Who's staying? Who's going?

[gumby]

I'd take Rawle and Johnson. Both fit numerous positions.

Bowen just as easily fits multiple positions as Rawle or Johnson (the two or three).

Trier returning means no Bowen, so I'm trying to live in the now.

This interests me. Why?

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There was a time when Super Unleaded was enough. But with your high octane programs ...

[McKale Midwest]

So it's settled, Trier and Alkins don't like each other and are both leaving.

Now we basically have no remaining wings. So we HAVE to go get Bowen and Cam Johnson. We would be pretty good if we added both of those guys, but not good enough to win it all IMO. If we added Duval/McCoy that might take change the narrative a bit.

Is this lineup good enough to win it all?
PJC
Bowen
Johnson
Ayton
Ristic

Yep we're doomed, you should tweet about it.

I thought that you would eventually get that I was being facetious. But I guess I was giving you too much credit.

[McKale Midwest]

Trier put up a Snapchat today that said, "My shit better be hung up next to Miles Simon one day #RingOfHonor".

He was also quoted by ESPN as saying, "Because of my relationship and faith in Coach (Sean) Miller, the coaching staff and my teammates, I will continue my original goal when I came here -- to help lead the team to a national championship."

I personally love this mentality from Trier. However, I could see where teammates and potential recruits could have a problem with him talking about being the NPOY in 2017-18.

What do you guys think? Lets hope he puts his money where his mouth is.

[CalStateTempe]

Talk is cheap.

[Longhorned]

Look into my eyes

[ChooChooCat]

So it's settled, Trier and Alkins don't like each other and are both leaving.

Now we basically have no remaining wings. So we HAVE to go get Bowen and Cam Johnson. We would be pretty good if we added both of those guys, but not good enough to win it all IMO. If we added Duval/McCoy that might take change the narrative a bit.

Is this lineup good enough to win it all?
PJC
Bowen
Johnson
Ayton
Ristic

Yep we're doomed, you should tweet about it.

I thought that you would eventually get that I was being facetious. But I guess I was giving you too much credit.

I guess I gave you too much credit, you snapchatted about it instead didn't you?

[McKale Midwest]

So it's settled, Trier and Alkins don't like each other and are both leaving.

Now we basically have no remaining wings. So we HAVE to go get Bowen and Cam Johnson. We would be pretty good if we added both of those guys, but not good enough to win it all IMO. If we added Duval/McCoy that might take change the narrative a bit.

Is this lineup good enough to win it all?
PJC
Bowen
Johnson
Ayton
Ristic

Yep we're doomed, you should tweet about it.

I thought that you would eventually get that I was being facetious. But I guess I was giving you too much credit.

I guess I gave you too much credit, you snapchatted about it instead didn't you?

Instagram

[McKale Midwest]

So it's settled, Trier and Alkins don't like each other and are both leaving.

Now we basically have no remaining wings. So we HAVE to go get Bowen and Cam Johnson. We would be pretty good if we added both of those guys, but not good enough to win it all IMO. If we added Duval/McCoy that might take change the narrative a bit.

Is this lineup good enough to win it all?
PJC
Bowen
Johnson
Ayton
Ristic

Yep we're doomed, you should tweet about it.

I thought that you would eventually get that I was being facetious. But I guess I was giving you too much credit.

I guess I gave you too much credit, you snapchatted about it instead didn't you?

Get with the system, Grandpa. There is more to life then these chat rooms. Social media is the way of the future.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Talk is cheap.

Are we quoting Ruff Ryders Anthem?

Sun Devils wanna try
Sun Devils wanna lie
Then Sun Devils wonder why
Sun Devils wanna die

[Jwsisliving]

Humbly will eat crow.

Let's see how he does with a whole season.

Hopefully he'll commit to learning some d in the offseason and look for an open man now and again.

Glad he's back. Doesn't change my opinion that he's a mercurial player. And I do take the good with the bad and reserve the right to comment about both.

