A clearer picture of mens basketball's offseason

[aubiefifty 18,113]

 

[aubiefifty 18,113]

 

[AUSCalum87 453]

Still no names for our last spot. Kind of frustrating.

[AUSCalum87 453]

Does it seem that Pearl is focusing more on getting the best players in the court and not worrying about what position they play per se? What I mean is that he seems more open to having guys play multiple positions, especially our wings and guards and figuring out how to get them on the floor at the same time. Also, from what I have read, it seems like Broome will have a lot of minutes at the 4 position.

[HAPvsOA 406]

2 hours ago, AUSCalum87 said:

Does it seem that Pearl is focusing more on getting the best players in the court and not worrying about what position they play per se? What I mean is that he seems more open to having guys play multiple positions, especially our wings and guards and figuring out how to get them on the floor at the same time. Also, from what I have read, it seems like Broome will have a lot of minutes at the 4 position.

I think some of it comes down to the 2025 class, which is loaded and AU is in the top 5 for many of the 5*'s and high 4*'s including the overall No 1. I think Pearl is trying to balance getting in the right type of role players that 1) give AU a good shot at the Sweet 16 this year, 2) are not too expensive so that there is budget to get 1-2 big fish from HS next year plus an expensive replacement for Broome, and 3) not recruit someone that will scare away a top target for next year (so ideally someone that could graduate or go to the draft soon). All that to say, I think it's likely a been a much more calculated decision process than is apparent. And recruiting "tweeners" as some may call them provides more flexibility for both this years team and next year. 

Edited May 22 by HAPvsOA

[AUSCalum87 453]

1 hour ago, HAPvsOA said:

I think some of it comes down to the 2025 class, which is loaded and AU is in the top 5 for many of the 5*'s and high 4*'s including the overall No 1. I think Pearl is trying to balance getting in the right type of role players that 1) give AU a good shot at the Sweet 16 this year, 2) are not too expensive so that there is budget to get 1-2 big fish from HS next year plus an expensive replacement for Broome, and 3) not recruit someone that will scare away a top target for next year (so ideally someone that could graduate or go to the draft soon). All that to say, I think it's likely a been a much more calculated decision process than is apparent. And recruiting "tweeners" as some may call them provides more flexibility for both this years team and next year. 

I can see where he is saving some NIL for next year’s class, but I don’t think that would have any effect on this year’s team. Besides Pettiford and Jakhi, the rest of our team are seniors and Hudson has 2 years left. So in theory in understand but I guess what I am talking about is more in that this year he seems more calculated than other years, as you said. I also think he can see the potential this team could have and it’s why he’s going after mostly veterans.

[AUSCalum87 453]

I didn’t know where to post this but I thought these guys were actually really objective and fair to Auburn. I especially agree with them on not knowing how high the ceiling is for this Auburn team.

Going by their criteria, my rating would look like this:

Departing- 8- I think Auburn really lost one player of significance and Tre would have been nice to have as a backup but other than that wasn’t a big loss. The only significant loss was Jaylin Williams.

Returning- 8- As I have mentioned in previous posts, I believe our starting 4 could go toe to toe with anyone. 3 of our  starting 5 players coming back could have All-SEC type seasons. It’s the PF position where I dock us points. Also, knowing that CMo will be playing some minutes hurts Auburn on the offensive side of the ball. But Denver, CBM and Broome are a pretty good trio, and I do agree with those guys, to make us great, we’re missing that one other star player.

Transfers- 6.5- I give Pegues an 8.5 rating. I believe he’s going to be a huge impact player for us and I believe he is one of the best guards in the portal. Hudson, I give around a 4.5. I’ve already said everything I need to say about him.

Incoming Freshmen- 8.5- I think Pettiford is a 9. He’s been showing up on some mock drafts for next year, he’s immensely talented and can shoot lights out. In my opinion, I believe the only reason he’s not ranked in the top 10 in high school rankings is because of his height, just purely simple. I give Howard an 8. I think he’s much better than his ranking in high school. I also think he’s the most athletic player coming out of high school this year.

