Junior PG FIU transer Malik Smith

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•FIU point guard Malik Smith has announced publicly that he wants to transfer. He hasn't made it clear where, yet, but on Wednesday night after Pitino was announced as the new head coach at Minnesota, Smith posted the following on Instagram: "Thanks to FIU for the opportunity to do something special and help turn a program around. With that being said, I’ll be asking for my release some time next week and taking my talents to a different university. Coach Pitino helped show me what hard work was and I’ll forever appreciate it. With him and the rest of my teammates the best in the future. Everything happens for a reason." -Amelia

Malik Smith could be a very good fit paired with @AndreHollins & @aHolli_20 next year. Retweeted by Malik Smith

Is there any chance he could play next year or is this about the 2014-15 season?

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/62378/malik-smith[/QUOTE]
 

I think Smith is more of a SG and I don't think we'd want him to play PG anyways. He had a 1.3/2.1 Ast/TO ratio last year. I'd take him as a shooter off the bench though if he's available to play next season.
 

Good point. We need a PG now so that Andre can play off the ball a lot more. I'd prefer that we not put all our eggs in one basket (Tyus), and go out and get somebody for next season (are there any good juco PGs available?). Not comfortable going into a season with Andre and Mav as our primary ballhandlers.
 

Smith may be as good as it gets in the spring. The chances that we get a true pg that is ready to plug and play at this point are really slim. I would guess that our best bet is to hope for big improvement by Andre this summer on the ball handling side and that the change in coaches bring an offense he is more comfortable running. If Andre is the point guard then adding a 14 ppg player who can shoot the 3 like Smith might be a real good move.

To me the point is to have as good of a season as possible next year with our existing roster and a few new short term guys - like Buckles, Smith and the juco if the come. that builds some excitement and momentum. Then go out in the fall and recruit 5 guys for the roster that will fit long term in the system.
 

bga1 said:
Smith may be as good as it gets in the spring. The chances that we get a true pg that is ready to plug and play at this point are really slim. I would guess that our best bet is to hope for big improvement by Andre this summer on the ball handling side and that the change in coaches bring an offense he is more comfortable running. If Andre is the point guard then adding a 14 ppg player who can shoot the 3 like Smith might be a real good move.

To me the point is to have as good of a season as possible next year with our existing roster and a few new short term guys - like Buckles, Smith and the juco if the come. that builds some excitement and momentum. Then go out in the fall and recruit 5 guys for the roster that will fit long term in the system.
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Agreed. And it's not like Dre was an awful PG. He was pretty good IMO.

the issue with having Dre at the one last year was we needed Andre to score. Put Andre back at the one with someone who can score (Smith) and I think it is less of an issue.
 


bga1 said:
Smith may be as good as it gets in the spring. The chances that we get a true pg that is ready to plug and play at this point are really slim. I would guess that our best bet is to hope for big improvement by Andre this summer on the ball handling side and that the change in coaches bring an offense he is more comfortable running. If Andre is the point guard then adding a 14 ppg player who can shoot the 3 like Smith might be a real good move.

To me the point is to have as good of a season as possible next year with our existing roster and a few new short term guys - like Buckles, Smith and the juco if the come. that builds some excitement and momentum. Then go out in the fall and recruit 5 guys for the roster that will fit long term in the system.
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Yep. Hopefully we get something like Smith, Buckles and either Black or Forte.

Then have 4 or 5 scholarships open next year (Austin, Mav, Buckles, Smith and maybe Black - Forte would still be on the team).
 

He'd be a really good fit. If we are going to run as much as we think we are, we need more depth. This team could obviously also use more guys who can knock down a shot. Wally seems like a decent shooter but other than him, we're still stuck with Hollins, Hollins and Mav as our only shooters.

I'd much rather add a guy like Smith than force a low level late recruit who might be a better fit positionally.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Good point. We need a PG now so that Andre can play off the ball a lot more. I'd prefer that we not put all our eggs in one basket (Tyus), and go out and get somebody for next season (are there any good juco PGs available?). Not comfortable going into a season with Andre and Mav as our primary ballhandlers.
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I think the PG that decommitted from Northwestern was pretty highly regarded but I think we would probably rather look to the JUCO ranks instead of looking to add a highly regarded point guard and then trying to go get Tyus the next season.
 