Also doesn't change the he may have issues with rawle, who knows only the twitter verse.

where do you get that he has problems with rawle? what's your source? I don't remember seeing or hearing anything about that.

[McKale Midwest]

Read the post above man!

But really, we're just making blind assumptions because they don't follow each other on Twitter, and Trier sent out "crying laughing" emoji's via a tweet shortly after Rawle declared for the draft.

[ChooChooCat]

Heard from a reliable source that Rawle and Zo get along just fine. They hung out often. I'm sure twitter tells the whole story though.

[Jwsisliving]

Trier is such as dick.

Frankly he deserves the laughing emojis for how he fucked us in the tournament.

Trier is such as dick.

Frankly he deserves the laughing emojis for how he fucked us in the tournament.

And an overrated master of heroball.

Between RA and Trier, I would MUCH, MUCH rather see Alkins return. Not close.

See ya 'zo. Good luck in the D-League. And may your athleticism & skills someday catch up with your opinion of them.

Way to support our best player. You guys are great representatives of the U of A fanbase

Seriously, maybe you might want to use that filter inside your head. Not everybody needs to hear every asinine and stupid opinion you have.

Trier is such as dick.

Frankly he deserves the laughing emojis for how he fucked us in the tournament.

Wild emotional swings. Might be a symptom of something.

No emotion.

No emotion, just douchebaggery.

Seriously, who the hell are you to call him arrogant. You're the arrogant one thinking you can you can make judgements on his characters when you don't know the guy at all.

If arrogant describes Trier I'll give you some words that describe you: keyboard warrior; armchair quarterback; amateur psychologist.

[Harvey Specter]

Trier is such as dick.

Frankly he deserves the laughing emojis for how he fucked us in the tournament.

Trier is such as dick.

Frankly he deserves the laughing emojis for how he fucked us in the tournament.

And an overrated master of heroball.

Between RA and Trier, I would MUCH, MUCH rather see Alkins return. Not close.

See ya 'zo. Good luck in the D-League. And may your athleticism & skills someday catch up with your opinion of them.

Way to support our best player. You guys are great representatives of the U of A fanbase

Seriously, maybe you might want to use that filter inside your head. Not everybody needs to hear every asinine and stupid opinion you have.

Trier is such as dick.

Frankly he deserves the laughing emojis for how he fucked us in the tournament.

Wild emotional swings. Might be a symptom of something.

No emotion.

No emotion, just douchebaggery.

Seriously, who the hell are you to call him arrogant. You're the arrogant one thinking you can you can make judgements on his characters when you don't know the guy at all.

If arrogant describes Trier I'll give you some words that describe you: keyboard warrior; armchair quarterback; amateur psychologist.

Whether or not he was our best player is highly debatable. He sure as shit wasn't down the stretch in some big games but he dominated the ball on the offensive end like he was.

And you are able to judge his character but another poster is not? Blow him to your heart's content if you want. His twitter feed speaks plenty.

As for CST... just because he is not a sheep in your herd does not make him any of the things you suggested.

He is a Doctor of Medicine... you have a PhD in douchebaggery. So I guess you are both doctors...

[Longhorned]

Trier seriously might be the best shooting guard/wing in all of college basketball next season.

[ChooChooCat]

To Trier's credit he totaled more rebounds and assists in much fewer minutes this past year than he did the year before. One more year of steady improvement and the guy could be a total monster.

[Spaceman Spiff]

To Trier's credit he totaled more rebounds and assists in much fewer minutes this past year than he did the year before. One more year of steady improvement and the guy could be a total monster.

This. He lost half the year and was undoubtedly markedly better than as a freshman.

I get the frustration with his Xavier game, but with more perspective, you realize he's a college sophomore, not an 8 year NBA vet. His game is still developing and sanding the rough edges. He's the best wing we could have on our team next year. Rawle is a close second, but that's only bc I think Rawle makes a huge jump next year.

