Men's Basketball Transfer Carousel and Portal - 2024-25

[PeterRamTime]

Well, for all the Zapala haters on here, I was told he's out of reach now. There are too many better programs and a few high majors pursuing him so we are a long shot.. Hopefully, that's not the case.

Damn...

[Billyboy78]

Many times daily I check here to hopefully read about a new addition from the portal to our rooster. But I only see other schools getting players, many times from A10 schools. I am getting very anxious for good URI news. I will admit I am not a very patient person. So to be able to read something related to URI recruiting news I thought maybe it would be fun to start a pool guessing the position and date of our next commit. I will start with 5/27 will will announce a center committing to URI. I didn't put the year because at this rate I am not sure what year lol

Ha, I think we'll manage to snag at least a couple more players for 2024-25... But yeah. I'd think that our starting five is some combination from the six of House, Fuchs, Green, Lawrence, Thomas and Estevez, with Traore as the "first big off bench," and Wright and Farrell probably absorbing the PT scraps, unless Farrell surprises in practice. We don't really have obvious "starter minutes" to offer to a transfer, and that's still the number one motivation for transfers. I think that 1 to 7 or 8 on the depth chart is better than Miller's first two years, but I haven't really looked at the projected production of that lineup vs. last year's, so I don't know if that lineup means we're more at .500, or flirting with 20 wins, or "shit we suck again."

Saying "we don't have starter minutes" to me means, "we don't want anyone better than we already have."
Depressing....I hope that's not the case... Sure, we may not "get" anyone better, but I'm thinking for the right player... there's starter minutes available. Saying otherwise just sounds defeatist .....

I keep going back to Archie saying the practice facility is, in his own words, a "game changer" He also said, in his own words, that Rhody Excellence is a "game changer". Where are the "game changing" players? I don't know, to me "game changers" are players better than the ones we have now.

[Jdrums#3]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... r-8-9-guys

Interesting philosophy and one that I sort of agree with and think it may be a smart move for certain programs.

To each their own but I am not a fan of this.

Teams can get hit hard with the injury bug, then foul issues.
Also, some players leave for personal issues, suspensions, academic eligibility, etc, etc....
Then where does that leave you?

Plus, certain players may not perform as well as expected and others further down the bench may surprise and play better than originally anticipated.

In this current climate when you have an average of 6-7 players leaving every season due to graduation or the portal, you should try to keep a little continuity in the program.

You get 13 scholarships; I say use them because you never know what may happen.

Jersey, I don’t know if the philosophy would work or what # of scholly’s it would work best with but I appreciate Cal’s out of the box thinking.

It will be interesting to watch if/when and to what extent he follows through on the approach and if other coaches do the same.

Of course, there is always a chance Cal is just blowing smoke to entice smaller programs to do it so the P2 can scoop up more players.

We shall see.

[reef]

To interrupt the personal animus going back and forth in this thread, Will Wade is crushing the transfer portal at McNeese fing State. Do you think they are going there for NIL money? No they are going there because they like the coach and the style of play. This team would wipe the floor with our team next year. Coaching still matters, it isn't all about the NIL. I thought I could link it but could not as it was in the form of an email so had to cut & paste. And yes this is the podcast that Archie used to be part of.


McNeese adds its 4th impact transfer. Next season's squad could flirt with the Top 25. Plus, Kugel's back in the portal, UCLA adds an impact freshman, and much more.

Sounds like we’re headed for a day where the conference realignment rumors will start flying. Oh, joy.
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Let's get to Wednesday’s news.

1. Will McNeese enter 2024-25 as a Top 25 team?
McNeese rolled through the Southland this season, going 17-1 and winning the league by three games en route to a 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Get ready for more of the same next season.
Syracuse guard Quadir Copeland committed to McNeese on Wednesday. The 6-6 sophomore averaged 9.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 2.8 apg in a role that largely featured him coming off the bench. He’ll likely get more playing time at McNeese, which was part of why he left Syracuse.
“This will be an opportunity to showcase my talent and play for a coach that believes in me and my abilities,” he told ZAGSBLOG. “That’s the most important thing. And I will bring energy, excitement, and love.”
He’ll certainly bring talent.
Copeland joins 2024 transfers Sincere Parker (Saint Louis), Brandon Murray (Ole Miss) and Joe Charles (Lafayette) as 4-star transfers (per evanmiya.com) headed to McNeese. (They also have ASU forward Bryant Selebangue coming in.)
It’s a fearsome roster that coach Will Wade will have in just his second season. Given the Cowboys already return three starters in Christian Shumate, Javohn Garcia and DJ Richards, and it seems unlikely they’ll lose a conference game.


Two questions for next year:
• Will McNeese earn enough attention off its 30-4 season and transfer haul to earn preseason Top 25 votes? Voters won’t go so crazy to actually slot them in at No. 25 will they?
• What’s the non-conference schedule? The Cowboys played four non-D-I opponents this season, along with games against Michigan, VCU and UAB. There’s no upside to playing them if you’re a power conference team, which could be the one hinderance to McNeese earning an at-large bid if it somehow stumbles in the Southland tourney.
2. Riley Kugel’s back in the portal
Florida guard Riley Kugel reportedly isn’t going to Kansas after all.


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Only a matter of time Wade is back P5, tremendous coach and recruiter.

The incoming transfers he's getting are absolutely ridiculous for McNeese St and The Southland.

If we got those 5 transfers, this board would be thinking we're an at large candidate. And that thinking would probably be warranted.

PF Jerome Brewer Jr (14 pts/ 5 rebs), just committed to McNeese State.
Another strong addition for Wade, wonder how much NIL $ they have.

