The TRIUMVIRATE - Nick, Ako, De'Monte

[spider23]

This would be quite a coup if we can land these three. Three great players, maybe borderline top 100 type recruits. It would seem that we are in fairly strong consideration with all three, and this would be a strong perimeter class, all right in our back yard, Ako in DC.

Only downside to bringing these guys in is that they would be right on top of another seemingly strong class of guards in Fore, Julius and Jesse. I share in the optimism that our three frosh guards all have the potential to be top line A10 level players. Despite the seeming redundancy, I hope we are shooting to land all three. It does seem at times that we land guys with the thought that they can develop a couple years behind a current starter - and that approach has not necessarily been working lately. I say bring in the talent and let the competition begin. Of course we have not seen any of these guys vs. college level play yet (Fore just a brief stint), so who knows. If we land the TRIUMVIRATE (heck I'll take 2 out of 3) I feel like our guard play will be in great shape for years to come.

 

[WebSpinner]

am for recruiting the best players no matter the current roster. if a better player can be brought in, that is good not bad, want all freshmen to come in and start and push the current players, how you get better and not stagnate. if guys have to transfer out because they cannot compete, have to look at that as a positive.

 

[DukeDenver]

Spiders on a roll. Mooney has been saying/doing the right things, just have to close some deals now. Exciting times at U of R.

 

[MrTbone]

I think Nick is a stretch 3, so he may not pose as much of a logjam. I think having 6 guards would not be unheard of on a roster, although it's a bit heavy. Maybe one of them redshirts.

I frankly would be pleased if we got any of these guys.

 

[SouthJerseySpiderFan]

am for recruiting the best players no matter the current roster. if a better player can be brought in, that is good not bad, want all freshmen to come in and start and push the current players, how you get better and not stagnate. if guys have to transfer out because they cannot compete, have to look at that as a positive.

Agree with everything here, and yes bringing in more than enough quality talent has it's repercussions. A few posters earlier were upset by my asking specifically does Julius or Pisto transfer out next year.

If Nick and Buck sign most of us on paper would put them ahead of both Julius and Pisto and of course JJones still has one year left competing for 1 spot. Or possibly UR could turn into a great 3PT shooting team featuring a 3 guard type offense. At least the rebounding issues can't get much worse and history tells us CM's teams seem to end up with winning records in spite of it.

He's still a young man who hopefully has many years ahead of him as Spider coach and can learn to make the proper in-game adjustments to maximize success. As much as I talk to the TV questioning his decisions at times, can't root more for a quality person like CM to succeed. Maybe I should tell my wife when I'm ready to question a CM move, have her remind me, "he went to Princeton, you didn't."

 

[Ulla1]

Agree with everything here, and yes bringing in more than enough quality talent has it's repercussions. A few posters earlier were upset by my asking specifically does Julius or Pisto transfer out next year.

If Nick and Buck sign most of us on paper would put them ahead of both Julius and Pisto and of course JJones still has one year left competing for 1 spot. Or possibly UR could turn into a great 3PT shooting team featuring a 3 guard type offense. At least the rebounding issues can't get much worse and history tells us CM's teams seem to end up with winning records in spite of it.

He's still a young man who hopefully has many years ahead of him as Spider coach and can learn to make the proper in-game adjustments to maximize success. As much as I talk to the TV questioning his decisions at times, can't root more for a quality person like CM to succeed. Maybe I should tell my wife when I'm ready to question a CM move, have her remind me, "he went to Princeton, you didn't."

Quite honestly, based on various videos of each player, the guys we are currently recruiting would likely play behind the likes of Khwan, Jesse and Julius. Disregard local hype and objectively check out the videos; imho, our current threesome is simply a notch above this years recruits.

 

[spiderman]

yeah, I don't agree that Sherod and Buckingham are ahead of the current freshmen. the current freshmen are really good. if they come in and beat them out, ok. but you don't promise anything. it'll be tough.

I actually think we want 2 of the 3, not all 3. first two that verbal get the spots. we have to go big at the 2 other spots. we can't have just 4 guys on the roster to play the 4 and the 5 spots next year.

I think Sherod plays the 3 for us, competing right away with KoVien. Adams and Buckingham are both combo guards. one of them can compete with Julius/Pisto at the 2 or with Pisto as the backup to Fore at the 1 (not factoring in the senior year of SDJ or Josh).

 

[SouthJerseySpiderFan]

Ulla, my post just pointed out like Web stated that players possibly will have to move on to other schools to play. By your reasoning Pisto and Julius get replaced by other guys on my potential transfer list.

Also unless a really top notch recruit the 2 or 3 stars or videos of players in HS don't do as much for me the more I have researched potential UR players. I'm inclined to go by Poster 97's thinking that look at the quality of offers a recruit has received. Going by that I think Buck and Nick rank higher than our SG frosh this year. Hopefully both come here in 2016 and pan out and tough decisions need to be made. Go Spiders!

 

[spiderman]

if you could just look at the quality of the offers, big Luke and Greg Robbins would be in our hall of fame. trust your eyes.

 

[MrTbone]

Yeah, I think you can't trust the offers as a sole decision point. Julius committed early but could have ended up with high major interest. Who knows.

 

[Spideroldie]

If we can find a home for 2-3 outstanding guards (like those we are currently recruiting), with commitments over the next weeks/months, then this could be a win-win for the program and the players. Given that rebounding has never been a big priority for us over the past 10 years, a 3-guard or even 4-guard line-up may work very well for us. With these line-ups, we would need at least one "rim-protector" player, similar in skill set to ANO or Garrett, but it could work well. We have all agreed that our system works best with 4-5 players who can shoot well, on the floor, so 3-4 guard line-ups may be ideal for our system.