[ChooChooCat]

To Trier's credit he totaled more rebounds and assists in much fewer minutes this past year than he did the year before. One more year of steady improvement and the guy could be a total monster.

This. He lost half the year and was undoubtedly markedly better than as a freshman.

I get the frustration with his Xavier game, but with more perspective, you realize he's a college sophomore, not an 8 year NBA vet. His game is still developing and sanding the rough edges. He's the best wing we could have on our team next year. Rawle is a close second, but that's only bc I think Rawle makes a huge jump next year.

Truthfully, while many harp on Zo for taking so many shots against Xavier, my sole issue with him in that game was he got to the free throw line zero times. If he drove the damn ball to the hoop and drew fouls like he normally does instead of shooting jumper after jumper then he doesn't put up 19 shot attempts and we win that game by 8 or so.

[ChooChooCat]

Have u heard anything about Rowan from ur sources ?

The guy declared for the draft without hiring an agent yesterday. If he's going to transfer he'll need to opt out of the draft first.

[Spaceman Spiff]

To Trier's credit he totaled more rebounds and assists in much fewer minutes this past year than he did the year before. One more year of steady improvement and the guy could be a total monster.

This. He lost half the year and was undoubtedly markedly better than as a freshman.

I get the frustration with his Xavier game, but with more perspective, you realize he's a college sophomore, not an 8 year NBA vet. His game is still developing and sanding the rough edges. He's the best wing we could have on our team next year. Rawle is a close second, but that's only bc I think Rawle makes a huge jump next year.

Truthfully, while many harp on Zo for taking so many shots against Xavier, my sole issue with him in that game was he got to the free throw line zero times. If he drove the damn ball to the hoop and drew fouls like he normally does instead of shooting jumper after jumper then he doesn't put up 19 shot attempts and we win that game by 8 or so.

If 2 or 3 more of his shots fall against Xavier, he's the hero for carrying us during that second half spurt he had. Zo is willing to be the man and take the game on his shoulders. You need that sort of guy, but it comes at the risk of looking ugly when his shot isn't falling.

I agree on the getting to the rim, although he wasn't getting some calls he usually does.

[PennZona20]

Have u heard anything about Rowan from ur sources ?

The guy declared for the draft without hiring an agent yesterday. If he's going to transfer he'll need to opt out of the draft first.

I'd imagine the rumors stemmed from he wanted out of nc st. And through some back channels and mutual connections (high school in pitt, all the millers from pitt) he asked if there was interest and found out there might be.

Reading the tea leaves it seems both parties have moved on.

It seems like If I had to guess : alkins will come back , which will send Bowen to likely creighton. Duval to Duke as expected. I'm hearing cam to uk actually, which is fine as long as we get alkins or Bowen. Idk what the hell chance is gonna do but it seems he wants out of Arizona as much as Rowan wants out of nc st. Call me crazy but something tells me w what's been going on McCoy that I think Miller might pull some witchcraft and steal him if chance bolts, which would be a fine trade by me. Then we add a traditional transfer like the kid from rice , and either strike gold w a grad transfer pg or give Talbot the last ship.

[McKale Midwest]

Have u heard anything about Rowan from ur sources ?

The guy declared for the draft without hiring an agent yesterday. If he's going to transfer he'll need to opt out of the draft first.

I'd imagine the rumors stemmed from he wanted out of nc st. And through some back channels and mutual connections (high school in pitt, all the millers from pitt) he asked if there was interest and found out there might be.

Reading the tea leaves it seems both parties have moved on.

It seems like If I had to guess : alkins will come back , which will send Bowen to likely creighton. Duval to Duke as expected. I'm hearing cam to uk actually, which is fine as long as we get alkins or Bowen. Idk what the hell chance is gonna do but it seems he wants out of Arizona as much as Rowan wants out of nc st. Call me crazy but something tells me w what's been going on McCoy that I think Miller might pull some witchcraft and steal him if chance bolts, which would be a fine trade by me. Then we add a traditional transfer like the kid from rice , and either strike gold w a grad transfer pg or give Talbot the last ship.

