Recruits and Transfers

[arxpert]

I am writing this post to ask why anyone thinks we actually need to be hitting the portal for anything overall. Tommy will not play more than 7 functional players. I am talking about players who play with a purpose other than to help a starter get a breather.

Why continue to load up 11 to 12 player teams where we could have an A team and a B team that would come in 1st and 2nd in a Conference like the old Pac12 if the players are not going to be used?

Iron sharpens Iron? Is someone really going to tell me that the practices are so intense that it is worth wasting the time of players?

Why add a transfer that will play directly over top of Carter Bryant for example? Or Sanon or Phillips... Why would you recruit those kids if you are going to just add transfers in from the portal that take all their potential minutes solely because they are older and a little bit more developed in some ways? These recruits are not going to stick around for 2 years on the bench watching Tommy continously add from the Portal.

Maybe Tommy should decide if we are a Portal school or a Developmental Program where we recruit and as we see with Boswell he completely regressed into an unplayable form and NOW we have Phillips and Sanon coming who are probably thinking to themselves "What are we doing coming here, Tommy won't play us over Boswell even if we outshine him in practice and that dude is not good."

So again, I am perplexed as to why everyone is in a tizzy or a race to try to secure transfers. Especially at the 4 or "Power Foward" where Henri and Carter Bryant are both going to play. Bryant being able to play with Henri or in a rotation without Henri knowing that we have Dylan Anderson as our Starting Center and Krivas will be backing Dylan up just like last year as Krivas is not ready to be a full time starter by any means.

Right now, as our roster stands, unless we have more than 3 or 4 injuries to starters, we have all the players we need.

Would it be cool to add some more? Sure, but at what cost? Have to draw the line somewhere before it becomes not understandable to add players and I say this after stating I would love to add Johnell Davis to this team and would not care if that made someone decommit.

Pick a lane. Don't be 1 foot in, 1 foot out. Last year bringing in Keshad and Love to start basically ruined the organic team in place. It definitely ruined Boswell for good and I don't think there is any coming back from that.

Now we have more of an organic roster in place with some freshman coming in... If Tommy is about to find 2 Transfers to plug and play as instant starters then just think about how it will affect the natural order of things as it did this season.

PS - Don't tell me this season was a profound success. Everything I spoke to that was a problem was a problem all the way through the final game vs Clemson. Tommy barely got the Conference Title and he squandered the final Banner. Then he was pretty lucky in the Madness draw, barely got by Dayton late not looking great and came out in the Sweet 16 just as he did vs Purdue, FAU, and Bama with a terrible game plan and we all went down with the ship. Yes we won vs Bama, but Bama was 8-40 from 3pt land and they lost by like 13pts. So again, they lost on their own terms, not ours and we just merely survived them having a terrible shooting night where they could have easily put up 100-120pts on us because we were never able to guard the 3pt line all season.

[arxpert]

I want to make an amendment here to say that Dylan Anderson is leaving Arizona (as of now). While I don't know if it is permanent or just a power play to get some more money, I have to think that Tommy Lloyd is to blame.

I am happy for Anderson to have redshirted and preserved as much time as he could to cash in. I would not be shocked to see him end up in Arkansas with a new look Calipari Army tbh.

I was/am still expecting Boswell to enter the Portal as he has zero functional use on this roster nor should he play at all over anyone incoming. His "experience" doesn't mean anything as far as I'm concerned.

Tommy is doing something very dangerous by making it seem like Bradley, KJ lewis, Phillips or Sanon need to outplay Boswell for minutes. This is absurd. To me, Boswell needs to prove he can outplay everyone else to just be a backup, rotational player who comes in for a few spot 3's and plays some defense then gets back to the bench.

I am not certain what Tommy is thinking anymore. Since his son Ballo left, I thought that locked Dylan in for 25-30min per game.

Looks like he is going to go with Krivas and Stephen will not be forced into a redshirt anymore.

Henri is a true 4. He was supposed to be the answer this season. I guess his injury probably cost this team a National Championship in a lot of ways. We had no one to go to. Hack-A-Ballo became the easiest way to defeat a team a great as Arizona. Elementary. No one over 6'7" is allowed to take a jump shot under Tommy Lloyd. Henri is the guy who is going to break that (if he stays).

All this said, it is of my fact-based opinion that Tommy should NOT replace Dylan Anderson in the Portal.

