Bradley men's basketball loses star guard to NCAA transfer portal
Point guard "Looking for a bigger stage" (doesn't really fill Duke need?)
https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/...al/7173036001/
I hope we add a rotation big. I don’t feel great about rolling into next year with just the three freshmen as our entire interior rotation. We don’t need a starter, but I would love another version of Theo John to fill 10-15 mpg and provide that experience and physicality in practice.
I like the player for Tx Tech that just announced . He would certainly help w defense and add physicality but I doubt he would accept 12-16 minutes PT.
I think a Theo-like big (no ego, happy to just play 10-15 mins in reg season with that dwindling into the mid-single digits in the post-season) may not fit as well as some of you think on next year's team.
I hate to turn this into a minutes thread, but how much do ya'll think Mitchell is going to play wing forward? I suspect it will be fairly infrequent as most folks say he is more of a PF than a wing. We are talking about a top 15 recruit in Mitchell, the kind of guy who is going to demand minutes. so, see if the below minute distribution makes sense and how you think another big fits into it.
Lively - 30 mpg (all at C)
Flip - 30 mpg (10 at C, 20 at the PF)
Mitchell - 25 mpg (20 at PF, 5 on the wing)
Where does another big fit? Are you not playing Flip at all at C? Is Mitchell only getting wing minutes?
Lets not forget that we will have other bigs on the roster, probably not to play minutes in games but Reeves, Borden, and Worthington can be a body to bang in practice.
If we get a big in the portal, I think it would be largely as a practice player like Bates Jones.
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
Maybe someone like Jaylen Gainey, the former Brown Bear and 2x Ivy League DPOTY?
Another thing I was thinking about is how Gonzaga got a lot out of Rasir Bolton this last year. Bolton struggled to shoot it as a PG when he was at Iowa State as a JR. He moved off the ball and suddenly became a 46.0% 3P shooter this season. I think a bigger PG, someone that can guard both 1s and 2s, that shoots best from a set position would be ideal for Duke. Perhaps someone like Xavier Pinson, the former Missouri and LSU guard would fit that mold. I think he's a little shorter than I would hope, but that's kind of like the player I was envisioning.
Last edited by DavidBenAkiva; 03-26-2022 at 04:07 PM.
I think it'll be 4 frosh. I know the plan is to redshirt that kid from Oak Hill, but He's come on. Not starter or OAD or anything. But quality minutes off the bench for sure. I don't anticipate him graduating from Duke, so a RS year won't ultimately do anything long term.
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He'll be needed to play big minutes, and play them at a high level the NEXT year. So I think he'll play some next year. We'd just need about 7ish MPG. Flip can handles some C minutes in small ball.
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Plus the Portuguese kid. I think a transfer big would look at Duke and see a very inhospitable rotation. Maybe another John, who, as you said, was ready to hang it up when Duke came calling. There'll be a few of those for another couple years.
I think those minutes projections - especially in what is considered a watered-down senior class - might be a bit optimistic. At least with regards to fielding a title contender. I would venture that Lively and Flip both would be better served in the 25-28 mpg range (I mean, we aren’t even playing sophomore DPoY Williams more than that), and Mitchell probably in the 18-20 mpg range.
But more importantly, I think going into a season with just a bunch of 18/19 year olds with no college experience as your frontcourt is a recipe for getting pushed around. Having a grown man big man in the rotation and in practice will be a huge boost.
Borden is extremely unlikely to play minutes next year. Reeves (the other incoming kid) is most likely going to redshirt). Neither are remotely likely to provide the experience and physicality in practice or as a reserve in the rotation next year that I think the young frontcourt guys need to prepare for battles against older, stronger opponents.
With Roach playing the best ball of his life, it could be reasonable to think he may leave as his stock may not be higher.
If that's the case and we need a starting caliber PG, a really good one just entered the portal in Andre Curbelo.
https://247sports.com/college/illino...tal-185155708/
Reeves has played well at Oak Hill this year. Not a superstar, but he's rising. Regardless of how much he could contribute next year, and I happen to think he'd be fine off the bench in a limited role. I mean, our primary backup C will be Filipowski. Add in the potential of Reeves, and I just feel like a potential big man would be scared off of Duke as a destination. I think it would be a poor man's Theo John at this point. No one who can play a solid role at Duke would be interested in the uncertainty wrt PT. Given our two Frosh Cs, and two more off the bench if one doesn't RS, that is 4 potential bodies. Additionally, I think we'll need Reeves to play a lot, and play well on D and rebounding, in 2 years. I feel like he improves far more, even in limited minutes, in GAMES than purely at practice.
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At PF we have Flip, Mitchell, and even Whitehead in a pinch (he'd be fine as a college PF in spot duty).
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Our real need is at the wing. I'm hoping a good defender who is at the least not a horrible perimeter shooter will be interested. Duke would offer a solid role off the bench, we wouldn't require him to be a star, and there is the notoriety of playing on a loaded team that will be the most scrutinized team in the nation. A good chance to play deep in March, at a basketball power, without being asked to do too much. It would be a great resume padder for someone looking for a career in hoops.