26-27 Roster
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Spider17
Assistant coach
Good discussion on here and certainly an important decision on how our staff is going to approach our last open spot. I want to clarify a few things on my overall position on who to bring in and competition among players, as of now.
I am of the mindset that we need to bring in the best players on this roster, particularly for positions in need. So if there is a position of need, then we should make efforts to address that. Right now, I believe the 5 spot needs more depth. I am not of the mindset that it stunts freshmen growth opportunities to have transfers in roles freshmen could play. They all practice against each other for months before the season start. At the end of the day, who ever is the better player should play more, whether it’s a transfer or a freshmen.
Another separate, but relevant to this post, point is that I do not have any confidence right now that Homenick, Caldwell, or Cook will be game ready by November this season. We have had several years of data to see now that the majority of our freshmen transfer or they do not become A10 caliber players.
So considering that a) we need depth in the 5 spot so Dorris doesn’t play 40 mpg and b) little confidence in our current freshmen/incoming freshmen to fit that need, my logical conclusion is our last transfer spot should go to someone to give Dorries back up minutes. The other thought is Ball/McCaffrey get some of those minutes but I don’t think they came here with the intention of playing the 5. So if we do play them there, it should only be seldomly (like foul trouble or injury)
So who are the kinds of players we should go after? We should go after the best players we can possibly get! I am not advocating for us to try and get a Kwesi level player if we don’t have to. My point about that was as a response to VT’s comment that there are unlikely any good bigs left that will want to come here to be a back-up. I agree with that. The likelihood at this stage that we can convince a solid big transfer who has put up good stats to come here and be a back-up is quite low. Especially with how hard it is to get good bigs to begin with.
I do, however, think that there are players out in the portal who would be interested in the idea of coming to UR to be a back-up at the 5. Those players are probably from low mid majors and didn’t put up the best stats. They probably want to spend their last year getting a UR degree, say they played at the highest level possible, receive more NIL than they had gotten before, or some combination of the 3. Those players will likely be of Kwesi or Jordan Madrid Andrews level.
Do I think a 4 or 5 year grad transfer who is older, stronger, and more experienced at the college level likely do better than Homenick and Cook who have no college game experience and were not sought after recruits in high school? Or Caldwell who has not gotten stronger yet? Yes — at least to start the season. Does that mean if Homenick, Cook, or Caldwell surprise us and perform really well in practice that we should still play the transfer over them? Definitely not. Like I said, best player should play.
This was a long post but hopefully articulates my whole thought on this well. Good discussion on it everyone! Would love to hear what others agree/disagree with.
I am of the mindset that we need to bring in the best players on this roster, particularly for positions in need. So if there is a position of need, then we should make efforts to address that. Right now, I believe the 5 spot needs more depth. I am not of the mindset that it stunts freshmen growth opportunities to have transfers in roles freshmen could play. They all practice against each other for months before the season start. At the end of the day, who ever is the better player should play more, whether it’s a transfer or a freshmen.
Another separate, but relevant to this post, point is that I do not have any confidence right now that Homenick, Caldwell, or Cook will be game ready by November this season. We have had several years of data to see now that the majority of our freshmen transfer or they do not become A10 caliber players.
So considering that a) we need depth in the 5 spot so Dorris doesn’t play 40 mpg and b) little confidence in our current freshmen/incoming freshmen to fit that need, my logical conclusion is our last transfer spot should go to someone to give Dorries back up minutes. The other thought is Ball/McCaffrey get some of those minutes but I don’t think they came here with the intention of playing the 5. So if we do play them there, it should only be seldomly (like foul trouble or injury)
So who are the kinds of players we should go after? We should go after the best players we can possibly get! I am not advocating for us to try and get a Kwesi level player if we don’t have to. My point about that was as a response to VT’s comment that there are unlikely any good bigs left that will want to come here to be a back-up. I agree with that. The likelihood at this stage that we can convince a solid big transfer who has put up good stats to come here and be a back-up is quite low. Especially with how hard it is to get good bigs to begin with.
I do, however, think that there are players out in the portal who would be interested in the idea of coming to UR to be a back-up at the 5. Those players are probably from low mid majors and didn’t put up the best stats. They probably want to spend their last year getting a UR degree, say they played at the highest level possible, receive more NIL than they had gotten before, or some combination of the 3. Those players will likely be of Kwesi or Jordan Madrid Andrews level.
Do I think a 4 or 5 year grad transfer who is older, stronger, and more experienced at the college level likely do better than Homenick and Cook who have no college game experience and were not sought after recruits in high school? Or Caldwell who has not gotten stronger yet? Yes — at least to start the season. Does that mean if Homenick, Cook, or Caldwell surprise us and perform really well in practice that we should still play the transfer over them? Definitely not. Like I said, best player should play.
