2024 Transfer Portal Thread

#4,976
#4,976
TheMookieMonster said:
I noticed how Jon Rothstein is including Igor as part of our official roster in his latest update from a few minutes ago. Don’t think he’d do that unless he has it on good sourcing that he committed to us even without a formal announcement.

Click to expand...

Weird that he would rank us barely in the top 25 with Igor, Felix, and Dubar all accounted for

I understand it takes time for a team to gel but hard for that to not to look like a top 15 team
 
  • Like
Reactions: HeadVol77, Orange., NighthawkVol and 4 others
#4,979
#4,979
zaqhhh said:
Weird that he would rank us barely in the top 25 with Igor, Felix, and Dubar all accounted for

I understand it takes time for a team to gel but hard for that to not to look like a top 15 team
Click to expand...

Yeah. I thought 23 felt a bit low as well. But I guess he sees Okpara as a downgrade from Aidoo and Milicic as maybe a lateral move from JJJ. Then you lose DK. And we have a bunch of question marks on the bench that us fans expect to be good, but I can see why an outsider may not.

I think if we land Lanier we’ll be top 15 almost everywhere, but right now there are definitely a lot of question marks on how good this team can be that I think makes sense to me why he might not be too high on us yet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HeadVol77, Smokey 77 and Jimmy Football
#4,980
#4,980
VolFreakJosh said:
Another thing I noticed from his highlights that he actually tries to dunk everything like he’s 7’0 instead of trying to lay it in.

Aidoo always seemed hesitant around the rim.
Click to expand...
Aidoo was 47-56 from dunks last season, Okpara was 47-53. Y’all gotta stop trying to rewrite history just because he left.
 
  • Like
Reactions: berryvol and walkenvol
#4,986
#4,986
Stoerner Fumbles said:
It’s tough to cover this topic without stepping on his privacy… Without sharing too much, I can say that Tobe was by far the most serious off the court, and highly dedicated on the court. He was not a part of the core click of friends, by his choice and theirs. Aidoo was very social, silly, playful etc. Awaka perceived that as not committed, and he was ready to go by the end of the year. When Aidoo left, they asked him to rethink it, and he did. Ultimately the damage is done and he’ll be better off starting over. He is definitely not a bad kid, not a traitor, not a locker room cancer etc. He was just all business and didn’t like the returns that was getting him. I hope he fits wherever he lands.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the insight, but I would think it would be hard to find another team elsewhere that will be more serious and professional than the group we had this year, so it’s still a bit of a head scratcher, but I wish Tobe well, especially if he’s outside of the SEC
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: LaagerVol
#4,987
#4,987
berryvol said:
Someone might want to tell him he’s not a take so he can cancel his visit before the weekend.
Click to expand...
Admittedly, the visit may be a matter of convenience because his mom will already be in Knoxville for the Hall Of Fame ceremonies. But still, he's visiting and for your 12th or 13th scholarship, you can do a lot worse than a kid who won the A-Sun ROY award, led his team in scoring averaging 14.5 ppg, and shot 38% from 3 as a 6-9 SF.

He's not a great defender, but he played for a team that doesn't emphasize defense, either. Central Arkansas gave up 78.2 ppg and no one on that team had a positive defensive box +/- nor a defensive rating below 107. Just as an example, everyone except JP Estrella was at 100, or below, for Tennessee last year. With 3 years of eligibility plus a redshirt, he can be taught to be a better defender by a staff that emphasizes defense.

On the rebounding front, he only averaged 3.7 rpg, but our main 3s (SG/SF) only averaged 3.7 (Vescovi) and and 4.9 (Knecht). Again, you can teach a kid to be a better rebounder. And as his teams leading scorer, it isn't unreasonable for his rebounding to be down given he was the primary shooter/scorer and played on the perimeter. You can't just look at his height and say, oh he should aversge at least X number of rebounds. His position and offensive role matters. At Tennessee, he will be more free to crash the boards. The hope is that he'd add 20-25 lbs and be able to contribute more in that area with less offensive responsibility, added strength, and better coaching.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lankykong, DuckInAPen, HeadVol77 and 11 others
#4,988
#4,988
bbvols2 said:
Why do we need a coaching staff to evaluate players when we have @StPeteVFL to let us know who should and should not be on the roster? He must be a scout for the Orlando Magic with all of his absolute evaluations.🤣🤣
Click to expand...
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but his is one I just don't agree with in this case.
 
#4,991
#4,991
RyanWalkerPGH said:
Well because it wasn’t confirmed until about 45 minutes ago lol. Was just saying for the “Basilio just recycles information crowd.”
Click to expand...
cncchris33 said:
When did Basilio say that? I listen almost every day and don't remember it, which isn't to say he didn't say it. Just that when he thinks he knows something, he beats his audience over the head with it, so hard to imagine I'd have missed it on repeat.
Click to expand...
Basilio just said on his show that Lanier did not have a Do Not Contact tag and that he's concerned that Maryland (maybe others) to get involved and turn this into a bidding war.

