Kameron Rooks: Cal 7-1 265 C (son of NBA player) to graduate and transfer

[FeliSilvestris]

Wonder who are the possible guard transfers still on the NU board? Feli ?

Believe it or not, the most interesting of them all is still available: the 6-8 Pitts guard C. Johnson (see his thread). But for whatever reasons NU has never been publicly mentioned as a possible destination for him (perhaps except here). Supposedly he has issued a set of finalists which includes only major bkb programs.
Next in *MY* list would be 6-5 UVa PG Darius Thompson (46% FG, 33% 3P); out of HS was a consensus 3-star, top 150 by Rivals, and had a Vandy offer; may possibly help at sF also.
Ole Miss PG Cullen Neal (son of a college HC) is worth a look (if academically qualified). In a year at Ole Miss, he averaged 9.4 points in 23.6 minutes; knocked down 40 percent of his 3-point attempts and shot almost 90% at the FT line.
Gonzaga's PG Bryant Alberts had offers from both NU and Stanford out of HS. However, he hasn't done much (<--) at GU. Then again, he had major competition for minutes at guard...might be worth a look.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Great point. Reminds me of that old fool who thought earth was spherical when "everybody knew" it was flat. Was that Galileo? What an idiot!
Anyway, I tell it how I see it, and couldn't care less if most/all agree/disagree with my opinion. I may be wrong, and so may be you, most or all. Last I checked being wrong (if that is indeed the case) is NOT against the rules here or elsewhere. Incessantly harassing/obsessing-over/provoking/flame-baiting a poster is, though.

Wasn't that Turk?

 

[EvanstonCat]

Believe it or not, the most interesting of them all is still available: the 6-8 Pitts guard C. Johnson (see his thread). But for whatever reasons NU has never been publicly mentioned as a possible destination for him (perhaps except here). Supposedly he has issued a set of finalists which includes only major bkb programs.
Next in *MY* list would be 6-5 UVa PG Darius Thompson (46% FG, 33% 3P); out of HS was a consensus 3-star, top 150 by Rivals, and had a Vandy offer; may possibly help at sF also.
Ole Miss PG Cullen Neal (son of a college HC) is worth a look (if academically qualified). In a year at Ole Miss, he averaged 9.4 points in 23.6 minutes; knocked down 40 percent of his 3-point attempts and shot almost 90% at the FT line.
Gonzaga's Bryant Alberts had offers from both NU and Stanford out of HS. However, he hasn't done much (<--) at GU. Then again, he had major competition for minutes at guard...might be worth a look.

In general, most of the players you are putting up there who are impact contributors don't want to come in off the bench in their last year.

 

[Medill90]

Here is a good, up to date source of graduate transfers who are still available, and where they are looking. (Scroll down under the list of names to the "latest buzz" section to see where they are visiting). The good news is there are still a few guards out there who look like they could be "impact" transfers -- including a kid who led the nation in scoring at Howard two seasons ago. The bad news -- NU is not mentioned in connection with any of them.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-bas...sfers-2017-18-the-best-grad-players-available

This post is like the old Roman crew ship joke....

The quartermaster comes down to the belly of the ships and says, "I have good news and bad news."

A dirty, nearly toothless rower says, "give us the good news..."

The quartermaster says, "tonight for dinner, instead of gruel, the captain says you should all be served roasted chicken and potatoes.

The cheers were deafening.

The same toothless, now smiling rowers says, "what's the bad news."

The quartermaster says, "after dinner, the captain wants to go water skiing."

 

[FeliSilvestris]

In general, most of the players you are putting up there who are impact contributors don't want to come in off the bench in their last year.

It's not so simple. Some (like for example the Pitt and Rutgers guards) expected major playing time at their original schools...they are moving into situations in which they may actually face greater competition (almost certainly the case for Pitt's C.J. who apparently will end up at a top-10 or better program). Apparently those seek more successful programs.

 

[willycat]

Here is a good, up to date source of graduate transfers who are still available, and where they are looking. (Scroll down under the list of names to the "latest buzz" section to see where they are visiting). The good news is there are still a few guards out there who look like they could be "impact" transfers -- including a kid who led the nation in scoring at Howard two seasons ago. The bad news -- NU is not mentioned in connection with any of them.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-bas...sfers-2017-18-the-best-grad-players-available

Interesting, thanks.