Wade went through that scandal at LSU and has to restore his reputation, if he can learn to abide by the rules he should be in line for a top P5 job

[Rhody15]

^ there are no rules anymore, he’ll be P5 in no time.

[bigappleram]

^ there are no rules anymore, he’ll be P5 in no time.

A bunch opened up this carousel and from what I can tell no one sniffed him. He’s slimy and from what I’ve heard a bit unlikable. He wins tho so yes someone eventually will take him.

[reef]

I agree all it takes is for one AD and President to hire him and also agree he is very SLIMY

[NYGFan_Section208]

Ha, I think we'll manage to snag at least a couple more players for 2024-25... But yeah. I'd think that our starting five is some combination from the six of House, Fuchs, Green, Lawrence, Thomas and Estevez, with Traore as the "first big off bench," and Wright and Farrell probably absorbing the PT scraps, unless Farrell surprises in practice. We don't really have obvious "starter minutes" to offer to a transfer, and that's still the number one motivation for transfers. I think that 1 to 7 or 8 on the depth chart is better than Miller's first two years, but I haven't really looked at the projected production of that lineup vs. last year's, so I don't know if that lineup means we're more at .500, or flirting with 20 wins, or "shit we suck again."

Saying "we don't have starter minutes" to me means, "we don't want anyone better than we already have."
Depressing....I hope that's not the case... Sure, we may not "get" anyone better, but I'm thinking for the right player... there's starter minutes available. Saying otherwise just sounds defeatist .....

I keep going back to Archie saying the practice facility is, in his own words, a "game changer" He also said, in his own words, that Rhody Excellence is a "game changer". Where are the "game changing" players? I don't know, to me "game changers" are players better than the ones we have now.

Yeah....so now there's two people on this whole board that agree, "we should not only be open to, but should be investing in, getting better players than what we have now"... Seems like everyone else is content with "depth pieces" to what we already have...so as not to ruffle the feelz of the players here now

[Rhody15]

^ there are no rules anymore, he’ll be P5 in no time.

A bunch opened up this carousel and from what I can tell no one sniffed him. He’s slimy and from what I’ve heard a bit unlikable. He wins tho so yes someone eventually will take him.

Definitely seems slimy and a bit unlikeable, but coaches have done far worse (Beard, allegedly) and have gotten P5 jobs again.

[NYGFan_Section208]

^ there are no rules anymore, he’ll be P5 in no time.

A bunch opened up this carousel and from what I can tell no one sniffed him. He’s slimy and from what I’ve heard a bit unlikable. He wins tho so yes someone eventually will take him.

Definitely seems slimy and a bit unlikeable, but coaches have done far worse (Beard, allegedly) and have gotten P5 jobs again.

The Rick

[theblueram]

So another 12th place finish next year? Good god. It will get pretty ugly here for sure.

[section(105)]

So another 12th place finish next year? Good god. It will get pretty ugly here for sure.

I think there will be some ugliness here with a 12th ish finish for sure. We will be playing, apparently, the best roster our money can buy.

[RIFan]

Saying "we don't have starter minutes" to me means, "we don't want anyone better than we already have."
Depressing....I hope that's not the case... Sure, we may not "get" anyone better, but I'm thinking for the right player... there's starter minutes available. Saying otherwise just sounds defeatist .....

I keep going back to Archie saying the practice facility is, in his own words, a "game changer" He also said, in his own words, that Rhody Excellence is a "game changer". Where are the "game changing" players? I don't know, to me "game changers" are players better than the ones we have now.

Yeah....so now there's two people on this whole board that agree, "we should not only be open to, but should be investing in, getting better players than what we have now"... Seems like everyone else is content with "depth pieces" to what we already have...so as not to ruffle the feelz of the players here now

If we were returning a top 4 starting 5 I might agree, but we should recruit over everyone as there is no loyalty anymore…in fact you should always be looking for the best players possible…don’t understand people talking themselves into liking us signing rotation players to fill out a crappy team.

[NYGFan_Section208]

I keep going back to Archie saying the practice facility is, in his own words, a "game changer" He also said, in his own words, that Rhody Excellence is a "game changer". Where are the "game changing" players? I don't know, to me "game changers" are players better than the ones we have now.

Yeah....so now there's two people on this whole board that agree, "we should not only be open to, but should be investing in, getting better players than what we have now"... Seems like everyone else is content with "depth pieces" to what we already have...so as not to ruffle the feelz of the players here now

If we were returning a top 4 starting 5 I might agree, but we should recruit over everyone as there is no loyalty anymore…in fact you should always be looking for the best players possible…don’t understand people talking themselves into liking us signing rotation players to fill out a crappy team.

THANK YOU...I'll never understand why that is a minority opinion here

[SGreenwell]

I think it's more a comment that potential players aren't stupid. They can read a roster as well as any of us, and if there are four guys playing 20+ minutes from last year's team still on the roster, plus Lawrence coming in, then they're probably not going to commit unless they don't have better options. Guys typically aren't transferring into situations where they would immediately be in a position battle.

Should Miller have been more aggressive with telling some of the holdovers that they should look for other teams? That's a different question.

[Billyboy78]

I think it's more a comment that potential players aren't stupid. They can read a roster as well as any of us, and if there are four guys playing 20+ minutes from last year's team still on the roster, plus Lawrence coming in, then they're probably not going to commit unless they don't have better options. Guys typically aren't transferring into situations where they would immediately be in a position battle.

Should Miller have been more aggressive with telling some of the holdovers that they should look for other teams? That's a different question.

If we got one stud transfer to come in, regardless of what position he plays, I don't think that stud has anything to worry about with this team regarding playing time.

[Jersey77]

Richmond picked up another commit tonight.
They now have a full roster, 13 scholarships filled.

