let's talk '21

[BeardownZonaZona]

No reason we don't take both. We got the spots open. Pelle could come off the bench right away. The other is pretty raw. 3 point shot still coming around. Good facilitator for being 6'6" or so. Also has a long wingspan. Really like what he can be in a year or two. Getting them both would be awesome

[YoDeFoe]

New wish list: TyTy, Hickman, Pelle, and Kaluma

Why not

[BeardownZonaZona]

If we can get Tyty, Kaluma, Pelle, and the European prospect, I'll be very happy. First three contribute right away. Last on the list is a project. Would be nice to have a developmental guy who in a couple years can be a stud

[Beachcat97]

Scheer posted something today about kids from western states picking UK and UNC and Duke, and it not working out. Juzang, the Wears, Chase Jeter. There are others.

Holding out hope Tyty becomes Tommy’s first major recruiting win.

[zonagrad]

Land Kaluma and you won’t give two shits about Jordan Brown.

Agree. Guys like Brown are a dime a dozen in college basketball. You certainly don't want him to be the focus of your roster -- he could be a good role player. And that's exactly what Miller figured out in a short amount of time as the season progressed. In October Brown was winning the coveted Gold Jersey. By December, Brown was coming off the bench. Any Arizona team where he was getting 20+ minutes is not an Arizona team that's going places.

[RondaeShimmy]

Arizona, KU, Kentucky.

Not really big news but looks like we're getting closer to a decision.

[gronk4heisman]

If we can get Tyty, Kaluma, Pelle, and the European prospect, I'll be very happy. First three contribute right away. Last on the list is a project. Would be nice to have a developmental guy who in a couple years can be a stud

Is the European prospect the SF from France?

[BeardownZonaZona]

If we can get Tyty, Kaluma, Pelle, and the European prospect, I'll be very happy. First three contribute right away. Last on the list is a project. Would be nice to have a developmental guy who in a couple years can be a stud

Is the European prospect the SF from France?

If you're talking about Ousmane Dieng, no. Another French player though. Not as developed. Dieng is probably a top 15 pick next year in the draft. This kid could get there eventually, but is likely a couple years from that

[ChooChooCat]

Arizona, KU, Kentucky.

Not really big news but looks like we're getting closer to a decision.

KU is in a distant 3rd at this point.

[BeardownZonaZona]

Tyty commitment date has been set. May 12th

[ChooChooCat]

Tyty commitment date has been set. May 12th

[Beachcat97]

Announcing 5/12

[EastCoastCat]

But the question is are we where we want to be?

[azgreg]

Why wait?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Land Kaluma and you won’t give two shits about Jordan Brown.

Agree. Guys like Brown are a dime a dozen in college basketball. You certainly don't want him to be the focus of your roster -- he could be a good role player. And that's exactly what Miller figured out in a short amount of time as the season progressed. In October Brown was winning the coveted Gold Jersey. By December, Brown was coming off the bench. Any Arizona team where he was getting 20+ minutes is not an Arizona team that's going places.

To me, this sells Brown short. He was 6th man of the year in the Pac and had a higher win shares per 40 than either Koloko or Tubelis.

I'm not necessarily as high on Kaluma as some here, but I'm trying to watch a raw game of his on YouTube right now from 6 months ago to see if I'm wrong. Not that I think he's bad, just that I'm not sure he's as instant impact as some do.

I do know Brown is significantly better than Ballo. I'll drop back to confess my mistake if Kaluma's game tells me I'm wrong.

[ChooChooCat]

Why wait?

He's focusing on the All Star game this weekend then will come to a final decision afterwards.

[RondaeShimmy]

Arizona, KU, Kentucky.

Not really big news but looks like we're getting closer to a decision.

KU is in a distant 3rd at this point.

So an Arizona lock before Hickman got homesick :/

[YoDeFoe]

Land Kaluma and you won’t give two shits about Jordan Brown.

Agree. Guys like Brown are a dime a dozen in college basketball. You certainly don't want him to be the focus of your roster -- he could be a good role player. And that's exactly what Miller figured out in a short amount of time as the season progressed. In October Brown was winning the coveted Gold Jersey. By December, Brown was coming off the bench. Any Arizona team where he was getting 20+ minutes is not an Arizona team that's going places.