I think there is a good chance all of that happens. I've got a feeling McCoy is going to come to Arizona as well.

If all that you said holds true, what do you think Trier averages next year? I think he will eclipse the 20 ppg mark. I expect Dusan to be right around the 12-13 ppg mark, with Ayton right around the same. If Rawle come back, I would expect him around 15 or so.

What do you guys think?

[PennZona20]

I'd guess
Trier 19ppg
Alkins 14ppg
Ayton 14ppg
Dusan 12ppg
PJC 7ppg
McCoy 9ppg
Randolph 6ppg
Smith 3ppg
Barcello 2ppg
Lee 2ppg
Pinder 2ppg

That's like 90 ppg so take a point off everybody lol.

[ChooChooCat]

I wouldn't get my hopes up on McCoy at all guys.

[azcat49]

With Zo saying he will come back for a third year he has vaulted way up my list as favorite player. Sad state when I start liking players for how long they stay as compared with their personality or quality of play.

Don't see McCoy at AZ either. Think he is Oregon bound. It will be very interesting to see Ayton and Zo interact. CSM will have his hands full with those two

[gumby]

I'd guess
Trier 19ppg
Alkins 14ppg
Ayton 14ppg
Dusan 12ppg
PJC 7ppg
McCoy 9ppg
Randolph 6ppg
Smith 3ppg
Barcello 2ppg
Lee 2ppg
Pinder 2ppg

That's like 90 ppg so take a point off everybody lol.

I wouldn't get my hopes up on McCoy at all guys.

Good, then we're down to a more realistic 81 ppg.

[gumby]

Maybe we need a thread called Twitter, Whispers, Instagram, Rumors, Speculation.
TWIRS or WIRTS or whatever.

Comment on player tweets there.

Then grandpas like me can stop wincing at wild guesses to what it all means and the subsequent bashing of players for things they may not mean.

[Merkin]

[Longhorned]

Time for me to post my anger and outrage at Miller's audacious rhetoric about the program helping to address Trier's weaknesses, rather than Trier returning to help shore up the team's weaknesses. I'll be back to do so after working myself into a tizzy while eating a sandwich. I hope nobody beats me to it in the meantime.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Time for me to post my anger and outrage at Miller's audacious rhetoric about the program helping to address Trier's weaknesses, rather than Trier returning to help shore up the team's weaknesses. I'll be back to do so after working myself into a tizzy while eating a sandwich. I hope nobody beats me to it in the meantime.

It's why his ceiling is the Elite Eight.

[Jefe]

oh Greg...

[ChooChooCat]

Most definitely looks like subtle shots were taken at other guys there.

[CalStateTempe]

That is a great statement and all I have ever asked for trier.

Share the ball, know when to be a killer and if it's not falling back off and do something else, work on d. Do all that and he's lottery. It's up to trier now if this all happens.

Also agree choo on the subtle shots at the others. Any way chance can come back or is there some truth to the he bailed on school rumors that would put a return in jeopardy?

[ChooChooCat]

That is a great statement and all I have ever asked for trier.

Share the ball, know when to be a killer and if it's not falling back off and do something else, work on d. Do all that and he's lottery. It's up to trier now if this all happens.

Also agree choo on the subtle shots at the others. Any way chance can come back or is there some truth to the he bailed on school rumors that would put a return in jeopardy?

From what I understand he's not as upside down as people like to suggest he is in regards to academics. I mean obviously the longer he's away from school the worst off he'll be, but the door is far from shut at this time.

[gumby]

Zo didn't do a presser.

Hallelujah!

[dcZONAfan]

oh Greg...

