Are we done with signings?


Still want to see Johnson nab one more player. Did the son of the Women’s Coach ever latch on with anyone?
 


I would think AJ would be signed if other priorities weren’t still in the mix. AJ would be fine with me.
 

I will stand by the belief that if Fox and Ihnen thought they were not going to be able to play for the third consecutive year they would have medically retired. The fact that they haven't done that tells me they are going to be in the mix. How big a role they each play remains to be seen but seems pretty clear that the planago is for them to be part of the rotation.
My concern is that if you ask any 18-23 year old kid who had always been a great athlete if they are going to be fine the answer will be yes like 99.9% of the time. You think fox or II don't think they will be the same guy they were 2 years ago? Of course they do. And I think CBJ is a combination of loyal and blind to the fact that might not be true. However, the odds both are 1. Healthy enough and 2. Good enough are very very low. So again to me CBJ is setting himself up for failure because he isn't seeing the big picture and is apparently terrified to step on a kids toes. It hasn't worked this far, I don't think it's a good idea to try again but he appears committed to it🤦‍♂️
 



My concern is that if you ask any 18-23 year old kid who had always been a great athlete if they are going to be fine the answer will be yes like 99.9% of the time. You think fox or II don't think they will be the same guy they were 2 years ago? Of course they do. And I think CBJ is a combination of loyal and blind to the fact that might not be true. However, the odds both are 1. Healthy enough and 2. Good enough are very very low. So again to me CBJ is setting himself up for failure because he isn't seeing the big picture and is apparently terrified to step on a kids toes. It hasn't worked this far, I don't think it's a good idea to try again but he appears committed to it🤦‍♂️
You are leaving out a key part of all this....the highly trained medical staff that works closely with the team and the players.

I have zero doubt in my mind that Johnson understands the situation he is in. If the belief was that Ihnen and/or Fox couldn't play this year, they wouldn't still be on the roster.
 

But there is a huge difference between "playing" and "being effective". I don't doubt that the former will happen, the latter I would bet hay against.
 

This year we will hav 0 B1G quality starters. Last year we had 2.
 



But there is a huge difference between "playing" and "being effective". I don't doubt that the former will happen, the latter I would bet hay against.
100% agree. Just after Ihnen's last game, he was projected to do what the following season? HM All BIG Maybe-at best? Now it's 2 years later and multiple surgeries and we expect him to be ???????? At best I'm projecting a 20 minute guy putting up decent #'s for a bottom of the BIG team. Now Fox. Awesome D2 player prior to coming to the U. Some examples have been given of D2 players who have become outstanding D1/NBA players. Those were statistical outliers. Now, 2 years and mutiple surgeries later, he is expected to do what exactly? I'm not saying they won't contribute. What I'm saying is Ben should have loaded up every available scholly on guys who could/would/will be projected to be one of our top 8-9 in the lineup. He didn't do that. He signed 2 guys who will most likely be in our top 9 and is leaving another scholly on the table. In a perfect world a team would have 13 solid potential players who could fill one of those 8-9 spots. We don't have that. We have our 8-9 but our 10-13 are ?'s. Wilson, Reeder, Ramberg, open scholly---Ihnen, Fox are all question marks, unknowns or aren't/shouldn't be solid D1 contributers. That along with Carrington (often injured) and freshman Christie/Betts give me reason to pause. If no solid contributer (Payne/Garcia/Mitchell/Hawkins/Betts/Christie/Carrington/JOJ) get injured, we may be alright. Looking a little thin if any of the top 8-9 get injured.
 

We have 10 solid B1G starters talent-wise on the roster. When was the last time that happened. I go back to the Mussellman’s MuscleMen. Never. Really I don’t think I’ve seen more than four with decent role fillers in support. Had some real good teams like that.
 






You are leaving out a key part of all this....the highly trained medical staff that works closely with the team and the players.

I have zero doubt in my mind that Johnson understands the situation he is in. If the belief was that Ihnen and/or Fox couldn't play this year, they wouldn't still be on the roster.
Someone hijacked my account to post the above. Admins be aware. This is the quality of people wanting to fire the coach.
Bold statement. Not taken lightly by mgmnt.
 


They will have better balance and more experience, stay healthy and that can make a big difference.
 


....
Mitchell, Hawkins, Carrington, Christie, Betts, JOJ, Ihnen, Fox, Payne, and Garcia...that's 10 players likely to see the bulk of the minutes. Johnson doesn't really have much of anything to sell in terms of playing time right now so transfer recruits are highly unlikely to be banging down his door trying to get in here.

I get the worry that we will once again lose 2 guys to season ending injuries but there is only so much you can do to prepare for something like that before it happens.
Maybe Ben is indeed prepping for "something like that". If someone is in the transfer portal and not selected by a team prior to school starting in the fall, are they still available to transfer to a new team? For example, if someone on our roster goes down with a season-ending injury in Nov or Dec, come January (prior to the start of spring semester) could we use an available scholarship to pick a player out of the portal to fill the gap?
 

Maybe Ben is indeed prepping for "something like that". If someone is in the transfer portal and not selected by a team prior to school starting in the fall, are they still available to transfer to a new team? For example, if someone on our roster goes down with a season-ending injury in Nov or Dec, come January (prior to the start of spring semester) could we use an available scholarship to pick a player out of the portal to fill the gap?
I'm pretty sure you can't bring someone in once the season starts. Sure someone can find the specifics though on roster locks and what not.
 

You got the names right but I disagree with the “conventional wisdom” on many positions. You also left out the minutes they will play at each position. Lol. BTW, not laughing at you.

You left off Purcell and Reader. Mostly your comments were decent for a fan on the outside.
That is why losing Ihnen the last year was such a big of a loss. You have a guy that can probably defend the SG, SF, and PF positions better than others on the list.
 

Slam dunks and 3 point baskets are exciting, but Defense and transition points win games.
 




Because……?
...they have an open scholarship and you can bet they are still looking for a player that can help and who will fit what they are looking for in terms of skill and character. Will they get one? The longer we go into the summer the less likely that is..but you can bet they are trying. If you had a 2 million dollar a year job that depended on winning this year- what would you do?
 

...they have an open scholarship and you can bet they are still looking for a player that can help and who will fit what they are looking for in terms of skill and character. Will they get one? The longer we go into the summer the less likely that is..but you can bet they are trying. If you had a 2 million dollar a year job that depended on winning this year- what would you do?
I would not stop recruiting, but occasionally do scratch my head at Johnson’s actions. I thought perhaps the previous poster had some insight as to a player they are in on, hence my asking.
 

I would not stop recruiting, but occasionally do scratch my head at Johnson’s actions. I thought perhaps the previous poster had some insight as to a player they are in on, hence my asking.
oh- fair enough. Yes- I wish that too.
 

...they have an open scholarship and you can bet they are still looking for a player that can help and who will fit what they are looking for in terms of skill and character. Will they get one? The longer we go into the summer the less likely that is..but you can bet they are trying. If you had a 2 million dollar a year job that depended on winning this year- what would you do?
At this point, Johnson shouldn’t care much about character concerns if the kid is talented
 

At this point, Johnson shouldn’t care much about character concerns if the kid is talented
I'd have to disagree- even though I agree that it is tempting. This is where Pitino got in trouble and never recovered. He shot for the stars and missed then he lowered character expectations and started getting guys....and then got burned. If he has decent improvement this year but still not enough wins- the final card be can point to is the build with character card- which continues on with Asuma and Grove.
 




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