KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

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Floyd
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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by Floyd » Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:22 am

I really hope Javohn sticks around. With him and Noah, we should be very solid at the point. Without him, really lacking depth there.

We could be ok, depending on how all these guys mesh. It should be more of a team effort next season, vs Tre as the guy and a cast around him, and that may work. Seems to be guys that can score, guys that can defend, and a decent amount of depth. With transfers it can be tough to click right away, but the right guys and mindset can get it done.

I liked Ronnie, really wish he stayed. Gave us that midrange game we need. For whatever reasons he's leaving, I wish him well.

While it sucks to lose a player like Tre, I always got the impression he felt he was too good for UMass, so not surprised he left. But, I'll stick behind the guys still here and hope they keep grinding and find success and elevate the program
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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by DanaDingle3 » Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:41 am

NilesGold wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 7:54 am
DeGray, while talented, wasn't a particularly good fit. He's effective from 15ft and in, but he's not really much of a deep threat. His rebounding is mediocre at best, but the biggest problem is, like you said, his defense.
DeGray shot 37% from 3 on almost 2 attempts/game. That's excellent for a freshman 4 in the A10, or really any conference. I do agree about the deficiency in interior defense.

The latter half of last year, it looked like McCall found a way to use Tre within the context of the team offense; there was less PnR at top, with more movement off the ball. This year, it looked like we settled back in a boring PnR, without much movement. Odd, and like others have said, Tre's people didn't like how he was used in the PnR. Trying to be optimistic, losing Tre and DeGray gives McCall an opportunity to look for stronger interior D, rebounding and rim protection. While those guys were offensively skilled, neither focused on those needs.

If we can find another + guy down low, this team could be fun and win some games. Having guys like Noah, TJ, Preston, Walker, Cairo provides a strong core, but with these guard transfers, McCall looks to be entering a tough balancing act.

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by NilesGold » Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:08 am

DanaDingle3 wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:41 am DeGray shot 37% from 3 on almost 2 attempts/game. That's excellent for a freshman 4 in the A10, or really any conference. I do agree about the deficiency in interior defense.
He only made 10 3's all season, and he was 33% in A10 conference play. He only ever took them when there wasn't a defender within 5ft.

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by Mizor » Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:37 am

Just curious, why wait so long to enter the portal? Was he waiting to make sure he had a landing spot before making the move?

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by Upstate10 » Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:47 am

Mizor wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:37 am Just curious, why wait so long to enter the portal? Was he waiting to make sure he had a landing spot before making the move?
I would be shocked if he doesn’t already know where he’s going. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s going with TB

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by UMassfan_19 » Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:49 am

Upstate10 wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:21 am
UMassfan_19 wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:11 am
InnervisionsUMASS wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:44 am Brutal transfer here. Something has changed in the last few weeks.
Tony got a job
What level school? Higher than us?

If you can’t say it publicly feel free to PM :lol:
Full on speculating

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by DanaDingle3 » Sun Apr 25, 2021 12:47 pm

NilesGold wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:08 am
DanaDingle3 wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:41 am DeGray shot 37% from 3 on almost 2 attempts/game. That's excellent for a freshman 4 in the A10, or really any conference. I do agree about the deficiency in interior defense.
He only made 10 3's all season, and he was 33% in A10 conference play. He only ever took them when there wasn't a defender within 5ft.
He *only* made 51 fgs all year, with splits of 54%/37%, playing within the offense and averaging 9 pts and 5 boards. I get the need to upgrade interior defense, but good luck finding a defensive upgrade at the 4 who will also shoot better. That's really dreaming.

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by Kelz626 » Sun Apr 25, 2021 2:22 pm

Mizor wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:37 am Just curious, why wait so long to enter the portal? Was he waiting to make sure he had a landing spot before making the move?
It looks like last week the team started working out and doing drills. The optimistic take would be based on what they were working on plus the additions of Buttrick and Steadman, DeGray sees they’re going to an uptempo style which he doesn’t fit and is deciding to look for a spot where he fits better. The pessimistic take would be this is just the 2nd domino in the fallout from the Bergeron Era.

