Ryan McMahon Is Going To Redshirt

[shadow force]

Louisville coach Rick Pitino has gone back and forth in recent months about whether or not he should give freshman guard Ryan McMahon a redshirt this season.

On Thursday, Pitino said he planned to do it. It was a slight reversal from his comments on his first radio show of the fall, when he said McMahon was crafty and intriguing enough that he would hate to redshirt him and then need the 6-foot guard later this season.

"I was thinking about it, but I think I can use David Levitch at that position," Pitino said. "He's better at the point than Ryan would be as a freshman. Levitch is a guy you can use at the 1, 2 and 3, and he never hurts you. He can do it, and he's much better than Ryan right now, so it's the smart thing to do because Ryan, we think, is going to be a very good basketball player."

 

[Strongtino]

I would rather he didn't to be honest unless he's going to be taken off scholarship and placed on walk-on status. I would rather not tie a scholarship up with him for 5 years.

 

[ShortCreek]

With you Strong. Hope he turns into a decent player but McMahon is not a guard that can take us to the promised land. So, tough to see locking him up for five years.

 

[Cue Card]

GMAFB. The kid hasn't played one freaking second for this program yet here you two are bashing him AND Pitino for offering him a scholarship. I really don't understand the blind hatred for a kid that you don't even know.

It's absurd.

 

[ShortCreek]

Cue, it's just called a fan's opinion on a message board. Take a chill pill.

 

[Cue Card]

Cue, it's just called a fan's opinion on a message board. Take a chill pill.

Yeah I know. You're entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to think it's absurd. You have no idea how well this kid will turn out for the Cards so your opinion about him is crap IMO.

 

[Senore2006]

McMahon will play for Louisville and play well. Here we have a team whose last walk-on was most responsible for a comeback in the Final Four en route to a NC, in Tim Henderson, yet our brave experts predict a kid Pitino wants on scholarship isn't good enough to play here.

That's a pretty big case of dissonance and says "I know better than Pitino!!" You couldn't invent this sort of crap.

 

[BPGhost]

McMahon will play for Louisville and play well. Here we have a team whose last walk-on was most responsible for a comeback in the Final Four en route to a NC, in Tim Henderson, yet our brave experts predict a kid Pitino wants on scholarship isn't good enough to play here.

That's a pretty big case of dissonance and says "I know better than Pitino!!" You couldn't invent this sort of crap.

Maybe but, maybe it's the seeming lack of rhyme or reason in which the reshirt / no redshirt decision is made by RP. I personally think that either AM or MS have bigger (no pun intended) upsides than does McMahon but, neither of them were redshirted - even last year when they gave us nothing. Hoping McMahon turns into a major contributor but right now he's a kid that is easily recruited over.

 

[Strongtino]

My take/assumption/hope is that Rick may be redshirting him this year to allow him to adapt, grow, add muscle and evaluate him to see if with coaching and hard work he can turn him into a serviceable D1 player...because right now he's not even a D1 player. If he can then he'll keep him all 5 years but if not then basically he'll do the same thing with him as he did with Swopshire and allow him to be at UL for 4 years and graduate but transfer and still have a year of eligibility remaining if he wants to use it.

I've never understood why our fans take one players outcome and extrapolate that to mean that every player in a similar situation is going to have the same outcome, while at the same time never looking at the many, many, many more instances where a player in that situation had the complete opposite outcome.

By this I mean....people on this board look at every 2 and 3 star kid we get and automatically think Rick's found the next Russ Smith...just because it happened once. Yet they never mention all the other 2-3 star kids that came here and "lived up" to their 3 star ranking.

 

[Cue Card]

My take/assumption/hope is that Rick may be redshirting him this year to allow him to adapt, grow, add muscle and evaluate him to see if with coaching and hard work he can turn him into a serviceable D1 player...because right now he's not even a D1 player. If he can then he'll keep him all 5 years but if not then basically he'll do the same thing with him as he did with Swopshire and allow him to be at UL for 4 years and graduate but transfer and still have a year of eligibility remaining if he wants to use it.

