This is a true deficiency along with a top point guard. Once those areas are filled we will be back in the Final Four again, IMO.
Our main competition would have Leslie and McAdoo and I don't see Murphy matching up with either one of those guys particularly well down low. He's not the rebounder that most of these guys are. PFs in the Final Four this year:
Terrence Jones (6'9" - 252)
Thomas Robinson (6'10" - 237)
DeShaun Thomas (6'7" - 225), Eric Ravenel (6'8" - 260)
Chane Behanan (6'6" - 250, freshman)
Those are really tough matchups (which is why they were in the Final Four). I think we'd have a much higher ceiling with Murphy at SF and someone else at PF in 2013-2014, but who knows what will happen.
This is a true deficiency along with a top point guard. Once those areas are filled we will be back in the Final Four again, IMO.
Back in 2009 Watzone interviewed Hood, and asked him what his dream school was growing up. His answer?
"Did you have a dream school growing up?
It was Duke"
LINK
The rest is premium, but at least this morsel jives with the notion that he might be reciprocating interest right now.
I disagree. Neither is a big physical rebounder. And neither has a big, physical post game down low. Both are athletes who get to the boards and get their points with quickness and leaping ability. Murphy definitely has the quickness to stay with them and he has the size to body them up. He's not as good a rebounder as them, but I think he has a better shot at defending them than, say, Ryan Kelly or Mason Plumlee (both of whom got schooled by Leslie's athleticism last year).
OSU rarely used Ravenel at the PF spot, and when they did they became far less effective. They were much more effective when they had Thomas on the floor, and Thomas is very similar in size and offensive style to what Murphy reportedly brings (perimeter skills, slashing).
Terrence Jones and Thomas Robinson would be tough to handle. But they'd also be a nightmare for Kelly, Parker, etc. Those guys are too athletic for a true big and too big for a SF. But remember that Robinson got exploited by Thomas against OSU. It wasn't until Thomas got in foul trouble (and they had to go with Ravenel) that the Jayhawks made their run. Unless we're adding a Jones or Robinson, we are going to have a mismatch their either way. At least we might be able to punish them on the other end with a quickness advantage.
Hood could play the 2, imo. And Sheed might be a PG before his career is done (again, the Nolan comparison).
That's how all these wings could play together.
I certainly wouldn't mind having a tall, athletic PG and a tall, athletic SG to go along with a tall, athletic SF and an athletic PF. Of course, that's assuming 3 guys are comfortable playing an unnatural position. But if Murphy shows he can handle the PF spot and Sulaimon shows he can handle the PG spot we could have a very interesting potential lineup in the 2014 season (with or without Hood).
Anybody actually know what Mr. Murphy's current weight, height and arm span are? (Google failed me, 'old' numbers).
So I see some great logic for recruiting him now, but does anyone know if we actually are? I haven't read anything about current suitors nor his interests (beyond Duke being his dream school years ago).
Trinity '09
Yes we are. We were reportedly the first school to reach out to him after his announcement. Apparently, its us and Ohio St that reached out so we are very much interested. Rodney himself has not made an announcement on who he is interested in, but I would imagine he would at least accept an invitation to visit.
Last edited by ChicagoCrazy84; 04-14-2012 at 03:36 PM.
That's kind of an oversimplification though. Spending time defending/rebounding the 4 means developing your body with that in mind, training your skills with that in mind, having a different mindset during games, and getting beat up and worn out banging in the post.
IMO, that worked perfectly with Singler, who lived for contact and kind of dribbled the ball like a tight end running after the catch anyway. Murphy, OTOH, is much more likely Dunleavy - smooth, run and jump athlete, guard-oriented mindset, not the strongest lower body, much better of one foot than two, etc. I haven't seen him recently, but he came into the program as a pure wing, and I'd hate to see him get put in a position where he can't develop and exploit his skills in an ideal manner for who he is as a player.
However... TBH, I typed all that out having completely forgotten that Dunleavy was our PF in 2002, and kind of did okay with it. I always think of him as floating on the wing as a FR/SO, but I suppose he held up pretty well down there in his third year. Perhaps you're right, and the plan is for Alex to do the same in his third year.
Haven't heard K or anyone allude to that specifically, but it sure would explain a lot.
Per the Columbus Dispatch, which is a decidedly Buckeye-friendly publication obviously, Rodney is looking to reveal his list--which includes OSU and Duke--quite soon. According to the article, this information comes from Rodney's father:
"Hood, who finishes the semester at Mississippi State on Thursday, is expected to reveal this week the schools he will visit. His father told The Dispatch last week that Ohio State will be one, and Duke is believed to be another."
It's unclear if Rodney's father directly told the Dispatch author that Duke was among the schools on his son's list or if he was citing popular belief ("Duke is believed to be another" isn't the most definitive quote), but it sounds encouraging that Duke is entrenched in the hunt.
Of course, the articles goes further to draw the connection between rising OSU soph LaQuinton Ross and Rodney, as they played on the same AAU team and remain friends.
http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/b...alles-loi.html
Duke expects to get a visit from Rodney. Sometime soon.
What's the latest on Mr. Hood? I know he's supposed to visit soon. Does Amile's commitment affect Rodney at all? My understanding is Rodney is a 3 and Amile, at present, is more of a 4. Just curious though whether Amile's commitment might change things with respect to our pursuit of Hood or whether we're still hoping to add him to the fold for 2013-14 in addition to whatever commitments we garner from the 2013 class.
Pure speculation on my part, but I would think Duke is still interested in Rodney. Per Watzone's comments in the Amile thread, Duke has felt confident in Jefferson commiting for some time. So to invited Hood on campus for a visit two weeks ago and to "go all in" pursuing him when he announced a transfer last month, I would say Jefferson and Hood are not mutually exclusive.
As noted, Hood and Jefferson play different positions. So I don't think getting Jefferson means Duke isn't interested in Hood anymore. I do wonder if it affects Hood's interest in Duke. Before, there was the possibility that Murphy could move to PF and he and Hood could share the forward spots. With Jefferson in place (and with the team so actively pursuing Parker and Randle next year) it would seem like Duke would be a bad fit for Hood.
It'd be great to get Hood as I certainly won't count on us getting either Parker or Randle. But I wouldn't be shocked if Hood decides that the numbers game isn't in his favor.
I would still LOVE to get Hood; he's a SF/SG - not a SF/PF - who really does play the game like a guard, and we're looking to land at least two wings guys like that in 2013. If one of them ends up effectively being him, it would basically be like getting a top-10 recruit, in terms of how ready-to-play he'd be.