My way too early, possibly problematic look at potential GT Hoops roster management

dtm1997

dtm1997

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Been bouncing this concept around in my head for a while. I'm all for supporting our student-athletes, but with NIL, it's now a performance driven enterprise. Especially when you need about $1.5MM-$2MM minimum to compete at the High Major level.

I don't get worried about game to game this season. This week sucked, but I'm not yet worried about it's impact on the long-term view.

With that said, here are my initial thoughts on how roster management may unfold in the off-season.

Out of eligibility:
Kyle Sturdivant
Tyzhaun Claude

Transfer Out:
Deebo Coleman (I think he might enjoy a fresh start, possibly at a lower level)

Processed:
Amaree Abram (Writing appears to be on the wall)
Ebenezer Dowouna (Just doesn't bring enough to the table)
Ibrahim Souare (Pretty obvious spot to upgrade talent)

Too early to tell:
Lance Terry (Could very well set up for a nice Super Senior season at GT or might just be keeping his eligibility to transfer)
Miles Kelly
Tafara Gapare (I think he stays and we try to develop him. Still too raw today)
Baye Ndongo (I think he'll end up 1 & done)
Ibrahima Sacko (Could go either way, but could be a nice developmental wing)

Staying:
Kowacie Reeves
Nait George

Incoming:
Jaeden Mustaf
Darrion Sutton
Cole Kirouac
Net net - we could easily see 6+ spots turn over this year with 3 already filled. Looking forward how the talent is managed & upgraded.
 

Root4GT

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reckrider said:
Not sure why Ndongo can’t be our Armando Bacot. Is he really NBA ready?
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Bacot’s game is not well suited for the NBA. He is getting a nice NIL payout every year.

Ndongo has a much higher NBA upside. He needs to develop a game outside the paint to be a valuable NBA player. Now the question is does he try and do that as a professional or another year in college.
 
kg01

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Root4GT said:
Bacot’s game is not well suited for the NBA. He is getting a nice NIL payout every year.

Ndongo has a much higher NBA upside. He needs to develop a game outside the paint to be a valuable NBA player. Now the question is does he try and do that as a professional or another year in college.
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Yeah I've seen enough. He could go if he wants. Bigs much less skilled than him get picked off assumptions of crap they might do. Hope he enjoys it enough to stay.
 
The Doddfather

The Doddfather

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kg01 said:
Yeah I've seen enough. He could go if he wants. Bigs much less skilled than him get picked off assumptions of crap they might do. Hope he enjoys it enough to stay.
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That Dirk step-back, followed up by the 3 were the highlights of his 7 straight fg’s in the first half. Those two shots showed me a lot about his game.
 

reckrider

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I’m betting we lose Claude, Kyle, Abram, Kelly and Ndongo (if everyone is right that he’s NBA ready). Three newcomers plus Forest leaves us with one additional open spot.
 
iopjacket

iopjacket

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dtm1997 said:
Been bouncing this concept around in my head for a while. I'm all for supporting our student-athletes, but with NIL, it's now a performance driven enterprise. Especially when you need about $1.5MM-$2MM minimum to compete at the High Major level.

I don't get worried about game to game this season. This week sucked, but I'm not yet worried about it's impact on the long-term view.

With that said, here are my initial thoughts on how roster management may unfold in the off-season.

Out of eligibility:
Kyle Sturdivant
Tyzhaun Claude

Transfer Out:
Deebo Coleman (I think he might enjoy a fresh start, possibly at a lower level)

Processed:
Amaree Abram (Writing appears to be on the wall)
Ebenezer Dowouna (Just doesn't bring enough to the table)
Ibrahim Souare (Pretty obvious spot to upgrade talent)

Too early to tell:
Lance Terry (Could very well set up for a nice Super Senior season at GT or might just be keeping his eligibility to transfer)
Miles Kelly
Tafara Gapare (I think he stays and we try to develop him. Still too raw today)
Baye Ndongo (I think he'll end up 1 & done)
Ibrahima Sacko (Could go either way, but could be a nice developmental wing)

Staying:
Kowacie Reeves
Nait George

Incoming:
Jaeden Mustaf
Darrion Sutton
Cole Kirouac
Net net - we could easily see 6+ spots turn over this year with 3 already filled. Looking forward how the talent is managed & upgraded.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your thoughts. I hope we can round up enough NIL funding to keep Baye Ndongo at least for another year. Does Is Jalen Forrest's absence from the Incoming List indicate his status is still up in the air?
 