That seems to be contrary to everything else we are hearing, and also contradicts the idea he has been saying that Lanier would enter with a tag.
 
#4,992
#4,992
Volprofch05 said:
I appreciate the insight, but I would think it would be hard to find another team elsewhere that will
be more serious and professional than the group we had this year, so it’s still a bit of a head scratcher, but I wish Tobe well, especially if he’s outside of the SEC
Click to expand...
I’ve been in that spot of being on a team but not really feeling like you’re part of the team before. It’s tough and sometimes you just need a change of scenery. It’s not that anyone involved necessarily did anything awful but sometimes you just don’t gel with a group and if you’re away from your support system on top of that? I get it. I wish he would have stayed but I get it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lankykong, DuckInAPen, cncchris33 and 1 other person
#4,994
#4,994
VolArmy74 said:
Aidoo had right at twice as many attempts last season. That means Okpara was 2x as likely to attempt a dunk.
Click to expand...
That’s one way to read that. Another is to say he’s incredibly limited offensively. I’m not trying to neg Okpara, I’m just saying you can be happy about him without saying he’s better than Aidoo, because he’s simply not at this stage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: walkenvol and spyfish007
#4,995
#4,995
cncchris33 said:
Basilio just said on his show that Lanier did not have a Do Not Contact tag and that he's concerned that Maryland (maybe others) to get involved and turn this into a bidding war.

That seems to be contrary to everything else we are hearing, and also contradicts the idea he has been saying that Lanier would enter with a tag.
Click to expand...
That was in his blog, too. I can’t figure out why he’s saying that. Every tweet I saw on the topic included that he entered with the tag.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lankykong, Smokey 77, MoCo_Vol and 3 others
#4,996
#4,996
cncchris33 said:
I think the idea is how many shots did Aidoo miss because he tried to lay the ball in instead of dunking it. Finesse vs power.
Click to expand...
Aidoo shot 63% at the rim last season, Okpara shot 70%. This “Felix dunks everything and Aidoo was soft!” idea is based on all of us watching Aidoo every game for 3 years and then watching a 5 minute highlight reel of Okpara’s best moment
 
  • Like
Reactions: walkenvol and orangejuice
#4,997
#4,997
VolOnthePlains said:
That’s one way to read that. Another is to say he’s incredibly limited offensively. I’m not trying to neg Okpara, I’m just saying you can be happy about him without saying he’s better than Aidoo, because he’s simply not at this stage.
Click to expand...
The post you quoted didn't insinuate that Okpara was better than Aidoo, though. It feels like you may have read that into it. It simply noted that he tried to dunk everything while Aidoo played a more finesse brand of basketball. Nothing wrong with that and it isn't a dig at Aido, nor is it saying that it makes Okpara a better player. Just perhaps a more aggressive player.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Billy Antrim, spyfish007 and Vol49er
#4,998
#4,998
VolOnthePlains said:
Aidoo shot 63% at the rim last season, Okpara shot 70%. This “Felix dunks everything and Aidoo was soft!” idea is based on all of us watching Aidoo every game for 3 years and then watching a 5 minute highlight reel of Okpara’s best moment
Click to expand...
There is certainly an element of truth to the level of familiarity Tennessee fans have with noth players, but 70% over 63% is pretty significant. A 7% difference is noteworthy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lankykong, Brillovol, Vol49er and 1 other person
#4,999
#4,999
Stoked said:
I love not seeing UK on this list lol.

Hate seeing that Sears, Broome, and Wade Taylor are still in the SEC. All 3 should be the favorites for SEC POY.
Click to expand...
Sears has declared while retaining eligibility. He may or may not be back. Same for Nelson.

Ranking Bama 3rd right now seems weird.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cosmo Kramer
#5,000
#5,000
cncchris33 said:
The post you quoted didn't insinuate that Okpara was better than Aidoo, though. It feels like you may have read that into it. It simply noted that he tried to dunk everything while Aidoo played a more finesse brand of basketball. Nothing wrong with that and it isn't a dig at Aido, nor is it saying that it makes Okpara a better player. Just perhaps a more aggressive player.
Click to expand...
Right but I’m saying the underlying numbers don’t really bare that out, the YouTube video certainly does, but the numbers don’t. I haven’t watched Aidoo’s transfer portal sizzle reel but I imagine it shows him throwing down a bunch of dunks and lobs too, but we watched him twice a week for the last 3 years and know that’s not always reflective of the reality of his game.

Okpara was 47-53 from dunks last year and 87-116 “at the rim” so while he’s still an accomplished close range finisher he’s also not “dunking everything”
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top