Fullbacksympathy

Wow. The B1G is scary good. I think .500 in conference gets us dancing. Hoping we can split a few of the noncon tossups.

Dayton is the perfect non-con opponent, IMO. We'll be slight underdogs with a shot at a big time win, and a loss doesn't hurt us. Honestly, that's where Creighton is now that they aren't playing in a high school conference anymore. I'm thrilled we have them on the schedule every year. They're another one in that range.

D1 athlete for sure, and I think what he lacks in 3pt shooting he makes up for in size (he's a true PG at 6'5") and defense. I think he'll prove to be a very valuable player. It'll be like having a slightly less talented Tai out there. I think we'll have really good perimeter defense this year.

I think Morrow is a better 4 than Jacobson. I think Jacobson is a better 5 than Morrow, which probably means Jacobson will be more of a utility player for both the 4-5 positions. He's kind of like the Webster of the front court. Those two rarely got to play together last year, so that'll be a nice option as they're both very high energy. Sounds like having a center will let us finally guard the 3pt line. It also sounds like we have some really high character kids this year. I'm excited to watch them gel.

He can definitely play the 3 offensively. I'm not sure Horne can guard the 3 though. If he gets in great shape I think he'd be a very good 3 with his footwork and shooting ability. The kid is a scorer.

LOLLLLL And, yeah, we'll be better this year no doubt.

Facing these issues head on and discussing them/allowing discourse is a lot braver than avoiding them altogether. There are plenty of marginalized groups in this country--particularly black people--who have every right not to salute oppression. Coach Pop is the greatest basketball coach of all time, in my opinion. One of the reasons why is because he's extremely honest and he empowers/challenges his players intellectually. Here's his response:

I really like this kid. He has a very similar skill set to Glynn--not quite the handles, but similar athleticism and a better outside shot. He's a true point guard and can definitely score from that position.

Alright I'm really gonna be that guy and ask what makes him "twice the player." And I'm purely asking. No agenda. Totally open to hear what you ha e to say. No offense taken. He can fill it up--very pure, natural shooter who can get his own shot. Plus, he's easily athletic enough to be an excellent B1G defender. He fits a major need at the 2. We have a lot of 3-4 swing guys, but we don't really have any 2-3 swing guys. Great job from TM and co nabbing another Illinois kid.

I wonder if any hyperbolic Omaha writers want to cry about this one. Great get. Twice the player Arop is (no offense to the kid). Outstanding offensive talent, and an absolute steal under the radar.

Jordy's post defense is the #1 thing I'm looking forward to most because I think it will have an immense effect on everyone else's ability to guard. I'm very excited to see what Molinari can scheme when we can actually match up.

Top to bottom, the B1G is the strongest league. We have to have the talent in order to have a prayer, and Miles obviously knows this. I think we're a year away from being able to really assess TM as a coach and developer of talent. In my mind, the big make-or-break evaluation year would be 2 years from now when Morrow, Jacobson, Watson and McVeigh are seniors with Jordy, Roby, and Horne as a junior. At that point, we should be able to look at the roster in its entirety to see if the "talent culture" has, indeed, changed for the better from top to bottom. All signs so far indicate that it will, but it's not certain until a couple more classes have been filled out. Additionally, we should be able to use last year's freshman class as an accurate barometer of the staff's player development and in-game abilities. Make the call then. Until then, I'm firmly in TM's corner, and I think the work he's done to this point has been brave--to take a couple of risks and work his tail off to get competitive talent through on the floor rather than settle on the "poor me, coach em up" level of talent the last couple of coaches worked with. There were always going to be hiccups with his revolutionary approach. I'm excited to see our team defense this year.

Consummate 3 and D guy. Rey really improved his defense very similarly to Tai. He was a terror on the perimeter defensively by his senior year.

Was a scholarship going to be available for Arop in the fall of 2017? NO!!! That, by definition, means the scholarship offer had been pulled. Heck, who is to say that a scholarship would have even been available even if Arop finished a year of prep school? If the reason that this all went down is because the staff didn't think Arop was good enough, and that seems to be the prevailing theory, it seems likely that Arop wouldn't be good enough after a year of prep school either. As Chauncy Billips said on 1620, unlike other kids that go the prep school route, he wouldn't have been headed to prep school because he didn't have the required grades or because he was trying to get additional exposure (P5 scholarship offers). Actually that, by definition, is not what I claimed so you are entirely incorrect. He didn't pull the scholarship offer because there was still a scholarship offer. The kid missed an entire year of development. That matters when the skillset was behind the athleticism in the first place. As for your second paragraph, again, that is speculation. I don't blame anyone for being annoyed or skeptical, but to say the scholarship was pulled is incorrect, by definition.

Why is everyone saying Miles pulled his scholarship? He didn't. He wanted Arop to suit up a year later, probably because he missed an entire year of high school with a knee injury. Now, one can speculate that this was a political decision, but that's all you can do--speculate. The kid is certainly good enough to get his prep school costs covered, so the money isn't an issue. Is it a disappointing request from Miles? Sure. Is it "cutting him loose?" I haven't seen where the evidence is for this. Miles made the kid a disappointing offer, and the kid turned it down. No one pulled a scholarship. It is what it is. I think it's fine to be annoyed. I don't think it's fine to assume truths with no evidence. Maybe the kid isn't skilled enough yet. From what I've seen, he has the athleticism and lacks ball skills. The latter is exactly the kind of thing an extra year can accomplish. Now, if Arop were to have taken this deal, gone to prep school, and then had an offer pulled, I'd be pissed at TM, but injuries happen, and sitting out an entire year of high school really hurts kids that lean on athleticism as the strength of their game, because they often lack fundamentals.

The kid is going to have three years to play with a 6'9" frame to go along with a good outside shooting touch and guard skills. He's a very similar player to Roby. I wouldn't mind having two 6'9" guys who can play the 3-4 spots interchangeably.

Medical redshirt to boot. We'd get 3 years from him.

Interesting... Illinois AND GTown connect. Very similar skillset to Roby. I'm intrigued.

I'd like us to offer him. He's another Jacobson. I've been pretty damned happy with Jacobson. Very similar body types/skillsets.

If Allen qualifies, I really hope we can land him and Chang. It would be great to get an NE HS pipeline going again as we haven't had this much individual talent in the state since, when, the early-mid 90s?

Also, one of the reasons his shot is a little janky is probably because he's truly ambidextrous. That's an enormous silver lining. It's super hard to guard a guy who's jumper is right handed but prefers to drive/finish/dunk with his left. Absolutely elite D1 athleticism to boot. What a great find to get in early on this guy.

Man this kid has a high ceiling. I really hope we land him. Perfect understudy for Watson.

Enormous athletic improvement from Watson. Strength staff looks to be working wonders on the young pups. That video is nuts for a 6 footer. GW is the truth.

Yo... gotta be from 2000 on.. Chandler played for Nee. Hmm... I'm going with Jamel White. Enormous waste of talent. Top 100 prospect, All Big 12 Freshman and Reserve team. White would've been a terror in Miles' system. He averaged almost 9pts a game and only started 13 games under Collier during his freshman year. Good player.

I haven't seen defense mentioned here. Don't be surprised if we improve drastically in that area assuming we don't have to double the post and can actually rebound. We'll also have more bodies to throw at our opponents. Our best offense usually occurs as a result of a defensive rebound and transition or momentum bucket. We have elite team speed and good depth. I sincerely hope we ramp up the defensive pressure a little bit.