Omax declares

[Goose]

I think Omax ends up going much, much higher than expected. He is going to have a long NBA career, Imo. Agree with TAMU that he has the tools that NBA lust after and I am surprised by the high number of naysayers on here in regard to Omax.

Next up on the MU to the NBA train will be Ben Gold. Much different set of tools than Omax, but another type of player that NBA guys really like and I believe he will be joining Omax in the NBA in short order.

[rocket surgeon]

I think Omax ends up going much, much higher than expected. He is going to have a long NBA career, Imo. Agree with TAMU that he has the tools that NBA lust after and I am surprised by the high number of naysayers on here in regard to Omax.

Next up on the MU to the NBA train will be Ben Gold. Much different set of tools than Omax, but another type of player that NBA guys really like and I believe he will be joining Omax in the NBA in short order.

  i can see this goose-omax is an energy guy with a magnet for the ball.  he puts a few more LB.'s on himself without losing the speed and quickness, he might be an under the radar type of guy.  his aggressiveness will translate real nicely over to the nba transition game

   ben...too many variables for me yet.  if he is surrounded by the right people advising him-maybe.  if shaka gives ben some roles that showcase his strengths for an nba game, then, maybe.  if ben realizes his talents and get's comfortable, you may see his production level improve exponentially. where i noticed ben improve last year was when he felt like he belonged on the court with the rest of the guys.  he didn't look like the new kid on the block trying to fit in.  i could see ben fitting in along the lines of a steve novak

[Jay Bee]

Low usage

[1SE]

He definitely gowne.

Wrightsill coming back?

[Jay Bee]

Wrightsill coming back?

Impossible

[StillWarriors]

I think Omax ends up going much, much higher than expected. He is going to have a long NBA career, Imo. Agree with TAMU that he has the tools that NBA lust after and I am surprised by the high number of naysayers on here in regard to Omax.

Next up on the MU to the NBA train will be Ben Gold. Much different set of tools than Omax, but another type of player that NBA guys really like and I believe he will be joining Omax in the NBA in short order.

Completely agree. He could easily be a valuable role player on a good team as a 3 and D guy. He would be invaluable as a defender with his length and endless energy to harass a key player over the course of a playoff series, for example. The value of a guy like that has been so evident in watching the playoffs. On offense, most NBA offenses have two guys essentially just go and sit in the corner waiting for a kick out or to crash the boards when the scorers shoot. He can fill that role, and I'm sure improve his shooting even more over time. I think his game will translate very well to the NBA.

[tower912]

Watching the playoffs a year ago is when I came to the conclusion that OMax is.better suited to the NBA than Justin.  The game is so fast and there is so much switching on defense.   OMax's forte.

[bilsu]

I think Omax ends up going much, much higher than expected. He is going to have a long NBA career, Imo. Agree with TAMU that he has the tools that NBA lust after and I am surprised by the high number of naysayers on here in regard to Omax.

Next up on the MU to the NBA train will be Ben Gold. Much different set of tools than Omax, but another type of player that NBA guys really like and I believe he will be joining Omax in the NBA in short order.

I do expect big improvement in Gold this year, which is one of the reasons i am not worried about Omax stating in the draft.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I do expect big improvement in Gold this year, which is one of the reasons i am not worried about Omax stating in the draft.

There is zero chance that Gold or Joplin are going to replace what OMax did on the defensive end. I think people are discounting that tremendously.

[GoldenEagles03]

Deep in my heart I didn't think Justin was gonna get drafted. My head just told me he would because he stayed in the draft and I assumed that meant he got a promise of some kind from a team.

I'd be shocked if OMax doesn't get drafted.

"Only preliminary results in at the moment, but Olivier-Maxence Prosper had a historically good combine. His overall Combine Score of 96.9 is the 19th best ever for a power forward.

Once the final results are in, I will update the public dashboard with 2023 data"

https://twitter.com/kalidrafts/status/1658285138667601922?t=R59icnTQEgVVM1WRXF17pw&s=19

[GoldenEagles03]

On top of all his awesome testing metrics and drill finishes, OMax also shot 16 of 25 (64%) on the 3 point shooting star workout.

Put him on the leaderboard in the shooting category as well.

[Uncle Rico]

There is zero chance that Gold or Joplin are going to replace what OMax did on the defensive end. I think people are discounting that tremendously.

No, but I think they’ll be better defensively than they were.  I also think Chase Ross can be a disruptive defensive player.

I’ll say this for Jalopolin, he has the size to replicate some of the stuff OMax did

[MUfan12]

There is zero chance that Gold or Joplin are going to replace what OMax did on the defensive end. I think people are discounting that tremendously.

Agree. The dropoff might not be as bad if they can adjust the system. But if they keep switching everything with Ben and Jop there could be some issues.

[79Warrior]

There is zero chance that Gold or Joplin are going to replace what OMax did on the defensive end. I think people are discounting that tremendously.

Agree. I think Ben will give us some good minutes but he still is a work in progress.

[Goose]

I will say it again, if there is not a portal addition, I think there will be a good number of disappointed fans next season. I do not the sky is falling but think it would it take a minor miracle to meet the lofty expectations for next season. I think they can be good to very good next season with the current guys and that is exciting. That said, my expectation for next year 100% will be based off whether there is a portal addition or not.

