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mat1992

2022-23 Transfer Portal

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So assuming 55 is gone, I think we needed a three and a defensive-minded, athletic one who shares the ball. Sure, it would be nice to get a guy who put up 20 on a given night, but at this point, there aren't many of those guys left who would go mid-major. But you also have to replace Rizzuto, who was solid defensively and shot 36% from 3 (an astounding four straight years). Russell shoots 35% and is a much better rebounder. Hopefully, he'll be healthier. Still have one more ship left and assuming that goes to a 6-7ish Juwan Gray-type hopefully with a few years left, but is versatile and can give you 10-15mpg. 

C CT

PF Sylla

SF Timberlake

SG Russell

PG Conway

Rotation? Gibson, Hicks, Coleman/May, Paar/Biekeu, 

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This is probably oversimplifying things, but seems like it is fair to say:

Ryan Conway replaces Terry Nolan Jr. 
Sekou Sylla replaces Cam Holden
Nygal Russell replaces Antonio Rizzuto

Overall, it is probably a step back because last year's transfers came in with some serious qualifications in terms of past all-conference honors. Although an argument could made that D-2 Player of the Year is more impressive than all-conference honors in the America East and maybe OVC. It will also be interesting to see what we can get with our last spot. Conway also seems to have as much or more talent, we just don't need what the transition will look like. 

Feels like Timberlake and Gibson are maxed out on what they can be, although Timberlake could probably be a slightly more consistent scorer (he was pretty solid last year and obviously was a First-Team All-Conference player). I won't assume Thompson has maxed out, because of the leap he made last year. Feels like maybe slight improvements in passing and ballhandling, and maybe extending the shooting range, but overall I am pretty happy with what he gave us last year. 

Feels like that leaves us with Paar needing to have a better year, Hicks need to continued quality development and the freshmen making an immediate impact being key elements to this being a quality team next year. 

Russell seems like a solid get. It feels like Conway and Sylla could have high ceilings, but hard to project based on shaking off rust and jump from D-2 to D-1 respectively. It is hard to expect transfer classes like last year every season. Skerry really struck gold, but I do think he is pretty solid at playing the transfer portal game. 


 

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1 hour ago, Tiger93 said:

This is probably oversimplifying things, but seems like it is fair to say:

Ryan Conway replaces Terry Nolan Jr. 
Sekou Sylla replaces Cam Holden
Nygal Russell replaces Antonio Rizzuto

Overall, it is probably a step back because last year's transfers came in with some serious qualifications in terms of past all-conference honors. Although an argument could made that D-2 Player of the Year is more impressive than all-conference honors in the America East and maybe OVC. It will also be interesting to see what we can get with our last spot. Conway also seems to have as much or more talent, we just don't need what the transition will look like. 

Feels like Timberlake and Gibson are maxed out on what they can be, although Timberlake could probably be a slightly more consistent scorer (he was pretty solid last year and obviously was a First-Team All-Conference player). I won't assume Thompson has maxed out, because of the leap he made last year. Feels like maybe slight improvements in passing and ballhandling, and maybe extending the shooting range, but overall I am pretty happy with what he gave us last year. 

Feels like that leaves us with Paar needing to have a better year, Hicks need to continued quality development and the freshmen making an immediate impact being key elements to this being a quality team next year. 

Russell seems like a solid get. It feels like Conway and Sylla could have high ceilings, but hard to project based on shaking off rust and jump from D-2 to D-1 respectively. It is hard to expect transfer classes like last year every season. Skerry really struck gold, but I do think he is pretty solid at playing the transfer portal game. 


 

Agree on a lot of that.  But the 3 guys coming in last year had some seasons under their belts on the D1 level. 2 of the 3 coming in this year haven’t. There will be a big adjustment to start 

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13 minutes ago, Tiger93 said:

This is probably oversimplifying things, but seems like it is fair to say:

Ryan Conway replaces Terry Nolan Jr. 
Sekou Sylla replaces Cam Holden
Nygal Russell replaces Antonio Rizzuto

Overall, it is probably a step back because last year's transfers came in with some serious qualifications in terms of past all-conference honors. Although an argument could made that D-2 Player of the Year is more impressive than all-conference honors in the America East and maybe OVC. It will also be interesting to see what we can get with our last spot. Conway also seems to have as much or more talent, we just don't need what the transition will look like. 