As a younger player in a tougher conference, Andre Hollins averaged:

- More points
- Better FG%
- Better 3FG%
- Better FT%
- More rebounds
- Almost 3x as many assists
- More steals
- More blocks
- Slightly more turnovers

than Malik Smith. All with slightly fewer minutes. I don't see why it would make any sense whatsoever to bring Smith in. People see his points / game and think he's a great player. He's a volume shooter (36% from the field) and a questionable decision maker (aforementioned asst/TO ratio. )

The tendency of this board to think the guy who isn't currently on the roster is the next big thing never fails.
 



justthefacts said:
As a younger player in a tougher conference, Andre Hollins averaged:

- More points
- Better FG%
- Better 3FG%
- Better FT%
- More rebounds
- Almost 3x as many assists
- More steals
- More blocks
- Slightly more turnovers

than Malik Smith. All with slightly fewer minutes. I don't see why it would make any sense whatsoever to bring Smith in. People see his points / game and think he's a great player. He's a volume shooter (36% from the field) and a questionable decision maker (aforementioned asst/TO ratio. )

The tendency of this board to think the guy who isn't currently on the roster is the next big thing never fails.
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So he has to be as good as Andre in order to be worth a scholarship for 1 year? What's wrong with having another shooter who is already comfortable with Pitino's system?
 

justthefacts said:
As a younger player in a tougher conference, Andre Hollins averaged:

- More points
- Better FG%
- Better 3FG%
- Better FT%
- More rebounds
- Almost 3x as many assists
- More steals
- More blocks
- Slightly more turnovers

than Malik Smith. All with slightly fewer minutes. I don't see why it would make any sense whatsoever to bring Smith in. People see his points / game and think he's a great player. He's a volume shooter (36% from the field) and a questionable decision maker (aforementioned asst/TO ratio. )

The tendency of this board to think the guy who isn't currently on the roster is the next big thing never fails.
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Did anyone here say he was better than Andre Hollins? The comparison shouldn't be to Hollins, it should be to Mav.
 


justthefacts said:
As a younger player in a tougher conference, Andre Hollins averaged:

- More points
- Better FG%
- Better 3FG%
- Better FT%
- More rebounds
- Almost 3x as many assists
- More steals
- More blocks
- Slightly more turnovers

than Malik Smith. All with slightly fewer minutes. I don't see why it would make any sense whatsoever to bring Smith in. People see his points / game and think he's a great player. He's a volume shooter (36% from the field) and a questionable decision maker (aforementioned asst/TO ratio. )

The tendency of this board to think the guy who isn't currently on the roster is the next big thing never fails.
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There are way too many clueless posters on here, this is a great example of one.

When you have 4 open scholarships, it doesn't hurt to bring in a veteran guard to add depth for one year, especially when the next year's class is loaded with local talent.
 



MadtownGopher said:
There are way too many clueless posters on here, this is a great example of one.

When you have 4 open scholarships, it doesn't hurt to bring in a veteran guard to add depth for one year, especially when the next year's class is loaded with local talent.
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+1

It would provide depth and also possibly let dre move to the 2, austin to the 3 to provide a team that could spread the floor and actually be lethal from 3. Pitino likes the 3, and by all means Joe Coleman is a very poor shooter for a guard, so it would provide more options.
 



Smith + Black and Buckles. Get an extra combo guard for depth and two athletic bigs. Have 5 open scholarships for 2014.
 

WILLBGOPHER said:
+1

It would provide depth and also possibly let dre move to the 2, austin to the 3 to provide a team that could spread the floor and actually be lethal from 3. Pitino likes the 3, and by all means Joe Coleman is a very poor shooter for a guard, so it would provide more options.
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That's exactly the thing. Why would having Malik Smith move Dre to the 2? What reason is there to believe Smith is a better PG than Dre? People have been talking about how Smith fits a need because he's a PG, but he's not.

Ahanmisi didn't play enough minutes to make comparisons of raw numbers meaningful, but he shot better from the field, shot better from 3, shot better from the line, had a better FT rate, had a better assist percentage, had a better assist / turnover ratio, and had a better steal percentage than Smith had. And again, the competition was miles better. The only categories that Smith was better than Ahanmisi are turnover percentage and rebounding percentage.

You guys are right, though, it can't hurt to have him come onto the team. That was overstating it. But I also don't think there's any reason to expect that Smith will be one of the 3 best guards on the team. Again, he's a volume scorer, nothing more.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Smith + Black and Buckles. Get an extra combo guard for depth and two athletic bigs. Have 5 open scholarships for 2014.
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Aren't all three done after 2013-14 (assuming Buckles could get a waiver)? Wouldn't it be 6 open scholarships in this scenario?
 

justthefacts said:
That's exactly the thing. Why would having Malik Smith move Dre to the 2? What reason is there to believe Smith is a better PG than Dre? People have been talking about how Smith fits a need because he's a PG, but he's not.