 

[willycat]

Regardless of what the staff may be doing, it is unclear that a guard should be a priority for the final 2017 spot. Best I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong) for next season NU only has as of now 6 scholarship 'bigs': Law (sF), Skelly (PF), Falzon (PF), R.I. (PF), Pardon (C) and Benson (C). That's 6 players to cover 3 positions on the court.
At guard, assuming Gaines is ready to provide (limited) help, NU has 5 scholarship players to cover only 2 positions: Brown, Mac, Lindsey, Ash and Gaines.
So, the situation at guard is actually stronger.
Of course injuries can change all that, but we don't know how that will go. In fact, 2 'bigs' are coming from injury which may or may not have affected their game.
In all, the 'bigs' situation seems more precarious.

Still feel that a back-up PG is a need for next season. There are two guards from Rice on the list that was provided and a couple of guys rom Princeton, both good academic schools. Wonder if NU is in on these guys or anyone else.

 

[EvanstonCat]

It's not so simple. Some (like for example the Pitt and Rutgers guards) expected major playing time at their original schools...they are moving into situations in which they may actually face greater competition (almost certainly the case for Pitt's C.J. who apparently will end up at a top-10 or better program). Apparently those seek more successful programs.

I doubt any of them go to a program where they are coming off the bench.

 

[FeliSilvestris]

Still feel that a back-up PG is a need for next season. There are two guards from Rice on the list that was provided and a couple of guys rom Princeton, both good academic schools. Wonder if NU is in on these guys or anyone else.

A back-up PG may very well be a need...the question is whether a 'big' is an even bigger need...6 players (2 coming from a non-playing season because of injury) to cover 3 positions seems extremely thin (even without additional injuries!)...5 players to cover 2 positions seems MUCH better....anyway, the staff will have to make the decision.
The problem with lesser conferences grad transfers is that a guy who does reasonably well in a league like Ivy or C-USA (which is even even lower) may be far from ready to help at the B1G level...there is a huge jump...That is why I have focused almost exclusively on major-conference possibilities, which represent a much lower risk...of course if none of those wants to come to NU, a minor conference grad transfer will almost certainly be better than leaving the spot open.

 

[FeliSilvestris]

I doubt any of them go to a program where they are coming off the bench.

I gave you two specific examples who may end up coming off the bench...they may hope they won't but no one can really predict playing time at a major program...they will compete for playing time...that's what any self-respecting coach will promise them...depending on many variables (injuries being a key one) they may or may not come off the bench...Anyway, I suppose most care even more about minutes played (whether they start or not). At the end of the day there is far less competition for playing time at NU than at most major programs, especially at so-called factories.

 

[willycat]

A back-up PG may very well be a need...the question is whether a 'big' is an even bigger need...6 players (2 coming from a non-playing season because of injury) to cover 3 positions seems extremely thin (even without additional injuries!)...5 players to cover 2 positions seems MUCH better....anyway, the staff will have to make the decision.
The problem with lesser conferences grad transfers is that a guy who does reasonably well in a league like Ivy or C-USA (which is even even lower) may be far from ready to help at the B1G level...there is a huge jump...That is why I have focused almost exclusively on major-conference possibilities, which represent a much lower risk...of course if none of those wants to come to NU, a minor conference grad transfer will almost certainly be better than leaving the spot open.

Agree that it is more preferable to fill the last open schlorship spot and not play short handed as they had to do the last couple of seasons. Also that either a guard or a "Big" would be preferable. I was just looking at guys from good academic programs, who might prefer NU and could be admitted.

 

[IGNORE2]

Regardless of what the staff may be doing, it is unclear that a guard should be a priority for the final 2017 spot. Best I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong) for next season NU only has as of now 6 scholarship 'bigs': Law (sF), Skelly (PF), Falzon (PF), R.I. (PF), Pardon (C) and Benson (C). That's 6 players to cover 3 positions on the court.
At guard, assuming Gaines is ready to provide (limited) help, NU has 5 scholarship players to cover only 2 positions: Brown, Mac, Lindsey, Ash and Gaines.
So, the situation at guard is actually stronger.
Of course injuries can change all that, but we don't know how that will go. In fact, 2 'bigs' are coming from injury which may or may not have affected their game.
In all, the 'bigs' situation seems more precarious.

