Connor Crabtree

[spider23]

Some high school highlights. Keep in mind, we will be getting a player two years advanced - with a solid year at Tulane, starting half the games as a freshman and shooting 36% from 3, and 80% from the line. Don't bash me, but kind of see some Tyler Herro in his game. I hope Moon and co. are scouring the transfer wire for another similar talent as we type. I saw where our bball twitter liked the Wichita State transfer announcements. Would love to see us in the game for Noah Fernandes - super talented Gilly/KA type if you ask me. Though I think all three WSU guards are going to be highly coveted.

I am excited to see how Crabtree and Burton are used next year.

 

[spider23]

And the highlights from Richmond site:

 

[SFspidur]

I hope Moon and co. are scouring the transfer wire for another similar talent as we type.

Do you know something the rest of us don't? Because unless somebody's leaving, we don't have any open scholarships for next year. Wilson took our open spot from this year and Weir got the Verbinskis schollie.

 

[spider23]

Do you know something the rest of us don't? Because unless somebody's leaving, we don't have any open scholarships for next year. Wilson took our open spot from this year and Weir got the Verbinskis schollie.

SF, I would assume that like the other 350 D1 coaches, Mooney and staff are searching "just in case". Heck, we have seen this in past years that we are in touch with a recruit when no slot. With ~ 700 transfers/year now, numbers would indicate we have another one. IF they do let seniors return (due to Covid-19 early stoppage - which BTW I don't like), they would have to expand allowable scholarships in any case. I would say more possibility of an opening than not. Woj and Gus have to be looking at Connor and Isaiah coming in an eating into minutes too. But no inside information, other than my Nostradamus23 inkling.

 

[Eight Legger]

Do you know something the rest of us don't? Because unless somebody's leaving, we don't have any open scholarships for next year. Wilson took our open spot from this year and Weir got the Verbinskis schollie.

We can bring one of the Wichita State guards on and they can pay their own way for a year. Since school will be conducted online only for at least another year, this should reduce costs to an affordable level. Then, once everything is back to normal in 2022, we'll be all set!

 

[VT4700]

Thoughts on Wojcik and Sal maybe redshirting next year? They were mainly our 9th and 10th guys this year, and are looking at maybe 10th and 11th at best next year. I like both, but it sure seems like they would have a lot more playing time and could help us a lot more if they each had two years after next year.

 

[VT4700]

I think it makes a lot of sense. In 2 years, we would have:

Andre and Grace as seniors.
Wojcik, Sal, Burton, and Crabtree as juniors.
Weir and Wilson as sophomores.

 

[97spiderfan]

Gonna be a tough ask for Woj or Sal to take a redshirt year. Woj would go from starting his freshman year to redshirting this Junior year. That is a bitter pill. Honestly, might as well transfer if that is your option.

 

[97spiderfan]

Crabtree's college highlights are better than Burton's high school highlights. For the first time in forever, Mooney has a pair of top notch wing players. Maybe Martel and K. Smith but see Crabtree and Burton as better versions of each. K. Smith was such a glue guy though, made him pretty indispensable. Not sure how all of that time is gonna get distributed next year.

 

[spider23]

Crabtree's college highlights are better than Burton's high school highlights. For the first time in forever, Mooney has a pair of top notch wing players. Maybe Martel and K. Smith but see Crabtree and Burton as better versions of each. K. Smith was such a glue guy though, made him pretty indispensable. Not sure how all of that time is gonna get distributed next year.

97, based on highlights (and Crabtree has some nice one's and D1 production to back it up) I was thinking the same thing - between Sherod/Crabtree/Burton we have best set of wings in forever, or back to Martel/Butler/K Smith - and you may be right - possibly more talented group. Guessing that Mooney goes a bit with a lineup with Burton at the 4 any time Grant or Cayo is out. I think - based on the tape - that Crabtree can go between the 2 and 3.
Again, unfortunately Woj and Goose gets squeezed in that scenario.

 

[spider23]

Thoughts on Wojcik and Sal maybe redshirting next year? They were mainly our 9th and 10th guys this year, and are looking at maybe 10th and 11th at best next year. I like both, but it sure seems like they would have a lot more playing time and could help us a lot more if they each had two years after next year.

