Transfer Portal
- Thread starter spiderman
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I don’t think anyone is suggesting your 12th or 13th guy in 2023 is going to threaten for much time. But he might in 2025. Of course, that means he has to be on your roster.
I don’t get overwrought about only carrying 12 for a year but if it becomes a pattern it just strikes me as more lazy than strategic. Fortunately this has not been the case recently.
Seems like a weird interest. You have king and smith with Dji as an option at PG, not sure of the need. If he was high value I’d get it but that list is uninspiring.D.J. Smith out of Little Rock. Soph with two years left. 6'0" 160lb PG who stepped up to be a double digit scorer this year, but only 30% from deep.
DJ Smith Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN
Complete career NCAAM stats for the Robert Morris Colonials Guard DJ Smith on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.www.espn.com
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Good point and if I recall correctly wasn't Grace offered late because Mooney had one scholarship left to fill the roster but wasn't thought of highly as a player who would contribute? We know what Mooney would have one less of without Matty Ice.
Like you said you don't know a couple years down the road and big difference in today's game with players moving at the drop of a dime. Coaches now no worries in telling players you should move on to another place when players are more often beating them to the punch.
I hope these players work out. /s
This is the glaring problem with CM and roster management. How is UR “building” anything? The team has 2 incoming HS freshman plus the 2 above. I have seen no evidence that CM and whatever staff he has can land more than 3 quality pieces each year. If CM can’t step up the high school recruiting success rate, I can’t see UR contending for anything and of course this is the “once every 4 years” type of success. The portal is fools gold for a program like Richmond. The Spiders simply aren’t going to build a team via the portal. Last year it seemed like there was a chance at success with all the transfers having multiple years of eligibility. This year, no such luck. It is going to be a long “transition” period.
The bright side of this portal struggle is that Mooney will be forced to play Noyes. As we have agreed upon previously, we can't reasonably expect a guy who has almost NO previous minutes to be an immediate impact player. But, I'm confident that the more experience Noyes gets the better he will perform. That could be a good thing for his Senior campaign.
Want to have some laughs? Go back and look at the Matt Grace 2018 Commit thread. So many on here never gave Grace a chance before he even played his 1st game here....and some continued hammering him even after.
I am a big "best guys" play guy, and I am not worried about giving young guys time just to prepare them for the future. That being said, when the "best guys" struggle more than you would like or expect like last year, this should have meant more time for Noyes. So, I was as disappointed as most on here that he played so little last year. I do expect a much bigger role next season, even if Tyler comes back.
Exactly I thought he might never play any meaningful minutes. That's why I agree with those not to save scholarships and get max players on roster.
The point on maximizing scholarships is that if you don't, you may fall into a situation where it's not best guys play, it's just who is available bc you only have 8 or 9 healthy guys or bc of depth issues at a position. I hope against hope that Walz and Noyes are ready but counting them as solid rotation guys at this point when they're basically unknowns is tough. By adding guys who could legit step in and play, there is choice on who is better. Don't think anyone is advocating for adding non-players to the roster.
If a player plays for us for 2-4 years, then transfers, would you still consider him a UR player who made the pros? Like, what if Burton transferred to West Virginia? Further, what if at the beginning of the game they showed a graphic saying he went to a different school with no mention of Richmond? Would it be any different than if the player said a different school’s name like they do at the beginning of NFL games?
I thought it was very interesting to hear Doug Gottlieb talk of the shortsightedness of some players transferring because when they do they really cut off ties with their school of origin, and then they only have a year or so with a new school that there just isn’t the same connection with. So coming back for homecoming, connecting with coaches for future jobs, etc. just isn’t the same as it is for those who stay in one place.
I thought it was very interesting to hear Doug Gottlieb talk of the shortsightedness of some players transferring because when they do they really cut off ties with their school of origin, and then they only have a year or so with a new school that there just isn’t the same connection with. So coming back for homecoming, connecting with coaches for future jobs, etc. just isn’t the same as it is for those who stay in one place.
My point is it is not a disaster if we don't get to 13 guys. I am not saying do not get to 13 on purpose. But, pretty much every team has guys out there that won't play. No, you don't recruit end of bench guys on purpose, knowing they will not play much, but it is different in the spring with transfers. When it gets to your last couple guys in this day and age with the portal like it is, it is not easy to convince transfers to come to a place for depth, where they may or not play much. We might have starter minutes for another guard available now, but if we are talking the 12th or 13th guy down the road, transfers might not find that appealing. Sure, in a perfect world, we would have 13 guys every year, all with talent who could help us, and somehow, some of the 13 would be okay with little or no playing time, but I just don't see that happening much anywhere. And, several teams that lose transfers in the spring will not fill all of their spots that same spring, so it will not be that uncommon to not have 13 guys.
