So, is this the year we come off of probation and scholarship reductions?

[busticket]

Norm, I would be thrilled to fill out the class with those two.  And you are correct....we really could use an impact player at both spots.  I'm pretty shocked we're still in it for Tshimanga.  He is a pretty high profile player and we haven't had much luck with the 5 position since Maric.

[hhcmatt]

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  I'm as worried about needing another guard as I am about needing a big.

 

Since we're in the private recruiting forum, I'll say I'm not convinced Bakari Evelyn is the kind of player that will help us compete at the top levels of the Big Ten that we aspire to.  He's someone who might have had a spot on a Collier roster, but that's not the kind of player who will help us get where we want to go.  I'll give him credit for having made some nifty passes.  But I don't see him getting starters minutes any time soon.

 

I think we need a shooting guard in the '16 class to go along with Roby and Horne.  I also think we need a true center like a Jordy Tshimanga in that '16 class.  So, if we could find another vacancy, I'd try to add two more players to this class.

 

I think we need a good PG in the '17 class with Arop.  Whether you really call Arop a guard or a forward, I think we need another point in that class at the latest.

 

Corprew sounds like a combo guard who could play point like Tai Webster.  Right now, from all I've seen, Corprew and Tshimanga would be my choices to fill out the '16 class, which would mean someone would have to move on.  We have a glut of tweeners, guys who are somewhere in the middle between the guards and the centers.  But you can't really field a team of wings and power forwards.  You need to have some backcourt players and, hopefully, a post or two. 

 

Just my $0.02

 

I think someone walking and grabbing those two would be great. If it's either Bakari not wanting to be a backup to Watson or Hammond giving up or almost anyone because college kids are impulsive like that.

 

Let me talk about Bakari for a moment....

If you could bring in freshman year Mike Gesell instead of Bakari, you would, right? Here's the thing though...freshman year Gesell couldn't shoot either...he was basically Benny Parker with handles for 3 years. He's very savvy this year and is shooting for a high average when he needs to, but honestly he's not a guy you want shooting at all.

 

I guess my question is whether Bakari is physically able to be Benny Parker/Mike Gesell helpful in everything but scoring because if so he's a valuable commodity.  He also might be a nicer but less effective Tarin Smith. I don't know....no idea....Miles doesn't randomly play dudes for 5 minutes so it's tough to tell.

 

It'd be great to get a guy like Tshimanga but unless these guys are going to be sure things, I think we're better off getting guards  who can score and building up Michigan St post players like Jacobson, Morrow, and now Horne....guys that aren't 6'11" but who will be thick 220-240 dudes who are skilled.

[Huskerpapa]

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  I'm as worried about needing another guard as I am about needing a big.

 

Since we're in the private recruiting forum, I'll say I'm not convinced Bakari Evelyn is the kind of player that will help us compete at the top levels of the Big Ten that we aspire to.  He's someone who might have had a spot on a Collier roster, but that's not the kind of player who will help us get where we want to go.  I'll give him credit for having made some nifty passes.  But I don't see him getting starters minutes any time soon.

 

I think we need a shooting guard in the '16 class to go along with Roby and Horne.  I also think we need a true center like a Jordy Tshimanga in that '16 class.  So, if we could find another vacancy, I'd try to add two more players to this class.

 

I think we need a good PG in the '17 class with Arop.  Whether you really call Arop a guard or a forward, I think we need another point in that class at the latest.

 

Corprew sounds like a combo guard who could play point like Tai Webster.  Right now, from all I've seen, Corprew and Tshimanga would be my choices to fill out the '16 class, which would mean someone would have to move on.  We have a glut of tweeners, guys who are somewhere in the middle between the guards and the centers.  But you can't really field a team of wings and power forwards.  You need to have some backcourt players and, hopefully, a post or two. 

 

Just my $0.02

 

I think someone walking and grabbing those two would be great. If it's either Bakari not wanting to be a backup to Watson or Hammond giving up or almost anyone because college kids are impulsive like that.

 

Let me talk about Bakari for a moment....

