Roster management

[lv20gt]

Here is the current breakdown roughly by position for next year in terms of remaining eligibility (meaning if they can play 2 more years they will be listed as a jr).

PG - Sturdivant (Jr), Smith (So)
SG - Maxwell (So), Kelly (So)
SF - Coleman (So), J. Moore (FR if he is redshirtting this year)
PF - Meka (So)
C - Howard (JR), Saba (SO)

Usher and Bubba are out of eligibility (unless Bubba gets an extension to the 6 year rule which who knows).

Devoe and K. Moore could come back and count against the cap. I doubt Devoe will. No idea about Khalid.

For the scholarship reduction. We were hit with a 1 ship reduction for 4 years beginning with 19-20 I believe. This would have been the third year for it and next year would have been the final year. My understanding is that penalty was kicked back to the committee because they hadn't sufficiently proven some sort of aggravating penalty or something. My guess is we would try to stay under it and just have "time served" whenever they come back with their decision either way. I guess it's possible we could utilize the 13th scholarship until then.

So we currently have 9 scholarships, with the potential for Mike and Devoe to come back which would put us at 11 and the possibility that Hill will go on scholarship putting us at 12 which would be the soft cap. I think more likely is that Devoe moves on, and Hill goes on scholarship once we have the 13th back which would leave us with 2 scholarships to work with. IMO going after two transfers make sense both from a short term and longterm. Short term, it isn't likely that we sign a freshman that is an obvious and reliable upgrade at any of the spots. While there are certainly freshmen who will be able to come in and have an impact that is very often in part because of a big hole that allows for an opportunity. Long term, without any seniors next year, signing a freshman would mean one less scholarship to use the following year. So one way to look at the two scholarships is we have two scholarships for the next two classes. To me, we'd get more value out of using those two ships on transfers next year, then sign 2 in the following class.

Way down the road we do have an issue of a huge current freshman class which is the result of the free year basically stacking classes. Looks like we might be trying to redshirt J.Moore and Hill to help with that factor, and that issue can somewhat be addressed using scholarships the year that comes open on transfers. Or we might have transfers from that group anyways that works itself out.

 

[Root4GT]

Here is the current breakdown roughly by position for next year in terms of remaining eligibility (meaning if they can play 2 more years they will be listed as a jr).

PG - Sturdivant (Jr), Smith (So)
SG - Maxwell (So), Kelly (So)
SF - Coleman (So), J. Moore (FR if he is redshirtting this year)
PF - Meka (So)
C - Howard (JR), Saba (SO)

Usher and Bubba are out of eligibility (unless Bubba gets an extension to the 6 year rule which who knows).

Devoe and K. Moore could come back and count against the cap. I doubt Devoe will. No idea about Khalid.

For the scholarship reduction. We were hit with a 1 ship reduction for 4 years beginning with 19-20 I believe. This would have been the third year for it and next year would have been the final year. My understanding is that penalty was kicked back to the committee because they hadn't sufficiently proven some sort of aggravating penalty or something. My guess is we would try to stay under it and just have "time served" whenever they come back with their decision either way. I guess it's possible we could utilize the 13th scholarship until then.

So we currently have 9 scholarships, with the potential for Mike and Devoe to come back which would put us at 11 and the possibility that Hill will go on scholarship putting us at 12 which would be the soft cap. I think more likely is that Devoe moves on, and Hill goes on scholarship once we have the 13th back which would leave us with 2 scholarships to work with. IMO going after two transfers make sense both from a short term and longterm. Short term, it isn't likely that we sign a freshman that is an obvious and reliable upgrade at any of the spots. While there are certainly freshmen who will be able to come in and have an impact that is very often in part because of a big hole that allows for an opportunity. Long term, without any seniors next year, signing a freshman would mean one less scholarship to use the following year. So one way to look at the two scholarships is we have two scholarships for the next two classes. To me, we'd get more value out of using those two ships on transfers next year, then sign 2 in the following class.

Way down the road we do have an issue of a huge current freshman class which is the result of the free year basically stacking classes. Looks like we might be trying to redshirt J.Moore and Hill to help with that factor, and that issue can somewhat be addressed using scholarships the year that comes open on transfers. Or we might have transfers from that group anyways that works itself out.

So the bigger question is what gives anyone that the team as shown is anything more then a bottom half ACC team. While Coleman and Kelly are freshmen, no one on that roster strikes me as approaching All ACC capability. It took the ACC Player and Defensive Players of the Year for us to sniff the NCAAT. The above group has zero hope of doing that in my opinion. Talent matters, CJP isn't good at recruting talent.

 

[JPaul]

Leaving McCamish after the ND game the other night, I had the same feelings and thoughts I had leaving the FB stadium in Southbend in November. There’s always next year….?

 

[bke1984]

So the bigger question is what gives anyone that the team as shown is anything more then a bottom half ACC team. While Coleman and Kelly are freshmen, no one on that roster strikes me as approaching All ACC capability. It took the ACC Player and Defensive Players of the Year for us to sniff the NCAAT. The above group has zero hope of doing that in my opinion. Talent matters, CJP isn't good at recruting talent.

