Newcomers 2018-2019
- Thread starter Ulla1
- Start date
I intended for the upcoming season. Thought it would be fun at the end of the season to see if the guys line up with our collective messageboard experts.
I'm willing to put my votes to the public.
- Sal - I think having Cayo and Sal going head to head every day will make each better. His biggest impact could be forcing Cayo's development to accelerate.
- Jake - There's going to be some minutes available here. This kid has competed against top-flight talent in HS.
- Tomas - I have a gut feeling that he's going to have a hot hand in a few games this upcoming season. 6th man candidate.
05, while not yet betting the ranch, here are my choices:
Sal - A very knowledgeable source told me that Sal is freakishly long, has a great handle for a 6’8” guy and is highly skilled otherwise. Could be a good one.
Tomas - Like 05, I am high on Tomas for reasons similar to those for Sal. Have heard he has a really good shot, good passer and shooter.
Andre - Have a hunch with Andre mostly based on his cool and performance against tough international competition. Also, at 6’4” Andre is highly skilled and very athletic.
Last edited:
Sal - Shown he can play at a high level and succeed against D1 talent. Also we don't have a proven backup for Grant and Nate may not quite be ready for massive minutes so positionally it makes sense.
Bryce - With Jacob being our only trusted ball handler there is room for somebody to step up and contribute, even if only in short spurts. I think Bryce can and will if given the chance.
Noah - Experience at the college level, versatile athlete, fills an immediate need.
One good thing for each of these guys is they won't be needed to score a ton. Between Grant/Nick/Jacob we will likely be getting close to 50 points. The next 5 guys (likely Nate and JJ, and then whoever these 'next 3' are) will need to combine for 20-25 points to make us competitive.
Bryce - With Jacob being our only trusted ball handler there is room for somebody to step up and contribute, even if only in short spurts. I think Bryce can and will if given the chance.
Noah - Experience at the college level, versatile athlete, fills an immediate need.
One good thing for each of these guys is they won't be needed to score a ton. Between Grant/Nick/Jacob we will likely be getting close to 50 points. The next 5 guys (likely Nate and JJ, and then whoever these 'next 3' are) will need to combine for 20-25 points to make us competitive.
Yates is the only one among them that has played D1.He’s a 22 years old
from Jersey,played football in college and has played roundball against the likes of Bonnies,TCU,Ga Tech,Vermont, Wisconsin and Creighton.He can shoot.He understands the speed and the physicality of the game.None of the other rookies do.
He’ll pick up Mooney’s strategic methodology with his eyes closed,whatever the strategy is,if there is one.
from Jersey,played football in college and has played roundball against the likes of Bonnies,TCU,Ga Tech,Vermont, Wisconsin and Creighton.He can shoot.He understands the speed and the physicality of the game.None of the other rookies do.
He’ll pick up Mooney’s strategic methodology with his eyes closed,whatever the strategy is,if there is one.
Sight unseen, I am thinking Sal, Noah and Jake. I may change my mind after watching a couple of practices. Really hoping Tomas and Bryce will surprise me.
Am going with Jake, Sal and Andre PRIOR to seeing any summer practices. I expect this "blind" prediction to change after an opportunity to actually see the guys in action. I would expect Noah and Matt to be behind the others, but hope to be pleasantly surprised. Bryce could be a pleasant surprise too, since he does have a nice handle and does not mind mixing it up inside.
Anybody know who will be available for the first summer term and who will not be showing up until the second summer term? I believe that the freshmen (non-redshirts) have typically not been available until the second summer term (B), which usually starts around sometime in June (likely late June). Anybody know?
Anybody know who will be available for the first summer term and who will not be showing up until the second summer term? I believe that the freshmen (non-redshirts) have typically not been available until the second summer term (B), which usually starts around sometime in June (likely late June). Anybody know?
Sal: We are painfully thin on big men. Sal was highly recruited. I think his skills and length will make him a really unique and tough to guard. Downside: his slight build means he is going to have a tough time guarding other forwards down low.
Jake: Coaches son, player of the year in his league, good shooter, ball handler. He is my choice to be a starter at the 2 by the end of year. If Mooney hopes to be back next year, he better hope a guy like Jake can step up and be an impact player his freshman year.
Noah: Already played 2 years of D-1 ball. Physically ready to play. I see him getting 15-20 minutes for us.