Again, I have said many times that I am going to have a feel for next season based off what Shaka does in the portal. If he goes with only the returning guys he may have a different feel than the experts ranking us in the top ten. IMO, even if Joplin and Gold make big strides there is a whole that needs to be filled.

[WolfganghisKhan]

Deep in my heart I didn't think Justin was gonna get drafted. My head just told me he would because he stayed in the draft and I assumed that meant he got a promise of some kind from a team.

I'd be shocked if OMax doesn't get drafted.

"Only preliminary results in at the moment, but Olivier-Maxence Prosper had a historically good combine. His overall Combine Score of 96.9 is the 19th best ever for a power forward.

Once the final results are in, I will update the public dashboard with 2023 data"

https://twitter.com/kalidrafts/status/1658285138667601922?t=R59icnTQEgVVM1WRXF17pw&s=19

More than half the dudes on this list are centers…

[GoldenEagles03]

I will say it again, if there is not a portal addition, I think there will be a good number of disappointed fans next season. I do not the sky is falling but think it would it take a minor miracle to meet the lofty expectations for next season. I think they can be good to very good next season with the current guys and that is exciting. That said, my expectation for next year 100% will be based off whether there is a portal addition or not.

Again, I have said many times that I am going to have a feel for next season based off what Shaka does in the portal. If he goes with only the returning guys he may have a different feel than the experts ranking us in the top ten. IMO, even if Joplin and Gold make big strides there is a whole that needs to be filled.

Either way I'd be surprised if Marquette finished better than 29-7.

They swept all but 3 teams in Big East play and split with the remaining 3. That probably ain't happening with or without OMax in this loaded league.

[Goose]

Golden

I am not talking simply about the overall record. I think few on here believe that will be matched next season. I am talking overall performance and expectations for March. There is a major hole on defense and lack of size, IMO. They will be fun to watch but I will hold off buying FF tickets until we see what happens in the portal.

[We R Final Four]

There is zero chance that Gold or Joplin are going to replace what OMax did on the defensive end. I think people are discounting that tremendously.

I think people are tremendously discounting the notion of a one for one exchange. Gold is not stepping in from day one and filling OMax’s spot. Shaka will have creative measures to utilize Stevie and Chase and Gold on the defensive end.
Funny how many on here think they know Shaka’s job better than him.

[Shooter McGavin]

I will say it again, if there is not a portal addition, I think there will be a good number of disappointed fans next season. I do not the sky is falling but think it would it take a minor miracle to meet the lofty expectations for next season. I think they can be good to very good next season with the current guys and that is exciting. That said, my expectation for next year 100% will be based off whether there is a portal addition or not.

Again, I have said many times that I am going to have a feel for next season based off what Shaka does in the portal. If he goes with only the returning guys he may have a different feel than the experts ranking us in the top ten. IMO, even if Joplin and Gold make big strides there is a whole that needs to be filled.

Agreed to be a title contender this year an addition is likely needed.  But I can’t blame Shaka if he is making a long term play by not over recruiting players already on the team.  With the goal of having this as a recruiting pitch to higher level players out of high school in the future. 

[Goose]

Shooter

Agreed. That is why I have said I am fine with either direction. Land a portal guy and I am 100% in a NC run next season. If not, keep recruited better players and build the program. I just think anyone that thinks the loss of Omax does not change expectations for next season is expecting too much from the returning guys.

[GoldenEagles03]

Golden

I am not talking simply about the overall record. I think few on here believe that will be matched next season. I am talking overall performance and expectations for March. There is a major hole on defense and lack of size, IMO. They will be fun to watch but I will hold off buying FF tickets until we see what happens in the portal.

They won't sweep Big East Titles either.

The goal for the players and expectations for the fans are likely Sweet 16 or further, maybe the expectations are larger than that should OMax return.

[Coleman]

Either way I'd be surprised if Marquette finished better than 29-7.

They swept all but 3 teams in Big East play and split with the remaining 3. That probably ain't happening with or without OMax in this loaded league.

I completely agree with you but I don't really care about this.

The metric for success is March. We better win more than one tournament game next year, with or without OMax or an OMax replacement.

I would take a 24-12 record and a Sweet 16 appearance over last season's record. Big East titles are nice but its like icing with no cake.

[MU82]

I will say it again, if there is not a portal addition, I think there will be a good number of disappointed fans next season. I do not the sky is falling but think it would it take a minor miracle to meet the lofty expectations for next season. I think they can be good to very good next season with the current guys and that is exciting. That said, my expectation for next year 100% will be based off whether there is a portal addition or not.

Again, I have said many times that I am going to have a feel for next season based off what Shaka does in the portal. If he goes with only the returning guys he may have a different feel than the experts ranking us in the top ten. IMO, even if Joplin and Gold make big strides there is a whole that needs to be filled.

I understand what you're saying and agree with a lot of it, Goose.

The tough part is thinking we know what's going on in Shaka's mind. Maybe he honestly believes that the combination of Gold/Ross/Joplin/freshmen easily replaces O-Max on offense and hangs in there on defense, and he honestly believes he has a Big East and March contender even if he doesn't bring in someone from the portal.

Or not. I don't claim to know.

Like you, I do hope we use our open scholarship to get someone who can help us on D and the boards. An ability to hit the open J even at a Prosper level (34% last season) would be a nice bonus.

But I'll wait until we see what we have and how it all fits together to predict how good we'll be 10 months from now.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Impossible

Why?