I think of Lindsey and Law as wings. I don't think we run a traditional 2 G lineup as much. More is a combo or lead guard with two wings and two big guys. In that case, we have 5 guys to man the bigs. With some crossover, we have 4 guys to run the wing. We have a true SG in Brown. A combo guard in Mac. A guy that has not proven to be a B1G player in Ash and a G that should redshirt in a perfect world.

We also know our biggest exposure is an injury to Mac - so I still think a ball handling, 5th year senior G is our top priority.

 

[IGNORE2]

The best thing that can happen is for Isaiah Brown to develop into a point guard that consistently makes better decisions. He has already shown he can create his own shot and play good defense. It seems a lot of posters, including Sunshine Bob, have written him off. I think he can become a really good B1G point guard.

I have not written him off. I said that as a true freshman, I had little expectations. And he met them. But I do think that Brown is a true SG. I think he is Demps 2.0. His entire HS career - he was the only scoring option. Passing was not an option. Breaking down the defense and scoring is all he knows. Can he become a PG - sure. And I am confident he can handle the rock. But pass and defend as a B1G PG - I think it is fair to doubt until I see something to support the notion.

 

[FeliSilvestris]

I think of Lindsey and Law as wings. I don't think we run a traditional 2 G lineup as much. More is a combo or lead guard with two wings and two big guys. In that case, we have 5 guys to man the bigs. With some crossover, we have 4 guys to run the wing. We have a true SG in Brown.

I suppose you could view it that way. It seems most sources still view NU as a 2G, 2F, 1C team. Lindsey seems to be nearly universally viewed as a G, and Law as a small F, leading to 5 guard-types (including Lindsey) and 6 biggish-types (including Law). The staff will have to choose. In the end they may just add the best available qualifying player regardless of position. Who the heck knows which positions will be more severely affected by injuries...Let's hope none.

 

[IdahoAlum]

I see Gaines as a 2-3 type, so he can fill in for either Law or Lindsey. I don't see a "true" backup PG, so if Mac goes down or gets in foul trouble, that's where I'd focus. But right now, I don't any mention of NU being involved with anybody -- so I'm wondering if we're "done."

 

[FeliSilvestris]

I don't see a "true" backup PG, so if Mac goes down or gets in foul trouble, that's where I'd focus.

Well, Brown IS a PG. He was viewed as such by all major recruiting services, and that hasn't changed as far as I can see... Whether he can play at the level of Mac is another question. Perhaps he will take his game to the next level next season. Let's see. But he IS a back up PG.

 

[Walker Fan]

As usual, Bobby is off. Isiah Brown broke the press well last season and did play a majority of the minutes as the backup point guard. He will be the primary backup PG, even though you can't see or acknowledge that fact. Brown also showed a good ability to make a timely steal and make plays and has shown the ability to score in bunches. He has strong skills even though they are raw skills in his freshman campaign. I know you are not aware of this, but most experts say that a player's biggest development is between his freshman and sophomore seasons or freshman and redshirt sophomore years. See Vic Law's advancement in his game between his freshman and redshirt sophomore season. I also think that Lindsey handled the ball at times even though he is not a PG. G Jordan Ash did fill in at PG in very limited spot minutes. I have never seen Gaines play so I have no idea whether he can handle the ball. He might be in the mix also. If Law wants to make it in the NBA he should be working on his ball handling skills in the offseason because they still need work.

What the tournament and games against multiple bigs like Purdue showed me (see NCAA championship game) is that you need multiple centers to compete with the big boys (i.e. top 16 or sweet 16 teams or better such as Michigan State and Minnesota in the upcoming season). Skelly is not really able to guard centers or bigs from Power Conference schools. You might be able to get by with him guarding some smaller non-conference centers but against the higher level talent is a foul machine. Therefore, I would be going for a third big or center for NU's 13th and final scholarship.

