Rednilla

Oh, no, I agree, with the postseason ban and all. I was basically just being a smartass, pointing out that there's still a pretty good chance that he is only playing for Auburn one season.

Well, the good news is that unlike when the last 5 star point guard who was coming our way got sidetracked (by the NCAA instead of this prospective pro league), this time around, we have not just a backup option in place but a more than functional true PG already in place, as well, potentially for up to 4 more seasons. I mean, seriously, Bruce dropped the ball a little bit with having only one true point on the team last year, even if he never expected the idiotic interference from the NCAA. I feel much more comfortable with two experienced PGs coming in and the probability of bringing in one more ball handler, even if it's just a combo guard. If we'd had a true point all season, not even on Coop's level, we probably win at least 3 or 4 more games.

Be sure to check your depends to ensure your horn was the only thing that tooted....

I think that's probably for the best, tbh, but I was more talking about the potential to go with the super tall lineup if desired. Heck, I guess it might be more likely that Cambridge plays the 2, and he's listed at the same height as Flanigan, so that would serve the same effect I was going for anyway. I don't know if Cambridge will play the 2 much, either, though.

Man, this leaves in play the possibility of having Jabari, Kessler, and Thor on the court at the same time, all three of whom are 6'10+ and can shoot the three. If Scoot decides to reclassify, then with him at point and Flanigan at the 2, I somehow doubt there would bee a taller lineup in college basketball. Heck, that would rival the top PRO teams in terms of height across the board...

Uh...we still might only get one year. It's not the least bit out of the scope of possibility that he blows up and we have 2-3 lottery picks on the team next season (presuming Thor comes back and continues to develop).

So if we miss on Kessler and Gurley, any idea where else we might look for a transfer big man?

Got him! https://247sports.com/college/auburn/Article/wendell-green-jr-auburn-transfer-basketball-zep-jasper-sharife-cooper-nba-draft-163880574/

Where will this be reported? Just wait for the news to come out, or is there somewhere to watch for it?

Well that's too bad. I get the family pressure, but one more year would probably get him into the first round, whereas I'm pretty sure it's going to take a phenomenal day at the combine to get him there this go around.

I'm hoping that he's going to come back unless he gets a phenomenal grade at the combine that vaults him into the first round. But we'll see.

With the G-League being such a new development for 18 year old kids to choose instead of college, I believe it's difficult to say whether a kid would leave for that reason if he already has a year of college but still is not eligible for the draft due to age. I'm not sure how many situations there have been like that to date. I mean, would he even be eligible for the G-League during the 21-22 season, or would he still be too young? If he's already eligible for that league and still comes to Auburn, then it's highly unlikely that he would leave after a year to go pro, since he still wouldn't be eligible for the NBA. If he won't be eligible for that league until 22-23, then I could see it being an issue we have to get past.

No, that's not a one-and-done. That just means they'll continue their college career elsewhere. One-and-done, to me, means going pro after only one year in college.

Well, technically, he could probably go to the G-League if he wanted to, and be one-and-done that way...

Apparently his family is pushing him to go pro. I feel pretty confident saying that he would be better off in the long run staying in college for another year, but family is one reason that I can get behind to leave, if they are struggling financially. The only other reason he would have to stay in the draft, IMO, is if he has an incredible day at the combine and shoots up the draft rankings, which isn't impossible, given his size and skill set.

Well, if we lose Thor, then the need for Kessler skyrockets, IMO. Maybe not quite as high as the need for Scoot, but pretty close. Cardwell is a legitimate 5, IMO, but he's just not on the same level as Kessler is. And my record on which players are going to come back has not been very good of late, so...yeah. I guess we'll see in a couple of months.

You seem to be presuming Thor isn't going to be back...

I haven't watched much film of Scoot, but Coop's talent wasn't exactly in passing, because he got too casual about it sometimes. Coop is very gifted in seeing the court and seeing how the play is going to develop, however, and it is that vision which makes him so special. I suspect that Scoot is harder to shut down the way teams were able to do sometimes with Coop primarily due to size, but really, we're going to be dangerous next year all around the court. Honestly, though, any comparison between Scoot and Coop, at least if it's based upon their play at Auburn, probably won't be very fair to Sharife, because (hopefully, knock on wood) Scoot will be able to play the full season next year, whereas Coop only got a few games.

I really am not overly concerned about Kessler. It'd be great to get him, yes, but we have big men who can man those spots for us. If we get Scoot for next season, then this class is a win all around. If we get Scoot and Tyty Washington, I'll be ecstatic. The only way I'll be particularly concerned with Kessler is if JT stays in the draft, because having him, Jabari, and Jaylin down low is good enough for me. Not that I don't want Kessler by any means, just that we need back court players more than big men right now.

But I've been wrong before...

You'll have to forgive me for not believing this when J-Boy is still reporting that he's coming to Auburn.

Ask your wife how much difference an extra 3 inches makes, geezer.

Kessler is listed as 7'1.

Pretty sure Bruce encourages all his players to shoot the three if they have any proclivity to it.

Well...the reality is that we could legitimately put Jabari, or maybe even Thor, at the 3 and start Kessler at the 5, then maybe have Flanigan at the 2 and just have a giant lineup. I'm sure Bruce wouldn't mold the starting lineup that way, but yeah, if he comes, Kessler will get a lot of minutes, no doubt.