What does CNO do with the portal this year???

[BamaMoon]

I guess first we have to figure out how many spots we have to fill after determining who is coming back. It looks like it could be around 9-10 that return.

But I saw this posted on another board, Last year CNO portaled 4 players that ended up with 6 points per game on average. They were: Noah, Bethea, Bristow and Bol Bowen.

It would have been better with Bristow remaining healthy, but talk about a swing and a miss in the portal with those 4!!!

 

[BamaMoon]

First reaction is to think, we've got to sign an experienced PG. I think we will, but what if CNO decided to let Amari Allen run point about 80% of the time next year???

Let Holloway run it some (assuming he can get his legal stuff in order and come back and play). Maybe Bethea, if he returns OR Hannah fill in occasionally.

Instead, just go after all the 4s and 5s you can get in the portal!!!

 

[AlistarWills]

We have 5 known spots to fill.
Trelly, Mallette, Williamson Bediako and Philon.
Possibly 2-4 more depending on health, attitudes, tampering, being told to move on, etc.
I really do believe we’ll find a Euro-Pro or 2 for next season just to make it be illegal for everyone else.
I don’t keep up with basketball recruiting so I don’t know what we are looking at there. Mallette has been a mouthpiece for why you wanna play at Bama the last week, maybe that helps convince some kids.

 

[BamaMoon]

We have 4 known spots to fill.
Trelly, Mallette, Williamson and Philon.
Possibly 2-4 more depending on health, attitudes, tampering, being told to move on, etc.
I really do believe we’ll find a Euro-Pro or 2 for next season just to make it be illegal for everyone else.
I don’t keep up with basketball recruiting so I don’t know what we are looking at there. Mallette has been a mouthpiece for why you wanna play at Bama the last week, maybe that helps convince some kids.

I think we've got 3 highly rated big guards signed as traditional freshman recruits.

They take up 3 of 4 senior spots.

I think there has to be some movement on the roster.

Some think if if Holloway can get his legal ducks in a row, Alabama may not let him play. That could open another spot...but we already are pretty heavy with guards.

I'd definitely let B. Bowen go for starters.

IMO, we've got to find at least 2 major bigs in the portal...hopefully some 24 year old European players.

If the big true freshman is clearned to play that's 6'11" and 265 that my help some too!!! And if Sherrell can play "bigger" and "stronger" that'll help!

 

[BamaMoon]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2037892468994429252

 

[AlistarWills]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2037892468994429252

We see football players bulk up quite a bit between freshman and sophomore years. I wonder what the difference is in the body types that we don’t see that kind of bulking up in basketball players typically. It took 2 years for Holloway to start showing some muscle.

 

[AlexanderFan]

We see football players bulk up quite a bit between freshman and sophomore years. I wonder what the difference is in the body types that we don’t see that kind of bulking up in basketball players typically. It took 2 years for Holloway to start showing some muscle.

For the longest it was considered taboo for basketball players to “bulk up”, it would mess with their form, release points, and game overall. That’s not really accurate, as long as you continue to practice.

What could be an issue is Oat’s desired pace of play, which would keep the body of the player in constant pare down mode, which would keep off the fat and muscle.

 

[AlistarWills]

For the longest it was considered taboo for basketball players to “bulk up”, it would mess with their form, release points, and game overall. That’s not really accurate, as long as you continue to practice.

What could be an issue is Oat’s desired pace of play, which would keep the body of the player in constant pare down mode, which would keep off the fat and muscle.

And the answer to that is more calories. Which is where the nutrition people come in to play. Look if someone needs help in putting weight on, I’m your guy. I mean pizza…duh! But the athletic program knows how to feed these athletes and put the right weight on them with the right foods. I’ve seen videos of the cuts of meat available to the football players in the athletic dining facility.
Heck, I had a cousin go to Troy and they would make him drink Slim-Fast with meals for the extra calories and protein to put weight on him. He’s been out of ball a while and still looks like he was chiseled out of marble in Ancient Rome.

 

[AlexanderFan]

And the answer to that is more calories. Which is where the nutrition people come in to play. Look if someone needs help in putting weight on, I’m your guy. I mean pizza…duh! But the athletic program knows how to feed these athletes and put the right weight on them with the right foods. I’ve seen videos of the cuts of meat available to the football players in the athletic dining facility.
Heck, I had a cousin go to Troy and they would make him drink Slim-Fast with meals for the extra calories and protein to put weight on him. He’s been out of ball a while and still looks like he was chiseled out of marble in Ancient Rome.

You’re totally right. Assuming it’s not a genetic limitation (possible), that means these guys are exactly the size the staff wants them. That has to change.

 

[BAMARICH]

Guys I think that are definite returnees: Allen, Jemison, Sherrill

Guys that I think are definitely gone: Bristow, Hannah plus Mallette, Philon, Williamson, Wrightsell

Guys that I think are in between: Bethea, Bol Bowen, Collins, Holloway

Of the guys in the last list, I think BB and Collins could end up helping us in the paint - with BB doing that IF he has a strong offseason in the weight room. Bethea has potential but has to commit to being an all-around player while Holloway may bring more baggage than Oats prefers.