 

[hdhntr1]

As usual, Bobby is off. Isiah Brown broke the press well last season and did play a majority of the minutes as the backup point guard. He will be the primary backup PG, even though you can't see or acknowledge that fact. Brown also showed a good ability to make a timely steal and make plays and has shown the ability to score in bunches. He has strong skills even though they are raw skills in his freshman campaign. I know you are not aware of this, but most experts say that a player's biggest development is between his freshman and sophomore seasons or freshman and redshirt sophomore years. See Vic Law's advancement in his game between his freshman and redshirt sophomore season. I also think that Lindsey handled the ball at times even though he is not a PG. G Jordan Ash did fill in at PG in very limited spot minutes. I have never seen Gaines play so I have no idea whether he can handle the ball. He might be in the mix also. If Law wants to make it in the NBA he should be working on his ball handling skills in the offseason because they still need work.

What the tournament and games against multiple bigs like Purdue showed me (see NCAA championship game) is that you need multiple centers to compete with the big boys (i.e. top 16 or sweet 16 teams or better such as Michigan State and Minnesota in the upcoming season). Skelly is not really able to guard centers or bigs from Power Conference schools. You might be able to get by with him guarding some smaller non-conference centers but against the higher level talent is a foul machine. Therefore, I would be going for a third big or center for NU's 13th and final scholarship.

While Skelly is versatile enough to guard a center, he is a PF type. We have two pretty good looking center types and Skelly if necessary. We are likely OK baring injury.

 

[NJCat]

We are likely OK baring injury.

Bite your tongue.....

 

[mickbula]

If Rooks is still available and we are interested in taking some insurance at center, we should take him. He would be an asset not only on defense but during practice too. Pardon and Benson are going to go up against big guys with bodies like Kameron in big-time situations. Let them practice on Rooks during practice! And what are we going to do if P or B gets hurt? I would love to have an extra healthy 7-footer on the team that has four years of playing big time ball going for him. So yes- I would be all in on taking Rooks on our team!

 

[Walker Fan]

According to all reports, Kameron Rooks has narrowed his choice to 9 schools including schools from the West Coast - Gonzaga, SD State, Midwest- Iowa State and Illinois and East Coast - St. John's. NU is not mentioned. I think Collins and his staff have other plans that we are not aware of for their 13th scholarship and it won't be Sean Rooks' son.

 

[IGNORE2]

As usual, Bobby is off. Isiah Brown broke the press well last season and did play a majority of the minutes as the backup point guard. He will be the primary backup PG, even though you can't see or acknowledge that fact. Brown also showed a good ability to make a timely steal and make plays and has shown the ability to score in bunches. He has strong skills even though they are raw skills in his freshman campaign. I know you are not aware of this, but most experts say that a player's biggest development is between his freshman and sophomore seasons or freshman and redshirt sophomore years. See Vic Law's advancement in his game between his freshman and redshirt sophomore season. I also think that Lindsey handled the ball at times even though he is not a PG. G Jordan Ash did fill in at PG in very limited spot minutes. I have never seen Gaines play so I have no idea whether he can handle the ball. He might be in the mix also. If Law wants to make it in the NBA he should be working on his ball handling skills in the offseason because they still need work.

What the tournament and games against multiple bigs like Purdue showed me (see NCAA championship game) is that you need multiple centers to compete with the big boys (i.e. top 16 or sweet 16 teams or better such as Michigan State and Minnesota in the upcoming season). Skelly is not really able to guard centers or bigs from Power Conference schools. You might be able to get by with him guarding some smaller non-conference centers but against the higher level talent is a foul machine. Therefore, I would be going for a third big or center for NU's 13th and final scholarship.