This was a long post but hopefully articulates my whole thought on this well. Good discussion on it everyone! Would love to hear what others agree/disagree with.
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Spider17
Assistant coach
I agree with this. Can you say with full confidence right now that you think our freshmen are talented enough to get 10-15 minutes of playing time a game to back-up Dorries? I don’t. I’d love to have a talented freshmen over an unskilled vet, but in my eyes an unskilled vet is better than an unskilled freshman (which is what I think we have right now) because at least the vet is stronger and has more college experience at the speed and physicality of the game than the freshman does.
Spiders4ever
Starter
If he could catch rebound or shoot Fermin would be your answer.
17, u keep mentioning Kwesi. Here were Kwesi's stats at Northeastern the year before he came here:
MPG: 12.9
PPG: 1.5
RPG: 2.2.
FG%: 34.8%.
FT%: 43.9%.
And, in about half the mpg, here is what Kwesi gave us:
MPG: 6.4
PPG: 0.3.
RPG: 1.0.
FG: 42.9%.
FT%: 27.3%.
* And, like 23 said, he wasn't good on defense. I just don't see why it makes sense to bring.....as u called him...an unskilled vet like this in here.
MPG: 12.9
PPG: 1.5
RPG: 2.2.
FG%: 34.8%.
FT%: 43.9%.
And, in about half the mpg, here is what Kwesi gave us:
MPG: 6.4
PPG: 0.3.
RPG: 1.0.
FG: 42.9%.
FT%: 27.3%.
* And, like 23 said, he wasn't good on defense. I just don't see why it makes sense to bring.....as u called him...an unskilled vet like this in here.
Spider17
Assistant coach
Maybe we can bring in someone better but we can use Kwesi since that’s the example I gave. Would you rather have Kwesi play right now or Homenick/Cook? Ideally I’d love for the freshmen to show their talent, skill, and size to get impactful minutes at the 5, I just don’t see it right now. We have had too much of a track record in recent years of most high school recruits not panning out and both Homenick and Cook were not sought after by really any other good programs, for me to think this year will be any different.
Again, I hope I’m wrong and the freshmen do great. I hope we can get a great transfer at the 5 spot as well. I just think realistically we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place now with the back-up 5. Realistic best case scenario I see for this spot right now is that we get an unskilled vet who gives some minutes at the start of the season but as Homenick, Cook, and Caldwell get better, stronger, and more adjusted to the college game, they play more by the end of the season.
To answer your question, I would rather anyone on our roster play than a Kwesi type. If Cook or Caldwell can't get it done as true freshmen, Ball or even McCaffrey can give us a few minutes there. If they can't get it done, why the heck did we bring a 6'11 Homenick in here last year if he can't give us backup big minutes in his 2nd year here? At his size, he should probably have the edge on the others right now anyway. We don't need offense from a backup big. There will be enough talent on the floor around him. So, that is 5 guys right there I would 100% rather play than a Kwesi type.
Your example you use is Kwesi. My example I use is Grace. So, would you rather have a 4th year Kwesi or a 1st year Grace? I am afraid of your answer. For whatever reason, you are focused on the vet part. You keep saying you are fine with an unskilled guy if he is a vet. I don't see why. Kwesi was a vet who never did anything in 3 years at Northeastern. He averaged 1, 1, and 1.5 ppg those years, and scored 91 total points. And, he was only 6'8 and wasn't good on defense. But, just because he was a 4th year guy, you say "cool, get him". Sorry, I just don't understand why.
Your example you use is Kwesi. My example I use is Grace. So, would you rather have a 4th year Kwesi or a 1st year Grace? I am afraid of your answer. For whatever reason, you are focused on the vet part. You keep saying you are fine with an unskilled guy if he is a vet. I don't see why. Kwesi was a vet who never did anything in 3 years at Northeastern. He averaged 1, 1, and 1.5 ppg those years, and scored 91 total points. And, he was only 6'8 and wasn't good on defense. But, just because he was a 4th year guy, you say "cool, get him". Sorry, I just don't understand why.
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Why are we looking for a backup or Kwesi type player? Find a physical big and tell him he will have the opportunity to earn time and even start, depending on how he performs. He might end up being a backup, but why limit who we can bring in by defining his roll before practice starts?
Easier said than done. There are fewer bigs in the portal than other spots. The good ones usually get taken quickly by the majors. Most physical bigs would be good backups at the P5 level. The ones with good talent would be looking for a clearer path to starting if they want to go the mid major route. It's easy for you to say come in and compete with a guy we signed earlier who averaged 16+ a game last year, but I don't think that is attractive to a physical guy with talent. And, any money we want to spend on him could likely be matched by a P5 looking for a good, physical backup.