I cannot stand anyone saying things like Carter Bryant "earning minutes". The kid is a 5* Burger Boy. Not a guy who didn't live up to his billing. Bryant should be playing no less than 30 minutes per game next season playing the 3 and 4 in multiple rotations. He is a superstar until proven otherwise.

I also won't be shocked if Phillips or Sanon show up far better than advertised like KJ Lewis did.

[arxpert]

To people who are concerned about losing players to the Portal -

I think there must be a little bit of logic that one must take in (please come up for air)

The transfers know that they aren't slated to get big playing time. They also know there is money to be made.

Dylan Anderson is the only one that perplexes me as Tommy must not have cared to match the offer he likely got in the 11th hour. (Perhaps Calipari and Arkansas?)

I believe Dylan was going to get 30 minutes per game as Krivas continued to develop as the backup C.

It is still important to realize that Tommy does not coach deeper than 7 effectively. That 8th guy (Krivas) was only there to give Ike Diogu a breather (I mean Oumar Ballo).

I still do hope Boswell enters the Portal as I do not think he belongs taking minutes or even coming from a position of "seniority". If he does stay on board somehow, Tommy would be a poor coach to promise minutes to him. Phillips and Sanon should be able to show up and just challenge him to a game of 21. Play a series. 7 matches. Find out who the best baller is. Boswell has proven he is not a true PG. So there is nothing Boswell can do in my opinion that is so hyper-important that anyone coming in shouldn't be allowed to compete for in terms to role and minutes.

With Boswell:

Bradley - Phillips
Sanon - Boswell (Boswell has not earned Anything)
Carter Bryant - KJ Lewis (6th Man, 30 Minutes, multiple rotations)
Henri
Krivas - Stephen

That is 9 guys and Tommy doesn't play 9. Never.

Then Conrad is still here I believe?

-----------------

Without Boswell:

Bradley - Phllips
Sanon - KJ (DON'T SPAZ, KJ is a perfect 6th Man at almost 30 minutes a game and fits with many lineups)
Bryant
Henri
Krivas - Stephen

That's 8. I'd say add 1 Veteran Transfer in like a Johnell Davis? Or in reality someone who is not an Alpha Dog who will just come in and help this team as-is, not take it over (I enjoyed Caleb Love a lot, but he came in and got tired of watching Boswell stink it up, so he took over completely and we became way too 1 dimensional)....

What more would you or anyone expect from Tommy realistically? He will never play 9 guys. Players are tired of riding the pine for no good reason under Tommy who seems to be a control freak.

Henri is going massively underrated across this forum. Between Henri, Krivas, and Stephen that's plenty of size and we have plenty of Guards. Carter Bryant is a monster. From what I understand Sanon is a Monster too. Phillips is getting rave reviews as well.

So what if we resemble a little bit of a young 1 and Done Freshman type of team for a year? Tommy is responsible for COACHING the players right?

There are plenty of ways to coach either the Boswell or No Boswell rosters.

Don't let Tommy off the hook AND do not hope that Tommy finds 2 or 3 Transfers to come right in and take over the team. Talk about Chemistry issues? Let the incoming recruit class learn to play together without the fear of some 24-25 year olds coming in and taking their JOBS.

[arxpert]

PS - Arizona is currently 15-1 Odds to Win the National Championship Next Year. Well inside of the Top 10 odds at the moment and that is with all the known departures. Now this as we all know is utterly meaningless, but it still speaks to how legitimate the "smart guys" think we technically are at the current moment.

So really, I am not worried. We will be competitive.

[|ᴘ|ʀ|ʏ|ᴍ|ᴇ|]

If getting Johnell Davis requires that you also take Vlad Goldin as a package deal, do you do it? Or does that step on too many toes?

[CactusCat]

While BDU fan is dreaming about who has the biggest ballers in the trans portal t. lloyd is relaxing poolside after a spirited pickle ball sesh.

[Paper_Bag]

To people who are concerned about losing players to the Portal -

I think there must be a little bit of logic that one must take in (please come up for air)

The transfers know that they aren't slated to get big playing time. They also know there is money to be made.

Dylan Anderson is the only one that perplexes me as Tommy must not have cared to match the offer he likely got in the 11th hour. (Perhaps Calipari and Arkansas?)

I believe Dylan was going to get 30 minutes per game as Krivas continued to develop as the backup C.

It is still important to realize that Tommy does not coach deeper than 7 effectively. That 8th guy (Krivas) was only there to give Ike Diogu a breather (I mean Oumar Ballo).

