let's talk '18

BBQ wildcat · Post by **BBQ wildcat** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 11:40 am

I hope that sound I hear is the ice breaking, with the flood to follow. Great pick up, now need to get BW.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 11:48 am

Those that show up for school next year will become some of my favorite wildcats of all time. #seethroughthebs

midnightx · Post by **midnightx** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 1:34 pm

It is a nice pick-up. The vultures will still circle around him and his family to trash AZ and Miller, but Miller should be commended for locking up the verbal commitment. Hopefully a couple of other commitments are forthcoming.

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 2:04 pm

Someone refresh my memory as I don't follow recruiting that closely.... freshman or transfer?

midnightx · Post by **midnightx** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 2:12 pm

Alieberman wrote:Someone refresh my memory as I don't follow recruiting that closely.... freshman or transfer?

4 Star guard out of California, freshman. Even if the entire Book/ESPN debacles had not occurred, he would have been a nice piece for any recruiting class.

Irish27 · Post by **Irish27** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 2:54 pm

Does anyone know if he is a good defender?

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 3:01 pm

Irish27 wrote:Does anyone know if he is a good defender?

He for sure has the athleticism to be one, but I don’t think he’s a stopper just yet.

CatHoops · Post by **CatHoops** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 4:40 pm

Good player can play with or without ball. Nice get hopefully he signs next week

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 4:50 pm

Doubt he signs a LOI. I would think financial aid papers.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 5:15 pm

Nice. Doutrive is one of those solid pieces. Hopefully we can add at least 2 guys to complement, but this is a start.

CatHoops · Post by **CatHoops** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 5:26 pm

I think he will sign his papers Sean will start locking em up.

CatHoops · Post by **CatHoops** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 5:29 pm

With miller doing all the recruiting no info gets out. He's pretty much saying F the media and gonna start putting his team together. Pac12 will still go through Tucson!!!! Cohen = Jordan Brown

NYCat · Post by **NYCat** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 6:09 pm

CatHoops wrote:With miller doing all the recruiting no info gets out. He's pretty much saying F the media and gonna start putting his team together. Pac12 will still go through Tucson!!!! Cohen = Jordan Brown

Brown isn't coming to Arizona because of an assistant, and Cohen likely isn't coming now that Peters is being hired. The last assistant job will likely be a recruiter not another associate HC type assistant.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 6:52 pm

Irish27 wrote:Does anyone know if he is a good defender?

He has all the physical attributes to be one, especially after he puts on muscle. He went be a day one stopper though.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 6:53 pm

NYCat wrote:
CatHoops wrote:With miller doing all the recruiting no info gets out. He's pretty much saying F the media and gonna start putting his team together. Pac12 will still go through Tucson!!!! Cohen = Jordan Brown
Brown isn't coming to Arizona because of an assistant, and Cohen likely isn't coming now that Peters is being hired. The last assistant job will likely be a recruiter not another associate HC type assistant.

Next assistant will absolutely be African American.

SteveKerrsStroke · Post by **SteveKerrsStroke** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 11:44 pm

Doutrive has the profile to potentially be a DiVencenzio in a couple of years? Idc, I'm just glad to have a commit.. You the man DD!!!!!!

SunnyAZ · Post by **SunnyAZ** » Sun Apr 08, 2018 1:54 pm

BWill has probably already made a decision. He is just going around the country getting girls and having fun.

CatHoops · Post by **CatHoops** » Sun Apr 08, 2018 3:16 pm

Simon says

NYCat · Post by **NYCat** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:41 am

Wasn't really in the running before so I doubt there's a serious chance but anyway

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 12:00 pm

NYCat wrote:Wasn't really in the running before so I doubt there's a serious chance but anyway

I mean we weren't in the running for Ben Davis or Loren Woods in their initial recruitments either. Fresh recruitment changes things.

TucsonClip · Post by **TucsonClip** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 12:49 pm

I would be all about that.

jajoyce · Post by **jajoyce** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 12:54 pm

TucsonClip wrote:I would be all about that.

The Caliparri/Miller friendship can be good or bad with this one!

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 1:05 pm

TucsonClip wrote:I would be all about that.

Senior Jeter, Junior Lee and Junior Killeya-Jones would be a legit post rotation in '19.