I think we only had 11 scholarship guys in 2020 after Schneider and Verbinskis transferred, and we went 24-7. We had 13 guys last year, and went 15-18. I hear what some of you are saying, and we definitely want more than 9 or 10 guys on the roster this year, but if we add the right one or two more this spring, I think we will be just fine without the full 13 next season. And, again, I am not saying get one or two more and just be done. If we can get to 13, fine, but we can still be okay if we don't. That is all I am saying.
I heard Joey Bam Bam is in negotiations with vcu, Oklahoma and GW for whose cap he wears into his induction. That is part of the hold up too in the Enron Reid negotiations sources tell me.
If Burton comes back, we are good with signing one more impact guard.
Agree. If Tyler comes back:
G- King, IMPACT GUARD, Roche, Smith, Dji.
F- Tyler, Bigs, Noyes, Tanner
Big - Quinn, Walz.
Now, looking at this, I don't think we would be a great fit for most transfers out there. So, it is easier said than done to just add a couple of quality guys for depth in case someone gets hurt.
I still think we probably need another big who has enough size to contribute on D. There’s probably some risk there still, and while it’s helpful to be someone with some experience it could be a HS guy I think.
Guard is a bigger need, particularly someone who is a proven 3-pt guy.
10 isn’t enough and I’m not terribly confident Tyler is returning.
YES, like someone who can protect the rim that doesn't need to be starter or scorer. Been wanting that for years ..... a D Garrett type or even ANO did a decent job with it. We complain about players blowing by our defenders, well a player like that can on occasion prevent the easy layup or make opponents apprehensive of going to the rim.
IMO just as big as defending a scorer outside the lane and for this team more important defensively than having a player like Goose out there. Look at 23's guy Mensah at SDST. Know he started but doubt he scored much or even got 25 say 30 minutes but was a force defensively.
Darrius Garret had ~top 10 block % for his sophomore/junior/senior seasons. Block % is the percentage of opponent's shots which you block when you are on the court. A generational rim protector for Richmond. He blocked more than 1 in 8 shot attempts when he was on the court over his career. He also once blocked 14 shots in a single game, which is 2nd most all time for D1.
ANO was about top 50 in block % through his career, blocking about 1 in 10 shot attempts.
It would be great to have someone anywhere close to those numbers, the best shot blocker last year was Quinn who blocked ~1 in 28.
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I do agree with going after an athletic interior player that can at least defend and rebound at a high level. As much as certain posters pooh pooh the notion as the old way to play, it still works. Look at Looney with the Warriors and Mensah with SDSU. Lots of examples out there. We have been too soft for years. I like Bigs abilities in this area but get him some help and us some depth. Again, the Cincy player that recently entered the portal seems like the type.
People, I find it very hard to believe that Tyler Burton will be walking through that door.
My initial look at the roster for next season, I thought the same thing. No way he comes back. But the more I look at it, I think we are probably competing with the G league for his services. He does show and talk a big loyalty to Mooney and Richmond. Maybe he didn't like the way he went out. No idea on what he is thinking, the interviews have not really indicated what his though process is now.
No 12th or 13th guy under Mooney has ever climbed the ladder to get playing time. You usually play right away as a frosh coming off the bench when our team is full of upperclassmen, or when our team is bad for 1-2 years - its all young guys playing a lot with no one to replace them and then we have a good team in year 4 because they have basically played 4 straight years together. That is our formula. Not developing the 12th man to be a good role player down the road.
Pretty much every team will have 12th and 13th guys who never develop into key rotation pieces.
The 12th or 13th guy was an exaggeration. What we never have is that 8th or 9th guy develop into anything. You either play right away coming off the bench usually as frosh, when our team is good and full of upperclassmen OR when we have a mass graduation from that upperclassmen heavy team - we play young guys who generally struggle for 2 years and hope to have 2 years of success following that.
Take a guys like Walz and Noyes. I think everyone would agree - they were just missing the rotation this year. Probably guys 9-10 in an 8 man rotation. So when kids graduate or transfer - you would think, with development year under their belt in practice, they would be ready to step up and either compete for starting role or be a key piece off the bench and provide some points, rebounds, etc to the rotation. But the fact is - this rarely happens under Mooney. Without them playing last year - I don't see us getting much out of them the rest of their careers. That just not how it has worked under Mooney. Not saying its a bad thing - especially if we were just recruited frosh studs who played over them all the time - but that has not been the case either.