I still do hope Boswell enters the Portal as I do not think he belongs taking minutes or even coming from a position of "seniority". If he does stay on board somehow, Tommy would be a poor coach to promise minutes to him. Phillips and Sanon should be able to show up and just challenge him to a game of 21. Play a series. 7 matches. Find out who the best baller is. Boswell has proven he is not a true PG. So there is nothing Boswell can do in my opinion that is so hyper-important that anyone coming in shouldn't be allowed to compete for in terms to role and minutes.

With Boswell:

Bradley - Phillips
Sanon - Boswell (Boswell has not earned Anything)
Carter Bryant - KJ Lewis (6th Man, 30 Minutes, multiple rotations)
Henri
Krivas - Stephen

That is 9 guys and Tommy doesn't play 9. Never.

Then Conrad is still here I believe?

-----------------

Without Boswell:

Bradley - Phllips
Sanon - KJ (DON'T SPAZ, KJ is a perfect 6th Man at almost 30 minutes a game and fits with many lineups)
Bryant
Henri
Krivas - Stephen

That's 8. I'd say add 1 Veteran Transfer in like a Johnell Davis? Or in reality someone who is not an Alpha Dog who will just come in and help this team as-is, not take it over (I enjoyed Caleb Love a lot, but he came in and got tired of watching Boswell stink it up, so he took over completely and we became way too 1 dimensional)....

What more would you or anyone expect from Tommy realistically? He will never play 9 guys. Players are tired of riding the pine for no good reason under Tommy who seems to be a control freak.

Henri is going massively underrated across this forum. Between Henri, Krivas, and Stephen that's plenty of size and we have plenty of Guards. Carter Bryant is a monster. From what I understand Sanon is a Monster too. Phillips is getting rave reviews as well.

So what if we resemble a little bit of a young 1 and Done Freshman type of team for a year? Tommy is responsible for COACHING the players right?

There are plenty of ways to coach either the Boswell or No Boswell rosters.

Don't let Tommy off the hook AND do not hope that Tommy finds 2 or 3 Transfers to come right in and take over the team. Talk about Chemistry issues? Let the incoming recruit class learn to play together without the fear of some 24-25 year olds coming in and taking their JOBS.

Henri has not earned anything. He has looked overwhelmed in basically all of the limited minutes he has played. One thing I know from watching college ball all of these years is that it is nearly impossible to overcome a lack of confidence. Henri has lacked confidence his entire time here. I would hope that Tommy recruits over him. He definitely shouldn't be starting.

Other than that, I largely agree with your post. Boswell should be coming off of the bench unless he makes a miraculous turnaround. I think Carter is closer to a four than a three, so slide him to the four and start KJ. I just realized you had KJ off the bench. No way. He starts.

Bradley
Sanon
Lewis
Bryant
Krivas

[arxpert]

Other than that, I largely agree with your post. Boswell should be coming off of the bench unless he makes a miraculous turnaround. I think Carter is closer to a four than a three, so slide him to the four and start KJ. I just realized you had KJ off the bench. No way. He starts.

Bradley
Sanon
Lewis
Bryant
Krivas

The reason I say KJ off the bench is that I know KJ will be a 30min+ high energy player who can mix with ANY rotation. So starting him doesn't actually matter to me. He is a swiss army knife. I can see how starting a Frosh over him may ruffle some feathers, but if the rage abut Sanon is he can score, then he may play his way into a starting role. Usually I like Scorers to play 6th Man, but I have difficulties with Tommy as a tactician. Hopefully he continues to evolve.

Now that were finally free of the anchor of Boswell, this team can finally BREATHE.

Here is my thought process on how to maximize the talent.

Some people are low on Henri. I am not one of them. Having a player like that could really help our guards/wings because it will force someone capable of closing out on a 7ft'er type of deep shooter out of the lane. That leaves a lot of room to attack and get to the FT line - or utilize Krivas in lobs.

Without Ballo, teams can no longer use Hack-A-Shaq (Ballo). They have to respect Krivas can probably hit 7/10 FTs. That was evidently a major reason way Yao Edey was so deadly the last 2 years. When you can't foul an overwhelmingly big true Center then there is not much you can do about a player like Henri. He will get his shots. Krivas will be able to get some Rebounds and so will Bryant. Apparently Sanon has a lot of spring too (hops) so Guards who can rebound is a big part of a formula for success. UConn thrived off of it.

