leave early, do we exacerbate it by taking another player who will still be around in 24-25?

A month ago we were 1 over for 23-24.  Today we're 2 under for 23-24.  The staff knows what they're doing, a lot more than you do.

[The Equalizer]

A month ago we were 1 over for 23-24.  Today we're 2 under for 23-24.

And to go from 1 over to 2 under required three players to leave.

My point is that we currently have 14 committed for 24-25.  We are projected to be 1 over right now.  My comment wasn't directed at the staff--it was directed at the poster who thought we should bring in a multi-year transfer with this year's open scholarship. 

[wadesworld]

And to go from 1 over to 2 under required three players to leave.

My point is that we currently have 14 committed for 24-25.  We are projected to be 1 over right now.  My comment wasn't directed at the staff--it was directed at the poster who thought we should bring in a multi-year transfer with this year's open scholarship.

Despite the fact that we "currently have 14 committed for 24-25," the coaching staff is still very much pursuing class of 2024 recruits.  I think it's fairly reasonable to assume we still have (at least) 1 scholarship available for the 24-25 season.

[#UnleashSean]

The problem with this thinking is that it's inconsistent with our current scholarship situation.  Everyone ignores that Oso and Kolek are eligible for their COVID year in 24-25.

We are one under for 23-24--and possibly two under if OMax leaves.

With the addition of Parham and Owens, we are one over for 24-25 if everyone returns. Two over if OMax returns.

One can assume that someone is going to leave and the problem will take care of itself. Fair enough.

But what if that doesn't happen?  What if all our younger players want to come back because we have a great team and outstanding culture? What if Kolek and Oso don't quite get over the NBA hump and believe a 5th year at MU is their best option (especially given the focus of our NIL efforts is on retention).

Given we already have a situation where someone HAS to leave early, do we exacerbate it by taking another player who will still be around in 24-25?

IF oso and kolek come back for 24-25 (huge IF) and everyone else stays ( another huge if)

I'm sure that oso and kolek will be able to work out an NIL deal with some local Milwaukee company to pay for the tuitions as they give their scholarships to freshman aka like McDermott .

Welcome to the future.