Possibly even insufficient.
If Drake takes a long time to decide to stay in the draft, who will be left in the portal?
What's Next on the Roster Horizon?
- Thread starter What Would Jesus Do?
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If Drake takes a long time to decide to stay in the draft, who will be left in the portal?
Well he kind of is, it will be a MAJOR shock if he goes anywhere other than Miami, ton of tries between he and Jai Lucas as well as Jai Lucas's dad John. We are not involved.
It looks like at this point we are simply waiting on Drake, we could add a Claude level guy late but other than Drake we are done, even if Drake decides to enter and stay in the draft, which is looking less and less likely each day, I suspect we don't add any more big time players.
What this tells me is the staff is comfortable with the progress with Brown and High as well as the prospects of Dixon and Denis to give us back up minutes. I have gone back in the last few days and watched a good bit of both Dixon and Denis, not just highlite clips, both are legit, both can handle the ball and shoot it. Denis is a rangy 6'5" that has really worked on his jump shooting, I would see him a bit like Drake as a jump shooter for now but much more willing to pump the pressure and drive. Dixon is catch and shoot or shoot off the dribble, doesn't force anything, seems ot have really solid shot selection.
James Brown, said it in the season, that kid surprised me with both his motor and his will to jump in to the fight, has a LOT more upside than I saw initially. Have no idea where High is in his progression but he is still on the team so I assume the staff is happy he is back.
Meh. Guessing we're done until we get a definitive on Drake then I guess we'll sign whomever remains in the portal from some low tier conference.
For me, one of the cool things about this portal group is how they brought in guys that can handle the 3 spot even if Drake stays in the draft but at the same time left the spot "open" for Drake if he comes back. First you have to look at JPow, personally I may like his addition more than most here, I think he is a kid that could be on the verge of breaking out as a player, rock solid defender with a really sweet shooting stroke, he may not start but to me he is starter level. Then we have Jarin, played a lot of 3 for Nate Oates, I like him more as a 4, hopefully Hubert will not have him camping way outside like he did with Nance, I would prefer him to invert a lot with our center and use that 6';11" length but he can help at the 3. I prefer Wilson as a 3, he is in that point forward mold, for his height he is a really good passer, especially big to big, good handles for his length, and quick ups, moves well laterally. I actually think the 3 may be his best position.
This teams needs MUCH better off ball movement, needs to set much better and effective screens, and needs to move the ball with the pass more than the dribble. If we try to play that 4 around 1 nonsense we are screwed, we need to go back to the motion offense. Will Hubert be smart enough to do that, I just don't know but his job depends on it.
There are some whispers on TOS that there could be one more shoe to drop that could force another roster addition. If it happens, don't forget, I did warn of this very thing happening multiple times...
Do you know something about Drake and the draft? Spill!
If Drake returns I like our team.
I would still consider adding a backup PG who can shoot - just in case the backups already on board aren't ready enough or good enough. I've mentioned Samage Teel previously (listed as SG by some, but watch him). He doubtless wants to start at good school, but he or someone like him might be willing to come off the bench for a tournament-bound team.
If Lubin leaves, we have this front court
Veesaar
Stevenson
Wilson
Brown
High?
That should work.
As I've said before, my biggest concern is if Drake dosen't return, will there be a good replacement left in the draft?
Veesaar gets hurt and the season is wrecked. Stevenson and Wilson can't play center. High is a year removed from competitive basketball. Brown isn't close to being ready to be our backup center, let alone our starting center if Veesaar gets hurt.
Yep, that's the danger.
I've argued for more bigs (just as I'm arguing for a backup PG) out of those sorts of concerns.
I'm less worried than you about the inability of Stevenson to do duty in the post.
And frankly, I'd love to see what Brown (or High) could do with serious minutes. Maybe they are crap, but who knows? Both have shown flashes.
This is what you're describing:
Evans (Dixon)
Seth (JPowell, Denis)
Drake (JPowell)
Wilson (Drake)
Stevenson (Brown, High)
They may be unlikely to win the ACC, but that's a nice team.
Hubert's job is on the line. He can't afford another mediocre season. And Stevenson is not physically capable of banging with centers. Remember he's played a large portion of his career to date at the small forward position. He struggles with physical play.
I've only seen Stevenson when we played them and, frankly, he didn't stand out. So you might be entirely right about that.