Feels like Timberlake and Gibson are maxed out on what they can be, although Timberlake could probably be a slightly more consistent scorer (he was pretty solid last year and obviously was a First-Team All-Conference player). I won't assume Thompson has maxed out, because of the leap he made last year. Feels like maybe slight improvements in passing and ballhandling, and maybe extending the shooting range, but overall I am pretty happy with what he gave us last year. 

Feels like that leaves us with Paar needing to have a better year, Hicks need to continued quality development and the freshmen making an immediate impact being key elements to this being a quality team next year. 

Russell seems like a solid get. It feels like Conway and Sylla could have high ceilings, but hard to project based on shaking off rust and jump from D-2 to D-1 respectively. It is hard to expect transfer classes like last year every season. Skerry really struck gold, but I do think he is pretty solid at playing the transfer portal game. 


 

Good observations, though I think if you look at it closely, three of the four transfers underachieved. Holden was sensational until the last month. Rizzuto had his moments, but had a knee issue that limited him. Nolan had respiratory issues and struggled down the stretch. We know how Paar turned out and he also had some issues in preseason. So I think in terms of numbers, all three players should be close to statistically equivalent of the guys they replace. Whether they fit in well in terms of chemistry on and off the floor, who knows? But I like getting a guy like Russell, who appears like he can fit a role as a starter or off the bench. He can defend, is unselfish, but not a big scorer. But he can stretch the floor (35% 3pt). Most importantly, he can rebound, so can Sylla and CT. We may lose a little bit on offense, but gain on the boards and on D.

Can't wait to see Conway. The good thing about a freshman sitting out is that they can get stronger (190ish) and also practice against quality players. He's the key here. If Cam leaves, more pressure on Conway to deliver and handle the different types of defenses he will see. Fortunately, he's not just a shooter and can get the ball to rim or drive and dish. So we can't answer it, but this could be a team that is just as good, slightly worse, or even better. 

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Again, I think the best news about this is that Skerry actually did a pretty solid job of getting some good transfers to come to replace the three from last year. It sucks that we have to continually do this, but that is the game of the transfer portal and at least Skerry understands it and is working hard to address it.

Mat, it does seem like the upside of Conway is the big factor here. That is a long layoff, but as you said it also gives him type to get more physically ready and hopefully battling with Big East caliber players day-to-day in practice is an experience he can benefit from. Just like a lot of transfers, we won't really know until we see it play out on the court. I am really interested with the experiment to see how what I interpret as a physical tweener who dominated D-2 (Sylla) translates to the CAA. It feels like it should go well, but it is obviously another wait and see. 

I would say 1.5 of the transfers worked out last year.

Holden was obviously great, but I definitely agree he faded down the stretch a little. Still, I appreciate what he did for this program no matter what the future holds for him. Terry Nolan Jr. struggled with the respiratory issues, but when he was on the game he made such an intangible different for the team. Even the games he did not play well, just having on the court with his quickness and point guard skills really change the way he played. I would probably say half successful because even though he made such a huge different he missed a lot of time and his struggles down the stretch were a big reason we didn't get over the hump against Delaware. You can't put it all on one person, but he really struggled to do the great things he did during season in the conference tournament.

Completely agree on Rizzuto. I was very disappointed with Paar, but there is a small part of me that holds out hope that there were some factors holding him back last year and he can make a jump. He has the physicality to be successful and found himself in position to make some plays a lot, he just got in so much foul trouble and always seemed rushed. If he can slow the game down and stay out of foul trouble, I think he could be very solid. I am not giving up on him, because he did seem to bring a positive attitude even with all of the struggles.  
 

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