Jake: Coaches son, player of the year in his league, good shooter, ball handler. He is my choice to be a starter at the 2 by the end of year. If Mooney hopes to be back next year, he better hope a guy like Jake can step up and be an impact player his freshman year.
Noah: Already played 2 years of D-1 ball. Physically ready to play. I see him getting 15-20 minutes for us.
Jake: as stated earlier, I think that he is going to surprise
Noah: as stated by others, already has some experience at D1 level
Bryce: I like his upside (but Mooney didn't care for his game last year) so it isn't likely to be him
Sal: can't help but get minutes - plenty of room at his position
Noah: as stated by others, already has some experience at D1 level
Bryce: I like his upside (but Mooney didn't care for his game last year) so it isn't likely to be him
Sal: can't help but get minutes - plenty of room at his position
This is before receiving any practice reports but I will throw out a prediction anyway in terms of impacts for this season.
6. Koureissi - only 3-star of the group. Has size and ball handling ability. I see him and Cayo trading minutes.
7. Wojcik - played against solid competition. Coaches son. All indications is that he is ready to contribute immediately. I see him and JJ trading minutes.
8. Yates - guessing less than minutes than what he played at Yale (17 min per game) but should see the floor 5-10 minutes. Hopefully can play solid ball and drain some three’s.
9. Oddo - not a newcomer but it would not surprise me if he played the Kirby role. Can shoot and has a good handle on the ball. Perhaps 3-4 minutes for Gilyard.
Beyond that I see Verbinskis and Schneider knocking on the door. Gustavson and Grace likely redshirts.
6. Koureissi - only 3-star of the group. Has size and ball handling ability. I see him and Cayo trading minutes.
7. Wojcik - played against solid competition. Coaches son. All indications is that he is ready to contribute immediately. I see him and JJ trading minutes.
8. Yates - guessing less than minutes than what he played at Yale (17 min per game) but should see the floor 5-10 minutes. Hopefully can play solid ball and drain some three’s.
9. Oddo - not a newcomer but it would not surprise me if he played the Kirby role. Can shoot and has a good handle on the ball. Perhaps 3-4 minutes for Gilyard.
Beyond that I see Verbinskis and Schneider knocking on the door. Gustavson and Grace likely redshirts.
Recruiting has really been hit or miss over the years. If we find a player that can play 10 mins a game that's a huge improvement.
Over the years, yes. But the past 3-4 years have been pretty strong in my opinion. Admittedly, I’m high on Cayo, Woj, and Sal.
For some reason I had it on my calendar that today was supposed to be the first day of summer practices.
If so, surely someone like Ulla likely dropped by the RC and can provide an update. If not, when will things get started?
If so, surely someone like Ulla likely dropped by the RC and can provide an update. If not, when will things get started?
It’s interesting that we think our recent recruitingnhas been strong of late. We have two guys who hit from the 2016 class (nick/grant) and so far just one from 2017 (Jake). So we’re averaging 1.5 per class for freshmen/sophomores and waybworse for juniors/seniors. We have to average at least two per class just to be competitive I think.
So our bar is still really low if we are saying the recruiting is pretty strong of late. I’m not trying to be negative, it’s a vast improvement but objectively we are several guys away from being back to par.
Oldie, I provided observations from yesterday’s early morning practice and will provide future updates on the premium board.
Oldie, if you can get there would love to see your observations. You have been a pretty darn straight shooter and a good evaluator in the past I recall. It is hard to tell from practice, but you have been good.
Stork has provided some really good and realistic reports in the past as well.
Stork has provided some really good and realistic reports in the past as well.
To be fair, we hit on Buck, Sherrod and Grant in one class. Then gilyard and Cayo in the next (I thought Cayo showed real promise last year, and showed very good defending and athletic ability).
Also, Sal is one of our highest “rated” recruits we’ve had, and I admitted that I am optimistic on Woj.
I think you ignoring Buck in your assessment of classes isn’t fair to the recruiting, as well as Cayo (though admittedly to a lesser extent).
So by my count, we are at 2.5 solid players per recruiting class.