Vibes- 7- This is just personal opinion, since I’m still upset about us losing to Yale and until I see us go past the 1st weekend, I’m not expecting much. I also think because our main rivals, especially UAT, have cleaned up in the portal and in high school, it makes you come back to reality that this team could have a good year but still finish 5-8 in the conference. So, I’m excited but also realistic in what we have. 
 
Overall- 38/50. Not bad at all, and could move up depending on who we get for our last spot.

Anybody else want to give their scores based on this criteria?

Edited May 22 by AUSCalum87

[HAPvsOA 406]

40 minutes ago, AUSCalum87 said:

I can see where he is saving some NIL for next year’s class, but I don’t think that would have any effect on this year’s team. Besides Pettiford and Jakhi, the rest of our team are seniors and Hudson has 2 years left. So in theory in understand but I guess what I am talking about is more in that this year he seems more calculated than other years, as you said. I also think he can see the potential this team could have and it’s why he’s going after mostly veterans.

I don't actually know how much time Pegues, Jones, CBM, Chaney or Turtle have left, but you're right, there will be a lot of new faces next year. 

Here's my running list with many question marks on time remaining. It sounds like the next guard could be a PG or SG, so that'll likely impact Pettiford the most. And you're right it sounds like Howard in addition to CBM and Moore have some positional flexibility. It just seems like Moore is a short PF or slow SG and that CBM and Howard need some more girth to handle bigger forwards. I know Moore hasn't shown much, but I do think he's a valuable "D first" rotation player when healthy. I just expect Howard to be too good to keep off the floor.  

PG:  JP Pegues(1 or 2 years?), TBD, Pettiford (Fr) (if Markus Howard and Damon Stoudamire could play point, I think he'll move there at some point).  

SG: Denver Jones (1 or 2 years?), Pettiford (Fr) (maybe Howard or C Moore at times) 

SF: CBM (1 or 2 years?), Jakhi Howard (Fr), C Moore (1 year)

PF:  Chaney (1 or 2 years?), Turtle Hudson (2 years?) (maybe C Moore or Howard in a pinch) 

Center: Broome (1 year), Dylan Cardwell (1 year)

[AUSCalum87 453]

3 minutes ago, HAPvsOA said:

I don't actually know how much time Pegues, Jones, CBM, Chaney or Turtle have left, but you're right, there will be a lot of new faces next year. 

Here's my running list with many question marks on time remaining. It sounds like the next guard could be a PG or SG, so that'll likely impact Pettiford the most. And you're right it sounds like Howard in addition to CBM and Moore have some positional flexibility. It just seems like Moore is a short PF or slow SG and that CBM and Howard need some more girth to handle bigger forwards. I know Moore hasn't shown much, but I do think he's a valuable "D first" rotation player when healthy. I just expect Howard to be too good to keep off the floor.  

PG:  JP Pegues(1 or 2 years?), TBD, Pettiford (Fr) (if Markus Howard and Damon Stoudamire could play point, I think he'll move there at some point).  

SG: Denver Jones (1 or 2 years?), Pettiford (Fr) (maybe Howard or C Moore at times) 

SF: CBM (1 or 2 years?), Jakhi Howard (Fr), C Moore (1 year)

PF:  Chaney (1 or 2 years?), Turtle Hudson (2 years?) (maybe C Moore or Howard in a pinch) 

Center: Broome (1 year), Dylan Cardwell (1 year)

I agree with you about CMo, he’s a good defender and could be the 8th or 9th option if we are having issues on defense. I also think CBM and Howard are in that wing position where they will try and find mismatches to take advantage of their skill. 
As for time remaining, I believe everyone except the two freshmen and Hudson will be out of eligibility after this coming year. It’s why Auburn is going all in in next year’s high school top players.