NYCat · Post by **NYCat** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 1:06 pm

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 1:11 pm

NYCat wrote:

YoDeFoe · Post by **YoDeFoe** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:41 pm

Phony Bennett is a parody Tony Bennett twitter account, FYI. That tweet was playful, not vindictive.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 3:20 pm

YoDeFoe wrote:Phony Bennett is a parody Tony Bennett twitter account, FYI. That tweet was playful, not vindictive.

That's a lot less awkward, but I never regret that Homer Simpson gif.

NYCat · Post by **NYCat** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 5:44 pm

Official visit

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:41 pm

Blah.

goslingswagg · Post by **goslingswagg** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 6:40 am

ChooChooCat wrote:Blah.

That offers feels to me to be a pretty sobering look at the state of our program...I guess in our current situation he's worth an offer but man he looks to have very low upside and honestly pretty low floor too.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 6:54 am

goslingswagg wrote:
ChooChooCat wrote:Blah.
That offers feels to me to be a pretty sobering look at the state of our program...I guess in our current situation he's worth an offer but man he looks to have very low upside and honestly pretty low floor too.

I mean he's what I expected us to land, but I expected it to be a grad transfer eating a scholarship for a year and not a 4-5 year guy eating up a scholarship for that many years. I guess the best we can say is that you rarely even use the 13th scholarship, so if no sanctions come our way in regards to scholarships (if you believe what Arizona does) then as long as he provides a body in practice and gets good grades then he is not a net negative for our program.

In general unless it's a freak like Lauri, I am just over having a Euro big getting minutes on this team.

goslingswagg · Post by **goslingswagg** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 7:26 am

ChooChooCat wrote:
goslingswagg wrote:
ChooChooCat wrote:Blah.
That offers feels to me to be a pretty sobering look at the state of our program...I guess in our current situation he's worth an offer but man he looks to have very low upside and honestly pretty low floor too.
I mean he's what I expected us to land, but I expected it to be a grad transfer eating a scholarship for a year and not a 4-5 year guy eating up a scholarship for that many years. I guess the best we can say is that you rarely even use the 13th scholarship, so if no sanctions come our way in regards to scholarships (if you believe what Arizona does) then as long as he provides a body in practice and gets good grades then he is not a net negative for our program.

In general unless it's a freak like Lauri, I am just over having a Euro big getting minutes on this team.

Yeah agreed. Although I'm not opposed to Euro bigs on the whole, I would just rather them be more modern-style players than bruisers. Marek Dolezaj on Syracuse is a good example of the type of Euro big I would wish we'd go after.

NYCat · Post by **NYCat** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:04 am

James Akinjo just finished his first official visit following his release from UConn, one that took him to Georgetown. The Hoyas were the first to see the four-star guard following his decommitment and while a commitment did not occur this weekend, it looks as if they are in a great spot. However, many others remain in the hunt.

This weekend, Tennessee will host Akinjo for an official visit. The Vols had invested much time and attention with Anfernee Simons this winter before he decided to hire an agent and jump directly to the NBA ranks. They quickly reasserted their attention with Akinjo as they have the chance to sell immediate playing time and the idea that he is the final piece missing for what could be a potential Final Four run next season. The Vols return seven of their top eight scorers from last year, one that brought them their first league title since 1979.

While Tennessee and Georgetown remain in a good spot, others on the West Coast should not be discounted. California, San Diego State, Gonzaga, Colorado, Oregon State and a slew of others remain involved.

However, keep a close eye on Arizona, as the Wildcats have an immediate need at the point guard spot, have scholarships to fill and the Rivals150 prospect has the chance to compete for a point guard-savvy head coach in Sean Miller. Arizona will host Akinjo on an official visit on the weekend of April 19, a source tells Rivals.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:22 am

ChooChooCat wrote:
goslingswagg wrote:
ChooChooCat wrote:Blah.
That offers feels to me to be a pretty sobering look at the state of our program...I guess in our current situation he's worth an offer but man he looks to have very low upside and honestly pretty low floor too.
I mean he's what I expected us to land, but I expected it to be a grad transfer eating a scholarship for a year and not a 4-5 year guy eating up a scholarship for that many years. I guess the best we can say is that you rarely even use the 13th scholarship, so if no sanctions come our way in regards to scholarships (if you believe what Arizona does) then as long as he provides a body in practice and gets good grades then he is not a net negative for our program.

In general unless it's a freak like Lauri, I am just over having a Euro big getting minutes on this team.

He's at least a Matt Korcheck type, and I think you can use guys like that. I agree about the low upside part, but you can use solid rotation guys.