[steveystuds06]

Yeah....so now there's two people on this whole board that agree, "we should not only be open to, but should be investing in, getting better players than what we have now"... Seems like everyone else is content with "depth pieces" to what we already have...so as not to ruffle the feelz of the players here now

If we were returning a top 4 starting 5 I might agree, but we should recruit over everyone as there is no loyalty anymore…in fact you should always be looking for the best players possible…don’t understand people talking themselves into liking us signing rotation players to fill out a crappy team.

THANK YOU...I'll never understand why that is a minority opinion here

Do you honestly think none of us want the best players possible? Every single fanbase in America wants that.

Jaden House was a 14-point scorer in the A10. He is a returning, talented player who should improve. Something this team desperately lacked in the first two years was returning players who made a big impact. Bringing Jaden back was important; he should be our starting shooting guard.

David Green is a 14-point scorer in the A10 and a 40% 3-point shooter. He also achieved that after sitting for a long time. He's only going to get better. Bringing him back was very important, and he should start.

David Fuchs was our best freshman. He was one of the best freshman big men in the A10. The right move was pushing for him to return when he will hopefully make a jump. He should have the chance to be our starter.

Cam was an intriguing freshman. one of those streaky shooters who will play big minutes and, if things click, could turn into a starter or key bench piece. I'm happy they kept him.

Now, if you two and others don't believe in those players, that's your opinion. I personally like the idea of keeping talented players who know Archie's system. I hope they can all make a jump together.

Now, we had a great freshman point guard in Hammond who backed out. What did Archie and the staff do? Did they decide to bring back Luis, who was a nice piece, or did they try to find an upgrade? They landed a true point guard, the leading scorer from the America East. If it were another guard who put up similar numbers, most of this fanbase would be excited about the recruit. But because it's Bassy, many of you think he sucks and ignore the strides he's made. Do you believe the leading scorer from a conference came to a bottom-tier A10 team to come off the bench? He's a perfect example of a low-major player that developed into an A10-level starter. He should start.

What was our biggest weakness last year? I think it was our perimeter defense. What does Archie do? He brings in a player that many Nebraska fans thought was the best defender on their team in Jamarques Lawerence. He can also shoot. He can also score. He can play the 1-3 and defend the 1-3. He comes from an NCAA tournament Big10 team. And you don't think this dude should start?

This is why we feel we have our starting five! This is why we feel it's a long shot that we will land four new starters or whatever it is you guys want. Now, maybe Fuchs won't make a jump. Or maybe Bassy struggles at this level again. Or maybe House and Green regress. Maybe Lawerence doesn't make the big impact we expect. Maybe Cam doesn't improve. We don't know.

OR maybe our head coach feels like we had talent last year, and when things clicked, we looked really good. Maybe he felt we were missing a few important pieces like a true point guard (Bassy), a two way defensive guard (Lawerence), a guy who battles every second of every possession who's also a great locker room presence to help keep this team focused and locked in(Traore), and a defensive big who can block shots (Zapala? Javonte Brown?). Maybe our coach believes in these returnees and the key guys he brought in, and he's confident that's what will help this team take the turn this fanbase has been waiting for. Maybe some of us agree with this vision and believe in this coach and this program.

We shall see what happens

[steveystuds06]

I think it's more a comment that potential players aren't stupid. They can read a roster as well as any of us, and if there are four guys playing 20+ minutes from last year's team still on the roster, plus Lawrence coming in, then they're probably not going to commit unless they don't have better options. Guys typically aren't transferring into situations where they would immediately be in a position battle.

Should Miller have been more aggressive with telling some of the holdovers that they should look for other teams? That's a different question.

If we got one stud transfer to come in, regardless of what position he plays, I don't think that stud has anything to worry about with this team regarding playing time.

I think Lawerence is a stud transfer.

[luke]

I'm with you Stevey . Completely agree with everything you have said.

[steveystuds06]

I'm with you Stevey . Completely agree with everything you have said.

Thanks, Luke.

I don't know what the right answer is—none of us do. Trust me, I have more doubts about Archie than I ever had right now. I'm skeptical, but I am going into this season with hope that Archie is still a fantastic coach and that he made the right decision with this roster.

To me, it seems like Archie and the staff made the decision to keep our core guys and fill the rest of the roster, addressing specific needs that this team lacked last year. Or at least, it feels that way based on who we're going after. To me, you either keep your key guys like House, Green, Fuchs, and Cam, and pay them extra to stay, hoping you can build a better team around them, or you let most of them go and hope you can recruit a better team with a bunch of new faces.

If we were going to recruit over these guys, it would have happened already. It's not happening now.

It's very important we land a good defensive-minded big, I think that's our biggest need by far right now. We had visits lined up this week, so I'm sure we will hear something soon!

[PeterRamTime]

I think it's more a comment that potential players aren't stupid. They can read a roster as well as any of us, and if there are four guys playing 20+ minutes from last year's team still on the roster, plus Lawrence coming in, then they're probably not going to commit unless they don't have better options. Guys typically aren't transferring into situations where they would immediately be in a position battle.

Should Miller have been more aggressive with telling some of the holdovers that they should look for other teams? That's a different question.

If we got one stud transfer to come in, regardless of what position he plays, I don't think that stud has anything to worry about with this team regarding playing time.

Why do you not acknowledge JLawrence?

[NYGFan_Section208]

If we were returning a top 4 starting 5 I might agree, but we should recruit over everyone as there is no loyalty anymore…in fact you should always be looking for the best players possible…don’t understand people talking themselves into liking us signing rotation players to fill out a crappy team.

THANK YOU...I'll never understand why that is a minority opinion here

Do you honestly think none of us want the best players possible? Every single fanbase in America wants that.