To me, this sells Brown short. He was 6th man of the year in the Pac and had a higher win shares per 40 than either Koloko or Tubelis.

I'm not necessarily as high on Kaluma as some here, but I'm trying to watch a raw game of his on YouTube right now from 6 months ago to see if I'm wrong. Not that I think he's bad, just that I'm not sure he's as instant impact as some do.

I do know Brown is significantly better than Ballo. I'll drop back to confess my mistake if Kaluma's game tells me I'm wrong.

Here's a good one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrV6R9eiJzo

He's often sloppy with his shot selection and touch, but the team gave him opportunity to expand his offensive game this past season and he's grown into a scoring threat. Went for 39 points on 48% FG (4-8 from 3) and 15 boards in a win.

[BeardownZonaZona]

The tweet was deleted... Maybe sooner now?

[RondaeShimmy]

[gronk4heisman]

Gives him a week to see what G League offers come after his showing at the Iverson classic before deciding.

[BeardownZonaZona]

My optimism was wrong

[Spaceman Spiff]

Watching a Kaluma game, my thoughts. First, the game is:

https://youtu.be/VclQvqsNHNQ

Offensively, he scores twice on basically the same move from a baseline out of bounds play. That quick face to the left won't be there nearly as well on the college level, but he shows he can be quick, decisive and get to the rim strong.

Not so much on a dump off. He takes one and double clutches, missing twice instead of srawing a foul. On the upside, he tips it in a third time and stays after it well.

He has a show and go move off the catch that will he called a travel by Pac refs 100% of the time. These refs don't and he draws a foul.

Tough to evaluate on D. He shows well off the pick and roll but never really gets challenged by the dribbler. His recovery is ok, but not as quick back to his man, which leads to at least one open 3.

He rotates late and doesn't rotate into a solid block out and gives up an offensive board at one point. This is small stuff, but just what needs to get sharper.

Above comments are through 18:25 on the video. I didn't time stamp for them, sorry.

Right after 18:25, he makes a good move for his first J of the day. Solid balance and release on the shot.

Around 19:55, a defensive possession begins I'm not hyped about. You see him relax off ball twice. Second time, he's easily screened for a layup. This has been recurring so far. He gets a lot of people crossing his face off ball.

Next possession down, he shuffles his feet off the catch. Again, this is 100% a travel in college. He does finish with strong work on the glass.

Next defensive trip, around 21:30, he gives ground too easily and requires help.

Ok. I've watched as much as life will permit. Overall, you can see his has good (I won't say elite) physical tools. Has a developing offensive game that looks strong, but he needs to clean up his feet off the catch. Defensively, he needs to be much more active on the weak side and when challenged so as not to require help.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Land Kaluma and you won’t give two shits about Jordan Brown.

Agree. Guys like Brown are a dime a dozen in college basketball. You certainly don't want him to be the focus of your roster -- he could be a good role player. And that's exactly what Miller figured out in a short amount of time as the season progressed. In October Brown was winning the coveted Gold Jersey. By December, Brown was coming off the bench. Any Arizona team where he was getting 20+ minutes is not an Arizona team that's going places.

To me, this sells Brown short. He was 6th man of the year in the Pac and had a higher win shares per 40 than either Koloko or Tubelis.

I'm not necessarily as high on Kaluma as some here, but I'm trying to watch a raw game of his on YouTube right now from 6 months ago to see if I'm wrong. Not that I think he's bad, just that I'm not sure he's as instant impact as some do.

I do know Brown is significantly better than Ballo. I'll drop back to confess my mistake if Kaluma's game tells me I'm wrong.

Here's a good one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrV6R9eiJzo

He's often sloppy with his shot selection and touch, but the team gave him opportunity to expand his offensive game this past season and he's grown into a scoring threat. Went for 39 points on 48% FG (4-8 from 3) and 15 boards in a win.

Ha, I was watching another one. He shows a developing offensive game, but he needs to tighten his off ball D, IMO. You can read above for my full thoughts on the game I watched.