As long as he is a hard worker and willing to play tough on the glass and D, I'm ok with him.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:30 am

NYCat wrote:

James Akinjo just finished his first official visit following his release from UConn, one that took him to Georgetown. The Hoyas were the first to see the four-star guard following his decommitment and while a commitment did not occur this weekend, it looks as if they are in a great spot. However, many others remain in the hunt.

This weekend, Tennessee will host Akinjo for an official visit. The Vols had invested much time and attention with Anfernee Simons this winter before he decided to hire an agent and jump directly to the NBA ranks. They quickly reasserted their attention with Akinjo as they have the chance to sell immediate playing time and the idea that he is the final piece missing for what could be a potential Final Four run next season. The Vols return seven of their top eight scorers from last year, one that brought them their first league title since 1979.

While Tennessee and Georgetown remain in a good spot, others on the West Coast should not be discounted. California, San Diego State, Gonzaga, Colorado, Oregon State and a slew of others remain involved.

However, keep a close eye on Arizona, as the Wildcats have an immediate need at the point guard spot, have scholarships to fill and the Rivals150 prospect has the chance to compete for a point guard-savvy head coach in Sean Miller. Arizona will host Akinjo on an official visit on the weekend of April 19, a source tells Rivals.

Well damn that shows you just how important Akinjo is to Arizona that we're hosting him during the weekend where every one else will be taking place in the Spring evaluation period.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:43 am

Spaceman Spiff wrote:
ChooChooCat wrote:
goslingswagg wrote:
ChooChooCat wrote:Blah.
That offers feels to me to be a pretty sobering look at the state of our program...I guess in our current situation he's worth an offer but man he looks to have very low upside and honestly pretty low floor too.
I mean he's what I expected us to land, but I expected it to be a grad transfer eating a scholarship for a year and not a 4-5 year guy eating up a scholarship for that many years. I guess the best we can say is that you rarely even use the 13th scholarship, so if no sanctions come our way in regards to scholarships (if you believe what Arizona does) then as long as he provides a body in practice and gets good grades then he is not a net negative for our program.

In general unless it's a freak like Lauri, I am just over having a Euro big getting minutes on this team.
He's at least a Matt Korcheck type, and I think you can use guys like that. I agree about the low upside part, but you can use solid rotation guys.

As long as he is a hard worker and willing to play tough on the glass and D, I'm ok with him.

I think Korcheck was a better athlete than this guy is.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:51 am

ChooChooCat wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote:
ChooChooCat wrote:
goslingswagg wrote:
ChooChooCat wrote:Blah.
That offers feels to me to be a pretty sobering look at the state of our program...I guess in our current situation he's worth an offer but man he looks to have very low upside and honestly pretty low floor too.
I mean he's what I expected us to land, but I expected it to be a grad transfer eating a scholarship for a year and not a 4-5 year guy eating up a scholarship for that many years. I guess the best we can say is that you rarely even use the 13th scholarship, so if no sanctions come our way in regards to scholarships (if you believe what Arizona does) then as long as he provides a body in practice and gets good grades then he is not a net negative for our program.

In general unless it's a freak like Lauri, I am just over having a Euro big getting minutes on this team.
He's at least a Matt Korcheck type, and I think you can use guys like that. I agree about the low upside part, but you can use solid rotation guys.

As long as he is a hard worker and willing to play tough on the glass and D, I'm ok with him.
I think Korcheck was a better athlete than this guy is.

He's still playing U 18 from what I could find. I agree he's not a great raw athlete, but I think he can do the job with a few years of strength and conditioning work. We only saw Korcheck at least 2-3 years past this kid.

Newportcat · Post by **Newportcat** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:25 am

He's at least a Matt Korcheck type, and I think you can use guys like that. I agree about the low upside part, but you can use solid rotation guys.

As long as he is a hard worker and willing to play tough on the glass and D, I'm ok with him.[/quote]

I think Korcheck was a better athlete than this guy is.[/quote]

He's still playing U 18 from what I could find. I agree he's not a great raw athlete, but I think he can do the job with a few years of strength and conditioning work. We only saw Korcheck at least 2-3 years past this kid.[/quote]

I will say that this guys recruiting videos were the most underwhelming I have ever seen from a top Arizona recruit. Now I take those videos with a grain of salt but man, the recruit looks to have no athleticism. Would rather take a chance on an athlete 1000 times out of 1000 then someone who is not an athlete. I loved Dusan for his attitude and work ethic but his lack of athleticism was apparent so many times. And Dusan has 4-5 inches on this guy.