Could definitely see Woj looking for more minutes somewhere else - players want to play. Sal - I could see it working out for him, but have to doubt he would want to RS as a non injured junior. He does still seem like a guy that could develop a little more and get stronger.

 

[Spider B]

Goose will play. Very valuable defensive player.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

97, based on highlights (and Crabtree has some nice one's and D1 production to back it up) I was thinking the same thing - between Sherod/Crabtree/Burton we have best set of wings in forever, or back to Martel/Butler/K Smith - and you may be right - possibly more talented group. Guessing that Mooney goes a bit with a lineup with Burton at the 4 any time Grant or Cayo is out. I think - based on the tape - that Crabtree can go between the 2 and 3.
Again, unfortunately Woj and Goose gets squeezed in that scenario.

Goose plays just good defense and with his quickness, his minutes may stay close to this year.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

Why not Weir and Wilson redshirt?

 

[gcarter52]

Why not Weir and Wilson redshirt?

That makes good sense!!

 

[97spiderfan]

Why not Weir and Wilson redshirt?

We don't have a true back up PG, which Wilson is. Already on record that if Weir is the player we think he can be, he should be able to get Grace's minutes.

But yes, for a coach who often doesn't even use his full scholarship allotment, having a 13 guys, who can all play is uncharted terrority and while it presents some great opportunities, it will also present some great challenges in terms of PT. Some guys are going to get the short end of the stick.

 

[spiderman]

Why not Weir and Wilson redshirt?

and make the following class 7 deep?
I vote no to developmental redshirts. guys get 4 years. best guys play.

 

[urmite]

We don't have a true back up PG, which Wilson is. Already on record that if Weir is the player we think he can be, he should be able to get Grace's minutes.

But yes, for a coach who often doesn't even use his full scholarship allotment, having a 13 guys, who can all play is uncharted terrority and while it presents some great opportunities, it will also present some great challenges in terms of PT. Some guys are going to get the short end of the stick.

Starting 5 get 16 minutes, 8 man bench gets 15. Problem solved...

 

[VT4700]

Why not Weir and Wilson redshirt?

If the plan is for Wilson and Weir to take over for Jacob and Grant, and both are good enough to get some minutes next year, the experience of playing some would be more valuable than reshirting.

Also, if they both redshirt, that still does not solve the playing time problem for Wojcik and Sal, who both might end wanting to redshirt anyway.

 

[ur2K]

In college b-ball today, there's no reason to redshirt anyone unless they really aren't ready to play, are sitting for a transfer or are injured.

 

[VT4700]

Or, a team might have five starting seniors, and your playing time might be extremely limited. And, you might want to redshirt and have two years left after the five seniors leave instead of one.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

If the plan is for Wilson and Weir to take over for Jacob and Grant, and both are good enough to get some minutes next year, the experience of playing some would be more valuable than reshirting.

Also, if they both redshirt, that still does not solve the playing time problem for Wojcik and Sal, who both might end wanting to redshirt anyway.

What has not been discussed concerning redshirting is practice competition. Look one reason we got better was because we had better competition for our starting 5 from the second 5. Now do you not think that Weir and Wilson going head to head every day against Grant and Gilyard would not improve. How many better big men and point guards are they going to go against in the A10 versus who they are facing in practice. I agree with Spiderman also in that the "best men play". So I say let's see how they learn the system, adjust to college life and do in practice, and then make a decision from there. As juniors, I just think it would be so hard to ask Woj or Goose or Sal to redshirt at this stage. With out knowing who the 2021 class is going to look and if there is a super star or such that comes in and takes their time.

May be we don't redshirt at all and let the chips fall as they may. Good problem would be that our second five are improved and the starting five get even more rest and we are as successful as this year. This is a great problem to have. As we know freshmen on AAU and HS tape can be totally different when they get to college and the reality of their ability comes out.

 

[Gallipoli]

. Since school will be conducted online only for at least another year, this should reduce costs to an affordable level....

Cough, cough. Right.