I’m curious what your thoughts were of Jose and Moses when they signed. They weren’t exactly DPOY/POY back then and many wouldn’t have considered them All ACC caliber.

 

[orientalnc]

I’m curious what your thoughts were of Jose and Moses when they signed. They weren’t exactly DPOY/POY back then and many wouldn’t have considered them All ACC caliber.

I hope @bke1984 replies also, but I will butt in with my thoughts.

Jose was a 3* when we signed him, but a lot of folks said he should have been a 4*. There was a lot of drama around his recruitment and we celebrated big time when he picked us over Rutgers. So, my expectations for him were pretty high, and he started at PG from the very beginning. I have to add here that the competition for the PG spot was not fierce when he arrived on campus. If that same kid had begun at GT for the 2021 season, he would not have been the starter.

Moses is an entirely different story. He was unranked by everyone. He had only played one season at Enloe and was very raw. You can go dig up GTSwarm posts from his freshman and sophomore years and see a player with a ton of issues. There was no reason to see him as a starter, much less anyone's POY.

 

[augustabuzz]

I hope @bke1984 replies also, but I will butt in with my thoughts.

Jose was a 3* when we signed him, but a lot of folks said he should have been a 4*. There was a lot of drama around his recruitment and we celebrated big time when he picked us over Rutgers. So, my expectations for him were pretty high, and he started at PG from the very beginning. I have to add here that the competition for the PG spot was not fierce when he arrived on campus. If that same kid had begun at GT for the 2021 season, he would not have been the starter.

Moses is an entirely different story. He was unranked by everyone. He had only played one season at Enloe and was very raw. You can go dig up GTSwarm posts from his freshman and sophomore years and see a player with a ton of issues. There was no reason to see him as a starter, much less anyone's POY.

And look what they became.

 

[alagold]

Here is the current breakdown roughly by position for next year in terms of remaining eligibility (meaning if they can play 2 more years they will be listed as a jr).

PG - Sturdivant (Jr), Smith (So)
SG - Maxwell (So), Kelly (So)
SF - Coleman (So), J. Moore (FR if he is redshirtting this year)
PF - Meka (So)
C - Howard (JR), Saba (SO)

Usher and Bubba are out of eligibility (unless Bubba gets an extension to the 6 year rule which who knows).

Devoe and K. Moore could come back and count against the cap. I doubt Devoe will. No idea about Khalid.

For the scholarship reduction. We were hit with a 1 ship reduction for 4 years beginning with 19-20 I believe. This would have been the third year for it and next year would have been the final year. My understanding is that penalty was kicked back to the committee because they hadn't sufficiently proven some sort of aggravating penalty or something. My guess is we would try to stay under it and just have "time served" whenever they come back with their decision either way. I guess it's possible we could utilize the 13th scholarship until then.

So we currently have 9 scholarships, with the potential for Mike and Devoe to come back which would put us at 11 and the possibility that Hill will go on scholarship putting us at 12 which would be the soft cap. I think more likely is that Devoe moves on, and Hill goes on scholarship once we have the 13th back which would leave us with 2 scholarships to work with. IMO going after two transfers make sense both from a short term and longterm. Short term, it isn't likely that we sign a freshman that is an obvious and reliable upgrade at any of the spots. While there are certainly freshmen who will be able to come in and have an impact that is very often in part because of a big hole that allows for an opportunity. Long term, without any seniors next year, signing a freshman would mean one less scholarship to use the following year. So one way to look at the two scholarships is we have two scholarships for the next two classes. To me, we'd get more value out of using those two ships on transfers next year, then sign 2 in the following class.

Way down the road we do have an issue of a huge current freshman class which is the result of the free year basically stacking classes. Looks like we might be trying to redshirt J.Moore and Hill to help with that factor, and that issue can somewhat be addressed using scholarships the year that comes open on transfers. Or we might have transfers from that group anyways that works itself out.

Good thoughts.It would take a blind man to not see we need front-ct transfer talent in a HUGE way.If we don't get it next yr could be horrendous. We are lower conference team WITH Mike and Ush--without them. hmmmm

 

[lv20gt]

So the bigger question is what gives anyone that the team as shown is anything more then a bottom half ACC team.

We all know that nothing you said was a question and just wanted a chance to whine.

But in terms of quality and not just roster breakdown.

In the back court we'll have Sturdy and Smith at the PG spot and both have shown flashes of high level play. They need to be more consistent but that's to be expected at this point. And we have three quarters of the ACC schedule and the summer before we get to next year.

At the wings we'll have Deebo, Kelly, and Maxwell all of whom have big reps as scorers and like the above have shown flashes of play. Like the above they are inconsistent but that is to be expected. The other thing about these three is that with Ush and Devoe there isn't as much opportunity as there will be next year.

