Two 7-Footers?

[Techster]

Maybe he'll grow into a 7-footer, then this was the perfect thread for him. Only 11-inches to go!

Heck, I'll take another Matt Harpring situation. 6'2 to 6"8 and turns into a dominant forward.

 

[stinger78]

I think the wish (dream? fantasy? vision?) is that we have a coach whose strength is player development and coaching, and that we will have several players elevate above their status on paper.

In the age of NIL, I struggle to think that player development is much of a thing anymore. In this day you play one year with the best, most polished guys you can find and then shuffle the deck the following year. Shrug.

 

[YlJacket]

I think you can develop players that have potential but only to that one year where they shine and then you obviously have to worry that they’re going to hit the portal themselves. Whether that is worth it to a program or not is up for debate. But if you see a player who has a deficiency you think you obviously can work on but has the physical skills, I can see the argument for it

 

[Northeast Stinger]

In the age of NIL, I struggle to think that player development is much of a thing anymore. In this day you play one year with the best, most polished guys you can find and then shuffle the deck the following year. Shrug.

I’m trying hard not to think we are doomed.

 

[AUFC]

I think you can develop players that have potential but only to that one year where they shine and then you obviously have to worry that they’re going to hit the portal themselves. Whether that is worth it to a program or not is up for debate. But if you see a player who has a deficiency you think you obviously can work on but has the physical skills, I can see the argument for it

Your hope is kind of that the season goes well enough that people who aren't attending/donating today start attending/donating. That could have kept Nait George and Duncan Powell at GT, but we didn't have enough gunpowder to keep them from better funded programs in Syracuse/Georgetown (eventually Providence since I think Powell could not get into Georgetown due to grades iirc). And even if those kind of guys do leave after you develop them, hopefully those new donors help fund replacements.

 

[Tommy_Taylor_1972]

I think you can develop players that have potential but only to that one year where they shine and then you obviously have to worry that they’re going to hit the portal themselves. Whether that is worth it to a program or not is up for debate. But if you see a player who has a deficiency you think you obviously can work on but has the physical skills, I can see the argument for it

Players have to produce every year, including their first, in order to elevate their brand, whether they go or stay. Players want to play. They should come in ready to play, either from their high school or from another college. There should be no guaranteed positions for anyone, they all have to prove themselves every day in practice and in games. It is obvious to the coach, their teammates, and to the fans if they don't, and their statue on the team can go up or down accordingly. At the end of each season, every player and coach re-evaluates each player for the following season. Then players go and others come.

The key to success in this for the player to have an idea of their current capability, as well as realistic expectations and goals for a college career. Only 5 of 15 will start, then next five will get good minutes, and the scrub/scout team 5 will get fewer minutes. As well, the coach should tell the current and incoming players where they have developed and how they will likely fit into the next season's team.

I give Coach Cross the benefit of the doubt that he is honest and realistic with all the players for next season. I also believe he has told each how may fit into the team efforts to win. The should be few surprises to start with, and some may go either way depending on how the pre-season goes. And some may go up or down during the season and change their spot in the rotation. And I give the players the benefit of the doubt in matching their capabilities and expectations with what the coach told them. There is likely no players on the team that have been promised to me in the NBA after next year. I fully expect players to go somewhere else if, at the end of the year, their or the coaches' expectations are not met. Some may go to higher level teams and some lower. Bottom line, winning and team unity shape the feelings for keeping the team together and working each consecutive year for more wins and championships.

That's what I learned in my playing and coaching days 50 years ago, and applies even ore today as the opportunities for change is provided. My gut feeling is that the NIL/revenue sharing will be less crazy when the team wins and brings in more revenue from monetary support for the players and coaches. Donors and fans will give more for a stable team who wins. They will know their names, recognize their image as a Tech Man athletically and academically, and just like the players and coaches.

I feel comfortable with the setup for the the 2026-2027 season, and will re-evaluate my feelings as the players and coaches reevaluate thee players each season as it comes. I dream of us getting back to the idea of every player graduating. Coach Hyder had all but one scholarship player graduate in his 22 years coaching. Peanut Murphy was the exception, where he got a great job in his hometown Greenville GA with UPS a quarter short of graduating.

 

[Tommy_Taylor_1972]

Maybe he'll grow into a 7-footer, then this was the perfect thread for him. Only 11-inches to go!

His first experience with a 7 footer.