Wow, can you read? I think I said openly that Brown can handle the ball well - he has had to break down defenses and score his whole career. But can he defend a B1G PG? How about his passing? 37 Asst to 36 TO - nearly a 1:1 ratio. Would one of you stat guys tell me how that measures up for a P5 PG? I honestly do not know. Mac is 2:1. Geepers, walkee - do you know what an SG is? Did you ever see Demps play? Even Demps ended with a 2:1 ratio. Maybe a PG does something different in your astute bball world.

btw,of these 'experts,' how many recruited Brown? Where was he recruited to play PG? Duke? No, he is from the West Coast. Oregon? Cal? Stanford? At least Washington plays in a P5 conference and allegedly offered. But Washington also sucks. And they have two regular guards - one true frosh and one soph that play most of the G minutes. Oh, and that true frosh PG has a much better A:TO than Mr. Brown. So I do not suspect the 'experts' at Wash had Brown pegged as the next PG there either. So, walkee, care to identify your stable of 'experts' so we can look more closely?

Call me an idiot, been called worse by better, but Mr. Brown is a natural SG and I think if he is given the chance to develop, he may exceed Demps by the end of his college career. Assuming Mr. Gaines does not overtake him.

 

[FeliSilvestris]

btw,of these 'experts,' how many recruited Brown? Where was he recruited to play PG?...Mr. Brown is a natural SG

I haven't watched lot of HS tapes of Brown. However, as stated above, ALL major recruiting sites listed him as a PG. Not a SG, and not even a "combo" guard. Exactly as a PG.

I have no idea how each site reached that determination, but I'd imagine they talked to actual college recruiters and asked for which position was he primarily being considered. So, I'd imagine that most programs evaluating him thought his skill set was more appropriate for a college PG.

Whether he can play at the level of Mac is an entirely different issue.

All that said, a PG who happens to be a good shooter can also play as a SG. Why not?

The opposite (a good SG playing PG),may be harder, since a SG may lack the skills to be a good game distributor at the point (the "QB" role), even if he is also a good ball handler.

 

[IGNORE2]

I haven't watched lot of HS tapes of Brown. However, as stated above, ALL major recruiting sites listed him as a PG. Not a SG, and not even a "combo" guard. Exactly as a PG.

I have no idea how each site reached that determination, but I'd imagine they talked to actual college recruiters and asked for which position was he primarily being considered. So, I'd imagine that most programs evaluating him thought his skill set was more appropriate for a college PG.

Whether he can play at the level of Mac is an entirely different issue.

All that said, a PG who happens to be a good shooter can also play as a SG. Why not?

The opposite (a good SG playing PG),may be harder, since a SG may lack the skills to be a good game distributor at the point (the "QB" role), even if he is also a good ball handler.

How about we start with a good passer? And then that whole defending the other PG thing.

 

[Walker Fan]

Write this date down, but I am in agreement with FS. Brown is the PG and will continue to the primary backup PG. I also agree that we need some size and bulk with the 13th scholarship to bang with the big boys in the Big 10 like MSU's Nick Ward, Minny's Reggie Lynch, Iowa's PFs (Cook and the other freshman PF Presl) who like to bang and Purdue 7'2" Ivan Drago lookalike center. How about that for a peace offering?

Let me address Bobby's assist to TO ratio claim. I do not know if you watched the games this year, but Brown came in and played a couple of minutes and the first mistake or TO he made, CC would yank him. Therefore, his assist-to-TO ratio was not good because he was a true freshmen and due to NU's better depth would not stay on the floor to work through his true freshmen moments. Yes, he occasionally made questionable shot selections and some of that occurred when the shot clock was winding down. As for his defense, he did have an ability to create some TOs, but as a true freshman, he was not a defensive force.

There was also a PG who you might know that was below average his true freshman year on defense and was awful in his lateral movement in staying in front of defenders and he has worked on his game and has gotten better every year on defense. His name is Bryant McIntosh. As for Demps, it is obvious that you were not watching his first couple of seasons when he was very inconsistent player and more of a chucker who would come off the bench and fire up shots quickly irrespective of the shot clock. In part, he had to because there was no one else on the team who could create offense other than Crawford. But he was very raw in this first two seasons. Only in his junior year when coached by CC and his staff did he make big steps in his development of when to shoot and pass. Too bad you missed Demps' first two seasons and McIntosh's first season at NU, they were fun to watch.

 

[IGNORE2]

Write this date down, but I am in agreement with FS. Brown is the PG and will continue to the primary backup PG. I also agree that we need some size and bulk with the 13th scholarship to bang with the big boys in the Big 10 like MSU's Nick Ward, Minny's Reggie Lynch, Iowa's PFs (Cook and the other freshman PF Presl) who like to bang and Purdue 7'2" Ivan Drago lookalike center. How about that for a peace offering?

