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Portal Targets

casualcane

casualcane

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Who are we actively targeting that’s available?

Out:

EJ Jarvis (Florida)
Josh Oduro (Providence)
Ta’Lon Cooper (South Carolina)
Damion Dunn (Houston)
Pierre (Memphis)
Amzil (New Mexico)
Quincy Olivari (Xavier)
Myles Stute (South Carolina)
El Ellis (Arkansas)
Ryan (Carolina)
Beran (VT)
Hart (Nova)
AJ Storr (Wisconsin)
Deloach (Georgia)
John Hugley (Oklahoma)
Denver Jones (didn’t make cut/Auburn)
Jamille Reynolds (didn’t make cut/Cincinnati)
Jaemyn Brakefield (returning to Ole Miss)

Still available:

Cleveland



Bigs Tracker

Ike (Gonzaga)
Aimaq (Cal)
Handlogten (Florida)
Samuel (Florida)
Onyenso (withdrew/UK)
Nkamhoua
Traore (UCSB)
Mast (Nebraska)
Boone (UNLV)
Krikke (Iowa)
Hugley (Oklahoma)
Shedrick (Texas)
Beagle (withdrew/Albany)
Ousmane
Phillips (Arizona State)
Sharp
Batcho (Louisiana Tech)
Joseph (New Mexico)
Baker (LSU)
Reid
Beran (VT)
Deloach (Georgia)
Amzil (New Mexico)
Records (withdrew/Colgate)
Ware (Indiana)
Cisse
Edwards (WVU)
Minor (UVA)
Smith
Collins

Also, doesn’t appear to be much NIL talk with Lifewallet like last year. At least so far.

Figure with all the momentum in results, it would translate into portal success. I’m not seeing it though. Granted, we couldn’t do much with the tournament going on.

If Wong doesn’t come back, we’re looking at 9 (as of today) scholarships. Wonder how may portal players we pursue.

Beverly
Pack
Robinson
Poplar
Joseph
Casey
Omier
Nwoko
Watson
 
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Appreciate the recap - “didnt make the cut” doesn’t seem right. We are pursuing a starter caliber big man and support on a team that has a legitimate shot at a natl title. We are the ones who knock.

Last year we didnt sign Pack & Omier until the last week of April. I’m staying patient, L will find his guys.
 
Fair points. We reached out to Jones and Reynolds. I’d say how much of a push we actually made is unknown.

Jones has an impressive list of finalists, Reynolds lists Kansas as one.

I’d guess Jones wanted to leave the city of Miami.
 
casualcane said:
Who are we actively targeting that’s available?

Out:

EJ Jarvis (Florida)
Josh Oduro (Providence)
Ta’Lon Cooper (South Carolina)
Denver Jones (didn’t make cut)
Jamille Reynolds (didn’t make cut)
Jaemyn Brakefield (returning to Ole Miss)

Still available:

DeLoach (doesn’t sound promising)
Pierre (Duke involved)
Damion Dunn (NC State?)
AJ Storr

Also, doesn’t appear to be much NIL talk with Lifewallet like last year. At least so far.

Figure with all the momentum in results, it would translate into portal success. I’m not seeing it though. Granted, we couldn’t do much with the tournament going on.

If Wong doesn’t come back, we’re looking at 9 (as of today) scholarships. Wonder how may portal players we pursue.

Beverly
Pack
Robinson
Poplar
Joseph
Casey
Omier
Nwoko
Watson
Click to expand...
We are 6 days removed from playing in the Semifinals. Even Jim acknowledged that there is a disadvantage when playing the portal game. Our success is the great equalizer. Quite frankly LW will remain silent to a certain extent. As a matter of fact, in retrospect I am sure LW will be more discreet on any deal it cuts moving forward. It is nobody's business how much the Nigel Pack LW deal was.
 
Awhile back, I wrote here that it seemed like, when it came to NIL money, Ruiz was the "only game in town." Several replied then that was not so, and there were others providing that earning opportunity out there. I hope there are but ... I remain skeptical.
 
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hotshot said:
Awhile back, I wrote here that it seemed like, when it came to NIL money, Ruiz was the "only game in town." Several replied then that was not so, and there were others providing that earning opportunity out there. I hope there are but ... I remain skeptical.
Click to expand...

Ruiz basically was the only game in town last year — at least the only game that moved anything.

The whales are working to ensure that is not the case this year.
 