slugboy

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dtm1997 said:
Just my opinion, but I think it'll be safe to assume Jalen Forrest is on the team when Jalen Forrest is on the team.
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His dad isn’t just an alum, he’s hooked into AAU. It might not be a scholarship, but it seems like there are intangible reasons to have him on the roster
 
New Old Guy

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dtm1997 said:
Been bouncing this concept around in my head for a while. I'm all for supporting our student-athletes, but with NIL, it's now a performance driven enterprise. Especially when you need about $1.5MM-$2MM minimum to compete at the High Major level.

I don't get worried about game to game this season. This week sucked, but I'm not yet worried about it's impact on the long-term view.

With that said, here are my initial thoughts on how roster management may unfold in the off-season.

Out of eligibility:
Kyle Sturdivant
Tyzhaun Claude

Transfer Out:
Deebo Coleman (I think he might enjoy a fresh start, possibly at a lower level)

Processed:
Amaree Abram (Writing appears to be on the wall)
Ebenezer Dowouna (Just doesn't bring enough to the table)
Ibrahim Souare (Pretty obvious spot to upgrade talent)

Too early to tell:
Lance Terry (Could very well set up for a nice Super Senior season at GT or might just be keeping his eligibility to transfer)
Miles Kelly
Tafara Gapare (I think he stays and we try to develop him. Still too raw today)
Baye Ndongo (I think he'll end up 1 & done)
Ibrahima Sacko (Could go either way, but could be a nice developmental wing)

Staying:
Kowacie Reeves
Nait George

Incoming:
Jaeden Mustaf
Darrion Sutton
Cole Kirouac
Net net - we could easily see 6+ spots turn over this year with 3 already filled. Looking forward how the talent is managed & upgraded.
Click to expand...
I waited for a while to reply to this, but here goes!

First off, I share your concerns that we are facing a “good problem” in roster management next year. We have a lot more players than we have scholarships to offer. And none of us know how it will all shake out. But I do disagree a little with a couple of your assumptions.

i think Deebo is just as likely to stay as he is to leave. Next year he is a senior, and will be a leader of our team. And next year our team could be very high-profile. Deebo needs to do whatever he thinks will best position him to showcase his skill set to hopefully get to the NBA. I’m not sure transferring (especially transferring down) will be his best option.

Also you assume Souare will go and provide an “obvious spot to upgrade talent”. You certainly might be right, but how can we know that? He has not played in a game, and I personally have not been to a practice this year. His talent is an unknown so far.

On your “incoming” list you left off Forrest (which makes our “problem” even worse). Over the Holidays his Dad told me Jalen is coming next season. And there are a couple of other studs we are actively recruiting.

So thanks for getting us thinking about the roster for next year, and for writing down your assumptions and guesses. It will be an adventure!
 

MtnWasp

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With a lot of these guys, the situation is fluid.

As for the probability of transfer at the moment, I would say it is Kelly >> Deebo.

Deebo looks the most comfortable in this system than I've seen him at GT and I don't think he is an NBA prospect and I think he knows it. He may value the GT degree.

On the other hand, Kelly does not look comfortable in this system and we know that he has NBA aspirations. Unless he snaps out of it, I could easily see him wanting to show his wares from different scenery.

I like dtm's "too early to tell" list. Don't know about Ndongo. I think he is a pro at some point. There is a lot of season left for him to dazzle. It may become obvious as the season progresses. On the other hand, he is not American and may have more patience. I think Sacko is the safest bet to stay on that list, at least at this point.

From listening to our coach, I would say that he is a "be tough and produce or move on" kind of guy. I think he will feel justified to upgrade at any opportunity. I think we see a lot of player turnover, at least in the early stages of his tenure.
 
Northeast Stinger

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dtm1997 said:
Been bouncing this concept around in my head for a while. I'm all for supporting our student-athletes, but with NIL, it's now a performance driven enterprise. Especially when you need about $1.5MM-$2MM minimum to compete at the High Major level.

I don't get worried about game to game this season. This week sucked, but I'm not yet worried about it's impact on the long-term view.

With that said, here are my initial thoughts on how roster management may unfold in the off-season.

