We might be done, we might be done. But if we are done, how are you grading the portal haul?
My Grade: B
I was originally going back and forth between B- and C+, but after watching a lot of Phelps I really like his game and what he is going to bring and I raised it to a B.
Payne- Big addition. Huge upgrade over what we had in Leveque with both talent and athleticism. His game is not like Marble's but he fills the talent gap we had with Marble's absence. He played in the Big Ten so he is going to bring physicality. We got bullied inside a few times last year. He also brings some shot blocking which is always helpful. His FT shooting on the season was atrocious at 47%, but in his last 8 games he went 23-31 (74%) so that is encouraging. Big men often take time to develop, so I think we will see an uptick in his game over the next 2 years. The fact we get him for 2 years make this pickup even more valuable.
Phelps- The three point percent jumps out at you, but if you actually watch him play you can see he is going to really help our team. He finishes really well at the rim and he has a really nice mid-range game. He shoot better on 2pt FGs than Boots, Wade and Manny last year. He also gets a lot of steals. He has good length (taller than Boots) and I like that.
Wilcher- I might be wrong, but I think he probably ends up being like our 6th guard. So I don't think he makes a huge impact, but the fact you have a shooter you can go to is big. We didn't have any shooting we could bring off the bench this year. I think he is a guy that will have stretches of not scoring more than 5 pts and maybe doesn't play much and then every 5 or 6 games has a double digit game where he comes in and is hot and they roll with him over other options
**I'm hoping by starting this thread we end up picking up somebody else, making this post worthless
My Grade: B
I was originally going back and forth between B- and C+, but after watching a lot of Phelps I really like his game and what he is going to bring and I raised it to a B.
Payne- Big addition. Huge upgrade over what we had in Leveque with both talent and athleticism. His game is not like Marble's but he fills the talent gap we had with Marble's absence. He played in the Big Ten so he is going to bring physicality. We got bullied inside a few times last year. He also brings some shot blocking which is always helpful. His FT shooting on the season was atrocious at 47%, but in his last 8 games he went 23-31 (74%) so that is encouraging. Big men often take time to develop, so I think we will see an uptick in his game over the next 2 years. The fact we get him for 2 years make this pickup even more valuable.
Phelps- The three point percent jumps out at you, but if you actually watch him play you can see he is going to really help our team. He finishes really well at the rim and he has a really nice mid-range game. He shoot better on 2pt FGs than Boots, Wade and Manny last year. He also gets a lot of steals. He has good length (taller than Boots) and I like that.
Wilcher- I might be wrong, but I think he probably ends up being like our 6th guard. So I don't think he makes a huge impact, but the fact you have a shooter you can go to is big. We didn't have any shooting we could bring off the bench this year. I think he is a guy that will have stretches of not scoring more than 5 pts and maybe doesn't play much and then every 5 or 6 games has a double digit game where he comes in and is hot and they roll with him over other options
**I'm hoping by starting this thread we end up picking up somebody else, making this post worthless