1st - holy Lord is Hansen a moron. Certainly comes off as dick.
2nd - What happened to that dude on the right's hair? That's one shitty haircut

[Longhorned]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this past season, primary playmaker duties fell to Trier on occasion. Sometimes Cartwright and Allen were on the bench when that happened, and sometimes one of them were on the court. If I remember that right, I've got to think that role can only increase with Allen having graduated.

On the one hand, Trier has no playmaker instincts and is as far from a point guard as a shooting guard can be. On the other hand, compelling arguments have been made on this very board that he could evolve into a kind of Chauncey Billups.

When Miller says that Trier is returning to shore up on his weaknesses, is this one of the considerations about his game?

[rgdeuce]

Anybody reading into the fact that Trier tweeted out a bunch of "crying laughing" emoji's shortly after Rawle declared for the draft?

Is there a chemistry issue on this team that nobody is talking about? I've been kind of curious about this since about halfway through the year, when several members of the team posted pictures on Instagram, and the only 2 players missing were CC and RA. I assume that it is a commonality that most college teams have "cliques", but never to the point to where Trier can't even congratulate a teammate for making a decision to enter the NBA draft.

You're reading into a twitter post with zero context whatsoever. Think about that and then think about what you just posted.

If you don't think there is something to Trier's tweet just minutes after Rawle declares for the draft, then your'e wrong. He sent congratulations to his other 3 teammates that have declared so far, why not Rawle?

Maybe Rawle let him know he was about to make the twitter post and they talked and laughed about how people would react... You are freaking out over nothing lol

... Check Triers latest tweet. Sad day for Arizona fans.

Guess we need every person on the planet to make 3 twitter accounts, and retweet Zo so he Will come back.

20 BILLION?! Is Tuscon that unbearable?

You know what trolling is, right? He's fucking with the specific fans who have shit on him quite a bit this year.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this past season, primary playmaker duties fell to Trier on occasion. Sometimes Cartwright and Allen were on the bench when that happened, and sometimes one of them were on the court. If I remember that right, I've got to think that role can only increase with Allen having graduated.

On the one hand, Trier has no playmaker instincts and is as far from a point guard as a shooting guard can be. On the other hand, compelling arguments have been made on this very board that he could evolve into a kind of Chauncey Billups.

When Miller says that Trier is returning to shore up on his weaknesses, is this one of the considerations about his game?

I don't think there's any question that showing he can be a combo guard would vastly help Allonzo's NBA stock. If we do not add another potential PG, unless Barcello is ready to be a backup immediately, we would need a ballhandler.

I can see the two interests dovetailing. Also, shoring up weaknesses would seem to include D.

[rgdeuce]

I guess the more appropriate question is: Does Miller want them?

We here in fan-land know relatively little about the inner workings of the program. Miller knows the players he has coming in. Knows the recruits he's hoping to land. And knows the players on his roster. Maybe he's seen enough of Comanche. Who knows?

Me? I want everyone back unless they're a legit shot to succeed at the next level. Right now, only Markannen fits that description. So good luck Lauri.

I'm a firm believer (in part from personal experience) that fans tend to overrate how much things need to be Kumbaya inside for a program to succeed. I was part of a Sweet 16 program where one player went after another with a lead pipe after things got physical during a pickup game in the offseason.

Managing egos, personal disagreements and difficult people is very much part of college basketball coaching. These are 18-22 year olds. They do dumb, immature stuff all the time. A coach can't be zero tolerance, but has to work towards and past that.

I got in physical altercations/fights with four different teammates in college. With three of the guys, within a few days it was like nothing happened. The only guy where I held a "f*** him" grudge for the rest of the season was because he flipped out on me like a bitch for giving him the same hard time that everyone else was at the exact same time AND he took a cheap swing at me while I was seated and eating with multiple ice packs on my dominant arm. So outside of that, a dude porking your girlfriend/wife or Gilbert Arenas'ing you over a card game debt, most people aren't going to hold long-term hate grudges and/or leave a team over one guy. They may be the last dude you want going out with the group for drinks, but when they are around you just keep what distance you can and it is a non-issue. Yeah teams are cliquey, but that means next to nothing. Locker rooms have to be REALLY toxic to have a huge effect and even then, winning fixes everything.