Last edited:
Agree with you Nathan, I think are recruiting has been pretty decent the last 2-3 years (not sure about this year at all). We did seem to have a dry spell for a bit before that. You either need to bring in 2.5 good players every year, or work very hard to supplement with "ready now" type of players. I think Yates is a guy ready to contribute now. As 32 notes, he is the only one to contribute at the D1 level. For all the Sal hype, he is a freshman. I'm sure the level of comp was pretty good in that league, but that is still in no way comparable to actual D1 games obviously. I think the guy is a very good recruit for us. Just not sure his weight/athleticism will translate in year 1 in the A10. My thought is he will take a year.
I'm most bullish on Yates. I think the other guys is a real mystery. One would think Bryce Scheider would have a leg up, with the RS year, but the prevailing thought on here seems to be Woj taking those minutes?
I'm most bullish on Yates. I think the other guys is a real mystery. One would think Bryce Scheider would have a leg up, with the RS year, but the prevailing thought on here seems to be Woj taking those minutes?
I’m hopeful on Yates, but I’m not sure his experience in the Ivy League is any better than Sal’s in a conference that had 4 and 5 star recruits. However, I agree that Yates should hit the ground running and be able to give us whatever there is to give right away. He’s a grown ass man!
I know people are worried about Sal’s slender build, but that really doesn’t concern that much. The kid has balled against very good players in high school (and I would assume in AAU), had a solid offer list, and was an all-star selection with those 4 and 5 star players in high school. I think he can handle the physical side of the game, especially in this era of spreading the floor, lots of 3’s, and quick whistles on physical play. Alonzo Mourning isn’t walking through that door against us.
And yes, I’m high on Woj. Don’t know a lot abot Schneider, but everything I read/see about Woj is the kid can shoot. Period. And there’s always a place for someone like that, especially in Mooney’s offense. I’ll admit his ability to defend concerns me, but I’m hoping him being the son of a coach, he’ll know positioning well enough and have a good basketball IQ to make up for his lesser athletic ability. Or he’ll just straight up surprise me and be a better athlete than I expect!
I hear you, I'd rather get guys that played in competitive prep leagues and top AAU programs. Heck, Kovien played well for All Ohio Red EYBL, that had me believing he would translate to Richmond/A10. Very hit or miss. I can tell you with Princeton, Penn, Yale, and Harvard, the level of play at Sal's h.s. league is not in that sphere.
expectations are too high for Yates. he wasn't even recruited to play at the Ivy level or any level. he walked on when he couldn't lift for football. played a few minutes as a junior. had a respectable but unspectacular senior year on a .500 Ivy team where he was the 7th leading scorer behind a couple of freshmen.
I hope he's good too, but expecting him to be good because he played a little D1 ball is a reach. our freshmen have more potential. best case he backs up Nick.
Most of our true frosh will be redshirted and only a couple of RFr will play.Mooney will play 8-9,at most.Yates will be one of them.
Send an email to the Yale coach and ask him why he played Yates against TCU,Ga Tech,Bonnies,Vermont,Wisconsin and Creighton.Are we that so much better than Yale?Don’t make us laugh.Their OOC looks pretty impressive.Yale beat Delaware by 10 at New-Ark.Yates played in that game.How did we do against Hens at home with Fore and Buck?
Yale's not bad at all, but they did lose to every team you just listed so I'm not sure your point.
I'm sure Mooney will give Yates every opportunity early like he has every grad transfer. but I don't think he'll have the impact that you do. we have bigger options at the 4 and a star at the 3. he's not a 2.
in my opinion.
2-3 of our FR and/or RFr won’t even survive our future cuts.We will find out, as we have previously done,that some of our signees are not ready for D1 prime time.
I’m totally fine with that attrition. If that happens, that means we’ll be replacing them with new freshman (who will have a chance to prove themselves). I’d rather take a flyer on a recruit in a class of 4-5, and then when it doesn’t work out, move on to the next one.
Yes, I’m s perfect world, every recruit is great. But that’s not realistic, especially with the nature of NCAA b-ball these days, with so many people transferring by the end of their sophomore year. Some of the players not panning out is to be expected.
Yates personally had some good games and some bad ones in that group. I just hope his performance against SBU isn't what to expect against the A-10.
I agree, and It does not concern me at all that he was not a top scorer at Yale because we do not need him to be one here. He scored more late in the year, and was at his best when Yale finished 7-2 in their last 9 games. He scored 8 or more points in 6 of those 9 games and was 14-30 from 3 point land in those 9 games. In addition to the 3 ball, he got rebounds, steals, hit his FTs, and clearly looks like a guy that should help us right away this year. I don't see why it is a bad thing if he gives us a similar 15-20 minutes a game that he gave Yale.
it's not a bad thing. it's a better thing if Cayo and Sal are better than him so he doesn't get that much time.