Jaden House was a 14-point scorer in the A10. He is a returning, talented player who should improve. Something this team desperately lacked in the first two years was returning players who made a big impact. Bringing Jaden back was important; he should be our starting shooting guard.

David Green is a 14-point scorer in the A10 and a 40% 3-point shooter. He also achieved that after sitting for a long time. He's only going to get better. Bringing him back was very important, and he should start.

David Fuchs was our best freshman. He was one of the best freshman big men in the A10. The right move was pushing for him to return when he will hopefully make a jump. He should have the chance to be our starter.

Cam was an intriguing freshman. one of those streaky shooters who will play big minutes and, if things click, could turn into a starter or key bench piece. I'm happy they kept him.

Now, if you two and others don't believe in those players, that's your opinion. I personally like the idea of keeping talented players who know Archie's system. I hope they can all make a jump together.

Now, we had a great freshman point guard in Hammond who backed out. What did Archie and the staff do? Did they decide to bring back Luis, who was a nice piece, or did they try to find an upgrade? They landed a true point guard, the leading scorer from the America East. If it were another guard who put up similar numbers, most of this fanbase would be excited about the recruit. But because it's Bassy, many of you think he sucks and ignore the strides he's made. Do you believe the leading scorer from a conference came to a bottom-tier A10 team to come off the bench? He's a perfect example of a low-major player that developed into an A10-level starter. He should start.

What was our biggest weakness last year? I think it was our perimeter defense. What does Archie do? He brings in a player that many Nebraska fans thought was the best defender on their team in Jamarques Lawerence. He can also shoot. He can also score. He can play the 1-3 and defend the 1-3. He comes from an NCAA tournament Big10 team. And you don't think this dude should start?

This is why we feel we have our starting five! This is why we feel it's a long shot that we will land four new starters or whatever it is you guys want. Now, maybe Fuchs won't make a jump. Or maybe Bassy struggles at this level again. Or maybe House and Green regress. Maybe Lawerence doesn't make the big impact we expect. Maybe Cam doesn't improve. We don't know.

OR maybe our head coach feels like we had talent last year, and when things clicked, we looked really good. Maybe he felt we were missing a few important pieces like a true point guard (Bassy), a two way defensive guard (Lawerence), a guy who battles every second of every possession who's also a great locker room presence to help keep this team focused and locked in(Traore), and a defensive big who can block shots (Zapala? Javonte Brown?). Maybe our coach believes in these returnees and the key guys he brought in, and he's confident that's what will help this team take the turn this fanbase has been waiting for. Maybe some of us agree with this vision and believe in this coach and this program.

We shall see what happens

I'm sorry...tl;dr, but I'll never understand why anyone would go to such lengths to defend the idea of not wanting to get players that are better than what's already here. smh.... It's s simple concept, one that good teams use frequently to improve. You can say "that won't happen" and you may be right, but to write paragraphs about why the team should not pursue better players than what are already here...I don't get it.

Rank the players on the team any way you want 1-10, with 1-5 being the starting 5. Let's say there's someone out there that would be #4 on that list. Sounds like you don't want him. I say get him, and bump everyone down a notch. What is so bad about that? Not getting players better than what you already have is probably the surest way to ensure perpetual suck, isn't it?

[RamStock]

THANK YOU...I'll never understand why that is a minority opinion here

Do you honestly think none of us want the best players possible? Every single fanbase in America wants that.

Jaden House was a 14-point scorer in the A10. He is a returning, talented player who should improve. Something this team desperately lacked in the first two years was returning players who made a big impact. Bringing Jaden back was important; he should be our starting shooting guard.

David Green is a 14-point scorer in the A10 and a 40% 3-point shooter. He also achieved that after sitting for a long time. He's only going to get better. Bringing him back was very important, and he should start.

David Fuchs was our best freshman. He was one of the best freshman big men in the A10. The right move was pushing for him to return when he will hopefully make a jump. He should have the chance to be our starter.

Cam was an intriguing freshman. one of those streaky shooters who will play big minutes and, if things click, could turn into a starter or key bench piece. I'm happy they kept him.

Now, if you two and others don't believe in those players, that's your opinion. I personally like the idea of keeping talented players who know Archie's system. I hope they can all make a jump together.

Now, we had a great freshman point guard in Hammond who backed out. What did Archie and the staff do? Did they decide to bring back Luis, who was a nice piece, or did they try to find an upgrade? They landed a true point guard, the leading scorer from the America East. If it were another guard who put up similar numbers, most of this fanbase would be excited about the recruit. But because it's Bassy, many of you think he sucks and ignore the strides he's made. Do you believe the leading scorer from a conference came to a bottom-tier A10 team to come off the bench? He's a perfect example of a low-major player that developed into an A10-level starter. He should start.

What was our biggest weakness last year? I think it was our perimeter defense. What does Archie do? He brings in a player that many Nebraska fans thought was the best defender on their team in Jamarques Lawerence. He can also shoot. He can also score. He can play the 1-3 and defend the 1-3. He comes from an NCAA tournament Big10 team. And you don't think this dude should start?

This is why we feel we have our starting five! This is why we feel it's a long shot that we will land four new starters or whatever it is you guys want. Now, maybe Fuchs won't make a jump. Or maybe Bassy struggles at this level again. Or maybe House and Green regress. Maybe Lawerence doesn't make the big impact we expect. Maybe Cam doesn't improve. We don't know.

OR maybe our head coach feels like we had talent last year, and when things clicked, we looked really good. Maybe he felt we were missing a few important pieces like a true point guard (Bassy), a two way defensive guard (Lawerence), a guy who battles every second of every possession who's also a great locker room presence to help keep this team focused and locked in(Traore), and a defensive big who can block shots (Zapala? Javonte Brown?). Maybe our coach believes in these returnees and the key guys he brought in, and he's confident that's what will help this team take the turn this fanbase has been waiting for. Maybe some of us agree with this vision and believe in this coach and this program.

