I think Pitino is just doing his due diligence by bringing him in. Benz is probably Plan B or C for the Johnnie's. They're bringing in a slew of guys including at least 2 guards who are originally from South Florida. Offensively, Benz isn't better than Mashburn, Jr. (Gulliver Prep) and Kolby King (Pines Charter) is just as good defensively and much better on the offensive side of the ball.
Not like Pitino. He aims higher than a Bens.
Unless it's definitive that they're leaving, I'd surmise to expect announcements to not happen for a while. At the very least after the NCAAT is over
I might be in the minority but I think Coach L’s early transfer acquisitions would bode well for Omier to return with continued emphasis on his perimeter game.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Coming into this season, lots of people were saying the same thing about playing time and being a key piece. Nwoko wasn't going to waste another year on the bench. I don't blame him one iota. To me, blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff for not finding a way to get him more involved this season.
Must have been in L’s doghouse. He probably had enough of Nwoko and told him it’s best to find other opportunities elsewhere.
I wish you were right but from what I've heard, that's not how it went down. Coach L wanted him back and tried to save face late in the season by offering Nwoko more PT, but by then it was too late. Nwoko and his circle had decided he was out.
Yea I wish that wasn’t the case. It’s whatever tho you move on and hope it works out. Nwoko seemed like a good dude and I wish him well.
Going to call BS on this. The staff placed a big bet on Nwoko to come in and contribute right away, even deciding that they didn't need a proven backup big. He played 18 minutes at Rupp, 13 minutes against FIU and then 33 minutes against Syracuse early in conference play, so there were plenty of opportunities that came his way. His offensive game is incredibly raw and he looked completely out of place on the defensive end.
In his last interview, it was obvious Jim was ****ed. At times Nwoko was unplayable especially early in the season. He couldn't even finish with bunnies. He was lost on defense. That being said he was on schedule to get major minutes this fall, possibly even work his way into the starting lineup. Where is he going to be an instant starter?
His lack of coordination was the most eye opening thing for me. Shame on me for not watching full games instead of just watching his highlights because man did his highlights show a totally different player.
I think Jim's lessons learned is recruiting a kid like Jekiri or Uzundu are no longer possible.
His U19 play in June of last year was incredibly promising - 12 and 5 per including an 18 point performance against Spain. He also played pretty well in the France scrimmages too from what I remember.
There was no portal back then. You had to wait on most bigs 2-3 years before they could contribute. Don't have to do that anymore.