[azcat49]

My concern with Brown has always been on the defensive end. Not a rim protector and struggles to guard anyone off the bounce.

I have no idea if these other guys are better in that area but Brown seems pedestrian to me, not an elite guy

[Spaceman Spiff]

My concern with Brown has always been on the defensive end. Not a rim protector and struggles to guard anyone of the bounce.

I have no idea if these other guys are better in that area but Brown seems pedestrian to me, not an elite guy

I disagree a little on rim protector. He's not an elite shot blocker, but can block shots.

He's had a 5.5 and 5.1 block % his two collegiate years. For comparison, Kaleb Tarczewski had block % ranging from 2.5% to 4.9%.

I would put him in the "have to think about him, but not an eraser" category of rim protectors. To that point, Ballo was a 3.9 block %, so Brown outdoes Ballo by a noticeable margin.

His defense off the dribble...well, he isn't meant to guard smaller 4's, but he isn't a loss there. His overall #'s on D were better than Tubelis, who was our best big guy vs more mobile 4's. I see Brown as a C, and he's ok but not outstanding at controlling penetration as a C.

Edit: I'm not really sure I disagree with you in that I don't see him as an outstanding defender. I do see him as better than Ballo and a good complement to Koloko.

[NickyBCats]

I’m hearing good things on TyTy.

[BeardownZonaZona]

I’m hearing good things on TyTy.

My guy has also been hearing good things. Let's hope our sources are correct

[HiCat]

https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketbal ... cky-kansas

Will TyTy Washington be an Arizona Wildcat? We’ll find out Saturday, May 15 when the five-star point guard plans to make his college choice, he revealed Tuesday on Twitter.

The Wildcats are one of six finalists for the Chandler, Arizona native, the others being Kentucky, Kansas, Baylor, LSU and Oregon.

[RondaeShimmy]

I’m hearing good things on TyTy.

Choo has said he hasn't heard anything on kaluma, have you been hearing good things on him?

Anything on him is non existent

[Beachcat97]

Scheer is sticking by his crystal ball pick, fwiw.

[Jefe]

Scheer is sticking by his crystal ball pick, fwiw.

Scheer 2021 accuracy 8/9 All Time 326/378

[Beachcat97]

Scheer is sticking by his crystal ball pick, fwiw.

Scheer 2021 accuracy 8/9 All Time 326/378

That's pretty impressive.

[BeardownZonaZona]

I’m hearing good things on TyTy.

Choo has said he hasn't heard anything on kaluma, have you been hearing good things on him?

Anything on him is non existent

Him and his family are pretty private. They don't do interviews and don't try to leak information like some families do. So who knows when he's going to announce or where he'll go

[zonagrad]

Land Kaluma and you won’t give two shits about Jordan Brown.

Agree. Guys like Brown are a dime a dozen in college basketball. You certainly don't want him to be the focus of your roster -- he could be a good role player. And that's exactly what Miller figured out in a short amount of time as the season progressed. In October Brown was winning the coveted Gold Jersey. By December, Brown was coming off the bench. Any Arizona team where he was getting 20+ minutes is not an Arizona team that's going places.

To me, this sells Brown short. He was 6th man of the year in the Pac and had a higher win shares per 40 than either Koloko or Tubelis.

I'm not necessarily as high on Kaluma as some here, but I'm trying to watch a raw game of his on YouTube right now from 6 months ago to see if I'm wrong. Not that I think he's bad, just that I'm not sure he's as instant impact as some do.

I do know Brown is significantly better than Ballo. I'll drop back to confess my mistake if Kaluma's game tells me I'm wrong.

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh based on my high expectations of Brown with him being a McD AA. His offensive game wasn't very creative.
It felt as though in the toughest matchups for Arizona he was very average and not a difference maker:

Vs. UCLA (6pts, 6 rebs/7pts 5 rebs)
vs. Oregon (9 pts, 3 rebs/5 pts, 3 rebs)

By far his best outing was at USC with 19 pts & 13 rebs.

He's a decent player -- but a role player at that. On a championship caliber team, he'd be the 5th best player on the floor.

[ChooChooCat]

I’m hearing good things on TyTy.