Korcheck was a good athlete just did not have great basketball skills and was stuck on teams that were deep.

NYCat · Post by **NYCat** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:26 am

He's unskilled, undersized (6'8), he's slow/not very quick laterally, he's unathletic, he will ride the bench if he comes here - don't spin this.

In these modern positionless basketball times, he just doesn't have a fit. Just play a ball handler or two, a bunch of wings and one big.

PHXCATS · Post by **PHXCATS** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:27 am

NYCat wrote:He's unskilled, undersized (6'8), he's slow, he's unathletic, he will ride the bench if he comes here - don't spin this.

We have so many guys beating down the doors to play here right now, smart to pass on potential of someone who wants to be here.

NYCat · Post by **NYCat** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:33 am

PHXCATS wrote:
NYCat wrote:He's unskilled, undersized (6'8), he's slow, he's unathletic, he will ride the bench if he comes here - don't spin this.
We have so many guys beating down the doors to play here right now, smart to pass on potential of someone who wants to be here.

The Rich Rodriguez strategy, no thanks. This is how you in trouble, by taking anyone you can get.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:35 am

NYCat wrote:He's unskilled, undersized (6'8), he's slow/not very quick laterally, he's unathletic, he will ride the bench if he comes here - don't spin this.

In these modern positionless basketball times, he just doesn't have a fit. Just play a ball handler or two, a bunch of wings and one big.

Eh, you need reserves too. I don't mind the idea of recruiting some bench players.

I don't think he's terribly unathletic. He's pretty average, IMO. An intelligent, hard worker with average athleticism is fine as a rotation player. It's not like anything on YouTube will tell me a ton about his basketball IQ or work ethic.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:45 am

NYCat wrote:
PHXCATS wrote:
NYCat wrote:He's unskilled, undersized (6'8), he's slow, he's unathletic, he will ride the bench if he comes here - don't spin this.
We have so many guys beating down the doors to play here right now, smart to pass on potential of someone who wants to be here.
The Rich Rodriguez strategy, no thanks. This is how you in trouble, by taking anyone you can get.

That's fine if it's a grad transfer, but a 4-5 year guy....BLAH.

goslingswagg · Post by **goslingswagg** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:49 am

ChooChooCat wrote:
NYCat wrote:
PHXCATS wrote:
NYCat wrote:He's unskilled, undersized (6'8), he's slow, he's unathletic, he will ride the bench if he comes here - don't spin this.
We have so many guys beating down the doors to play here right now, smart to pass on potential of someone who wants to be here.
The Rich Rodriguez strategy, no thanks. This is how you in trouble, by taking anyone you can get.
That's fine if it's a grad transfer, but a 4-5 year guy....BLAH.

Agreed. Not interested. Not worth investing time into when we should be going after wings/guards. Why are we not recruiting Emmitt Matthews, the other UCONN decommit? My nightmare with Lukas would be that Miller plays him at the 4, which given his height, might actually come to fruition. Miller has to realize the days of these guys playing the 4 at all are over, right?

PHXCATS · Post by **PHXCATS** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:55 am

NYCat wrote:
PHXCATS wrote:
NYCat wrote:He's unskilled, undersized (6'8), he's slow, he's unathletic, he will ride the bench if he comes here - don't spin this.
We have so many guys beating down the doors to play here right now, smart to pass on potential of someone who wants to be here.
The Rich Rodriguez strategy, no thanks. This is how you in trouble, by taking anyone you can get.

better to have 12 guys who want to be here than 7 who are more talented but dont

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 11:07 am

goslingswagg wrote:
ChooChooCat wrote:
NYCat wrote:
PHXCATS wrote:
NYCat wrote:He's unskilled, undersized (6'8), he's slow, he's unathletic, he will ride the bench if he comes here - don't spin this.
We have so many guys beating down the doors to play here right now, smart to pass on potential of someone who wants to be here.
The Rich Rodriguez strategy, no thanks. This is how you in trouble, by taking anyone you can get.
That's fine if it's a grad transfer, but a 4-5 year guy....BLAH.
Agreed. Not interested. Not worth investing time into when we should be going after wings/guards. Why are we not recruiting Emmitt Matthews, the other UCONN decommit? My nightmare with Lukas would be that Miller plays him at the 4, which given his height, might actually come to fruition. Miller has to realize the days of these guys playing the 4 at all are over, right?

A wing is the last thing we need, IMO. Akot, Randolph, Smith and Doutrive give us easily the most depth on the roster right now.