If Nate and Sal are better, why does that mean he has to play behind them? Why can't he get some minutes with them? With 200 minutes out there, I don't see why he couldn't get at least 15 of them.
Highlight video, so admittedly very limited. But I get worried when the video is almost 100% him shooting. 0 defense. And only limited driving.
Also, the movement I did see didn’t instill confidence that he’s super athletic.
All that being said, I hope I’m wrong and he’s far more athletic than my limited research has led me to believe.
This video shows a decent amount of drives, maybe ~65% threes.
More impressive is that there are a decent number of clips where he creates his own shot, either mid range or 3. Many 3 point specialists are just spot up shooters, hit them when they are open and they can drain a three. Wojcik looks like he is able to create his own shot and shoot a 3 off the dribble while being guarded, though admittedly against lesser competition. That is a really valuable skill to have, makes you much more dangerous and dynamic on the court. Haven't seen much passing from him, so I'm not sure if he could be a PG, but he looks like he has the ball handling skills to at least safely bring the ball up the court.
Last edited:
I think this is the one I saw as well. So admittedly, I exaggerated on the shooting v driving. But still, no defense which worries me.
Also, and maybe it’s just me, but Woj looks goofy just running up and down the court, but then he gets a ball and his hand, and he looks pretty smooth dribbling, driving and shooting. But then looks goofy again running back up the court. Maybe I’m just over analyzing or seeing something that isn’t there, but I think that also crept into my mind when I said I don’t consider him a great athlete.
Also, again, I hope I’m wrong. And while I’m not convinced of his athletic ability, I do think he’s going to be a solid player for us, based on shooting.
Ulla,
Your post above says that you have already posted regarding the 1st morning practice of the summer and that your future posts about practices will be posted on the premium board. I did a quick search of our NON-premium board and saw nothing on that practice, so am assuming you meant that your initial post was also on the premium board. For those of us who are not premium board subscribers (like me) you have effectively removed your observations from many of us, which is your right to do.
23, thanks for the kind words about my player assessments from last summer. I did manage to predict that both Grant and Jake would be 1st-day starters and I managed to predict three red-shirts from the group of incoming recruits. Nobody else on this board, that I recall, believed we would have 3 RSs. My projections were also made at least a month before the season began, and prior to Khwan's injury (which made predicting that Jake would start a "no-brainer"). I missed on Solly, but I don't believe we had a single poster on this board who did not predict that Solly would both start and play well.
I will try to provide an update or two on the newcomers, and my posts will very likely be on this board rather than the premium one. Am hoping to have a little bit of company here, perhaps from Stork, particularly if Ulla has decided to limit his sharing to only premium subscribers...
Your post above says that you have already posted regarding the 1st morning practice of the summer and that your future posts about practices will be posted on the premium board. I did a quick search of our NON-premium board and saw nothing on that practice, so am assuming you meant that your initial post was also on the premium board. For those of us who are not premium board subscribers (like me) you have effectively removed your observations from many of us, which is your right to do.
23, thanks for the kind words about my player assessments from last summer. I did manage to predict that both Grant and Jake would be 1st-day starters and I managed to predict three red-shirts from the group of incoming recruits. Nobody else on this board, that I recall, believed we would have 3 RSs. My projections were also made at least a month before the season began, and prior to Khwan's injury (which made predicting that Jake would start a "no-brainer"). I missed on Solly, but I don't believe we had a single poster on this board who did not predict that Solly would both start and play well.
I will try to provide an update or two on the newcomers, and my posts will very likely be on this board rather than the premium one. Am hoping to have a little bit of company here, perhaps from Stork, particularly if Ulla has decided to limit his sharing to only premium subscribers...
Yes Oldie, you had some very astute observations from last pre-season. Thanks for being our local "eyes". Will be interesting to see how the new group looks when you can catch a work out. I will be particularly interested to see how Woj, Sal, and Cayo look. Those guys will be big keys. I admit to being one of the so called bad guys on here, according to board neonatals ply and 47. I do feel like you are one of the straightest shooters we see in these parts.
Similar threads