But he has decent size. And I assume he'll play where we tell him to play. How good he'll be is another question. He might take a while to get there. Or never get there.
But remember, this is only an issue if both Veesaar and Lubin are unavailable.
WW, all I can tell you about Drake is there seems to be a general feeling that he will come back but folks are talking abut feelings as opposed to absolutes. Of the 4 mock drafts I checked today 1 had him going first round at #34 (yahoo), 1 had him 2nd round at 46 (SI) and 2 did not list him in either round.
OK, IC is now reporting this, Lubin entering the portal. How many times did I talk about Lubin going portal, before the portal started this season. And why, because UNC was going to go out and get a starting center and Lubin would be coming off the bench if he stayed. I explained that Lubin could start at a lot of schools and would very likely get a much larger NIL deal than what UNC was looking to pay him. I as well shared that I did not see Hubert moving him to the 4 because he had little stretch ability, he is a old school 4, Garrison Brooks II.
Now per IC he says he is entering with the thought of being back at UNC but that tells me he wants more assurance of minutes (he knows better than to demand a starting spot) and $$$, I don't see UNC matching either. I am not dumping on the kid, don't blame him for looking to maximize his value, wish he had done this sooner. UNC wil have to either pay him or replace him from the portal, I would replace him with a guy with more broad shoulders size, the guy from CoC would fit that well if he is still available, don't know if he is.
Former Heel Dontrez Styles and Clemson's Ian Schieffelin are the latest players to enter the transfer portal with zero years of eligibility left. They are hoping the NCAA changes the eligibility rules and gives everyone 5 years.
If the NCAA does change the rules, there will be a lot more options out there. Lubin may wish he'd stuck with the UNC NIL deal he agreed to weeks ago.
If the NCAA does change the rules, there will be a lot more options out there. Lubin may wish he'd stuck with the UNC NIL deal he agreed to weeks ago.
I wonder if he would like to come off the bench for Lubin's NIL package. Queens 7’0” center Malcolm Wilson has entered the transfer portal, as a grad transfer. Wilson, the ASUN Defensive Player of The Year started all 35 games played, averaging 5.2 points on 66.7% FG, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game.
I think that is exactly why he kept his door ajar. The changing waters. Seems like a sensible move, especially with his statement, which he did not have to do, giving his reasoning. I do not think he is leaving, he wants to stay open with the changing landscape moving forward.
He gave the UNC staff his word, and has now gone back on that.
If you're Hubert Davis it would be foolish to believe he's coming back. You obviously can no longer believe what Lubin says. Go out and offer his NIL deal to another big.
If you're Hubert Davis it would be foolish to believe he's coming back. You obviously can no longer believe what Lubin says. Go out and offer his NIL deal to another big.
Certainly see that differently, I would not be surprised one bit, if he met with Hubert and the GM to talk about the covering of bases with the coming, but uncertain direct pay.
They thought the deal was done weeks ago. This "change of heart" caught them off guard. This has all the ear marks of an agent trying to squeeze more money out of UNC. I won't be surprised if UNC moves on the same way they did when Catchings and his agent played this game.
Maybe, I think the deal is still set with both parties. This is a preemptive move to see what the changes entail on his behalf. I would be surprised if he left, or if the NIL offer changes. Could be wrong, but that is my initial read.
I'll be shocked if Hubert waits on Lubin to decide. Next season is too important for Hubert's career. He can't afford to wait around and be caught without a good replacement.
I'm not sure if he is "deciding ". I think he is keeping possible avenues with the upcoming changes alive. If he actively shops his wares, then I agree.
As long as he's in the portal, he's not on the UNC roster and he's not getting the NIL deal he previously agreed to.
And as long as that backup center spot is vacant, UNC has to look to fill it. And we can't afford to wait weeks and weeks until there are only Claude level players left.
Again, he gave the staff his word and he just went back on it. So the staff can not trust anything he says moving forward.
I get that. I do not think he is leaving though, or trying to renegotiate. Not saying I know, just seems like a preemptive situation for the in flux eligibility changes coming, like the no eligibility left guys, why not. Keep your doors open.
But you understand that Hubert, with his career on the line next season, can not afford to wait around for Lubin to decide whether he's staying or not right?
if Drake doesn’t come back you can go ahead and start searching for Hubert’s replacement and even with Drake, I’m not sure this roster gets us close to where we all expect.
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