Let me address Bobby's assist to TO ratio claim. I do not know if you watched the games this year, but Brown came in and played a couple of minutes and the first mistake or TO he made, CC would yank him. Therefore, his assist-to-TO ratio was not good because he was a true freshmen and due to NU's better depth would not stay on the floor to work through his true freshmen moments. Yes, he occasionally made questionable shot selections and some of that occurred when the shot clock was winding down. As for his defense, he did have an ability to create some TOs, but as a true freshman, he was not a defensive force.

There was also a PG who you might know that was below average his true freshman year on defense and was awful in his lateral movement in staying in front of defenders and he has worked on his game and has gotten better every year on defense. His name is Bryant McIntosh. As for Demps, it is obvious that you were not watching his first couple of seasons when he was very inconsistent player and more of a chucker who would come off the bench and fire up shots quickly irrespective of the shot clock. In part, he had to because there was no one else on the team who could create offense other than Crawford. But he was very raw in this first two seasons. Only in his junior year when coached by CC and his staff did he make big steps in his development of when to shoot and pass. Too bad you missed Demps' first two seasons and McIntosh's first season at NU, they were fun to watch.

How many games did you get to walkee? I'm sure many were past your bedtime. I noticed CCC had that same approach with Ash too. Yet Ash had twice as many assists thatn TOs. And I definitely watching Demps chuck them up 4 of the 5 years he attended NU. And I watch Brown chuck up, dribble toss up and perform many of the same maddening things. ool factoid - in a few years, we will be able to compare

But to offer you a preview, I pulled stats for Tre, Brown and Mac. Keep in mind that injury shortened Tre's first year, so better to really compare his second full year...

<a href="http://s169.photobucket.com/user/xyzbobxyz/media/Cody/Stats.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/xyzbobxyz/Cody/Stats.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Stats.jpg"/></a>

Don't you hate facts? I know, the stats lie and your opinions is all that matters. Cheers. Let's do this again in a few years! (And the rest of you the bemoan my historical posts - this is exactly why I do them!)

[I'm not savy enough to get the darn stats to appear, but I linked them.]

 

[Walker Fan]

In his true freshman year, Isiah Brown in 14.8 mpg, averaged 1.2 assists per game and 1.1 turnovers per game. In Demps' RS freshman year, Demps averaged 18.8 mpg, averaged 0.8 assists per game, 0.8 turnovers per game. That means that Demps as a red shirt freshman had a worse assists/turnover ratio than Brown did as a true freshman. So wrong again at criticizing Isiah Brown who contrary to your opinion has talent and will show it more consistently in his second season.

 

[IGNORE2]

In his true freshman year, Isiah Brown in 14.8 mpg, averaged 1.2 assists per game and 1.1 turnovers per game. In Demps' RS freshman year, Demps averaged 18.8 mpg, averaged 0.8 assists per game, 0.8 turnovers per game. That means that Demps as a red shirt freshman had a worse assists/turnover ratio than Brown did as a true freshman. So wrong again at criticizing Isiah Brown who contrary to your opinion has talent and will show it more consistently in his second season.

Except demps was a SG, you claim brown is a PG and the difference was negligible.

I really look forward to tracking this debate. The proof will be in the pudding eventually

 

[FeliSilvestris]

Believe it or not, the most interesting of them all is still available: the 6-8 Pitts guard C. Johnson (see his thread)....
Next in *MY* list would be 6-5 UVa PG Darius Thompson (46% FG, 33% 3P); out of HS was a consensus 3-star, top 150 by Rivals, and had a Vandy offer; may possibly help at sF also.
Ole Miss PG Cullen Neal (son of a college HC) is worth a look (if academically qualified). In a year at Ole Miss, he averaged 9.4 points in 23.6 minutes; knocked down 40 percent of his 3-point attempts and shot almost 90% at the FT line.
Gonzaga's PG Bryant Alberts had offers from both NU and Stanford out of HS. However, he hasn't done much (<--) at GU. Then again, he had major competition for minutes at guard...might be worth a look.