We shall see what happens

I'm sorry...tl;dr, but I'll never understand why anyone would go to such lengths to defend the idea of not wanting to get players that are better than what's already here. smh.... It's s simple concept, one that good teams use frequently to improve. You can say "that won't happen" and you may be right, but to write paragraphs about why the team should not pursue better players than what are already here...I don't get it.

Rank the players on the team any way you want 1-10, with 1-5 being the starting 5. Let's say there's someone out there that would be #4 on that list. Sounds like you don't want him. I say get him, and bump everyone down a notch. What is so bad about that? Not getting players better than what you already have is probably the surest way to ensure perpetual suck, isn't it?

I agree. I just think House is a stats sheet guy and is never going to be the answer on a team that is in the mix for the postseason. I like Lawrence and think he will be a good fit, but I also thought Montgomery was the best player we brought in last year and he was awful. It is tough to predict what is going to happen, but counting on the core from a terrible team doesn’t give me great confidence. There is no loyalty so if they get anyone that can make an impact they should take without worrying about anyone’s playing time. Could they get someone better than House or the guys we have? Probably not which has to make people question Miller’s recruiting abilities.

[section(105)]

We will neva know with the way things are going in the new world. I’ll venture a guess we pursued better players. They didn’t come for a variety of reasons, leading off and batting first mo-la-dee.

[Rhodymob05]

I'm with you Stevey . Completely agree with everything you have said.

Thanks, Luke.

I don't know what the right answer is—none of us do. Trust me, I have more doubts about Archie than I ever had right now. I'm skeptical, but I am going into this season with hope that Archie is still a fantastic coach and that he made the right decision with this roster.

To me, it seems like Archie and the staff made the decision to keep our core guys and fill the rest of the roster, addressing specific needs that this team lacked last year. Or at least, it feels that way based on who we're going after. To me, you either keep your key guys like House, Green, Fuchs, and Cam, and pay them extra to stay, hoping you can build a better team around them, or you let most of them go and hope you can recruit a better team with a bunch of new faces.

If we were going to recruit over these guys, it would have happened already. It's not happening now.

It's very important we land a good defensive-minded big, I think that's our biggest need by far right now. We had visits lined up this week, so I'm sure we will hear something soon!

Visits you say??

[Jersey77]

Do you honestly think none of us want the best players possible? Every single fanbase in America wants that.

Jaden House was a 14-point scorer in the A10. He is a returning, talented player who should improve. Something this team desperately lacked in the first two years was returning players who made a big impact. Bringing Jaden back was important; he should be our starting shooting guard.

David Green is a 14-point scorer in the A10 and a 40% 3-point shooter. He also achieved that after sitting for a long time. He's only going to get better. Bringing him back was very important, and he should start.

David Fuchs was our best freshman. He was one of the best freshman big men in the A10. The right move was pushing for him to return when he will hopefully make a jump. He should have the chance to be our starter.

Cam was an intriguing freshman. one of those streaky shooters who will play big minutes and, if things click, could turn into a starter or key bench piece. I'm happy they kept him.

Now, if you two and others don't believe in those players, that's your opinion. I personally like the idea of keeping talented players who know Archie's system. I hope they can all make a jump together.

Now, we had a great freshman point guard in Hammond who backed out. What did Archie and the staff do? Did they decide to bring back Luis, who was a nice piece, or did they try to find an upgrade? They landed a true point guard, the leading scorer from the America East. If it were another guard who put up similar numbers, most of this fanbase would be excited about the recruit. But because it's Bassy, many of you think he sucks and ignore the strides he's made. Do you believe the leading scorer from a conference came to a bottom-tier A10 team to come off the bench? He's a perfect example of a low-major player that developed into an A10-level starter. He should start.

What was our biggest weakness last year? I think it was our perimeter defense. What does Archie do? He brings in a player that many Nebraska fans thought was the best defender on their team in Jamarques Lawerence. He can also shoot. He can also score. He can play the 1-3 and defend the 1-3. He comes from an NCAA tournament Big10 team. And you don't think this dude should start?

This is why we feel we have our starting five! This is why we feel it's a long shot that we will land four new starters or whatever it is you guys want. Now, maybe Fuchs won't make a jump. Or maybe Bassy struggles at this level again. Or maybe House and Green regress. Maybe Lawerence doesn't make the big impact we expect. Maybe Cam doesn't improve. We don't know.

OR maybe our head coach feels like we had talent last year, and when things clicked, we looked really good. Maybe he felt we were missing a few important pieces like a true point guard (Bassy), a two way defensive guard (Lawerence), a guy who battles every second of every possession who's also a great locker room presence to help keep this team focused and locked in(Traore), and a defensive big who can block shots (Zapala? Javonte Brown?). Maybe our coach believes in these returnees and the key guys he brought in, and he's confident that's what will help this team take the turn this fanbase has been waiting for. Maybe some of us agree with this vision and believe in this coach and this program.

We shall see what happens

I'm sorry...tl;dr, but I'll never understand why anyone would go to such lengths to defend the idea of not wanting to get players that are better than what's already here. smh.... It's s simple concept, one that good teams use frequently to improve. You can say "that won't happen" and you may be right, but to write paragraphs about why the team should not pursue better players than what are already here...I don't get it.

Rank the players on the team any way you want 1-10, with 1-5 being the starting 5. Let's say there's someone out there that would be #4 on that list. Sounds like you don't want him. I say get him, and bump everyone down a notch. What is so bad about that? Not getting players better than what you already have is probably the surest way to ensure perpetual suck, isn't it?