Ahanmisi didn't play enough minutes to make comparisons of raw numbers meaningful, but he shot better from the field, shot better from 3, shot better from the line, had a better FT rate, had a better assist percentage, had a better assist / turnover ratio, and had a better steal percentage than Smith had. And again, the competition was miles better. The only categories that Smith was better than Ahanmisi are turnover percentage and rebounding percentage.

You guys are right, though, it can't hurt to have him come onto the team. That was overstating it. But I also don't think there's any reason to expect that Smith will be one of the 3 best guards on the team. Again, he's a volume scorer, nothing more.
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Someone who attempts 8 3s per game and makes 36% is pretty impressive. Don't make the mistake of thinking the % is the only thing that determines how good of a shooter someone is. The fewer shots you take, the higher percentage of them are wide open looks. If you're taking a ton of shots, then a higher percentage are going to be contested. Hard to say for sure, but I'd bet Smith is a better shooter than Mav. Might fit Pitino's system better too.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Smith + Black and Buckles. Get an extra combo guard for depth and two athletic bigs. Have 5 open scholarships for 2014.
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I think Buckles+Smith+Forte is more realistic, just because all Forte has an offer and heavy interest, while Black has dozens of schools which would take him with open arms right now, and Mississippi
is suspected to be a suitor.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
He'd be a really good fit. If we are going to run as much as we think we are, we need more depth. This team could obviously also use more guys who can knock down a shot. Wally seems like a decent shooter but other than him, we're still stuck with Hollins, Hollins and Mav as our only shooters.

I'd much rather add a guy like Smith than force a low level late recruit who might be a better fit positionally.
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Isn't Buggs supposed to be a good shooter? I thought I remember hearing that several times.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Aren't all three done after 2013-14 (assuming Buckles could get a waiver)? Wouldn't it be 6 open scholarships in this scenario?
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You are right, I was just thinking of the seniors (Austin, Mav, Smith, Buckles, and Black), I forgot we actually have 4 open scholarships at the moment.

GameDay said:
I think Buckles+Smith+Forte is more realistic, just because all Forte has an offer and heavy interest, while Black has dozens of schools which would take him with open arms right now, and Mississippi
is suspected to be a suitor.
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I agree, I just think that would be best case scenario.
 


justthefacts said:
That's exactly the thing. Why would having Malik Smith move Dre to the 2? What reason is there to believe Smith is a better PG than Dre? People have been talking about how Smith fits a need because he's a PG, but he's not.

Ahanmisi didn't play enough minutes to make comparisons of raw numbers meaningful, but he shot better from the field, shot better from 3, shot better from the line, had a better FT rate, had a better assist percentage, had a better assist / turnover ratio, and had a better steal percentage than Smith had. And again, the competition was miles better. The only categories that Smith was better than Ahanmisi are turnover percentage and rebounding percentage.

You guys are right, though, it can't hurt to have him come onto the team. That was overstating it. But I also don't think there's any reason to expect that Smith will be one of the 3 best guards on the team. Again, he's a volume scorer, nothing more.
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Dude - Mav Can't dribble. That is a big problem for a point guard. If mav plays meaningful minutes next year, it will because Pitino is unable to recruit someone over him. He is also very poor at pusing tempo - due to ball handling - and getting the team into offensive sets. He is an ok spot up shooter, plays hard, and that is it.
 

WILLBGOPHER said:
Dude - Mav Can't dribble. That is a big problem for a point guard. If mav plays meaningful minutes next year, it will because Pitino is unable to recruit someone over him. He is also very poor at pusing tempo - due to ball handling - and getting the team into offensive sets. He is an ok spot up shooter, plays hard, and that is it.
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Exactly correct.
 

WILLBGOPHER said:
Dude - Mav Can't dribble. That is a big problem for a point guard. If mav plays meaningful minutes next year, it will because Pitino is unable to recruit someone over him. He is also very poor at pusing tempo - due to ball handling - and getting the team into offensive sets. He is an ok spot up shooter, plays hard, and that is it.
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+1.

The kid tries hard but is a disaster of a PG at this level.
 


dpodoll68 said:
Aren't all three done after 2013-14 (assuming Buckles could get a waiver)? Wouldn't it be 6 open scholarships in this scenario?
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Yes, that is correct. We would have 6 open scholarships. Can we confirm Smith is set to graduate this spring?
 

Maroon Shower said:
Did anyone here say he was better than Andre Hollins? The comparison shouldn't be to Hollins, it should be to Mav.
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Absolutely, that's where we need the upgrade, along with several other bench spots.
 

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