Henri has been around the program a long time. He should probably start at the 4. Tommy has shown no real effort for playing more than 7 guys, 8 for a breather. So realistically everyone on that list is going to play massive impact minutes anyway

I definitely can be wrong about Henri, but I think he will get the chance to play and see if he is good enough to be part of the overall rotation. I like him as a starter. Off the bench would be trickier for me to understand from a tactical perspective. He would come in for a tired Krivas? He shouldn't really be the "5". He would come in for Carter? Or Carter slides down to the 3? Not sure about that. Seems to me like Henri either starts or he may be sort of in "no man's land" with a role. Especially with all the young Guards/Wings we have. Makes me think Tommy knows what he is doing with Henri and maybe promising Henri those minutes could have led to Dylan's departure as well.

My optimal bundle after seeing the departures of Boswell and Dylan is:

Starters:
G - Jaden Bradley
G - Joson Sanon
F - Carter Bryant
F - Henri
C - Motiejus Krivas

6th Man - KJ Lewis (30min, maniac, so many rotational ways to play him beside Bradley, Sanon AND Carter all at the same time any time we want)

In this lineup, Stephen could play some backup 4 and 5 at times if he is actually a serviceable player out the gate.

Phillips could definitely be a pleasant surprise as well and show up very ready to play. If that happens then the Bradley/Philips backcourt could actually become a really good thing.

After those 8 players we really don't have room for anything else that will see major court time unless there is an injury which we do not factor in nor think about around here. We have no major ones last year besides Henri preseason. We are not doing the injury thing now!

However, I do think we should have at least a 9th guy who can legitimately play. If that ends up stifling someone else then so be it. Can't be too careful.

It is just a matter of what type of player that is.

I see it currently that we have 2 Bigs, 1 Stretch 4, An Elite SF, 2 Hellacious Wings, and 2 Junkyard Dog Guards.

So in theory maybe we could use another Keshad "Showtime" Johnson type who can play a powerful glue guy role. We also could look for an Alpha type like a Caleb Love and let players like Phillips and Sanon sit back a bit and work their way into their ultimate role.

Those types of HUNGRY Transfers could be like a Johnell Davis... or someone with less notoriety and more fundamental like the kid Omaha Biliew from Iowa State that entered the portal who played in a heavily Defense oriented system in our Big12 Conference.

[arxpert]

If getting Johnell Davis requires that you also take Vlad Goldin as a package deal, do you do it? Or does that step on too many toes?

If getting Johnell required getting Goldin then you ante up and pay the toll. That would be easy. Goldin could easily start over Krivas. Krivas can still learn as a backup. Much better situation than Love + Ballo to have Johnell + Vlad.

Do that and then Tommy can use Stephen as a backup defensive 4 if he wanted to or simply just use this year as a developmental year for Stephan and possibly redshirt him. I would have no issue at all with the package deal.

I did not see anywhere that Johnell said it is a package deal though.

Either way I think the team is pretty much "Set" as-is currently. I can see Tommy maybe looking for 1 guy to bring in. I just don't know if Tommy will go for an Alpha type or for a Glue Guy type.

He has to make a choice to let young guys play or to continue buying older transfers to go over top of the youth.

Youth may cost some games, but even as the roster is Today, it is not like a token old days now Calipari "Kentucky" with 1 and dones who won't have time to gel.

He has 3 returning starters and an experienced Henri (yes I say KJ is a starter, he played enough significant minutes). So basically we have a nice core 4 and are adding 4 new guys to it, freshman recruits. Maybe add 1 more wiley Vet.

Now we get to see if Tommy can truly develop AND coach. Pressure is on Tom Tom. Completely Squandered a 1 and two 2 Seeds and a ton of pre-existing talent. Now it's time to see if Tommy is "HIM". I am excited to find out personally.

[arxpert]

While BDU fan is dreaming about who has the biggest ballers in the trans portal t. lloyd is relaxing poolside after a spirited pickle ball sesh.

He better put the Pickleball paddle away because this year he will have a TON of player development to do in the offseason and even MORE In-Game Coaching to do than ever. This all just got very serious very fast after Squandering a 1 and two 2 Seeds being too casual with the biggest head start for potential success in the history of College Basketball.

Now he has to back it all up and he has to do it with basically Bradley, KJ, Henri, and Krivas as the main returners (and Lil' C - Conrad)