 

[VT4700]

What has not been discussed concerning redshirting is practice competition. Look one reason we got better was because we had better competition for our starting 5 from the second 5. Now do you not think that Weir and Wilson going head to head every day against Grant and Gilyard would not improve. How many better big men and point guards are they going to go against in the A10 versus who they are facing in practice. I agree with Spiderman also in that the "best men play". So I say let's see how they learn the system, adjust to college life and do in practice, and then make a decision from there. As juniors, I just think it would be so hard to ask Woj or Goose or Sal to redshirt at this stage. With out knowing who the 2021 class is going to look and if there is a super star or such that comes in and takes their time.

May be we don't redshirt at all and let the chips fall as they may. Good problem would be that our second five are improved and the starting five get even more rest and we are as successful as this year. This is a great problem to have. As we know freshmen on AAU and HS tape can be totally different when they get to college and the reality of their ability comes out.

Not sure if you misread my post. I did not mention a redshirt for Wilson or Weir. And, I definitely don't think Goose should redshirt. He was our most important reserve several games last year. I was only talking Wojcik and Sal because of playing time. As I said earlier, they were pretty much 9th and 10th in the rotation this year, and would likely be 10th and 11th next year. And, that's not counting Wilson or Weir. Who knows? Woj and Sal might be the ones that think redshirting is a good idea. Every player is different. If they like school, the guys, and the coach, and want more playing time, maybe they think the best possibility is sitting out next year and seeing what the next two years look. I understand something like this rarely happens, but it's also very rare to have a team return all five starters who are seniors, as well as all of their reserves.

 

[VT4700]

Our starters averaged about a combined 150 minutes this year. That plan worked, so I don't see it changing much. So that leaves 50 minutes for reserves. I would think Burton's playing time would increase some, and I can't see Goose losing any time. If Crabtree is the player we think he is, he's going to get some good minutes as well, and Grace keeps getting better and better backing up Grant. I'm not saying it's a no-brainer to redshirt Woj and Sal, but where are the minutes for them next year?

 

[fan2011]

If we are better next year starters could get more rest when we have a decent lead if Mooney is confident in our bench players. Especially Gilyard if we have a good backup PG.

 

[VT4700]

Not sure why anyone would need more rest. Grant, Nick, and Nate all averaged under 30 minutes. Blake was it 32.7 and Jacob 36.6. I don't see why seniors who are used to playing would need any more rest than that. Whether we play eight or nine guys, or 10 or more, I don't see their minutes dropping.

 

[gcarter52]

We don't have a true back up PG, which Wilson is. Already on record that if Weir is the player we think he can be, he should be able to get Grace's minutes.

But yes, for a coach who often doesn't even use his full scholarship allotment, having a 13 guys, who can all play is uncharted terrority and while it presents some great opportunities, it will also present some great challenges in terms of PT. Some guys are going to get the short end of the stick.

You win your time in practice!!

 

[fan2011]

Not sure why anyone would need more rest. Grant, Nick, and Nate all averaged under 30 minutes. Blake was it 32.7 and Jacob 36.6. I don't see why seniors who are used to playing would need any more rest than that. Whether we play eight or nine guys, or 10 or more, I don't see their minutes dropping.

Reduce injury risk for starters and get experience for everyone else, since we will be losing all our starters the following year.

 

[spider23]

Yes, it will be very interesting to see how Mooney can balance the playing time. I do think it is very good for practice. Many interesting dynamics. Crabtree is a player and is going to be fighting for a big role. If Burton is going to be an all league player (future pro possibly), the big jump is usually freshman to sophomore year. He has a decent shooting stroke, if he can hone it to be more of a 35-40 % three pt shooter, how do you keep him off the floor? Goose played 20 minutes a game. I really think he is the guy that needs to pick it up this offseason to keep himself in the game. Yes, pretty good defensive player BUT not that great (not really effective on quick guards) and his offense was not great (16% from 3, no dunky dunky on straight line opportunities to the hoop for all his supposed hops). If I am Burton or Crabtree, I am eyeing those 20 minutes. I do think Conor will go between SG and wing, and Burton between Wing and PF. But if I am goose, I work on the 3 and being able to finish a little better.

 

[spiderman]

Weir & Wilson may or may not be ready to contribute at a high level a freshmen. we're not even 100% sure what we have in Crabtree. plus we could have more injuries next season than we did this year.
I don't ask Woj or Sal or Matt to not be a part of what we do next year. they could be important contributors.