Take a guys like Walz and Noyes. I think everyone would agree - they were just missing the rotation this year. Probably guys 9-10 in an 8 man rotation. So when kids graduate or transfer - you would think, with development year under their belt in practice, they would be ready to step up and either compete for starting role or be a key piece off the bench and provide some points, rebounds, etc to the rotation. But the fact is - this rarely happens under Mooney. Without them playing last year - I don't see us getting much out of them the rest of their careers. That just not how it has worked under Mooney. Not saying its a bad thing - especially if we were just recruited frosh studs who played over them all the time - but that has not been the case either.
in today's market with all the one year grad transfers availble, there's no reason not to have 13 scholarshipped players on the roster. what's the argument against it? a one year guy doesn't tie up a scholarship.
we missed on Brown. he's a good player that would have helped. and we want competition everywhere. but if we got him, Roche is probably looking at 17 mpg again and people are complaining that we don't get him enough shots. not getting Brown (or anyone else considered ahead of Roche) might end up a good thing. I'd love to see what Roche does in a full time role. I hate the idea "if he misses 2 shots get him out". he's a shooter. the next one's always going in.
we missed on Brown. he's a good player that would have helped. and we want competition everywhere. but if we got him, Roche is probably looking at 17 mpg again and people are complaining that we don't get him enough shots. not getting Brown (or anyone else considered ahead of Roche) might end up a good thing. I'd love to see what Roche does in a full time role. I hate the idea "if he misses 2 shots get him out". he's a shooter. the next one's always going in.
I would like to see Roche get a lot of minutes also. Had we added Brown, I would have liked to have seen King, Brown, and Roche on the floor a lot together.
With him off the board, here's the updated transfer tracker. Definitely keeping things interesting with the new names added of late, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to get nervous here. Seeing King in green looks great, but we need at least one more impact addition like others have stated.
Did not think we'd be this active in the portal this year, so sorry if you have to squint your eyes a bit to see!
Did not think we'd be this active in the portal this year, so sorry if you have to squint your eyes a bit to see!
I think it is way more common than you think for even some 9th and 10th guys on rosters to never step up and be key pieces.
If teams have 8 man rotations and lose 3 guys, it is not a given that they just slide guys 9 and 10 from the previous year into the rotation. Often, teams will recruit players better than them, and as freshman those new players will be part of the rotation. That being said, we just had an example in Grace, who was the "8th or 9th guy" as a freshman ( 9th in minutes played, 8th after Nick's injury), but his minutes each year were 7, 7, 11, 15, and 27.
And how did we just fare with Grace as senior?
And Robbins last 2 years when he was playing more solid in the rotation?
Again - not pinning those season's entirely on these 2 guys, cause there were other guys on those teams I think we all expected to step up or play better, and just didn't happen.
And, Harper was 10th in minutes played as a freshman, Terry Allen 9th, and Nate had 6 games of 4 minutes or less before Solly left.
???? Well, how did we fare with Grace in his 4th year when he became more solid in the rotation? Geez, I think he was a pretty key piece, especially in the A-10 tourney? How about Harper's last 2 years? Think we did okay there. Or, Nate's 3rd and 5th years? Think those were good years too.
I just find it very strange that 2 of the main talking points on the board today are Mooney stinks at the portal, and Mooney doesn't develop players. Geez, I guess examples of the opposite happening mean nothing.
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I think it's a variation of that - can Mooney develop players in the portal era, where guys may not be as willing to wait 3 or 4 years to see minutes? It's a question across college bball, not exclusive to UR, but UR targeting multi-year guys almost exclusively as a philosophy may have to be scrapped in order to have quality depth.
I guess the question being asked is why an attractive landing spot like UR hasn't been shown this year in the portal - is it a philosophical difference with what guys are looking for as a landing spot, or is it random noise, or is it because of the outlook for next season? It's all kind of unknown so it's just speculation. But at present with Tyler up in the air and unknown rotation pieces looking to go from basically no minutes to major minutes, it's an area for concern.
I guess the question being asked is why an attractive landing spot like UR hasn't been shown this year in the portal - is it a philosophical difference with what guys are looking for as a landing spot, or is it random noise, or is it because of the outlook for next season? It's all kind of unknown so it's just speculation. But at present with Tyler up in the air and unknown rotation pieces looking to go from basically no minutes to major minutes, it's an area for concern.