In either case McCall will now, for the 5th time in as many years, have at a minimum half a roster of newcomers with 5 recruits and Preston coming back after missing last year

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by inthescoop » Sun Apr 25, 2021 3:26 pm

TB will get a new coaching job, and DeGray may follow but it won’t be where Tre is going.

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by uz2b-len » Sun Apr 25, 2021 3:35 pm

If the rest of the team sticks around, I will be pleased and satisfied with McCall. Tre and Ronnie were two guys who didn't really want to be here and now they're not. If the transfers buy in, we could be pretty tough.
"All credit to my teammates, all glory to God."-- Chaz Williams

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by NilesGold » Sun Apr 25, 2021 5:31 pm

DanaDingle3 wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 12:47 pm He *only* made 51 fgs all year, with splits of 54%/37%, playing within the offense and averaging 9 pts and 5 boards. I get the need to upgrade interior defense, but good luck finding a defensive upgrade at the 4 who will also shoot better. That's really dreaming.
McCall's offense wants to score at the rim, and beyond the 3pt line, defense and rebounding is of course beneficial. DeGray isn't bad at anything, but his defense and rebounding are mediocre at best, his 3pt shooting and scoring at the rim are passable, but not particularly good... he's a well rounded player who's best attribute is his ability to score in the mid-range - which UMass' offense doesn't really look to do.

A better fit for UMass would probably be someone who excels at defense & rebounding... or excels at 3pt shooting... I don't expect them to be able to find someone who can do both of those things very well.

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by 69MG » Sun Apr 25, 2021 7:50 pm

jake lieberman
@jakelieberman2
· 4h
Freshman UMass transfer Ronnie DeGray (@Ronnie_DeGray23) tells me that he has heard from the following: Mizzou, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Xavier, Cincinnati, UNLV, LSU, Penn State, + others.
There have been a lot of comments about players entering the portal this last having a hard time finding a landing spot. Maybe so in other years. With so many kids entering the portal late, lots of spots are still opening up.

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by inthescoop » Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:27 pm

^
Wow impressive list.

Arguing that DeGray wasn’t the right fit or not the type of player for this squad is a lost cause at this point. Look at the schools that are interested; that says it all.

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by minutefanjsf » Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:28 pm

NilesGold wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 5:31 pm
DanaDingle3 wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 12:47 pm He *only* made 51 fgs all year, with splits of 54%/37%, playing within the offense and averaging 9 pts and 5 boards. I get the need to upgrade interior defense, but good luck finding a defensive upgrade at the 4 who will also shoot better. That's really dreaming.
McCall's offense wants to score at the rim, and beyond the 3pt line, defense and rebounding is of course beneficial. DeGray isn't bad at anything, but his defense and rebounding are mediocre at best, his 3pt shooting and scoring at the rim are passable, but not particularly good... he's a well rounded player who's best attribute is his ability to score in the mid-range - which UMass' offense doesn't really look to do.

A better fit for UMass would probably be someone who excels at defense & rebounding... or excels at 3pt shooting... I don't expect them to be able to find someone who can do both of those things very well.
He is a “warrior” type player. He was a true freshman. Not a five star guy. He has intangibles and could be taught D. Part of of the issue was at the positioning and expectations of UMass on D and offense for the 4. He was not in a position to dominate those areas too far from the basket, too often. I think he will become a great player. He reminded me of 90s era players. He has a cool low key swagger that he seems to be able to back up.

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Re: KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

Post by Floyd » Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:03 am

^ & ^^ I agree. Thought he was very efficient and pretty steady, especially for a freshman. Showed he could shoot it when open, wasn't hesitant to rebound, and played smart. Was there a few freshman mistakes here and there, sure, but I thought he was very solid. And I'll take a guy with a good mid range game, keeps teams honest, and the more options, the better.

Ronnie is a good player, its a loss for us for sure
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