I agree. I just think House is a stats sheet guy and is never going to be the answer on a team that is in the mix for the postseason. I like Lawrence and think he will be a good fit, but I also thought Montgomery was the best player we brought in last year and he was awful. It is tough to predict what is going to happen, but counting on the core from a terrible team doesn’t give me great confidence. There is no loyalty so if they get anyone that can make an impact they should take without worrying about anyone’s playing time. Could they get someone better than House or the guys we have? Probably not which has to make people question Miller’s recruiting abilities.

Bringing back some core players was crucial to have any chance of success this coming season.
We were able to retain House, Green, Fuchs, and Cam which was huge and exactly the players I felt we needed to return.

Are you forgetting Loyola who finished dead last in 22-23 (worse than us) brought back some core players and then finished tied for 1st in 23-24?
Not saying we will do the same but still showing the importance of some continuity regardless of your previous record.

Besides I wouldn't say our returning players (potential starters) are exactly scrubs:

Fuchs- As a freshman averaged 8 pts/6.4 rebs, including 6 double/doubles.
Had a monster game against Richmond (23 pts/12 rebs/2 assists/2 steals).
Career high of 17 rebounds against Fordham.

Green- Team high scoring average of 14.3 pts/43% 3PT.
Had 20 pts/ 5 rebs against the Dukes. Scored 24 pts/ 5 rebs against UMass.
Career high of 29 pts with 6 rebs at GM. Plus a double/double (16 pts/ 10 rebs) against the Joes.

House- Also averaged 14 pts, led the team in total points (451).
Scored 27 pts/ 4 rebs at then #21 Dayton.
Season high of 29 pts/ 6 rebs/ 3 assists against UMass.

I am good with all 3 of these players possibly starting plus having Cam, who was also very impactful as a true freshman.
I am not sure what some of you are expecting with our limited budget that will be an upgrade over those players.

Yes Archie and the staff aren't just sitting back, they are looking at the best players available that would be a good fit.
He already found 2 with Bassy and Lawrence that filled immediate needs.

[RIFan]

Nobody thinks Archie is just sitting back and not trying….we just don’t like the results so far. But, I agree a couple guys could get better and Lawrence could be a stud. We are relying on a lot things that could happen instead of getting players that will make it happen. Our A10 competition seems to be getting more plug and play or sure things. Is it NIL? If NIL is going to determine our fate we are in deep trouble and all the investments the university finally made was way too late to have built up a real program with a big wealthy fan base.

[Jersey77]

Nobody thinks Archie is just sitting back and not trying….we just don’t like the results so far. But, I agree a couple guys could get better and Lawrence could be a stud. We are relying on a lot things that could happen instead of getting players that will make it happen. Our A10 competition seems to be getting more plug and play or sure things. Is it NIL? If NIL is going to determine our fate we are in deep trouble.

We filled 2 needs, and I am happy with both Lawrence and Bassy.
Again, as Stevey said if his name wasn't Sebastian Thomas, we would all be thrilled with this addition.

Drissa, I am not sure about, depending upon who else we get upfront.

It is still too early for me to make a judgement call regarding our success this off-season.
Let's see who else we are able to add.

And yes, much of it has to do with NIL.

[rhodylaw]

We will neva know with the way things are going in the new world. I’ll venture a guess we pursued better players. They didn’t come for a variety of reasons, leading off and batting first mo-la-dee.

I honestly don’t care at this point about “better players” - we have had a bunch of guys come in the past 5 years who should have been great, were bigger recruits, etc. they have mostly all failed here to live up to expectations.

I want guys who come in and work hard, set the tone for the program. Obviously don’t want bums either, but I don’t think that is what he has brought in. High floor, hard working players to get the program back on track.

I am happy with the guys we brought back from last year. All 4 can score. Don’t get the House hate that he is a “stat filler” - kid is a bucket getter which we have needed for years. We finally get a guy who can score in bunches and we don’t like it? Building around those 4 guys this year with seasoned players who are tough and hard working is perfect. I expect a massive improvement this year. This looks more like an Archie team from the past.

[rhodylaw]

Nobody thinks Archie is just sitting back and not trying….we just don’t like the results so far. But, I agree a couple guys could get better and Lawrence could be a stud. We are relying on a lot things that could happen instead of getting players that will make it happen. Our A10 competition seems to be getting more plug and play or sure things. Is it NIL? If NIL is going to determine our fate we are in deep trouble and all the investments the university finally made was way too late to have built up a real program with a big wealthy fan base.

Last year NO ONE on this board was super excited about David Greene when he signed. He was the un-sexy guy we had to settle for to us fans.

[PeterRamTime]

Unfortunate if Zapala doesn't wind up a Ram. If the team instagram account followed him they must've thought it was a done deal and it fell through.

[Jersey77]

Unfortunate if Zapala doesn't wind up a Ram. If the team instagram account followed him they must've thought it was a done deal and it fell through.

Don't be surprised if we have other options, that may even turn out to be better.

[Billyboy78]

I think it's more a comment that potential players aren't stupid. They can read a roster as well as any of us, and if there are four guys playing 20+ minutes from last year's team still on the roster, plus Lawrence coming in, then they're probably not going to commit unless they don't have better options. Guys typically aren't transferring into situations where they would immediately be in a position battle.

Should Miller have been more aggressive with telling some of the holdovers that they should look for other teams? That's a different question.

If we got one stud transfer to come in, regardless of what position he plays, I don't think that stud has anything to worry about with this team regarding playing time.

Why do you not acknowledge JLawrence?