Out of eligibility:
Kyle Sturdivant
Tyzhaun Claude

Transfer Out:
Deebo Coleman (I think he might enjoy a fresh start, possibly at a lower level)

Processed:
Amaree Abram (Writing appears to be on the wall)
Ebenezer Dowouna (Just doesn't bring enough to the table)
Ibrahim Souare (Pretty obvious spot to upgrade talent)

Too early to tell:
Lance Terry (Could very well set up for a nice Super Senior season at GT or might just be keeping his eligibility to transfer)
Miles Kelly
Tafara Gapare (I think he stays and we try to develop him. Still too raw today)
Baye Ndongo (I think he'll end up 1 & done)
Ibrahima Sacko (Could go either way, but could be a nice developmental wing)

Staying:
Kowacie Reeves
Nait George

Incoming:
Jaeden Mustaf
Darrion Sutton
Cole Kirouac
Net net - we could easily see 6+ spots turn over this year with 3 already filled. Looking forward how the talent is managed & upgraded.
Click to expand...
Nice job. I question a couple but I think you’re on target.
 
Connell62

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I posted this elsewhere, so I’ll post it here as well.

Prior to yesterday’s game, I talked to an executive in the Dallas Mavericks organization who was in attendance. I asked him who he thought on the floor had potential to make the leap.

Baye was the name he mentioned, so my next question was not next year, right? He said it was too early to tell but possibly. I tend to think he needs another year to understand how to be dominant on both ends for the full 40, but you never know these days.

He drips with potential, but there a few areas that he needs to improve. In addition to being locked in the full game (like someone said above, he should be demanding the ball), his free-throw shooting % is going in the wrong direction (he gets there often), and he needs to get stronger and in better shape.
 

Root4GT

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Connell62 said:
I posted this elsewhere, so I’ll post it here as well.

Prior to yesterday’s game, I talked to an executive in the Dallas Mavericks organization who was in attendance. I asked him who he thought on the floor had potential to make the leap.

Baye was the name he mentioned, so my next question was not next year, right? He said it was too early to tell but possibly. I tend to think he needs another year to understand how to be dominant on both ends for the full 40, but you never know these days.

He drips with potential, but there a few areas that he needs to improve. In addition to being locked in the full game (like someone said above, he should be demanding the ball), his free-throw shooting % is going in the wrong direction (he gets there often), and he needs to get stronger and in better shape.
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Great info! Thanks
 

lv20gt

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I tend to look at things by position and year.

If Nobody leaves we have the following with their class for next year.

PG - George (soph), Abram (JR)
SG - Kelly (SR), Terry (SR), Mustaf (FR), Forrest (FR),
SF - Reeves (SR), Coleman (SR), Sutton (FR)
PF - Ndongo (SO), Gapare (JR), Sacko (Soph), Souare (R.FR?)
C - Dowuona (SR), Kirouac (FR)


That is 15 guys with only 13 spots, so we will need some attrition to make the numbers work. IMO the bold will be the core of the team next year if they return, while the non bold would be supporting or situational players. Some, like Gapare or Sacko might be full rotation players depending on how they develop and what we add. I think regardless, the staff will likely want to try and go after a PG recruit, based on recent talk, and then probably a big from the portal. So I would expect a minimum of 4 departures and possibly more.

I think, somewhat in order of likihood, the following might transfer/not return.

Abram - obvious reasons.
Dowuona - just not an ACC level player.
Coleman - Went from being a starter playing 30 minutes to a bench player playing 20 under a new coach. Could see him transferring to a place more likely to try and feature him more.
Ndongo - either pro early, or cynically, to some contender looking to poach and willing to funnel him money regardless of the hows involved.
Forrest - we should be knowing soon if he enrolls for the spring semester, but at the moment I put him this high simply because he isn't here yet so wouldn't really be leaving. Might make the decision easier.
One of Sacko/Souare - just typical freshmen not getting a whole lot of burn. Souare would be more likely than Sacko.
Terry - Get similar feelings as Parham. Gets injured, could return, but he'd be returning to a completely different team. Could see him transfer for that reason.
Kelly - went from aspirations of leaving early for the NBA draft to struggling. Could see him trying to transfer to a contender and thinking somewhere else might fit him better. Put him this low because how much freedom he has had and how much of a greenlight he has been given.
 
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