We need points and bigs. We're set with wings. Points, we're looking at BW, Akinjo and/or a grad transfer. We have Kisunas and grad transfer down low. I'd like to see 2 of each, frankly. BW/grad and Akinjo and Kisunas/grad.

goslingswagg · Post by **goslingswagg** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 11:20 am

I believe Akot should be a full-time 4, hence why I think another wing would be necessary. So when you look at Randolph, Smith, and Doutrive as being 2/3s, I think one more guy capable of playing the 3 would be a positive and somewhat necessary. Ideally, we get Akinjo + Grad Transfer PG + Matthews + a backup 5 Grad Transfer. That to me is a realistic scenario (provided we don't get Bwill) that would sufficiently cover this team's needs. Granted we're not currently going after Matthews but I wish we were.

That would mean the roster would look like:
PG: GT Point + Akinjo + Barcello
SG: Randolph + Doutrive
SF: Smith + Matthews
PF: Akot + Lee
C: Jeter + GT Big

That's a tourney team as long as the GT Point was decent - either Cremo or Amin or Chartouny or someone of that ilk.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 11:31 am

goslingswagg wrote:I believe Akot should be a full-time 4, hence why I think another wing would be necessary. So when you look at Randolph, Smith, and Doutrive as being 2/3s, I think one more guy capable of playing the 3 would be a positive and somewhat necessary. Ideally, we get Akinjo + Grad Transfer PG + Matthews + a backup 5 Grad Transfer. That to me is a realistic scenario (provided we don't get Bwill) that would sufficiently cover this team's needs. Granted we're not currently going after Matthews but I wish we were.

That would mean the roster would look like:
PG: GT Point + Akinjo + Barcello
SG: Randolph + Doutrive
SF: Smith + Matthews
PF: Akot + Lee
C: Jeter + GT Big

That's a tourney team as long as the GT Point was decent - either Cremo or Amin or Chartouny or someone of that ilk.

We may disagree on that point. I see Akot as an option at the 4, but not to the degree you structure a roster around that idea. If we need extra wing minutes, I'd rather try to overrecruit PG and play multiple PG options (including Barcello, if ready) to fill out the perimeter.

Akot is our highest potential perimeter defender, and putting him at the 4 could handcuff that ability. For a team with a smaller 4, ok, adjust to it. When it's not needed, I don't like burying our best perimeter defender on the interior.

goslingswagg · Post by **goslingswagg** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:05 pm

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

We may disagree on that point. I see Akot as an option at the 4, but not to the degree you structure a roster around that idea. If we need extra wing minutes, I'd rather try to overrecruit PG and play multiple PG options (including Barcello, if ready) to fill out the perimeter.

Akot is our highest potential perimeter defender, and putting him at the 4 could handcuff that ability. For a team with a smaller 4, ok, adjust to it. When it's not needed, I don't like burying our best perimeter defender on the interior.[/quote]

I just think the vast majority of college teams now play somebody with Akot's physical profile at the 4, meaning that he would likely best matchup at the 4 against most teams. I think the longer we stay playing 2000s style basketball, the more trouble Sean will continue to face defensively. We cannot keep playing true bigs at the 4, that time has come and gone in cbb.

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:21 pm

goslingswagg wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote:
We may disagree on that point. I see Akot as an option at the 4, but not to the degree you structure a roster around that idea. If we need extra wing minutes, I'd rather try to overrecruit PG and play multiple PG options (including Barcello, if ready) to fill out the perimeter.

Akot is our highest potential perimeter defender, and putting him at the 4 could handcuff that ability. For a team with a smaller 4, ok, adjust to it. When it's not needed, I don't like burying our best perimeter defender on the interior.

I just think the vast majority of college teams now play somebody with Akot's physical profile at the 4, meaning that he would likely best matchup at the 4 against most teams. I think the longer we stay playing 2000s style basketball, the more trouble Sean will continue to face defensively. We cannot keep playing true bigs at the 4, that time has come and gone in cbb.[/quote]

Right now we have Jeter and Lee. Lee is undersized but athletic at the 4. He's not a true big in terms of his physical profile. Jeter won't go 40, so adding to that with another big is essential, IMO.

How traditional it is depends on who we'd get. I think Akot and Lee cover the need for smaller guys adequately (vs our roster next year) and we need more true bigs. If the guy we get is good enough, maybe he starts alongside Jeter. Not good enough to start, we go with Lee or Akot.

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