I've never understood why our fans take one players outcome and extrapolate that to mean that every player in a similar situation is going to have the same outcome, while at the same time never looking at the many, many, many more instances where a player in that situation had the complete opposite outcome.

By this I mean....people on this board look at every 2 and 3 star kid we get and automatically think Rick's found the next Russ Smith...just because it happened once. Yet they never mention all the other 2-3 star kids that came here and "lived up" to their 3 star ranking.

I believe the main issue some have is with some fans thinking they absolutely know more about how to coach the team than the head coach. For instance, just exactly what makes you an expert on who is and who isn't a division 1 player? You just called McMahon a player not worthy of a division 1 scholarship, while a man with over 40 years of head coaching experience believes in his abilities to help this program.

I'll accept coach Rick Pitino's evaluation of players over yours. I hope you understand why.

 

[Strongtino]

I believe the main issue some have is with some fans thinking they absolutely know more about how to coach the team than the head coach. For instance, just exactly what makes you an expert on who is and who isn't a division 1 player? You just called McMahon a player not worthy of a division 1 scholarship, while a man with over 40 years of head coaching experience believes in his abilities to help this program.

I'll accept coach Rick Pitino's evaluation of players over yours. I hope you understand why.

I explained in the first paragraph why I think Rick offered him a scholarship. There's potential there but its a long way from being division 1 ready, thus why he's red shirting. There's a reason the kid was ranked where he was and had the list of offers he did...its not like I'm pulling this out of thin air. Numerous coaches saw him play while he played in a very popular area for high school basketball and all thought the same thing I did.

Also, most posters blindly look at what Rick does and blindly support it or don't understand why he's doing it, especially in recruiting. In a lot of cases with who Rick ends up getting commitments from its not a case of Rick especially liking that particular player...look at who Rick goes after in the early recruiting process and look at who UL offers. Go look at the 2016 list of kids Rick offered and when he offered them and look at who we ended up with. Go look at who UL is targeting for 2017 and who we've offered at this point and take note and remember who we end up with. Point being that Rick takes who can get a lot times...its not a testament as much to his belief in the particular player as it is..."this is who I'm ending with" type of thing. Frankie Hughes in the 2016 class is a perfect example...Rick wanted De'Aaron Fox, Andruw Jones, Anterique Gilbright, Rawle Atkins, Kameron McGusty, Terrance Ferguson, Josh Jackson...but he ended up with Frankie Hughes. In 2015 he wanted Antonio Blakeny, Isiah Briscoe, Allonzo Trier, Perry Dozier, Derrryck Thornton, Maverick Rowan, Prince Ali....to pair with Donavon Mitchell...he ended up with Ryan McMahon and an open scholarship. Thats my point...just because Rick takes a kid isn't so much testament to the kid as it is Rick simply taking what he can get and making the best out of it....and thats what most coaches not named Coach K and John Calipari do.

 

[Cue Card]

I explained in the first paragraph why I think Rick offered him a scholarship. There's potential there but its a long way from being division 1 ready, thus why he's red shirting. There's a reason the kid was ranked where he was and had the list of offers he did...its not like I'm pulling this out of thin air. Numerous coaches saw him play while he played in a very popular area for high school basketball and all thought the same thing I did.

Also, most posters blindly look at what Rick does and blindly support it or don't understand why he's doing it, especially in recruiting. In a lot of cases with who Rick ends up getting commitments from its not a case of Rick especially liking that particular player...look at who Rick goes after in the early recruiting process and look at who UL offers. Go look at the 2016 list of kids Rick offered and when he offered them and look at who we ended up with. Go look at who UL is targeting for 2017 and who we've offered at this point and take note and remember who we end up with. Point being that Rick takes who can get a lot times...its not a testament as much to his belief in the particular player as it is..."this is who I'm ending with" type of thing. Frankie Hughes in the 2016 class is a perfect example...Rick wanted De'Aaron Fox, Andruw Jones, Anterique Gilbright, Rawle Atkins, Kameron McGusty, Terrance Ferguson, Josh Jackson...but he ended up with Frankie Hughes. In 2015 he wanted Antonio Blakeny, Isiah Briscoe, Allonzo Trier, Perry Dozier, Derrryck Thornton, Maverick Rowan, Prince Ali....to pair with Donavon Mitchell...he ended up with Ryan McMahon and an open scholarship. Thats my point...just because Rick takes a kid isn't so much testament to the kid as it is Rick simply taking what he can get and making the best out of it....and thats what most coaches not named Coach K and John Calipari do.