If Lawrence is that stud transfer, I expect him to be 1st or 2nd team A10. That's the kind of player I want with the "game changers"....the practice facility and Rhode to Excellence. Remember when we used to have players that were all A10 , A10 POY caliber players only a very short time ago? We had zero of that last year. Maybe Lawrence is that player. We'll see. Yes, House and Green are good players. They are not all A10. They are not studs. Will they improve? Maybe a little. Both are in the 5th year, so I don't think either make a big jump. They are what they are at this point....good players. If we want to compete for an A10 championship, we need AT LEAST one stud.

[Dino611]

Unfortunate if Zapala doesn't wind up a Ram. If the team instagram account followed him they must've thought it was a done deal and it fell through.

It’s happened before, for example Jonah Antonio last minute went to Wake Forest over us

[CamsRams]

Heard there was a Forward on campus this week. Wasn’t Zapala.

[Jersey77]

If we got one stud transfer to come in, regardless of what position he plays, I don't think that stud has anything to worry about with this team regarding playing time.

Why do you not acknowledge JLawrence?

If Lawrence is that stud transfer, I expect him to be 1st or 2nd team A10. That's the kind of player I want with the "game changers"....the practice facility and Rhode to Excellence. Remember when we used to have players that were all A10 , A10 POY caliber players only a very short time ago? We had zero of that last year. Maybe Lawrence is that player. We'll see. Yes, House and Green are good players. They are not all A10. They are not studs. Will they improve? Maybe a little. Both are in the 5th year, so I don't think either make a big jump. They are what they are at this point....good players. If we want to compete for an A10 championship, we need AT LEAST one stud.

Billy, I think Lawrence can be a major impact player for us but thinking he can immediately be All-A10 might be a reach.
There are so many really good guards in our conference and the A10 should once again be pretty deep.

We are in good shape with Bassy, House, Lawrence, and Cam and any of those players can go off any lead us on any given day.
I am very comfortable with our guard situation at this time.

[UCH21377]

I have to admit I’m skeptical about the returning core from a 20 loss team. These were mostly older kids. Plus losing our 4 star freshman hurts I don’t want to hear all the rationalization about it. Counting on Bassy to turn things around from the point? I love the kids effort and attitude but just not sure he’s ready for this role at an A10 level. Hoping I’m wrong and the team is good but I think we’re heading for an 16 to 18 win team and middle of the pack A10 best case with an old team

[jcru]

The night is always darkest before the dawn.

We may get to witness something with next year’s team that will become something of a rarity in men’s college basketball.

Namely: a group of six or more players who actually stick around for more than one year with to potential to show significant improvement as a group. I’m including Bassy in that.

[Rhody15]

The night is always darkest before the dawn.

We may get to witness something with next year’s team that will become something of a rarity in men’s college basketball.

Namely: a group of six or more players who actually stick around for more than one year with to potential to show significant improvement as a group. I’m including Bassy in that.

You’re including Bassy in the group of players “who actually stuck around” when he left for Albany?

The mental gymnastics people here take is wild.

Thomas hasn’t played with House, Green, Fuchs, Cam, Lawerence, Traore, Always.

Tell me how Thomas stuck with the players above and has “potential to show significant improvement as a group” when he has played a combined ZERO seconds with the players listed

Another clueless post.

[jcru]

why do you always have to pick a fight with everyone?

It's not like Bassy comes from out of left field somewhere. He does have a history here. He was gone for one season.

[jcru]

I don't have a beef with you, so I don't understand why you can't simply make the point you are trying to make without adding stuff like

"Another clueless post"

As if anyone's opinion that doesn't 100% align with yours is dog shit. Is that pretty much it?

[jcru]

I mean, no he didn't play with the 5 other returnees.

He did however play for the one big returnee named Archie Miller. That is significant, no?

[Billyboy78]

Our new coach Whitford in the last couple of days started following Mark Freeman and Tyree Ihenacho. Austin has recently followed Tana Kopa, Jailen Bedford and Sin'Cere McMahon. All 5 are still in the portal. The interesting thing is that all 5 players are guards. I'm still wondering if House is coming back and if something transpired in the last few days for the coaches to become suddenly interested in a bunch of guards.

[jcru]

Welcome to 2024 and the Internet/Social Media Age, where everyone is an over-the-top, complete asshole for no good reason.

We're discussing a college basketball team, having a "friendly" conversation, and people attack your comments like we are on yahoo news discussing Joe Biden or Donald Trump.

That's what our society has devolved to. Enjoy.

[PeterRamTime]

Unfortunate if Zapala doesn't wind up a Ram. If the team instagram account followed him they must've thought it was a done deal and it fell through.

Don't be surprised if we have other options, that may even turn out to be better.

But but but...I was falling for Zapala...

[steveystuds06]

THANK YOU...I'll never understand why that is a minority opinion here

Do you honestly think none of us want the best players possible? Every single fanbase in America wants that.

Jaden House was a 14-point scorer in the A10. He is a returning, talented player who should improve. Something this team desperately lacked in the first two years was returning players who made a big impact. Bringing Jaden back was important; he should be our starting shooting guard.

David Green is a 14-point scorer in the A10 and a 40% 3-point shooter. He also achieved that after sitting for a long time. He's only going to get better. Bringing him back was very important, and he should start.

David Fuchs was our best freshman. He was one of the best freshman big men in the A10. The right move was pushing for him to return when he will hopefully make a jump. He should have the chance to be our starter.

Cam was an intriguing freshman. one of those streaky shooters who will play big minutes and, if things click, could turn into a starter or key bench piece. I'm happy they kept him.

Now, if you two and others don't believe in those players, that's your opinion. I personally like the idea of keeping talented players who know Archie's system. I hope they can all make a jump together.

