Rednilla

Well, we certainly need receivers, that's for sure! I'd forgotten about signing Omari, he might be the best receiver on the team...

Calzada is the obvious pick. Word has it that Finley has the support of the team, but my information is that Geriner is the one pushing Calzada for his spot atop the depth chart. My guess is that means unless Finley makes a pretty big leap this summer and preseason camp, Geriner will be the one to take over if Calzada goes down for any length of time. Ashford will have a package of plays regardless of who starts. He's apparently pretty athletic.

I think if we felt like adding Phillips was going to make a significant difference, we would have been willing to go higher and come up with the extra later, but it's possible that you're right about there being a hard budget with which we couldn't flex.

To be fair, just because they got something under the table doesn't mean that it was the under-the-table value that caused them to pick a school. There are a lot of football players who choose Alabama not for the Charger they get to drive while in school, but for the millions they are likely to receive once their ticket to the NFL is punched, as Saban has proven time and again he delivers. I'm not disagreeing with you, just adding perspective.

There *is* a difference, though. Either way, the money is not there, that much is true, but the perspective is completely different if we wanted him but there wasn't enough to get him vs we wanted him but not at the price he would have had to have had to come here. It's not that we're broke, it's that we have financial strategies in place...and that's not just BS to sound good, because when we needed it to keep Bruce from even thinking about going to Louisville, the Neville family stepped forward and secured the deal. So you know we *do* have people who will put their money where their mouth is...

Oh, I was agreeing with you.

I don't think there's any question, at this point, that we got outbid, but the reason is that it wasn't economically viable for us to put up the kind of dough UTk did, all things considered.

I suppose that makes some sense, but I still maintain that the economics of the Phillips deal really did tip toward letting him go, especially if we get any of these three.

Well, that's about the least we can afford to get, but I'd rather have the guy who knocks down shots, is the one doing the murdering on D, and pushes Allen for the starting job at the 3, which is, to me, Mayer. He makes us about the most complete team we can possibly be this year, and that includes if Phillips had decided to come here instead. Phillips just would have been a 2 year deal, whereas Mayer will be one and done. These three guys, probably amongst a few others not on our (AUF's) radar, are probably a big part of the reason for not pushing harder for Phillips. We've already got two big time freshmen and an elite second year big man, and there are options in the portal for guys who can fill the role we needed Phillips to play at least as well as Phillips would have (this year, anyway) for a (hopefully) much reduced rate. There's a reason the Ludwig von Mises Institute is headquartered on Magnolia near Donahue: Auburn understands economics.

It's more than just his shooting ability, it's his ability to get to the basket and create for his teammates at his size. We had basically nowhere to go but down with the starting frontcourt, but we didn't step down too far, and we added a big guard, which was the Achilles heel of last year's team. If we can now add a sharpshooting wing to the two deep, we'll be in good shape.

Also, I changed my vote to Mayer, because I love two way players, and he's the best defensively, at least per the analytics.

Yeah, I did, but it slipped my mind when I was making the comment. Of course, it should be duly noted that he played *more* minutes per game while dealing with injuries than he did in seasons prior, so perhaps the injuries had to do with the increased work load? But whatever. I'd feel just fine with any of these three taking what would have been Phillips roster spot.

Westry will be the backup PG to start the season, possibly taking the starting position away from Wendell at some point. He's probably still the biggest prize we could have gotten in this year's recruiting class, regardless of the ranking of Traore and Phillips.

I think I'd have the same ranking as you, but I wonder about the minutes played. Mayer would be a great get from a defensive perspective, but we need a sharpshooter, and his 3 point percentage went way down last year. I don't know if it had anything to do with playing more minutes, but it scares me a bit. Green doesn't seem to come from the same kind of system (you don't play 36 minutes a game for Bruce), which is the worry with him, but honestly I'd be happy with any one of these three.

That's been the going thought since early/mid February.

There's a good reason you're struggling to think of someone...lol...

That makes sense. I'd be happy with Mayer coming in and being 1 and done if we get that kind of production out of him!

The problem, as I see it, for Phillips is exactly how much was lost going to Barnes instead of Pearl? Will he be as high a pick as he would have been had he come to Auburn?

What, exactly, would you say that we are in the market for? A sharp shooting wing? Seems like I remember that being the scouting report for our basic need.

Dang, he actually kinda fits what I felt like we were needing better than Phillips anyway. Not that I wouldn't have rather had Phillips, just that this guy shot just under 40% from 3 the two years of full game play after his freshman campaign, and he shoots better than 90% from the charity stripe. He's listed at 6'4, so at the very least he provides some length for the wing.

Okay, yeah, we'll be banking on CMo to come back strong if we don't add anyone else, but what are you hearing, e? Is there anyone else out there who fits that we're after right now?

You put Zep on there twice. Pretty sure we only get one of him this year. But you're absolutely right. We're a championship contender right now, Phillips or not.

Yes, I'm fully aware of the textbook definitions. It's not that they aren't different, it's that they aren't SO different that they can't understand. They've been understanding their role on the team since the beginning of college athletics, they just never put a number on it quite the same way before.

Especially defensively. That's a trademark of Bruce players. Every one of Bruce's first rounders while he's been at Auburn has been outstanding to elite on the defensive side.

I like college athletics just fine. It's not the getting out-bid (if that's what's going down...I haven't really been paying attention), it's the drawn out nature of the process. That didn't start with the NIL business. BTW, we've already signed one 5 star and another guy who is just off of being a 5 star. It's not like Phillips is going to make or break our entire recruiting class or anything.