Listen to yourself. "He ended up with" Again, I'll ask exactly what makes you an expert on recruiting? Pitino (who I'm actually not all that fond of) has over 40 years of coaching and recruiting experience. It's not an exact science, so of course he offers a lot more than he can actually take. It's his business to know how to recruit. How does that translate to your business? Are you a coach? Are you a successful coach who makes millions of dollars a year coaching? You could be so I'm asking. Are you?

I don't mind anyone sharing their opinion, but the way you write yours, one would be led to believe it's more than just opinion. You write like it's 100% fact. It's not 100% fact regardless what you say and frankly it's annoying. Share all you want, but please spare me the know all be all attitude.

 

[Strongtino]

I am in fact not a coach.

I don't see "attitude" in anything I said. It's common sense. Let me ask you a question...Do you think Frankie Hughes is Ricks #1 choice for the guard spot in the 2016 class? Do you think Rick was just recruiting DeArron Fox for no reason? I mean all you need to do is look at who he goes after first and look at who he offers first. DeArron Fox was one of the first kids he went after in 2016,why? Because that was his #1 choice for that scholarship. Do you think if Rick had a choice he would be bringing in projects or would he be bringing in more highly touted players?

Rick offers scholarships to the highly ranked, elite kids....he just rarely gets them to commit.

 

[Birdseat]

Yeah I know. You're entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to think it's absurd. You have no idea how well this kid will turn out for the Cards so your opinion about him is crap IMO.

I wish Russ Smith would transfer already!

 

[Cue Card]

I am in fact not a coach.

I don't see "attitude" in anything I said. It's common sense. Let me ask you a question...Do you think Frankie Hughes is Ricks #1 choice for the guard spot in the 2016 class? Do you think Rick was just recruiting DeArron Fox for no reason? I mean all you need to do is look at who he goes after first and look at who he offers first. DeArron Fox was one of the first kids he went after in 2016,why? Because that was his #1 choice for that scholarship. Do you think if Rick had a choice he would be bringing in projects or would he be bringing in more highly touted players?

Rick offers scholarships to the highly ranked, elite kids....he just rarely gets them to commit.

Maybe Hughes was, maybe he wasn't. We really don't know, common sense or not. All I know is the last team to win a national championship from the state of Kentucky wasn't UofK so I think maybe Rick Pitino knows a thing or two about how to run a program, and apparently he gets enough talent to win at a high level.

You sound like you would rather have a team full of 5 stars to root for. There is a real easy solution for you. Go support UofK.

 

[Strongtino]

Maybe Hughes was, maybe he wasn't. We really don't know, common sense or not. All I know is the last team to win a national championship from the state of Kentucky wasn't UofK so I think maybe Rick Pitino knows a thing or two about how to run a program, and apparently he gets enough talent to win at a high level.

You sound like you would rather have a team full of 5 stars to root for. There is a real easy solution for you. Go support UofK.

You're right...I have no idea how Ryan McMahon will turn out. But everyone seems to think that every under-recruited kid that comes here is going to be the next Russ Smith and the odds of that happening are overwhelmingly unlikely. I simply think that a program as prestigious as UL shouldn't be tying up scholarships on kids like McMahon. As a fan I'm entitled to disagree with Pitino on that...and if it were possible I would make a wager with Rick on Ryan's next 4 years being worth the scholarship he's tying up.