 

[Pizzabagels516]

I will be surprised if Harper sees the court in an ACC game. We might have an OOC game where gets a few minutes. Even with Q4 teams there's huge leap up from a small private school division in HS. The speed of the game can be mind blowing. I know.

He’ll play vs Florida lol. We’re gonna get destroyed by them

 

[GTJacket Fan]

He’ll play vs Florida lol. We’re gonna get destroyed by them

Hold it.

Never go into a game or season with that kind of loser attitude. You won't beat anybody like that.

And, if we do get destroyed, that doesn't justify the crummy outlook.

We lost 20 games last season and hung with Duke on their floor, despite the talent (NIL) advantage they had. Games are won and lost on the floor, not on paper.

 

[stinger78]

Hold it.

Never go into a game or season with that kind of loser attitude. You won't beat anybody like that.

And, if we do get destroyed, that doesn't justify the crummy outlook.

We lost 20 games last season and hung with Duke on their floor, despite the talent (NIL) advantage they had. Games are won and lost on the floor, not on paper.

 

[Peacone36]

Hold it.

Never go into a game or season with that kind of loser attitude. You won't beat anybody like that.

And, if we do get destroyed, that doesn't justify the crummy outlook.

We lost 20 games last season and hung with Duke on their floor, despite the talent (NIL) advantage they had. Games are won and lost on the floor, not on paper.

While what you say about floor and paper is correct, embracing logic/realism is often rewarded.

That said, I think we are going to be better than last season. The keys being Valdes and Jordan IMHO. Love the Muldrew addition. With the exception of outside shooting he was real good at the end of last season (8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.8 helpers) and his defensive rating was the same as Wacie for the season.

 

[AUFC]

While what you say about floor and paper is correct, embracing logic/realism is often rewarded.

That said, I think we are going to be better than last season. The keys being Valdes and Jordan IMHO. Love the Muldrew addition. With the exception of outside shooting he was real good at the end of last season (8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.8 helpers) and his defensive rating was the same as Wacie for the season.

hoop-explorer moved us to a best case scenario of getting onto the bubble (Top 60 in this new 76 team field). We would need all 3 of:
- Colby Garland being borderline all-conference
- Courtland Muldrew being starter caliber
- Cole Kirouac being starter caliber / 6th man type

So I agree, I think we will be better and there is a path to that new "Opening Round" in Dayton/TBD but we'll need a lot of stuff to go right. Although not going to lie, making the tournament doesn't feel like much of an accomplishment now that nearly every high major gets an at-large bid with the larger field.

 

[GTJacket Fan]

While what you say about floor and paper is correct, embracing logic/realism is often rewarded.

That said, I think we are going to be better than last season. The keys being Valdes and Jordan IMHO. Love the Muldrew addition. With the exception of outside shooting he was real good at the end of last season (8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.8 helpers) and his defensive rating was the same as Wacie for the season.

And by rewarded, do you suggest putting money on the line?

 

[Techster]

hoop-explorer moved us to a best case scenario of getting onto the bubble (Top 60 in this new 76 team field). We would need all 3 of:
- Colby Garland being borderline all-conference
- Courtland Muldrew being starter caliber
- Cole Kirouac being starter caliber / 6th man type

So I agree, I think we will be better and there is a path to that new "Opening Round" in Dayton/TBD but we'll need a lot of stuff to go right. Although not going to lie, making the tournament doesn't feel like much of an accomplishment now that nearly every high major gets an at-large bid with the larger field.

Garland/Whitlock/Muldrew gives GT one of the best guard rotations in the country. Maybe top 15-20. They should be one of the better ones in the ACC. You have to give Cross a LOT credit for what he did at our guard spots. All three of them should give us the potential for 3 players who could go for double digit scoring.

This team is shaping up to resemble Cross's 2023-2024 Troy team where 4 guards led Troy in scoring. All 4 of them averaged at least 11 points (3 of them were at 11+ points/game) with the high scorer at 15.1 points/game. That team finished with 22 wins and 1st in Sun Belt standings. The tallest player on that team was 6'9.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/2653/season/2024

Add in Valdes, who led Troy in assists and scoring last season, and GT has some legitimate pieces.

Cross and staff will need to work their magic with our big guys. Fields will almost certainly start the beginning of the season at the 4 spot, and he should be solid there...he won't be a superstar, but he'll need to be physical presence in the blocks to help our young 5...whoever that ends up being.