Spider17
Assistant coach
VT, I get where you’re coming from and agree in theory to what you’re saying. Thanks for pointing it out because I didn’t realize just how bad Kwesi was at his prior schools and here at UR. Maybe he wasn’t the best example to illustrate my point and we can do better with recruiting now especially with NIL. Still to your point of rather playing anyone than Kwesi, I don’t necessarily agree with. We play whoever is the best and right now I don’t have any confidence our freshmen can step up into that role.
Caldwell is not nearly strong enough or big enough to play that spot right now. Cook is a complete unknown with his other best offers of Farleigh Dickinson and Stonehill college and Homenick redshirted on a team last year that went 5-13 in A10 play again. We’ve seen what the writing on the wall is for players who have redshirted. Hope I’m wrong with him, but if I’m not mistaken, Homenick was a last second commit who didn’t really have any other good offers either. So no, I would not want anyone other than a Kwesi type to play that spot, if those guys are going to be even worse. Ball or McCaffrey would do a better job at the 5, I agree but I don’t think we recruited those guys with the intention of getting back-up minutes in that spot. Maybe in cases we really need to play them there like other injuries or foul trouble, sure, but that should not be their go to position in my opinion.
As far as your point with Grace, there might be some bias because by the end he turned out to be a solid player for us, but his freshmen year he had equally bad stats as a back-up to Golden on a team that went 13-20. College basketball has changed. We can’t play a player anymore hoping they will develop in their 4th or 5th year. So I would not want to play Homenick or Cook, if they’re not ready.
Again, Kwesi may not have been the best example because he was that bad. If we got someone who scored 4 ppg and average 3 rebounds and 70% FT and played okay defense on a lower mid major, then that might be a win for both of us. I do agree with you that the likelihood of getting a quality big man to be a back up is virtually zero. But I bet we can get someone better than Kwesi so I’ll acknowledge that.
My overall point is that I have such little confidence that any of our freshmen can produce 10-15 minutes worth of good back up minutes that I want us to prioritize the last roster spot in finding someone who might be able to. The guys will then have all off season to compete against each other and the best player wins. We are in win now mode. Not develop for the future.
Caldwell is not nearly strong enough or big enough to play that spot right now. Cook is a complete unknown with his other best offers of Farleigh Dickinson and Stonehill college and Homenick redshirted on a team last year that went 5-13 in A10 play again. We’ve seen what the writing on the wall is for players who have redshirted. Hope I’m wrong with him, but if I’m not mistaken, Homenick was a last second commit who didn’t really have any other good offers either. So no, I would not want anyone other than a Kwesi type to play that spot, if those guys are going to be even worse. Ball or McCaffrey would do a better job at the 5, I agree but I don’t think we recruited those guys with the intention of getting back-up minutes in that spot. Maybe in cases we really need to play them there like other injuries or foul trouble, sure, but that should not be their go to position in my opinion.
As far as your point with Grace, there might be some bias because by the end he turned out to be a solid player for us, but his freshmen year he had equally bad stats as a back-up to Golden on a team that went 13-20. College basketball has changed. We can’t play a player anymore hoping they will develop in their 4th or 5th year. So I would not want to play Homenick or Cook, if they’re not ready.
Again, Kwesi may not have been the best example because he was that bad. If we got someone who scored 4 ppg and average 3 rebounds and 70% FT and played okay defense on a lower mid major, then that might be a win for both of us. I do agree with you that the likelihood of getting a quality big man to be a back up is virtually zero. But I bet we can get someone better than Kwesi so I’ll acknowledge that.
My overall point is that I have such little confidence that any of our freshmen can produce 10-15 minutes worth of good back up minutes that I want us to prioritize the last roster spot in finding someone who might be able to. The guys will then have all off season to compete against each other and the best player wins. We are in win now mode. Not develop for the future.
If you're only looking for a guy to give you ~5 backup minutes, I'd rather give a frosh a shot to show what they can do and learn on the job than give it to a one-year Kwesi who isn't going to do much anyway and isn't building for the future.
Now, if you can get a higher-quality experienced guy to take a larger backup role, by all means, but as noted, those guys are hard to come by.
Now, if you can get a higher-quality experienced guy to take a larger backup role, by all means, but as noted, those guys are hard to come by.
I generally agree, but remind you Coach says Caldwell is A10 ready and he has seen Homenick practice for a year so should have a good idea what he has. Also, Ball and MaCaffery should be able to play the 4 and provide backup at the 5,.
