2018 Recruiting needs and potential recruits

[UMassfan_19]

^ That's been my point for weeks now. If Holloway can't stay on the court all season and give us 25-30 minutes, we will be weak at the 5. He hasn't done that yet in his 3 years.

Then, we are in agreement! Chances are we're going to be weak at the 5.
However, we apparently disagree on the importance of getting another big man to shore up this weakness. I'm bummed that McCall was unable to recruit another big man.

I don't think having a true center as big of a deal. The new wave of basketball is positionless basketball where you can switch 1-5. Guys like Laurent diallo Cobb chatman will help with that. It's possible at times Laurent will be the biggest guy on the floor however rebounding is almost always about working harder than your man

[NilesGold]

This is out-dated thinking. Can you name the big men who were on the #2, 3 and 4 teams in the A10 this past season? Even #1 URI only had 2 serviceable big men on the team, and they combined to play less than 40 minutes a game.

No, I can't name the serviceable big men who were on the top 4 teams in A10 last season. From Holloway, Turner-Morris and Chatman, who will be our serviceable big men?

Davidson - Peyton Aldrich - The best big man in the league, averaged 21 and 8.
URI - They used Berry, Robinson and Langevine. Combined for 24 and 15.
SBU - nobody worth mentioning
St. Joes - Funk and Oliva. Not spectacular, but reliable. Combined for 18 and 12.

Perhaps your definition of a big man is different than mine. Holloway, Hines, and KTM qualify as traditional big men, they can score in the paint and they have the size and strength to rebound and defend opposing big men in the paint. Peyton Aldridge, Stanford Robinson, and Taylor Funk aren't traditional big men... same goes for Laurent, Diallo, and Chatman.

URI had Berry & Langevine
Davidson had Magarity
SBU had Ikpeze & Ayeni
SJU had Longpre & Oliva (kind of a stretch w/ Oliva)

Most of those guys got limited minutes while their coaches went with smaller lineups with a forward or two as the biggest player on the court for long stretches. You don't need much for traditional big men in the A10, especially nowadays, as long as you have forwards who can help out with some of the dirty work, which is where Laurent, Diallo, and Chatman will come in. The lessened importance of big men will only be accentuated when McCall installs the up-tempo style he wants.

[bobolink]

[/quote]

Davidson - Peyton Aldrich - The best big man in the league, averaged 21 and 8.
URI - They used Berry, Robinson and Langevine. Combined for 24 and 15.
SBU - nobody worth mentioning
St. Joes - Funk and Oliva. Not spectacular, but reliable. Combined for 18 and 12.
[/quote]
Perhaps your definition of a big man is different than mine. Holloway, Hines, and KTM qualify as traditional big men, they can score in the paint and they have the size and strength to rebound and defend opposing big men in the paint. Peyton Aldridge, Stanford Robinson, and Taylor Funk aren't traditional big men... same goes for Laurent, Diallo, and Chatman.

URI had Berry & Langevine
Davidson had Magarity
SBU had Ikpeze & Ayeni
SJU had Longpre & Oliva (kind of a stretch w/ Oliva)

Most of those guys got limited minutes while their coaches went with smaller lineups with a forward or two as the biggest player on the court for long stretches. You don't need much for traditional big men in the A10, especially nowadays, as long as you have forwards who can help out with some of the dirty work, which is where Laurent, Diallo, and Chatman will come in. The lessened importance of big men will only be accentuated when McCall installs the up-tempo style he wants.
[/quote]

This is the big concern for the upcoming season. Laurent seems too small, and Diallo and Chatman too inexperienced for the big role. I don't get how Stanford Robinson got into a conversation about bigs, since he was one of the smaller players on URI. Just glance through the rosters, I see C or F for 6 or so players on most every successful A-10 team. Our current roster has 3 (or 4) as far as I can tell, and 1 (or 2) will be freshman (I've seen Diallo called a guard mostly, but forward sometimes). I get the lessened importance of bigs, but that works with teams having big guards and wings.

I look forward to a season where several very good 3-point shooters, who can also drive make for a very dangerous offensive team. Combined with excellent coaching, depth, and solid defense, improvement over last year is certain. But the team seems 1 big or near-big away from really having it.

[baseline47]

^ I agree with bobolink!

[NilesGold]

This is the big concern for the upcoming season. Laurent seems too small, and Diallo and Chatman too inexperienced for the big role. I don't get how Stanford Robinson got into a conversation about bigs, since he was one of the smaller players on URI. Just glance through the rosters, I see C or F for 6 or so players on most every successful A-10 team. Our current roster has 3 (or 4) as far as I can tell, and 1 (or 2) will be freshman (I've seen Diallo called a guard mostly, but forward sometimes). I get the lessened importance of bigs, but that works with teams having big guards and wings.

I look forward to a season where several very good 3-point shooters, who can also drive make for a very dangerous offensive team. Combined with excellent coaching, depth, and solid defense, improvement over last year is certain. But the team seems 1 big or near-big away from really having it.

The # of F/C on the roster is insignificant, they need to be good players too. The top teams in the A10 last year only had a few such good players. UMass will have 5 such players on the roster (Diallo is definitely a forward), what we don't know is how good all of them will be. I'm optimistic that Chatman & Diallo will be able to contribute this season, at least to some degree. I'm encouraged by the fact that McCall and staff don't seem to have felt the need to jump at signing someone who wasn't a perfect fit.

While not ideal, UMass does have some size/length at guard with Cobb, Hayward, and Pierre, who could conceivably help out with defense and rebounding in a pinch if UMass needs/wants to play smaller lineups.