[ChooChooCat]

Honestly the only thing that needs to be all "kumbaya" in a program is the understanding of roles. You know your role, play your role, and every thing is good. You don't have to like your role, but dammit know it and play it. If you don't like your role and act out on your frustrations then screw off.

[rgdeuce]

I think Trier's defense was a little underrated. He has the potential to be better, yes, but I didn't see him as a defensive liability.

With few exceptions, Trier only defended well against UCLA. I'm sure knowing the number of scouts in the stands with the amount of NBA talent on the floor that particular night had something to do with it.

[rgdeuce]

To Trier's credit he totaled more rebounds and assists in much fewer minutes this past year than he did the year before. One more year of steady improvement and the guy could be a total monster.

This. He lost half the year and was undoubtedly markedly better than as a freshman.

I get the frustration with his Xavier game, but with more perspective, you realize he's a college sophomore, not an 8 year NBA vet. His game is still developing and sanding the rough edges. He's the best wing we could have on our team next year. Rawle is a close second, but that's only bc I think Rawle makes a huge jump next year.

Truthfully, while many harp on Zo for taking so many shots against Xavier, my sole issue with him in that game was he got to the free throw line zero times. If he drove the damn ball to the hoop and drew fouls like he normally does instead of shooting jumper after jumper then he doesn't put up 19 shot attempts and we win that game by 8 or so.

In Zo's defense, Mack shemed for this and Xavier's defenders executed. There were also a few questionable no-calls that Zo usually gets. I was frustrated w Trier after that game too, but who else is taking those shots late? Especially right after Trier went Jordan and turned a deficit into what should have been enough of a cushion to win absent a miracle/meltdown. Nobody wanted to shoot and/or we burned off almost all of the shot clock and handed Trier the ball like, save us. Was a live by the sword/die by the sword situation and the absence of anybody who could be the teeth into that zone is what killed us. The only teeth we had was Trier, and he was also the guy expected to take the shots at that point. Hard to beat a zone by yourself.

[Dosia]

oh Greg...

1st - holy Lord is Hansen a moron. Certainly comes off as dick.
2nd - What happened to that dude on the right's hair? That's one shitty haircut

"And then he got killed." What a jackass.

[Merkin]

[Beachcat97]

This is great news. There've been some whispers here and there that DR might leave to play pro ball overseas, but it makes more sense that he'd finish his degree, have a great final season starting alongside Ayton, and possibly have his best shot yet at a FF.

Good move, Dusan.

[EVCat]

Trier is back, and really never seriously thought about leaving. He showed a lot of the leadership he is hoping to assert next year but could not this year (hard to lead when your "mistake" is costing the team on the floor) in being clear upfront. He really believes in Coach Miller and thinks the missing component in his resume is to be a clear leader/winner. We also all probably think he needs to improve defensively, and I am sure Miller will be preaching that. The important thing here for those who want to look to Trier's last game as gospel is HE TRUSTS COACH MILLER. He really does. So he will work on what Coach tells him to. He is not a difficult kid at all. And while he is a bit different/marches to his own beat a bit, he is liked within the locker room, and some of those guys are close to him.

Rawle Alkins is as 100% on our roster next year as a kid who has declared for the draft can be...so 90%? He is very much a believer in Miller's teaching of "the process", and he sees this draft dip as an opportunity to get real evaluation on what he needs to work on in the upcoming season. Rawle is mentally still here...and it would take some crazy frickin' miracles to get him to step off his path, which is to get his eval, come back to the U of A, start at the 3, and do whatever it takes to get ready for the 2018 draft. I don't see him as a gunner, but one of the things I am sure his eval will say is he needs to be a more consistent and better form shooter, so I expect Rawle to take about 100,000 3s in Jefferson between now and October. This kid is focused, 100% what he appears, and I would be floored if he is not in a UA uniform next year.