Choo has said he hasn't heard anything on kaluma, have you been hearing good things on him?

Anything on him is non existent

We’re definitely on him, we’ve got a strong connection, and we likely have a starting spot open for him. We got a lot working in our favor here, but we’ll see. He keeps things very quiet.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Land Kaluma and you won’t give two shits about Jordan Brown.

Agree. Guys like Brown are a dime a dozen in college basketball. You certainly don't want him to be the focus of your roster -- he could be a good role player. And that's exactly what Miller figured out in a short amount of time as the season progressed. In October Brown was winning the coveted Gold Jersey. By December, Brown was coming off the bench. Any Arizona team where he was getting 20+ minutes is not an Arizona team that's going places.

To me, this sells Brown short. He was 6th man of the year in the Pac and had a higher win shares per 40 than either Koloko or Tubelis.

I'm not necessarily as high on Kaluma as some here, but I'm trying to watch a raw game of his on YouTube right now from 6 months ago to see if I'm wrong. Not that I think he's bad, just that I'm not sure he's as instant impact as some do.

I do know Brown is significantly better than Ballo. I'll drop back to confess my mistake if Kaluma's game tells me I'm wrong.

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh based on my high expectations of Brown with him being a McD AA. His offensive game wasn't very creative.
It felt as though in the toughest matchups for Arizona he was very average and not a difference maker:

Vs. UCLA (6pts, 6 rebs/7pts 5 rebs)
vs. Oregon (9 pts, 3 rebs/5 pts, 3 rebs)

By far his best outing was at USC with 19 pts & 13 rebs.

He's a decent player -- but a role player at that. On a championship caliber team, he'd be the 5th best player on the floor.

Some of that is just minutes. If you extrapolate to per 40, he has 19.2 and 10.6.

Comparatively, per 40, Koloko was 12.2 and 11.1. Tubelis 18.3 and 10.6.

So, minute for minute, you can actually argue Brown was our most productive big last year. He just came off the bench and had the fewest minutes of the three.

[azcat49]

Given Miller and his liking of metrics, you have to ask then why he had the fewest? Has to be the defensive liability and the one dimensionality on offense

[Spaceman Spiff]

Given Miller and his liking of metrics, you have to ask then why he had the fewest? Has to be the defensive liability and the one dimensionality on offense

He was actually second lowest in that group. Tubelis had 26 mpg, Brown 19 and Koloko 17.

I disagree with defensive liability. His defensive win shares, DBPM and block % exceeded Tubelis. His block % isn't near Koloko's, but his DWS and DBPM are.

Tubelis was clearly more versatile on offense, but Koloko was clearly less versatile.

TBH, I think some of it was that Brown dealt the best with being benched. Koloko and Tubelis both struggled with confidence and intensity off the bench.

[zonagrad]

Given Miller and his liking of metrics, you have to ask then why he had the fewest? Has to be the defensive liability and the one dimensionality on offense

He was actually second lowest in that group. Tubelis had 26 mpg, Brown 19 and Koloko 17.

I disagree with defensive liability. His defensive win shares, DBPM and block % exceeded Tubelis. His block % isn't near Koloko's, but his DWS and DBPM are.

Tubelis was clearly more versatile on offense, but Koloko was clearly less versatile.

TBH, I think some of it was that Brown dealt the best with being benched. Koloko and Tubelis both struggled with confidence and intensity off the bench.

I don't think you can easily measure the defensive ability of a player. Koloko impacts the game by deterring dribble penetration and shots in the paint. Our lack of good perimeter D to contain opponents required the use of Koloko more (that's my opinion). Once an opponent beat Baker, Akinjo, etc... off the dribble it was an easier finish to go against Brown in the pain than Koloko.

I just don't think Brown was a dominant player -- certainly not against stiff competition. He struggled against good teams -- as did many of our bigs. There's a reason why Miller had him come off the bench.

[TheCat]

Land Kaluma and you won’t give two shits about Jordan Brown.

Unless you want good post moves and want to score from the post early on. On the defensive side it will be an upgrade if not this year then next.

[TheCat]

Land Kaluma and you won’t give two shits about Jordan Brown.