If Diop can give us anywhere close to what Ndongo gave us as a freshmen, GT could be sneaky good next season. There's a lot of bodies at the 4/5 spots, and talent...but VERY short of experience outside of Fields. They will certainly be a barometer on how good our staff is at developing talent.

 

[orientalnc]

Garland/Whitlock/Muldrew gives GT one of the best guard rotations in the country. Maybe top 15-20. They should be one of the better ones in the ACC. You have to give Cross a LOT credit for what he did at our guard spots. All three of them should give us the potential for 3 players who could go for double digit scoring.

This team is shaping up to resemble Cross's 2023-2024 Troy team where 4 guards led Troy in scoring. All 4 of them averaged at least 11 points (3 of them were at 11+ points/game) with the high scorer at 15.1 points/game. That team finished with 22 wins and 1st in Sun Belt standings. The tallest player on that team was 6'9.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/2653/season/2024

Add in Valdes, who led Troy in assists and scoring last season, and GT has some legitimate pieces.

Cross and staff will need to work their magic with our big guys. Fields will almost certainly start the beginning of the season at the 4 spot, and he should be solid there...he won't be a superstar, but he'll need to be physical presence in the blocks to help our young 5...whoever that ends up being.

If Diop can give us anywhere close to what Ndongo gave us as a freshmen, GT could be sneaky good next season. There's a lot of bodies at the 4/5 spots, and talent...but VERY short of experience outside of Fields. They will certainly be a barometer on how good our staff is at developing talent.

Garland & Whitlock seem like decent players, but both are small (6'1" and 6"0"). Muldrew also looks like he has potential, but he has so little data to compare...

Your statement seems to be a reach. We'll see. I remain skeptical at this point that this group will be anywhere close to the top of the ACC.

 

[Techster]

Garland & Whitlock seem like decent players, but both are small (6'1" and 6"0"). Muldrew also looks like he has potential, but he has so little data to compare...

Your statement seems to be a reach. We'll see. I remain skeptical at this point that this group will be anywhere close to the top of the ACC.

I think those that don't do research before making statements are reaching. I've done the research.

Garland:

Back to Coby Garland, he's been at 3 different schools so far. Drake, Longwood, San Jose State...GT will be his 4th school in 4 years. This will be the definition of a basketball mercenary/1 year rental.

The guy can flat out score though, and he shows up in big games.

Last season (Points/Assists/Rebs):
Utah - 21/3/4
Mich St - 17/6/5
Stanford - 20/9/3
New Mexico (3rd Mtn West) - 27/3/4, 24/6/3, (Mtn West Qtr finals) 20/7/5
San Diego St (2nd Mtn West) - 30/1/4
Utah State (1st Mtn West) - 17/5/4

He's not a volume shooter from 3pt line (avgs 3.2 shots a game from there) and is a decent 3pt shooter (37.2% last season).

This guy can score on pretty much everyone. It seems the bigger the game, the better he plays...as you can see against the P4 teams and the top teams in the Mtn West. GT will need scoring this season, and getting a very good guard like Garland can make a high impact for our team. He seems a bit "ball dominant" as it seems he looks to score first (just under 15 attempts per game), but he's making just under 50% from the field.

The guy proved it last season against every P4 team he played against, and all the top teams in his conference. I don't care about size, I care about production. That kind of production isn't questionable.

Whitlock:

I was looking at Whitlock's stats, and while he's buckets all day, he does have a LOT of games where he's getting 5+ assists. He's for sure a volume shooter at 14+ attempts per game.

Against high majors last year:

Houston: 18pts/0assists/9rebs
WVU: 2/0/1 (attrocious shooting night for him going 1-8)
Rutgers: 21/1/3

Other games of note:

TX State (2nd Sun Belt): 31/1/0
LIU (1st NEC): 22/2/2
Colgate (2nd Patriot): 12/3/3, 32/3/3, 22/10/3 (Patriot Semifinal)
Navy (1st Patriot): 31/3/1, 20/1/2
Boston University (Patriot Final): 18/4/3

Prairie View (NCAAT First 4): 5/2/3 (2-15 shooting)

Outside of one game against Colgate where he had 10 assists, stats are showing he does struggle to distribute (or at least gets assists) against the better teams. I would say against the lower competition teams, he's probably 4-5 assists per game. If he's just going to be true CG and our "scorer" distributing matters less as that won't be his primary job...which is scoring. He can definitely score. I doubt he's getting 20pts/game in the ACC, but if he can get around 15pts/game that's will be good for GT.