Chance? Perhaps school and starring as the older son on Blackish is getting to him. The read here is no one has a read. Yes, he is out of town. No, in today's schooling for college athletes in spring semester, that does not mean he is ineligible. In fact, I would guess that it will be very hard for him to be ineligible...Fall semester is the tricky one, if you did your work over the prior summer, which it seems he has. I don't think he has many classes right now, but I wouldn't be trying to track his GPS location and make guesses on its meaning. He very well may not come back, but not because he is failing EXSS 203...he has a unique skill set that is somewhat in favor at the next level (though big men who post are not currently on display much in the NBA), has raw talent, and because of that, he might be able to force his way into the next level. I don't have any read on whether he loves or hates school, but I am going to guess that him being busted by the program for academic focus (he was never ineligible...Miller and company handed that punishment out on their own) is an indicator that he isn't exactly like Barcello or Randolph incoming (book smarts). I say this one is a guess, because it doesn't seem there is a consensus among the people who know. Some have passionate discussions of why he is for sure gone, but some of the facts are twisted in those. So...it'd be really nice to have him back. But it's in the air.

Kobi and Lauri are obviously gone, gone, gone.

Bowen...he ain't comin'. Because Rawle ain't (likely) goin'. Which is fine. Bowen is a good player, but I'd rather have a player with a year in the system.

We are going to try to max out with an alternative method, but I would not be shocked if, when Alkins and Chance make their decisions known, we aren't done, unless we somehow lose both. I know we are trying, but I don't think Miller feels any pressure to force anything. If he can get value like Cam, yeah...sure. But I don't get the impression that anyone thinks we are missing a piece that we can fix with available players...

[ChooChooCat]

Trier is back, and really never seriously thought about leaving. He showed a lot of the leadership he is hoping to assert next year but could not this year (hard to lead when your "mistake" is costing the team on the floor) in being clear upfront. He really believes in Coach Miller and thinks the missing component in his resume is to be a clear leader/winner. We also all probably think he needs to improve defensively, and I am sure Miller will be preaching that. The important thing here for those who want to look to Trier's last game as gospel is HE TRUSTS COACH MILLER. He really does. So he will work on what Coach tells him to. He is not a difficult kid at all. And while he is a bit different/marches to his own beat a bit, he is liked within the locker room, and some of those guys are close to him.

Rawle Alkins is as 100% on our roster next year as a kid who has declared for the draft can be...so 90%? He is very much a believer in Miller's teaching of "the process", and he sees this draft dip as an opportunity to get real evaluation on what he needs to work on in the upcoming season. Rawle is mentally still here...and it would take some crazy frickin' miracles to get him to step off his path, which is to get his eval, come back to the U of A, start at the 3, and do whatever it takes to get ready for the 2018 draft. I don't see him as a gunner, but one of the things I am sure his eval will say is he needs to be a more consistent and better form shooter, so I expect Rawle to take about 100,000 3s in Jefferson between now and October. This kid is focused, 100% what he appears, and I would be floored if he is not in a UA uniform next year.

Chance? Perhaps school and starring as the older son on Blackish is getting to him. The read here is no one has a read. Yes, he is out of town. No, in today's schooling for college athletes in spring semester, that does not mean he is ineligible. In fact, I would guess that it will be very hard for him to be ineligible...Fall semester is the tricky one, if you did your work over the prior summer, which it seems he has. I don't think he has many classes right now, but I wouldn't be trying to track his GPS location and make guesses on its meaning. He very well may not come back, but not because he is failing EXSS 203...he has a unique skill set that is somewhat in favor at the next level (though big men who post are not currently on display much in the NBA), has raw talent, and because of that, he might be able to force his way into the next level. I don't have any read on whether he loves or hates school, but I am going to guess that him being busted by the program for academic focus (he was never ineligible...Miller and company handed that punishment out on their own) is an indicator that he isn't exactly like Barcello or Randolph incoming (book smarts). I say this one is a guess, because it doesn't seem there is a consensus among the people who know. Some have passionate discussions of why he is for sure gone, but some of the facts are twisted in those. So...it'd be really nice to have him back. But it's in the air.

