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Roster so far

There is some flexibility to move people around. If Ament commits then I am less worried only because they wouldn’t be dead. Also hard sell to get another big that fits because minutes will be limited. The kid from Charleston would be perfect.

Khalifa and Scott 5’s
Pryor and Fru are 4’s.
Ament and Rooths are 3’s.

Ament doesn’t commit and Hadley stays they will definitely throw money at a high end big.

BB RECRUITING: 2025 Transfer Portal

There are dudes everywhere. The challenge is can they be as good moving up and in a different system? It can’t just be a money game. Hawkins and the other big Louisville was on last year ended up with big pay days but didn’t translate to team success. Hunter Dickerson was a 2M bust.

The players has to embrace the staff and system. The player has to have the skills set that fit their schemes. Last year was interesting in that only Smith fit their offensive system in terms of shooting. Edwards, Hepburn, Hadley, Waterman and Pryor were all streaky shooters. Good shooter when open but not catch and shoot like Smith. They were much better defensively but limited athletically.

I think this team will be built to score at all 5 spots. Pay good money to find 2-3 legit shooters. If Ament commits that become a really long team especially if they get a 6-4 to 6-6 shooting guard. If they miss that clear space to go get a great portal guy that fits.

They can be really selective. I think the kid from Howard is my choice. 6-7 guard that has NBA skill.

BB RECRUITING: 2025 Transfer Portal

It is truly amazing as to how many talented HS and College Basketball players there are to choose from. For example, just watching the NIT, I have seen some kids that I had never heard of who exhibited as much talent as any of those highly-rated left playing in this NCAA a tournament.

I wonder how many UL fans thought Chucky Hepburn was as talented at Wisconsin prior to arriving here at UL? This thread has identified a lot of very interesting targets, but I truly wonder just how many others candidates have been identified by our staff that are flying well below the radar of the multiple schools being listed?

Arenas to the portal

I cannot imagine what level of frustration that CJW, and for that matter any WBB Coach must experience in dealing with these young ladies in this culture and environment.

There are so many examples of unpredictable behavior exhibited just here at UL, but the latest one that I find curious is Nyla Harris. She showed early signs of living up to her 4 Star ranking when she arrived at UL, but over the course of her career, it appeared to me that she lost interest and while failing to improve her game.

I remain a huge fan of Jeff Walz, both on the court and off ……. so I am inclined towards assigning the responsibility more to the players rather than to Jeff and his staff.

You see, it’s UC.

Perhaps the answer is as simple as UL is no longer obtaining the services of pitchers with MLB-level talent like before. Coach Williams enjoyed a reputation as one of the very best pitching coaches in College Baseball. Did he forget, or lose all of that over these last several years, or are we witnessing a reduction in the level of talent and depth of players?

You see, it’s UC.

Couple of things about Williams and it's just as somebody who watches them a lot, this year and the last 15.
I think Williams will call more off speed stuff if that guy can get it in the zone. When it's clear that guy is missing the zone, he's got no choice but to call fastballs and hope his pitcher can LOCATE those pitches.

Everybody and their brother hunting fastballs so location is everything. A real catch 22 for Williams I think.

I was thinking about it from the pitcher's side today too. I can't help but wonder about that" lack of focus " being due to guys not feeling like they're where they should be in the grand scheme of the pitching staff-not good.

You see, it’s UC.

To quote Moth [regarding arms] "I don't know if it is a lack of talent or a lack of focus?". I guess pick your poison.
If its one or two pitchers, it definitely could be lack of focus and we're not lack of talent so it is option C, Williams is passed his prime. He's done a hell of a job up until the last few years. Compound that with Dan's sticking by him no matter what sounds like a captain ready to sink with his ship. I wish it wasn't so. Not nearly as bad when most of us realize that maybe Denny needed to step aside.
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