Agree. Guys like Brown are a dime a dozen in college basketball. You certainly don't want him to be the focus of your roster -- he could be a good role player. And that's exactly what Miller figured out in a short amount of time as the season progressed. In October Brown was winning the coveted Gold Jersey. By December, Brown was coming off the bench. Any Arizona team where he was getting 20+ minutes is not an Arizona team that's going places.

Guys that score 10 a game in a major 5 conference are not a dime a dozen. Fouled way to much but was a good player.

[ChooChooCat]

Land Kaluma and you won’t give two shits about Jordan Brown.

Agree. Guys like Brown are a dime a dozen in college basketball. You certainly don't want him to be the focus of your roster -- he could be a good role player. And that's exactly what Miller figured out in a short amount of time as the season progressed. In October Brown was winning the coveted Gold Jersey. By December, Brown was coming off the bench. Any Arizona team where he was getting 20+ minutes is not an Arizona team that's going places.

Guys that score 10 a game in a major 5 conference are not a dime a dozen. Fouled way to much but was a good player.

In conference games he scored in double figures a total of 5 times out of 20 games. He scored in double figures 3 other times, which were against Grambling, NAU, and Montana.

[TheCat]

I’m hearing good things on TyTy.

Choo has said he hasn't heard anything on kaluma, have you been hearing good things on him?

Anything on him is non existent

We’re definitely on him, we’ve got a strong connection, and we likely have a starting spot open for him. We got a lot working in our favor here, but we’ll see. He keeps things very quiet.

If we have a "starting spot" for this guy we are a .500 team. Hope that was just a slip of the tongue.

[Olsondogg]

Never trust anyone who cannot figure out when to use two/too/to appropriately.

[ChooChooCat]

I’m hearing good things on TyTy.

Choo has said he hasn't heard anything on kaluma, have you been hearing good things on him?

Anything on him is non existent

We’re definitely on him, we’ve got a strong connection, and we likely have a starting spot open for him. We got a lot working in our favor here, but we’ll see. He keeps things very quiet.

If we have a "starting spot" for this guy we are a .500 team. Hope that was just a slip of the tongue.

Ok Hyperbole party of one. We started Azuolas and Koloko last year and were well over .500, but sure if we start Azuolas at the 5 and a superior defender/athlete with actual offensive upside in Kaluma at the 4, to go along with more experienced above average players surrounding him, we're a .500 team. If you say so.

[BeardownZonaZona]

Seeing a lot of speculation on Twitter and Kentucky boards that they're getting CJ Fredrick today. I would think that'd help us. Throw in them likely getting Mintz back because he's not an NBA level talent and ya got two lead guards at Kentucky with experience. I'm really hoping that them getting Fredrick helps us out a ton

[ChooChooCat]

Seeing a lot of speculation on Twitter and Kentucky boards that they're getting CJ Fredrick today. I would think that'd help us. Throw in them likely getting Mintz back because he's not an NBA level talent and ya got two lead guards at Kentucky with experience. I'm really hoping that them getting Fredrick helps us out a ton

Fredrick couldn't hold Tyty's jockstrap man. If anything Fredrick is more a 3 point specialist off the bench.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Land Kaluma and you won’t give two shits about Jordan Brown.

Agree. Guys like Brown are a dime a dozen in college basketball. You certainly don't want him to be the focus of your roster -- he could be a good role player. And that's exactly what Miller figured out in a short amount of time as the season progressed. In October Brown was winning the coveted Gold Jersey. By December, Brown was coming off the bench. Any Arizona team where he was getting 20+ minutes is not an Arizona team that's going places.

Guys that score 10 a game in a major 5 conference are not a dime a dozen. Fouled way to much but was a good player.

In conference games he scored in double figures a total of 5 times out of 20 games. He scored in double figures 3 other times, which were against Grambling, NAU, and Montana.

As I posted above, that's pretty much a function of splitting minutes with Koloko. Minute for minute, Brown was our most productive big scoring wise, even more than Tubelis.

[RondaeShimmy]

Tyty is #16 in the new 247 rankings. He's #12 in ESPN.

Kaluma #44. Nowell #94