If you could bring in freshman year Mike Gesell instead of Bakari, you would, right? Here's the thing though...freshman year Gesell couldn't shoot either...he was basically Benny Parker with handles for 3 years. He's very savvy this year and is shooting for a high average when he needs to, but honestly he's not a guy you want shooting at all.

 

I guess my question is whether Bakari is physically able to be Benny Parker/Mike Gesell helpful in everything but scoring because if so he's a valuable commodity.  He also might be a nicer but less effective Tarin Smith. I don't know....no idea....Miles doesn't randomly play dudes for 5 minutes so it's tough to tell.

 

It'd be great to get a guy like Tshimanga but unless these guys are going to be sure things, I think we're better off getting guards  who can score and building up Michigan St post players like Jacobson, Morrow, and now Horne....guys that aren't 6'11" but who will be thick 220-240 dudes who are skilled.

 

I sort of disagree with your take that Gesell "couldn't shoot" as a freshman.  He was a prolific scorer in HS and he has never been an exceptional 3-point shooter, yet he did pretty well as a true freshman.  Here is his freshman bio:

 

Earned the team's Academic Award and shared Freshman of the Year accolades. 2012-13 -- Played in 34 games, starting 30... suffered an injured right foot; missed team's last four regular season games (Purdue, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska) before returning for B1G tourney... scored in double figures 14 times... made all 12 free throw attempts in seven postseason games... named Big Ten Freshman of the Week and ESPN Freshman of the Weekend (Dec. 17)... third leading scorer, averaging 8.7 points per contest... led the team in assists and steals eight times... ranked third on the team in assists (89) and 3-pointers made (33)... tallied 15 points and dished a game-high five assists in win over Central Michigan... netted 19 points, bolstered by 7-10 shooting from the field, to go along with four rebounds, two assists and two steals in win over Western Kentucky... tallied 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and collected three steals in win over Iowa State... posted a season-high 23 points in win over UNI... registered personal bests in rebounds (6) and assists (8) in victory over South Carolina State... netted 13 points in home game against #5 Indiana... had 11 points and four rebounds in home win over Wisconsin... scored a personal Big Ten-best 18 points while playing a career-high 39 minutes at Purdue... led team in rebounding for first time in career when he snagged six boards to go along with a team-best 11 points in road game at #23 Minnesota... led team in scoring (14 points) and assists (4) in double-overtime game at Wisconsin... credited with a game and career-high four steals to go along with 11 points in home win over Minnesota... dished out a Big Ten season-best six assists, all in the first half, at Nebraska... tallied 13 points and three assists vs. Northwestern at B1G tourney in first action since Feb. 21... led team with nine points in B1G tourney quarterfinal game vs. Michigan State... scored seven points in eight minutes in NIT win at Virginia... netted a team-high 13 points in NIT championship vs. Baylor... letterwinner.

[hhcmatt]

I sort of disagree with your take that Gesell "couldn't shoot" as a freshman.  He was a prolific scorer in HS and he has never been an exceptional 3-point shooter, yet he did pretty well as a true freshman.  Here is his freshman bio:

 

 

You can be a scorer without being a very good shooter. Also, Iowa has been a higher tempo team over the course of 4 years so overall they'll score and give up more points total than many teams.

 

He had Benny Parker-esque eFG% through his first 3 years and I've read 100s of posts about BP not being able to shoot.

Some of the reason that he has better numbers this year is that he's pickier about his shot selection. His conference play thus far has been stellar.

 

Heck...he all think Glynn Watson is great and he's going to be a star here but when you look at his numbers he 's a worse shooter than Gesell. If you factor other offensive categories (Watson excels at not turning it over), Watson's overall "ORtg" is currently slightly better than a freshman year Gesell.

 

 

My overall arching point is that "Bakari Evelyn isn't going to work out on this team because he can't shoot" is misguided because our PG of the future and the guy we wanted for years haven't exactly been superstars because of their shooting ability.

[hhcmatt]

Dug a little deeper on Gesell...he's having a better year for the same reason that Tai is...taking a lot more shots at the rim.

 

Year - % of shots at rim

2013 - 20.9%

2014 - 30.9%

2015 - 27.7%

2016 - 40.9%