2023-24 Transfer Thread

[TSU88 1,073]

1 minute ago, Tiger93 said:

That makes sense. I didn't think we were going to beat out Temple for Riley. However, I was holding out hope they might have someone else they would take instead. This sucks, because he would have been a perfect breakout candidate for us. Fringe top 100 recruit, who was totally misused in two years by Patrick Ewing. I think he could have been a home run for us. 

TSU88, you may be right but there are still 4-5 more kids we can get before having to go the D-2 or juco route. As Matt has said Settle would be a solid get for us still. Seems like GW is the main competition now that Temple has grabbed Riley, but who knows. I didn't realize Blakney was still out there. I remember when Thompson decided he was coming back someone had said he was pretty solid bet to end up here. I hadn't hear Watson's name much in the mix. 

Are Rivera, Tarke and Maletic still out there or has someone grabbed them too? They all seemed like solid options as well. 

You’re correct-there are still quality players out there. However, if any of them are looking for an NIL payday, I think that’s out of the question for us. Now, we did get Jones, who’s a decent (might even turn out to be better than decent) get, without any NIL, so maybe we stand a chance if we can find another decent player who’s not looking for NIL money. Whether any of the remaining quality players fall into that category is another question. I’m admittedly pessimistic at this point and I think the chances we land such a player are equivalent to the chances of a loser leave town wrestling match at SECU this weekend between the Yeti and his North American cousin, Bigfoot. Prove me wrong Skerry & I’ll happily eat a heaping helping of crow 

[mat1992 2,235]

13 minutes ago, Tiger93 said:

That makes sense. I didn't think we were going to beat out Temple for Riley. However, I was holding out hope they might have someone else they would take instead. This sucks, because he would have been a perfect breakout candidate for us. Fringe top 100 recruit, who was totally misused in two years by Patrick Ewing. I think he could have been a home run for us. 

TSU88, you may be right but there are still 4-5 more kids we can get before having to go the D-2 or juco route. As Matt has said Settle would be a solid get for us still. Seems like GW is the main competition now that Temple has grabbed Riley, but who knows. I didn't realize Blakney was still out there. I remember when Thompson decided he was coming back someone had said he was pretty solid bet to end up here. I hadn't hear Watson's name much in the mix. 

Are Rivera, Tarke and Maletic still out there or has someone grabbed them too? They all seemed like solid options as well. 

Don’t think we have serious interest in those three players.

[Tiger93 299]

22 minutes ago, TSU88 said:

You’re correct-there are still quality players out there. However, if any of them are looking for an NIL payday, I think that’s out of the question for us. Now, we did get Jones, who’s a decent (might even turn out to be better than decent) get, without any NIL, so maybe we stand a chance if we can find another decent player who’s not looking for NIL money. Whether any of the remaining quality players fall into that category is another question. I’m admittedly pessimistic at this point and I think the chances we land such a player are equivalent to the chances of a loser leave town wrestling match at SECU this weekend between the Yeti and his North American cousin, Bigfoot. Prove me wrong Skerry & I’ll happily eat a heaping helping of crow 

I still feel like a lot of low-majors are in our spot of just getting NIL off the ground. I mean all of this stuff really seemed to get rolling right around and after COVID. I do think the ones who did it quickly and well already had things in place had really strong fundraising in place or they might not have been on the up and up before the new NIL rules.

No doubt we are way behind the Charleston's of the world and there are probably others who shouldn't be further along than us, but I am confidence we will catch up (not to Charleston, but some of the others). To me this seems like the first year where teams without or with basic NIL collectives are getting left in the dust. There are still enough teams that are just getting started that I feel like there are options. That probably won't be the case if we don't come strong in the future. As you all have mentioned, there are some obvious obstacles to that. 

I do think we get one more quality transfer out of this (which is one less than I hoped). As you pointed out, Jones seems to be a pretty good get too. We will find out soon enough. 

[Tiger93 299]

23 minutes ago, mat1992 said:

Don’t think we have serious interest in those three players.

I guess you can only heavily pursue so many players, and my guess is they either were deemed as not fitting or not likely to come. I thought all three of those guys seemed like they could come in and contribute at a solid level. However, as usual I have no sense who else we would be competing with or even if they are out of our range. 

[mat1992 2,235]

8 minutes ago, Tiger93 said:

I guess you can only heavily pursue so many players, and my guess is they either were deemed as not fitting or not likely to come. I thought all three of those guys seemed like they could come in and contribute at a solid level. However, as usual I have no sense who else we would be competing with or even if they are out of our range. 

There are almost always certain variables that go into play beyond the stats.

[Tiger93 299]

2 minutes ago, mat1992 said:

There are almost always certain variables that go into play beyond the stats.

That makes sense. I only picked those three because along with stats and accomplishments  of players we had been loosely associated with they seemed like they could bring attributes that could help improve our roster. However, I know it is not quite that simple. Plus, every transfer has a ripple effect either positive or negative on guy on the existing roster. Tarke would be a little redundant, but the other two feel like they would bring some attributes we need. However, like I said at some point you zero on the guys you target for reasons both intangible and tangible, and you can't do that with everybody. 

[TSU88 1,073]

25 minutes ago, mat1992 said:

There are almost always certain variables that go into play beyond the stats.

Well, perhaps there are variables with these 2 guys, but I would like to take a run at one of the UMES guys, Zion Styles or Kevon Voyles. Styles avg’d 11.6 ppg on 46% shooting (41% from 3), while Voyles avg’d 13. Ppg on 49% shooting (33% from 3). I think both are still in the portal 

[mat1992 2,235]

Here's a local guy who just entered the portal.

https://kentstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/robert-carpenter/13296

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4592486/robert-carpenter

[mat1992 2,235]

Last-second transfer. Hmm. Now that's production. Will likely need a big bag to get him. Still looks mid-major to me.

https://verbalcommits.com/players/andrew-taylor

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4592859/andrew-taylor

[TSU88 1,073]

1 hour ago, mat1992 said:

Here's a local guy who just entered the portal.

https://kentstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/robert-carpenter/13296

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4592486/robert-carpenter

I like this guy. And, as an added bonus, we’d be his 5th school, including JUCO