the Blades said:

Also like Cam Spencer (B1G) and Tristan Newton

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When you had the ball in either of their hands late in the shot clock, they never panicked and made plays. I still think Spencer might be the smartest player ever to wear a UConn uniform- the highest BB IQ of them all. He never made incorrect decisions on the Court and always knew exactly what the right play was. I could not get over how good he was. If he had Demary's athleticism to go with the rest of his game, he be an NBA All Star. The sub par athleticism is the only thing that holds Cam back.

I am extremely impressed by the mixtape highlights posted above on Demary Jr. There is a certain smoothness to his game that looks impressive. I can see why the coaches like him.

Now all UConn needs is Karaban and Reed back. Even if Karaban does't come back, they probably just need to add another PF, stretch 4 type.

Definitely nice highlight tape Richie- looks a lot more athletic than Tristan was

Demary to UConn!

It also seems like SEC to Big 10 is a step down. But like Oats at Alabama, Buzz is operating at a football-first school that only a few years ago spent an absurd amount of money ($75 million) buying Jimbo Fisher out of an absurd contract that they gave to him in the first place.
Buzz, like Oats, may feel neglected and deserving of more attention and more money to their basketball programs. Which they see as being treated like the poor cousins at the dinner table.

the Blades said:

I guess Bryce dropped down to #9 overall while another guy moved up to #7 above him now and got a crystal ball for the good guys, but we shall see...

https://247sports.com/player/silas-demary-jr-46127714/college-302968/

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I believe St. John's loses both of their starting guards, but the question in my mind is how much money did they use up on Hopkins and Sanon? One of the things we should discuss and haven't is that the programs that rely heavily on portal, like the Rickie P led Johnnies, have to have some limit to what they can spend. There has to be some functional if not actual salary cap. And if you pay 2 guys a ton of money how much you got left to spend?

Kevin Willard Hammered For Criticism of Maryland:

More Zanetto Portal Discussion:
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Zanetto in his new podcast gig discusses UConn portal movement in and out:
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Hopkins to St. John's:

Something heavily influencing the portal recruiting is not just who is leaving but who is coming back.

We know for sure Diarra is gone as well as Nowell, and likely Mahaney, which leaves a gaping hole at both starting point guard and possibly back up point guard.

What we don't know right now is if Karaban, Ball or McNeeley are coming back. Or Reed or Ross, for that matter.

Last I checked Karaban, who didn't shoot particularly well this year, had an extended and severe slump, and didn't look like a main man player for most of the year (notwithstanding some occasionally clutch shots and moments) is going at the end of the second round.

Ball has been listed as late 1st round in some mock drafts but is not a consensus 1st round pick. Latest NBA Draft Net mock had him going #17 overall, which may be high as far as a consensus.

McNeeley's draft stock has dropped precipitously over concerns about his finishing ability and his defense. He finished the season shooting 31.7% from 3 and 38% FGs which, simply put, are poor numbers for a shooter of his ability. Latest mock from NBA Drat Net had him going #25. This is as compared to #7 in this same mock after he dropped 38 on Creighton. He finished the season with some very poor shooting performances that didn't help his cause.
So none of these guys are automatically in the draft if the NIL money is right.

Silas Demary Jr. was a good all around 2 year player for Georgia. He is 6'5" and can shoot the 3 as well:
He has also been visited by Kentucky, so there are lots of suitors for this kid. 247 has him ranked as the #3 combo guard in the portal.

Oats is probably pissed that the NIL money is all being used on football. But this is what you sign up for when you are basketball coach at a national powerhouse football school. Same thing with Ohio State and Georgia. The NIL money goes to football first. Maryland's basketball NIL might suck (according to Kevin Willard), but it's not because football needs most of it.

BTW I recently heard UConn has a $7 million basketball NIL budget for next season, and the upper division 1 average ranges from $5 million to $10 million. I would love to know where Maryland's and Alabama's NIL fall in that range. All of this stuff should be more public than it is now. For transfer portal recruits to be shown the money, they need to know where the money is at.

After a week of rumors about taking the Villanova job, Willard finally took it:
This after lots of bitching and moaning about Maryland's NIL commitment. I still believe that for Willard to take what appears to be a step down from the P4 to the Big East, at a time when many on this board are screaming P4 and leave the Big East or bust, there has to be more to this story that we do not know.

That's awesome news. I really like Jaylin and I think he will take a big jump next year.

Luis Gil in Portal:
Although he sucked moose balls in the NCAA flameout loss to Arkansas and got benched, he is a dynamic player. Have to take a look at him even if he is a one year guy.

the Blades said:

FWIW....
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Jamar ought to check out his own video.......

It sounds like Willard is confused about a lot of things, but one thing he should not be confused about is the overall revenue of a P4 school vs. stepping down to a Catholic school that doesn't play D-1 football. I really don't know what he is thinking, but he should leave Maryland if he has a better offer, and Villanova isn't where he should go based on what he is looking for.

He needs to talk to his agent, and learn some facts of life.

I would also note I have heard lots of bitching and moaning by many coaches about their school's NIL commitment. I don't think anyone is ever going to be satisfied unless their school is at the top. How did they land a kid like Queen with no NIL? Queen is a top 10 NBA Draft pick who will likely go before his former teammate Liam McNeeley. That a high school team had 3 top 12 NBA picks is pretty sick.

Is all of this posturing for an extension???

This is very disappointing to me, because I think this kid is going to be really, really good. At the open scrimmage in August he really stood out to me. I was very surprised that he did not get more playing time than he did, but what we have seen from Hurley is that trust is all about experience in his system. He benched Tristan Newton, who at that time was an experienced transfer portal player, multiple times early in his UConn career. Newton later became a UConn legend. It was really hard for this year's freshman to earn his trust. Abraham looked to me like a kid who is a lot better than what his ranking was coming out of college.

the Blades said:

Kevin Willard....
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I am not hearing this reported anywhere else except this one source. I would have thought this would be out all over if Willard told his players. Methinks this is fake news......it also makes no sense to go from Maryland to Villanova in the current landscape of "P4 and everyone else". Willard isn't stoopid.

He is going from a P4 to the Big East? Are you kidding me? Why?

Jaylin Stewart's Stepdaddy making it sound like he is gone:
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