4 is our biggest weakness. We have several options but all have issues. If Khalid returns he'd probably be our best option of what is returning, and that could work if one of a couple things happen. If his offensive game improves, one of our bigs become a solid offensive threat, or if our guards become better facilitators able to generate points for others (specifically our bigs). If either of the latter two things happen then a rotation of him and Meka at the 4 could be very good as it could handle either smaller or bigger line ups. Meka is similar to Khalid but just an interior defender vs a perimeter one, and more inexperienced. There's also Jalon Moore to consider and it's possible that he wins that spot. He has the athleticism but we haven't really seen much of him.

At the 5 between Howard, Saba, and Meka we will be fine as long as we get actual experience for them. We still probably shouldn't be trying to run our offense through them though. They would be helped out greatly by improvement from our guards in running the game so they weren't forced into that role.

 

[bke1984]

I hope @bke1984 replies also, but I will butt in with my thoughts.

Jose was a 3* when we signed him, but a lot of folks said he should have been a 4*. There was a lot of drama around his recruitment and we celebrated big time when he picked us over Rutgers. So, my expectations for him were pretty high, and he started at PG from the very beginning. I have to add here that the competition for the PG spot was not fierce when he arrived on campus. If that same kid had begun at GT for the 2021 season, he would not have been the starter.

Moses is an entirely different story. He was unranked by everyone. He had only played one season at Enloe and was very raw. You can go dig up GTSwarm posts from his freshman and sophomore years and see a player with a ton of issues. There was no reason to see him as a starter, much less anyone's POY.

Yeah, that’s my point. Those guys developed into great players. Even though everyone was happy with Jose Im not sure anyone was predicting he’d be one of the best 10-15 players in the league. And I GUARANTEE no one ever thought Moses would be ACCPOY.

Maxwell and Coleman look like they are ultimately going to be very good. Deivon too if he can gain some control.

So in short we are recruiting talent…but we need some bigs. And not always transfers, but some we can develop. I’m not sold on either of the two we’ve got beyond Howard right now. Moses had issues as a freshman, but no one denied his athleticism…you could always see potential. I hope we can develop these young bigs, but we probably oughta come up with a contingency plan.

 

[Connell62]

And not always transfers, but some we can develop. I’m not sold on either of the two we’ve got beyond Howard right now. Moses had issues as a freshman, but no one denied his athleticism…you could always see potential. I hope we can develop these young bigs, but we probably oughta come up with a contingency plan.

There are three on the roster, all with multiple years to play, and IMO, they all have a strong upside.

I'm not sure that any of the three have potential to be all ACC, but I can see them developing into solid contributors if they stick.

This is based on absolutely nothing other than my gut feeling, but I wouldn't surprised if Saba left. He doesn't seem very happy!

 

[orientalnc]

This is based on absolutely nothing other than my gut feeling, but I wouldn't surprised if Saba left. He doesn't seem very happy!

We share this gut feeling. I have wondered about Saba and his future at GT on several occasions. CJP says he is very skilled and I can only wish I had seen those skills. He's young for a college Sophomore and maybe what I am seeing (or not seeing) is a result of him being so young. All that aside, he seems to lack the athleticism and basketball instincts of his teammates.

 

[Root4GT]

And look what they became.

They became terrific players. Counting on guys like Moses to become All ACC Players is fools gold as it happens once every 30+ years

 

[lv20gt]

This is based on absolutely nothing other than my gut feeling, but I wouldn't surprised if Saba left. He doesn't seem very happy!

Last time I heard this it was about Devoe and his body language.

 

[slugboy]

Last time I heard this it was about Devoe and his body language.

I don’t recall Moses Wright being all that happy early on. He was under a lot of pressure to improve

 

[William S. Baker]

How in world do you have a guy like Saba and not play him! He is big, strong rebounder, and if you make him always stay within 5 feet of the basket, he can contribute big time. Let other 4 run their tales off and substitute liberally.

 

[Rzunz]

How in world do you have a guy like Saba and not play him! He is big, strong rebounder, and if you make him always stay within 5 feet of the basket, he can contribute big time. Let other 4 run their tales off and substitute liberally.

Sounds simple enough

 

[GT11]

How in world do you have a guy like Saba and not play him! He is big, strong rebounder, and if you make him always stay within 5 feet of the basket, he can contribute big time. Let other 4 run their tales off and substitute liberally.

What games have you been watching? He’s 2?years away

 

[YlJacket]

Saba cannot play against a team like ND. They made him play in space and exposed him quickly and badly

I am hoping that against a team like UNC he can play 10 to 15 min against Bacot and simply keep him off the offensive boards. If he can do that he can be a big positive tomorrow

 

[Connell62]

Last time I heard this it was about Devoe and his body language.

It's still not great.

 

[bke1984]

It's still not great.

Agreed. His mood seems up and down. And he’s great and I’m not sure where we’d be without him, but he seems to disappear at key times. I wish he showed the drive he had in the Georgia game every night out - even when all the shots aren’t falling like they were that night.