I would be lying if I said I didn't want Rick to recruit better and take fewer projects. But the point I was trying to prove was that just because Rick offers a kid a scholarship...ESPECIALLY late in the recruiting game the way he did with McMahon and Hughes isn't an indicator of the kids "hidden ability" typically its simply a coach needing bodies to fill a roster and doing the best with what he has. It doesn't mean that we as fans can't question why he's recruiting certain kids...because Lord knows there's been enough disappointments and transfers brought into this program over the last 10 years.

I'm just saying look at who Rick initially goes after and look at who we end up with. It happens every year. Take the 2017 class for example...Rick has already offered 4 kids in the top 15. 2 PGs and 2 SGs...thats great. Those are the kids he wants...now, I'll bet anyone on this board a hefty lump of cash that absolutely ZERO of those 4 ends up at UL and Rick will move down the list..and he'll keep doing that until he gets a kid at that specific position to commit. That was my only point...fans on this board seem to think that Rick is out there evaluating all these kids and the ones that come here are his top choices and the ones he's deemed the most "worthy" of a scholarship and it simply doesn't work that way.

 

[ShortCreek]

I hope McMahon has a successful career at UL, but I don't like his odds. I'm not dogging him and I'm not saying I know more than Rick Pitino. Why do I not like his chances? It takes a very special player and person to succeed at the Cards level who is McMahon's size and talent level. I'm not a D-I coach but I've watched a ton of ball, just his physical size alone is a huge strike against him. He doesn't appear to be particularly quick or fast based on my limited observations of him. One more thing - I've made no bones about not being a Levitch fan and if you're McMahon and you can't beat Levitch out for minutes I don't like your chances moving forward. For Ryan's sake I hope he's got one helluva work ethic, he's gonna need it. I wish him well.

 

[Cue Card]

I hope McMahon has a successful career at UL, but I don't like his odds. I'm not dogging him and I'm not saying I know more than Rick Pitino. Why do I not like his chances? It takes a very special player and person to succeed at the Cards level who is McMahon's size and talent level. I'm not a D-I coach but I've watched a ton of ball, just his physical size alone is a huge strike against him. He doesn't appear to be particularly quick or fast based on my limited observations of him. One more thing - I've made no bones about not being a Levitch fan and if you're McMahon and you can't beat Levitch out for minutes I don't like your chances moving forward. For Ryan's sake I hope he's got one helluva work ethic, he's gonna need it. I wish him well.

I respect your opinion, although I disagree. Levitch is going to play a role on THIS team THIS year. He has learned a lot in his short time in a Cardinals uniform and he will contribute.

BTW, Levitch is 6-3. McMahon is 6-0 and more of a point guard than a 2G like Levitch.

 

[nccardfan]

Schools can give either 1 yr scholarships or multi year scholarships like 4 year but many don't. Less than 20% are 4 year. They are renewed each year and if Ryan can earn an academic he can give up his athletic scholarship.

 

[Strongtino]

I hope McMahon has a successful career at UL, but I don't like his odds. I'm not dogging him and I'm not saying I know more than Rick Pitino. Why do I not like his chances? It takes a very special player and person to succeed at the Cards level who is McMahon's size and talent level. I'm not a D-I coach but I've watched a ton of ball, just his physical size alone is a huge strike against him. He doesn't appear to be particularly quick or fast based on my limited observations of him. One more thing - I've made no bones about not being a Levitch fan and if you're McMahon and you can't beat Levitch out for minutes I don't like your chances moving forward. For Ryan's sake I hope he's got one helluva work ethic, he's gonna need it. I wish him well.

Right and I agree with everything you said. For a player of his size and ability to excel at a program like Louisville he would need to be very special. I hope he is..and I hope he's the next Russ Smith and I'll eat all the crow this board can give me but I'll take the odds on him never making an impact here. I also agree with you about Levitch.....I don't understand Rick's fascination with him and I will only say I'm not a fan of him playing either and leave it at that.

 

[Senore2006]

If Rick is "fascinated" with him, then I like the kid.

Some folks seem incapable of comprehending that Rick adapts his plans on the fly - and that it is also a secret to his success. His plans are always to get the Adels, Mitchells, Spaldings, Nanus and Johnsons. Even Q, for that matter, or maybe especially Q.