Now, we had a great freshman point guard in Hammond who backed out. What did Archie and the staff do? Did they decide to bring back Luis, who was a nice piece, or did they try to find an upgrade? They landed a true point guard, the leading scorer from the America East. If it were another guard who put up similar numbers, most of this fanbase would be excited about the recruit. But because it's Bassy, many of you think he sucks and ignore the strides he's made. Do you believe the leading scorer from a conference came to a bottom-tier A10 team to come off the bench? He's a perfect example of a low-major player that developed into an A10-level starter. He should start.

What was our biggest weakness last year? I think it was our perimeter defense. What does Archie do? He brings in a player that many Nebraska fans thought was the best defender on their team in Jamarques Lawerence. He can also shoot. He can also score. He can play the 1-3 and defend the 1-3. He comes from an NCAA tournament Big10 team. And you don't think this dude should start?

This is why we feel we have our starting five! This is why we feel it's a long shot that we will land four new starters or whatever it is you guys want. Now, maybe Fuchs won't make a jump. Or maybe Bassy struggles at this level again. Or maybe House and Green regress. Maybe Lawerence doesn't make the big impact we expect. Maybe Cam doesn't improve. We don't know.

OR maybe our head coach feels like we had talent last year, and when things clicked, we looked really good. Maybe he felt we were missing a few important pieces like a true point guard (Bassy), a two way defensive guard (Lawerence), a guy who battles every second of every possession who's also a great locker room presence to help keep this team focused and locked in(Traore), and a defensive big who can block shots (Zapala? Javonte Brown?). Maybe our coach believes in these returnees and the key guys he brought in, and he's confident that's what will help this team take the turn this fanbase has been waiting for. Maybe some of us agree with this vision and believe in this coach and this program.

We shall see what happens

I'm sorry...tl;dr, but I'll never understand why anyone would go to such lengths to defend the idea of not wanting to get players that are better than what's already here. smh.... It's s simple concept, one that good teams use frequently to improve. You can say "that won't happen" and you may be right, but to write paragraphs about why the team should not pursue better players than what are already here...I don't get it.

Rank the players on the team any way you want 1-10, with 1-5 being the starting 5. Let's say there's someone out there that would be #4 on that list. Sounds like you don't want him. I say get him, and bump everyone down a notch. What is so bad about that? Not getting players better than what you already have is probably the surest way to ensure perpetual suck, isn't it?

Idk if you're not reading what I'm saying, and that's fine since I can write long posts, but you're clearly missing my point. Would I love to land better players than what we have? Of course. What fan wouldn't? That goes without saying. Everyone who wants this team to win wants the best possible players and team. That's common sense.

What I'm saying is RIGHT NOW, based on the portal closing, our NIL $, and our returning players, we aren't going to land 4 new starters to play over the players we decided to bring back. I don't know how many times I need to explain it, but I guess you don't get what I'm trying to say.

[steveystuds06]

I have to admit I’m skeptical about the returning core from a 20 loss team. These were mostly older kids. Plus losing our 4 star freshman hurts I don’t want to hear all the rationalization about it. Counting on Bassy to turn things around from the point? I love the kids effort and attitude but just not sure he’s ready for this role at an A10 level. Hoping I’m wrong and the team is good but I think we’re heading for an 16 to 18 win team and middle of the pack A10 best case with an old team

Yup, I agree. I don't think this team will be an NIT or NCAA tournament team... I don't think anyone said Bassy is our savior and the person to turn this around. I said, and others said he fills a need. We needed a better playmaking point guard in my opinion. Does it help that he's drastically improved his offensive game and free throw shooting? Yes. But my hope is that he will make life easier for House and Green, who were stuck taking a ton of tough shots in most games.

I agree with you that if things click, we are likely a 16-18-win team. Is that what I wanted in year 3 when we first hired Archie? God no. But we are where we are, and I can either be miserable about literally everything like some people here, or I can try to change my expectations and have a realistic goal for this year. If we can finally have a winning season and have some momentum for our future I'll be happy.

[Ramfan22]

Our new coach Whitford in the last couple of days started following Mark Freeman and Tyree Ihenacho. Austin has recently followed Tana Kopa, Jailen Bedford and Sin'Cere McMahon. All 5 are still in the portal. The interesting thing is that all 5 players are guards. I'm still wondering if House is coming back and if something transpired in the last few days for the coaches to become suddenly interested in a bunch of guards.

Noticed that too. Bedford, and McMahon are both committed somewhere not sure by Carroll followed them. Freeman is announcing tomorrow and it’s definitely not Rhode Island.

[steveystuds06]

Why do you not acknowledge JLawrence?

If Lawrence is that stud transfer, I expect him to be 1st or 2nd team A10. That's the kind of player I want with the "game changers"....the practice facility and Rhode to Excellence. Remember when we used to have players that were all A10 , A10 POY caliber players only a very short time ago? We had zero of that last year. Maybe Lawrence is that player. We'll see. Yes, House and Green are good players. They are not all A10. They are not studs. Will they improve? Maybe a little. Both are in the 5th year, so I don't think either make a big jump. They are what they are at this point....good players. If we want to compete for an A10 championship, we need AT LEAST one stud.

Billy, I think Lawrence can be a major impact player for us but thinking he can immediately be All-A10 might be a reach.
There are so many really good guards in our conference and the A10 should once again be pretty deep.

We are in good shape with Bassy, House, Lawrence, and Cam and any of those players can go off any lead us on any given day.
I am very comfortable with our guard situation at this time.

Agreed, Jersey. Expecting him to be a first-team all-conference player is a little much. The A10 has some ridiculously good guards right now. I want him to have a Matt Cross-type impact. In year one, he learns Archie's system and cements himself as one of the best players on the team and the conference. Maybe a 3rd team player or right outside. In year two, he becomes a first- or second-team player like Cross.