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The priority has to be replacing Miller. I don't know if we're in on him but IMO a target who would make a lot of sense is RJ Luis, a 6'7" Wing from UMass with 3 years left. The Athletic has him ranked as the #23 player in the portal. Here's their eval:

A clearly terrific get for Frank Martin and company out of Martin’s hometown in Miami, Luis hits the portal after a tremendous close to the season for a freshman. In his final 15 games, he averaged 14.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 51 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3, and 86 percent from the line — terrific numbers for a freshman that spent the first half of the year still trying to find his way for a disciplinarian coach. He’s not a perfect player at this point. His feel can be a bit questionable sometimes. He’s not always the most conscientious defensive player. Passing isn’t necessarily a strong suit yet, although it has potential. But he’s aggressive and has terrific touch from all over the court — particularly from the midrange where he can create shots with a bevy of inside-out dribbles and hesitation moves. Even when he misses, he crashes the glass hard and tries to cover up for his own mistakes. If he can improve his feel and the way he plays the game, there is a ton of upside here in a way that I think went drastically underrated within a down Atlantic-10 this season. This is a no-brainer high-major player that should be fielding calls from all over the country. Having said that, Miami (Fla.) makes a ton of sense given that it’s his hometown and that they’re set to lose Jordan Miller this season due to graduation.
 
Honestly, NIL is like free agency without a hard cap every year. The only restriction is that you have to sit out an year after the first portal transfer.
Eventually, the big boys with most $$$ will scoop up the proven talent.

But it will certainly reduce the reliance on High School All American hype.... some of these high school shark agents are going to be mad..
 
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casualcane said:
Fair points. We reached out to Jones and Reynolds. I’d say how much of a push we actually made is unknown.

Jones has an impressive list of finalists, Reynolds lists Kansas as one.

I’d guess Jones wanted to leave the city of Miami.
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Denver Jones is chasing the bad and getting it. From what I'm hearing his NIL deal will be well over $300k
 
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TheRichtShow said:
The priority has to be replacing Miller. I don't know if we're in on him but IMO a target who would make a lot of sense is RJ Luis, a 6'7" Wing from UMass with 3 years left. The Athletic has him ranked as the #23 player in the portal. Here's their eval:

A clearly terrific get for Frank Martin and company out of Martin’s hometown in Miami, Luis hits the portal after a tremendous close to the season for a freshman. In his final 15 games, he averaged 14.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 51 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3, and 86 percent from the line — terrific numbers for a freshman that spent the first half of the year still trying to find his way for a disciplinarian coach. He’s not a perfect player at this point. His feel can be a bit questionable sometimes. He’s not always the most conscientious defensive player. Passing isn’t necessarily a strong suit yet, although it has potential. But he’s aggressive and has terrific touch from all over the court — particularly from the midrange where he can create shots with a bevy of inside-out dribbles and hesitation moves. Even when he misses, he crashes the glass hard and tries to cover up for his own mistakes. If he can improve his feel and the way he plays the game, there is a ton of upside here in a way that I think went drastically underrated within a down Atlantic-10 this season. This is a no-brainer high-major player that should be fielding calls from all over the country. Having said that, Miami (Fla.) makes a ton of sense given that it’s his hometown and that they’re set to lose Jordan Miller this season due to graduation.
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RJ has some talent, but I don't think he's good enough to make an impact in the ACC. Aside from that he also comes with some baggage. His circle is a hand full. I know family & friends can get emotional at games, but you should've seen some of these folks at his AAU and HS games. Complete chaos at times. I don't see Larranaga putting up with that sort of nonsense.
 
caneworld said:
Honestly, NIL is like free agency without a hard cap every year. The only restriction is that you have to sit out an year after the first portal transfer.
Eventually, the big boys with most $$$ will scoop up the proven talent.

But it will certainly reduce the reliance on High School All American hype.... some of these high school shark agents are going to be mad..
Click to expand...
I am going to push back a bit on your comment about having to sit out after the first portal transfer. Yes that is the rule and the school to which the player transferred seemingly has the leverage. I write “seemingly” because the problem is that any coach who denies the waiver will immediately be branded as unfair to transfers and future transfers and even high school players will be much, much more hesitant about playing for that coach. The free market, so to speak, will create pressure for coaches to not deny the waiver.
I think we are truly in season to season free agency for all practical purposes
 
IndayArtHauz said:
We looking good for anyone?
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I haven't really heard anything of substance yet, but the one guy I'd like to see us go after is Jonathan Pierre. I think he's got a chance at an NBA future. Kind of reminds me of Jonathan Issac. They've got similar stories. Both were late bloomers. Pierre was mostly a 6 ft guard in HS, but grew about 6-7 inches his senior year coming out of Hallandale. No offers whatsoever except from Nova. Continued to grow there and now stands at or close to 6'10 with perimeter skills. Wouldn't mind see us go after him, but looks like NIL will play a role.
 
King of Allapattah said:
I haven't really heard anything of substance yet, but the one guy I'd like to see us go after is Jonathan Pierre. I think he's got a chance at an NBA future. Kind of reminds me of Jonathan Issac. They've got similar stories. Both were late bloomers. Pierre was mostly a 6 ft guard in HS, but grew about 6-7 inches his senior year coming out of Hallandale. No offers whatsoever except from Nova. Continued to grow there and now stands at or close to 6'10 with perimeter skills. Wouldn't mind see us go after him, but looks like NIL will play a role.
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Him and the Idaho kid are perfect fits to replace Miller. I like skilled guys that hit growth spurts late in HS.
 
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