FWIW, it was announced a while back that Darius is going to modest WKU. Difficult to see why NU wouldn't be interested in him (except for possibly grades, although I haven't heard that was a problem) and even more difficult to see why he wouldn't prefer NU over WKU (if that was the case). Oh well...
Apparently he had 40+ offers, and actually visited 4 schools — Butler, East Tennessee State, VCU and Western Kentucky — since leaving Virginia.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/spo...pson-transferring-western-kentucky/331690001/

P.S. Rooks seems to be still available, as well as Johnson and Alberts. Cullen is heading to St. Mary's, though.

 

[NJCat]

According to all reports, Kameron Rooks has narrowed his choice to 9 schools including schools from the West Coast - Gonzaga, SD State, Midwest- Iowa State and Illinois and East Coast - St. John's. NU is not mentioned. I think Collins and his staff have other plans that we are not aware of for their 13th scholarship and it won't be Sean Rooks' son.

He ended up transferring to San Diego State.

 

[FeliSilvestris]

He ended up transferring to San Diego State.

Right.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/sd-sp-azhoops-20170602-story.html

 

[IGNORE2]

As usual, Bobby is off. Isiah Brown broke the press well last season and did play a majority of the minutes as the backup point guard. He will be the primary backup PG, even though you can't see or acknowledge that fact. Brown also showed a good ability to make a timely steal and make plays and has shown the ability to score in bunches. He has strong skills even though they are raw skills in his freshman campaign. I know you are not aware of this, but most experts say that a player's biggest development is between his freshman and sophomore seasons or freshman and redshirt sophomore years. See Vic Law's advancement in his game between his freshman and redshirt sophomore season. I also think that Lindsey handled the ball at times even though he is not a PG. G Jordan Ash did fill in at PG in very limited spot minutes. I have never seen Gaines play so I have no idea whether he can handle the ball. He might be in the mix also. If Law wants to make it in the NBA he should be working on his ball handling skills in the offseason because they still need work.

What the tournament and games against multiple bigs like Purdue showed me (see NCAA championship game) is that you need multiple centers to compete with the big boys (i.e. top 16 or sweet 16 teams or better such as Michigan State and Minnesota in the upcoming season). Skelly is not really able to guard centers or bigs from Power Conference schools. You might be able to get by with him guarding some smaller non-conference centers but against the higher level talent is a foul machine. Therefore, I would be going for a third big or center for NU's 13th and final scholarship.

Of course, no Walk into the archives is complete without showing where the kid really schooled me.

 

[IGNORE2]

Write this date down, but I am in agreement with FS. Brown is the PG and will continue to the primary backup PG. I also agree that we need some size and bulk with the 13th scholarship to bang with the big boys in the Big 10 like MSU's Nick Ward, Minny's Reggie Lynch, Iowa's PFs (Cook and the other freshman PF Presl) who like to bang and Purdue 7'2" Ivan Drago lookalike center. How about that for a peace offering?

Let me address Bobby's assist to TO ratio claim. I do not know if you watched the games this year, but Brown came in and played a couple of minutes and the first mistake or TO he made, CC would yank him. Therefore, his assist-to-TO ratio was not good because he was a true freshmen and due to NU's better depth would not stay on the floor to work through his true freshmen moments. Yes, he occasionally made questionable shot selections and some of that occurred when the shot clock was winding down. As for his defense, he did have an ability to create some TOs, but as a true freshman, he was not a defensive force.

There was also a PG who you might know that was below average his true freshman year on defense and was awful in his lateral movement in staying in front of defenders and he has worked on his game and has gotten better every year on defense. His name is Bryant McIntosh. As for Demps, it is obvious that you were not watching his first couple of seasons when he was very inconsistent player and more of a chucker who would come off the bench and fire up shots quickly irrespective of the shot clock. In part, he had to because there was no one else on the team who could create offense other than Crawford. But he was very raw in this first two seasons. Only in his junior year when coached by CC and his staff did he make big steps in his development of when to shoot and pass. Too bad you missed Demps' first two seasons and McIntosh's first season at NU, they were fun to watch.

What was that date?