 

[VT4700]

Weir & Wilson may or may not be ready to contribute at a high level a freshmen. we're not even 100% sure what we have in Crabtree. plus we could have more injuries next season than we did this year.
I don't ask Woj or Sal or Matt to not be a part of what we do next year. they could be important contributors.

Even leaving Weir and Wilson out, that still leaves 11. If we were talking 8 or 9, of course they don't redshirt. But, they very well might be at best 10th and 11 in playing time. I think we do know what we have in Crabtree. We know he started at Tulane, and know he held his own as a freshman for them. He is athletic, has size, and he can shoot. We also know what we have in Grace, a legitimate back up to Grant who does not hurt us when out there. So, you certainly do not want to redshirt a guy like Grace.

As for Woj and Sal, how far down in the depth chart might they be next year? If they pass Crabtree or any others in the off season, than of course they should not redshirt, but if not, it makes sense. Redshirts still practice. If someone gets hurt, you can take the redshirt off. I'm not asking anyone to redshirt, but if a guy came to me and asked what his playing time looked like, I would be honest with him. So, I am just saying if, and we don't know exactly, but if Woj and Sal are at best the 10th and 11th guys next year, and they want to play more, maybe they would be the ones that would think a redshirt makes sense. Maybe they would rather have 2 years after next year instead of possibly spending next year playing way less than 10 minutes a game each, and some games not at all. I think it would work out better for them and for us. I would love to have those guys for 2 more years after we lose our 5 seniors next year. If you had to guess, how much do you think Woj and Sal will play next year? And, I'm not talking garbage minutes at the end of the game because I don't think either would get excited about that.

 

[SpiderRick]

Cough, cough. Right.

fever???

 

[plydogg]

We also know what we have in Grace, a legitimate back up to Grant who does not hurt us when out there. So, you certainly do not want to redshirt a guy like Grace.

This I could not disagree with more. There have only a small number of players who make me nervous that we will blow a lead no matter the size since my freshman year. Matt Grace is probably #1 on that list. Everytime he is in the game I just pray we are still in it when Grant subs back in

 

[VT4700]

Ply, I thought Grace did great last year. I was thrilled with his improvement. Hope you weren't expecting him to be on Grant's level. Not many are.

 

[plydogg]

Ply, I thought Grace did great last year. I was thrilled with his improvement. Hope you weren't expecting him to be on Grant's level. Not many are.

We’ll have to disagree on that. I thought he was very poor and hurt us each and every second he was on the floor and was by far the weakest link on the team. If we can get any type of even mediocre level play from Grant’s backup next year it will be huge

 

[spider23]

I'm going to land more in the middle, but more on Ply's side. I did think Grace was very serviceable. I thought he could stay on the court and not eff up too bad. GREAT. I did not have Ply's anxiety that he would screw things up - BUT that is a low bar. I want players 6-10 to bring something that can be a positive before they go back out. Again, I know I have really high expectations on this front compared to PQ and Moon and the truthers the last 8 years. Sorry guys. Keep keeping on.

 

[VT4700]

We’ll have to disagree on that. I thought he was very poor and hurt us each and every second he was on the floor and was by far the weakest link on the team. If we can get any type of even mediocre level play from Grant’s backup next year it will be huge

We can disagree, but how did he really hurt us? We never needed him to score. I thought his defense was really good and he seemed to know his role. We did not have to change a lot when he went in, and everyone else could keep doing what they were doing. As good as Grant? Of course not, but very few mid major starting bigs are as good as Grant. And we are talking reserve. So, how good do you expect a back up mid major big to be? But, no problem. We can disagree, but I thought he did more than fine out there.

 

[spider23]

47, you ever hear of the saying: If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. That may be the case with Grace. Serviceable, but not much threat to leave the game better than entered. Again, pretty damn good based on his recruiting ranking......

 

[plydogg]

47, you ever hear of the saying: If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. That may be the case with Grace. Serviceable, but not much threat to leave the game better than entered. Again, pretty damn good based on his recruiting ranking......

I’d agree with this. I think we should have a much better backup than Grace and I wouldn’t be comfortable with him playing minutes even if we were a low major team