That's six definite spots IMO and possibly as many as eight. Ball handlers and bigs look to be the biggest areas we've got to target.

 

[alabama mike1]

We rank 343rd in division one allowing points in the paint. That has to be addressed right away. Like it or not, CNO missed big time on Williamson. He simply was not athletic enough to compete in the SEC. Did you also notice the physical size difference in Michigans forward and ours? Big, strong and physical young men. Another miss this year was Bol. He cannot physically matchup well rebounding. We need a big to help out Sherrell and stronger forwards.

Wishing the young men who are graduating the very best as they open the next chapter in life. TY to all the players who wore the Crimson this year. Next year, we will go dancing again and hopefully win several games in the process.

CNO has brought excitement to Bama bb that has not been seen since Coach Sanderson roamed the sidelines. Remember, it was not that long ago that we just hoped to make the dance, now it’s an expectation. Not only do we expect to make the dance, we expect to win games in the tournament. We are not a blue blood in basketball by any stretch of the imagination but we are much better off now than before Oats came.

 

[BamaMoon]

Guys that I think are definitely gone: Bristow, Hannah plus Mallette, Philon, Williamson, Wrightsell

Guys that I think are in between: Bethea, Bol Bowen, Collins, Holloway

I'm thinking CNO/staff like Bristow (there are wild rumors about what was wrong with him, but he was on the bench every game in a supportive role) and they have spoken highly of Hannah's defensive prowness (and he's a freakish athlete that could develop into an offensive weapon).

I also think Collins Onyejiaka will be back if his health allows (and I hope it does cause he's the kind of forward/center we need to help Sherrell). And, I hope Holloway can come back.

As for me, I'm not sure about Bethea. Great frame and athlete who looks like he's uncomfortable in our offense, for some reason. Perhaps another year would solve the riddle, but is that a chance we should take?

Other than a few 3 point shots here and there, Bol Bowen showed me nothing. We've got to have more dynamic offensive and defensive guys than him. For me, he's a firm NO to return (but we'll see what CNO thinks).

And I think we'll see Mallette back! He's got grad assistant written all over him. And we know how he feels about the program! I see future coach in him.

 

[Bama9001]

This is going to be a fun thread to follow.

I've seen several places where Bethea is part of the answer but I haven't seen anything at all from him. What's the story on him?

We really whiffed on the portal last year. We took chances on affordable guys that didn't pan out.

We need to take a hard look at how we are evaluating these portal guys from both a talent and health standpoint.

 

[Bpilktree]

We see football players bulk up quite a bit between freshman and sophomore years. I wonder what the difference is in the body types that we don’t see that kind of bulking up in basketball players typically. It took 2 years for Holloway to start showing some muscle.

Williamson bulked up some this season but in turn he lost a lot of some of the quickness and agility he had. He was never a great athlete like so Nelson was but he was a better athlete last year.

 

[Bpilktree]

We rank 343rd in division one allowing points in the paint. That has to be addressed right away. Like it or not, CNO missed big time on Williamson. He simply was not athletic enough to compete in the SEC. Did you also notice the physical size difference in Michigans forward and ours? Big, strong and physical young men. Another miss this year was Bol. He cannot physically matchup well rebounding. We need a big to help out Sherrell and stronger forwards.

Wishing the young men who are graduating the very best as they open the next chapter in life. TY to all the players who wore the Crimson this year. Next year, we will go dancing again and hopefully win several games in the process.

CNO has brought excitement to Bama bb that has not been seen since Coach Sanderson roamed the sidelines. Remember, it was not that long ago that we just hoped to make the dance, now it’s an expectation. Not only do we expect to make the dance, we expect to win games in the tournament. We are not a blue blood in basketball by any stretch of the imagination but we are much better off now than before Oats came.

Michigan paid 5 million plus for the guys that brought in most likely so yes they will be more physically gifted and talented. I don’t know how much we had available but based on the level of guys brought in and where many experts had those guys ranked we spent probably less then a million. It’s a lot easier to bring guys into the system that are talented and physical when you can spend 5x what our team can. Heck we couldn’t even keep Mo D. from last year because Kentucky came and offered him more than we could. We should be able to spend a bit more this offseason as we won’t need to have money saved for Philon like last year and even Holloway most likely however we still have no where near what some teams have.

It’s really hard to determine what guys stay and what guys we might be interested in because we have no idea what money we have to spend or even have used and what money other teams have available. If you’re looking at guys in the top 20 transfer portal I feel you are going to be highly disappointed in what CNO brings in. There are some teams that are like the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees that money isn’t an issue. I don’t think we are a team like the Pirates or Rays with no money but more like the Reds or Orioles that have a little money but maybe can bring in 1 high guy and 2 mid guys then have to fill in roster with rest lower level guys.