Kobi and Lauri are obviously gone, gone, gone.

Bowen...he ain't comin'. Because Rawle ain't (likely) goin'. Which is fine. Bowen is a good player, but I'd rather have a player with a year in the system.

We are going to try to max out with an alternative method, but I would not be shocked if, when Alkins and Chance make their decisions known, we aren't done, unless we somehow lose both. I know we are trying, but I don't think Miller feels any pressure to force anything. If he can get value like Cam, yeah...sure. But I don't get the impression that anyone thinks we are missing a piece that we can fix with available players...

Great post my man. I have heard that they're a bit more concerned about Rawle for sure leaving than you suggest, but every thing else I concur all around. We're in there for Jeter right now, but he wants to go through the process and the timing of Comanche's final decision may coincide with putting in one final big push for him. Definitely land Cam if we can, especially since that would ease the loss of Comanche, and the possibility for Evans is still there barring if he gets off VCU's campus uncommitted this weekend or not.

[EVCat]

I got in physical altercations/fights with four different teammates in college. With three of the guys, within a few days it was like nothing happened. The only guy where I held a "f*** him" grudge for the rest of the season was because he flipped out on me like a bitch for giving him the same hard time that everyone else was at the exact same time AND he took a cheap swing at me while I was seated and eating with multiple ice packs on my dominant arm. So outside of that, a dude porking your girlfriend/wife or Gilbert Arenas'ing you over a card game debt, most people aren't going to hold long-term hate grudges and/or leave a team over one guy. They may be the last dude you want going out with the group for drinks, but when they are around you just keep what distance you can and it is a non-issue. Yeah teams are cliquey, but that means next to nothing. Locker rooms have to be REALLY toxic to have a huge effect and even then, winning fixes everything.

I think a lot of "fans" who have no actual history of exposure to players would be shocked at what they do. Funny...Channing and RJ's podcast with Tristan Thompson, RJ just flat out says "we would bust our ass on the road on Thursday because if we could get that win, get our win for the road trip, we'd go and party our ass off." And that involved wearing their colors and walking around, say, Oregon's campus looking to get invited to parties because many weren't 21. Which led to some heavy drinking and fucked up Fridays and, if they were on a trip where they set up in one place, some hung over game days.

I know of a couple of our players (not that they were the only ones) on a couple of our really, really, really good teams who would stop by the house of a friend of a friend and get high before heading to McKale on game days.

Read the walk on Bagga's book, and they treated him like shit, the scholarship players. And they often treated each other like shit, because it is a group of alphas all trying to be the alpha on the next level. Jordan Hill would room with Bagga and kick him out of the room the night before a game until the middle of morning so he could get some local strange. Almost every trip. And would make Bagga buy him shit or he would physically mess with him. The dude that transferred out of our program, Vega, straight up sucker-punched Bagga during practice for being too physical on a rebound on a previous possession. No one batted an eye. Now, that was at a time when our program was fractured as it ever was, but still. Sure, Bagga was a walk on, but he was a human being. And the other players basically said "he isn't scholarship, fuck him." And they queue up within the roster too.

Teams like 2014 are very rare. 1988 was another one like that. Those two teams loved each other. 2001-2003 had a lot of that, too, though Gil was insane (and a good friend of some of them), and Michael Wright kept to himself (RIP...he had his reasons). We had some really tight knit teams, but even in those teams, people didn't like everyone. Matt Othick?

[gumby]

A friend of mine was hit in practice, which led to an injury and him deciding that walking on maybe wasn't so fun.