His apparently lamented "projects" include 2 guys who may be producing results as early as right now - Mangok and Anas - and who knows what is in the offing for Matz - let me answer that - no one knows.

McMahon is a canny investment, imo. He'll play as a redshirt freshman. He would have probably ended up playing in front of Levitch this season. This kid, as everyone knows, is a real baller. This is basketball, not a CEO convention.

 

[turducken71]

If Rick is "fascinated" with him, then I like the kid.

Some folks seem incapable of comprehending that Rick adapts his plans on the fly - and that it is also a secret to his success. His plans are always to get the Adels, Mitchells, Spaldings, Nanus and Johnsons. Even Q, for that matter, or maybe especially Q.

His apparently lamented "projects" include 2 guys who may be producing results as early as right now - Mangok and Anas - and who knows what is in the offing for Matz - let me answer that - no one knows.

McMahon is a canny investment, imo. He'll play as a redshirt freshman. He would have probably ended up playing in front of Levitch this season. This kid, as everyone knows, is a real baller. This is basketball, not a CEO convention.

Playing in front of Levitch this year? Are you kidding? What a depressing view. Go play with your dog.

 

[Senore2006]

Playing in front of Levitch this year? Are you kidding? What a depressing view. Go play with your dog.

Good grief. Is there a working brain within a block of you?

 

[turducken71]

Good grief. Is there a working brain within a block of you?

There is definitely none among those at the corner of Haight and Ashbury. Not hard to tell those who never played organized sports, Uncle Rico.

 

[Senore2006]

There is definitely none among those at the corner of Haight and Ashbury. Not hard to tell those who never played organized sports, Uncle Rico.

I can't believe you said that, lol. I have played more games in one year than your entire history of being the team's fat guy.

But then again, you're the Turd. Humiliation to you is like manna.

 

[turducken71]

I can't believe you said that, lol. I have played more games in one year than your entire history of being the team's fat guy.

But then again, you're the Turd. Humiliation to you is like manna.

It's always funny to see Oscar Combs come on and speak "holler."

 

[ShortCreek]

Cue, now what kind of role was Levitch going to play THIS year on THIS team?

 

[Cue Card]

Cue, now what kind of role was Levitch going to play THIS year on THIS team?

He'll still have a role. Who knows, he might even have to come in at some point and hit a big shot or two like Henderson did during the 2013 title run. It's a bit early to write him off plus he is valuable as a practice player too.

 

[ShortCreek]

Oh, so you can get out of your bold Levitch prediction for THIS year with THIS team simply by saying his role now may be that of a valuable practice player? Priceless. Thanksgiving for you? Crow, dressing, a one slice of humble pie.

 

[Cue Card]

Oh, so you can get out of your bold Levitch prediction for THIS year with THIS team simply by saying his role now may be that of a valuable practice player? Priceless. Thanksgiving for you? Crow, dressing, a one slice of humble pie.

Not getting sucked into this. You were right. I was wrong but the kid is on the team I support so I support him.

You on the other hand have shown your true colors more than once on this board as you try to hide who you really pull for. I'm done with you. I'll use the ignore button now instead of getting into a battle of words that gets nowhere. Enjoy the ignore list. I won't be responding to anything you post from this point forward.

 

[turducken71]

I don't see why anyone would lower themselves to pick on Levitch. If everyone worked as hard as him we would have two more Final Fours and another national championship. Problems with a couple of players especially last year, missed free throws, and not finishing close shots the last two years were costly. This would be a much better focus than on picking on Levitch, who is a fine person and player.

 

[turducken71]

Dude, what is your problem? Are you SO perfect to never be wrong about anything or are you just naturally a dick? Levitch is on this team and I make it a point to never talk bad about any of them. You on the other hand simply want to be a dick for no reason other than being a dick. You're a real tough guy behind your keyboard when you know damn well you wouldn't have the stones to talk to anyone face to face like you do here. You're a joke of a person. Enjoy the ignore list. I'm done with you.

Obviously he suffers from a bad case of short man syndrome.