As long as we have "bigs" as good as the ones on our current roster, we will obviously start them, but a transition to a more guard-oriented line-up, in future years, could be effective. It would increse our ability to spread the floor, and increase our 3-pt shooting percentage, and might not hurt our rebounding much. If I were inside of our coaching staff's heads right now, I might be really excited to think about how these recruits would play, as starters, along-side our current projected guard rotation. I believe that a 3-4 guard rotation is a better fit for our offense, and for our rebounding (and fast-break) philosophy.

 

[spiderman]

I respectfully disagree about rebounding not being a priority. we're not ok with a large rebounding differential. we absolutely want to get every rebound possible. it's just that we aren't willing to give up good looks from 3 on defense to give ourselves better rebounding numbers, and we aren't willing to recklessly crash offensive boards and allow fast break points against us.

we can't survive in the A10 with a 4 guard lineup, unless some of the guys you're calling guards are 6'6"+. you still need size and muscle to defend and win in this league. we have a good group of bigs now, but need to replace guys soon.

 

[fan2011]

Recruit the best players you can. Make adjustments to accommodate players. I am fine with getting these 3 and a big man. Ako, Buckingham and Sherod are in the 6'3 to 6'5 range. Having people 6'3 to 6'5 in positions 1 through 4 is fine in our matchup zone for defense.

 

[spiderman]

Sherod's not a question at 6'5", but I've seen Adams and Buckingham at 6'2". you don't just recruit the best players you can without regard to position. Julius and Jesse are 6'2". Khwan is maybe 6'0". That would be 5 small guys in just 2 consecutive classes. I know competition is fine and transfers happen, but with 5 of the same size guys in two classes you're almost forcing a transfer after a year. I don't like it. especially if it leaves us with issues at the big spots. In a year, we have 3 returning frontcourt players. one sprained ankle and we derail a potentially good season. if we only bring in one big, he better be a stud and ready to play day 1. I'd like a 2nd to develop. we don't need 5 guards in two classes, especially with SDJ and Josh as seniors. too many good kids who can't see the light of day.

 

[spider23]

Spiderman, agree with you in that we need two bigs in this class. I think you are probably correct in that we are shooting for 2 out of the 3 of Ako,DBuck, and Sherod - that would be ideal. Preferably the other two spots would be at least 6'8".

 

[MrTbone]

While I gravitate towards the "size matters" argument, it doesn't do us much good to have bigs on the bench who don't meaningfully contribute. There's been a lot of talk about getting shooters over big defenders, at this point, I'd contemplate taking the shooters. This precludes finding a 6'7" or bigger guy who has the requisite offensive skillset as well, which I suspect we all would be willing to take over a slew of guards.

 

[spiderman]

13 guys on a roster, a few aren't going to meaningfully contribute. but you need some depth at each position to compete.

 

[Spideroldie]

I find it hard to believe that we are discussing how we will fully utilize guys that have not even committed yet. Let's wait until the ink is dry, and we have some great guards on the roster, and THEN figure out how to make it work. At this point in time, it is wasted energy to be thinking about how many guards we will sign, and how many can start, before they even commit. I woudl humbly suggest that we deal with an over-abundance of guards, once it becmes a reality. ONE STEP AT A TIME...

 

[urfan1]

It's off season we "waste time" talking about all things Spider on a regular basis. Just MHO

 

[spiderman]

well hopefully CM doesn't wait until we have an over-abundance of guards or a shortage of bigs or anything else until it becomes a reality. you don't cause a problem and then figure out how to deal with it. you plan. you recruit to refill based on need.

if CM is ok with 3 guards or 2 guards and a wing in this class even if it leaves us with only 4 guys over 6'5", then that's planned. he won't figure it out after they sign.

and we're going to talk about it because that's what we do.

Adams lit it up again by the way, according to the most recent rivals article for those without access. we're still a favorite but he's definitely attracting attention.

 

[urfan1]

the fear of the summer AAU circuit is they "blow up" and you get recruited out of the picture, that's why it may be a blessing that Buckingham is still fighting his injury (or so it seems).

 

[Ulla1]

I like all of the guys we are recruiting. Hopefully a key recruit will sign soon and get the ball rolling.

 

[Spideroldie]

+1. Would love to get the ball rolling with an "early" commit (or two) in July or early August. The pieces might fall in place more neatly if we could start with a commitment from a 4/5 type player who has some "rim-protection" skills, but that's just hoping...

 

[Ulla1]

+1. Would love to get the ball rolling with an "early" commit (or two) in July or early August. The pieces might fall in place more neatly if we could start with a commitment from a 4/5 type player who has some "rim-protection" skills, but that's just hoping...

Oldie, keep a look out for Robert Baker, currently from Atlanta, but mentioned earlier about his parents talking cajun around him.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Last major evaluation period starting now through the weekend. Buckingham is out in Vegas. Any idea where Sherod and Adams are?

 

[Ulla1]

Last major evaluation period starting now through the weekend. Buckingham is out in Vegas. Any idea where Sherod and Adams are?

Mo, check out this article which talks about both Ako and Chris Lykes.
http://dmvelite.com/news/locals-shine-lawsonoladipo-camp

 

[32counter]

Lykes from CL's DC school out of the WCAC would be a tremendous difference maker for us.He's an early starter for us out of the Class of 2017 if he chooses to attend UR.I see that Broad Street CC sent an offer to Chris as well.

Lykes=Hybrid(KA+K0)

 

[MrTbone]

Also on the list here are Aaron thompson who has an offer from us, and Jalen Smith who we are in the mix with.

Lots of good connections hopefully.