[78]

I'm not going to now, nor will I ever compare the the talent level on this team with that of the team that has won 2 out of the last 3 national championships. That said, that team has won with playing either one or no real big men on the floor most of the time. Sure, their talent level is outrageous, but they had/have guards and mid-size forwards who go after it on the boards and defense. I have tried to stay quiet here, but all of this focus on "big" men and how nervous people are is driving me crazy. Basketball is going in a completely different direction.

[baseline47]

^ The referenced team started a couple of 6'9" guys who can really play. Matt McCall would take either one or both of them at UMass. Both, in my humble opinion, meet the definition of a "Big".

At the risk of contributing to your craziness, maybe it'd be helpful to define "Big"? In collegiate basketball, it's a player who's generally, but not always, at least 6'7' or taller, and is big enough, strong enough, and quick enough to play either center or power forward. At a minimum, a Big should give you defense (i.e., protect the rim) and defensive rebounding. If he can get offensive rebounds and score in the paint, so much the better. If he can score from outside, wonderful!

Have a nice day!

[NilesGold]

^ Villanova battled injuries during the season, but still only had 9 guys who played meaningful minutes (>3 mpg), and only 2 of them would ever be classified as "bigs", Omari Spellman and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, and only Spellman was a starter. Mikal Bridges is the only other guy amongst those 9 who's 6'7" (or taller), but he's got a slender frame and listed well under 200 lbs - he's not a big man.

I suspect Laurent could be utilized in a similar fashion to how Villanova used Eric Paschall, who at 6'6" is not a traditional big man, but has enough size and strength to put up some resistance in the paint on defense, and on offense no opposing traditional big man can guard him.

[eldonabe]

^Get out your banjos... Do-se-do and around we go!!!!!!!!!!!

- 6'8" is a power forward/center?
- Well if his BMI is above 21 then yes, otherwise he is a stretch forward at most


- Ok then what if he is only 6'7" can he be a a PF/C?
- well, then the BMI should increase porportionally to 23 or 24, otherwise no.


- OK then, what if the kid is 6'11" - he HAS to be a OF/C right?
- if he weighs 190LBS soaking wet, then no, otherwise - Maybe....


- But Villnova, they won the NC without bigs???
- Ah a special case, they won it without a traditionall big man. Those are entirely different rules altogether......


- Wait I am confused: A center is not a big-man?
- No not always...

- But you need a big-man to be successful - right?
- Of course you do, but you don't always have to - do you get it now?



Ok then.... thanks for the clarification - lets talk about the birds and bees now!

[Crank]

I wonder if we ever kicked the tires on this local kid: https://www.cardchronicle.com/2018/7/5/ ... matt-hanna

[Old Cage]

^ That's a strange adventure - Catholic Conference POY, to not getting a DI ship on a prep team that got 5, to Colby, to sitting out and walking on. He's from Milford. Maybe IV knows the story.

Also - Is it logical (but what NCAA rule is?) that a walk-on transfer needs to sit?

[InnervisionsUMASS]

I know him and his family well. His size has always been his biggest issue. UMass did look at him, but it never went anywhere. Great kid.

This is the same family that I was able to get the details regarding the Milford softball player that ended up at UK.

[Crank]

I'm sure size was the issue; he's listed at 5'9" but that is very generous. Kid is very quick and very tough and plays with an edge. Quite a step up to be heading to Louisville, even as a preferred walk-on.

[bobolink]

This is the big concern for the upcoming season. Laurent seems too small, and Diallo and Chatman too inexperienced for the big role. I don't get how Stanford Robinson got into a conversation about bigs, since he was one of the smaller players on URI. Just glance through the rosters, I see C or F for 6 or so players on most every successful A-10 team. Our current roster has 3 (or 4) as far as I can tell, and 1 (or 2) will be freshman (I've seen Diallo called a guard mostly, but forward sometimes). I get the lessened importance of bigs, but that works with teams having big guards and wings.

I look forward to a season where several very good 3-point shooters, who can also drive make for a very dangerous offensive team. Combined with excellent coaching, depth, and solid defense, improvement over last year is certain. But the team seems 1 big or near-big away from really having it.

The # of F/C on the roster is insignificant, they need to be good players too. The top teams in the A10 last year only had a few such good players. UMass will have 5 such players on the roster (Diallo is definitely a forward), what we don't know is how good all of them will be. I'm optimistic that Chatman & Diallo will be able to contribute this season, at least to some degree. I'm encouraged by the fact that McCall and staff don't seem to have felt the need to jump at signing someone who wasn't a perfect fit.

While not ideal, UMass does have some size/length at guard with Cobb, Hayward, and Pierre, who could conceivably help out with defense and rebounding in a pinch if UMass needs/wants to play smaller lineups.

Of course you're right that they need to be good players too, and yes A-10 teams don't have many. Whether there are 5 bigs or 5 F/Cs or 3 bigs as I wrote, they're all unproven to some extent. Success in the upcoming season may depend on Diallo and/or Chatman coming up to speed quickly. Or maybe super blossoming later in the season, leading to a nice late conference run and/or tourney success.

The most excellent fact you point out, Niles, is that Coach McCall isn't jumping to sign someone/anyone. Says a lot.

I'm also a little concerned (can't avoid puns here) that "some size/length" at guards isn't "very good size/length" that enables playing Pip and a small point guard together. Might be annoying to finally have 2 good true PGs and not be in good position to play them. But who except perhaps Coach McCall can possibly know now. Last season I thought the team have 4 solid bigs, but was iffy otherwise. I almost couldn't imagine games with Hines as the 1 and only big. Good to not obsess about size.

[baseline47]

Harper Williams played power forward or center? He was 6'6" or a 6'7" and the A10 player of the year.