As it stands, right now GT has two guys who can get us 10-15+ points a night: Whitlock and Valdes. If we can get another 2 guys (hopefully one of them is a PG), Cross should have a good squad to work with.

Again, high level production against high level competition. He's not as consistent as Garland, but he can put up a LOT of points against good teams.

I don't care about a player's height at the guard spots (remember, we had 5'11 Alvarado and 6'3 Devoe at our two guard spots the last time we made the NCAAT), all I care about is production. Whitlock and Garland are just bucket getters. Garland is 6' and Whitlock is 6'2...that's basically the same height combo as Alvarado and Devoe. I trust Cross's judgement on this over messageboard knuckleheads like us.

As for Muldrew, how much do you need to see to know that as a true freshmen, he closed out the season in a P4 League on a strong note? You don't think the kind of production he had the last 1/4 to 1/3 of the season is going to translate at GT? I don't think that's a reach at all.

I'll put my neck out there and say Muldrew may just be one of the steals of this transfer class...I have ZERO doubt he averages 8-10+ pts a game, and 4+ assists/ game for
GT next season.

 

[orientalnc]

I think those that don't do research before making statements are reaching. I've done the research.

Garland:



The guy proved it last season against every P4 team he played against, and all the top teams in his conference. I don't care about size, I care about production. That kind of production isn't questionable.

Whitlock:



Again, high level production against high level competition. He's not as consistent as Garland, but he can put up a LOT of points against good teams.

I don't care about a player's height at the guard spots (remember, we had 5'11 Alvarado and 6'3 Devoe at our two guard spots the last time we made the NCAAT), all I care about is production. Whitlock and Garland are just bucket getters. Garland is 6' and Whitlock is 6'2...that's basically the same height combo as Alvarado and Devoe. I trust Cross's judgement on this over messageboard knuckleheads like us.

As for Muldrew, how much do you need to see to know that as a true freshmen, he closed out the season in a P4 League on a strong note? You don't think the kind of production he had the last 1/4 to 1/3 of the season is going to translate at GT? I don't think that's a reach at all.

I'll put my neck out there and say Muldrew may just be one of the steals of this transfer class...I have ZERO doubt he averages 8-10+ pts a game, and 4+ assists/ game for
GT next season.

I looked at the same data on Sports-Reference. I said nothing negative about either Garland or Whitlock. I think they will be decent small guards for us. If Duke starts Dame Sarr at guard, who will guard him? You have to play the game on both ends of the floor. And the players have complement each other. I have greater doubts about Muldrew than you, but I never anything negative about him either.

I would rather your euphoria be the reality we actually see, but I think we will struggle getting everyone on the same page and it will bite us like it did last year.

BTW, Devoe was 6'4" and the Knicks say Jose is 6 feet even.

 

[Peacone36]

And by rewarded, do you suggest putting money on the line?

Almost always depending on terms

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Garland & Whitlock seem like decent players, but both are small (6'1" and 6"0"). Muldrew also looks like he has potential, but he has so little data to compare...

Your statement seems to be a reach. We'll see. I remain skeptical at this point that this group will be anywhere close to the top of the ACC.

But didn’t we love his optimism!

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I think those that don't do research before making statements are reaching. I've done the research.

Garland:



The guy proved it last season against every P4 team he played against, and all the top teams in his conference. I don't care about size, I care about production. That kind of production isn't questionable.

Whitlock:



Again, high level production against high level competition. He's not as consistent as Garland, but he can put up a LOT of points against good teams.

I don't care about a player's height at the guard spots (remember, we had 5'11 Alvarado and 6'3 Devoe at our two guard spots the last time we made the NCAAT), all I care about is production. Whitlock and Garland are just bucket getters. Garland is 6' and Whitlock is 6'2...that's basically the same height combo as Alvarado and Devoe. I trust Cross's judgement on this over messageboard knuckleheads like us.

As for Muldrew, how much do you need to see to know that as a true freshmen, he closed out the season in a P4 League on a strong note? You don't think the kind of production he had the last 1/4 to 1/3 of the season is going to translate at GT? I don't think that's a reach at all.

I'll put my neck out there and say Muldrew may just be one of the steals of this transfer class...I have ZERO doubt he averages 8-10+ pts a game, and 4+ assists/ game for
GT next season.

I like your enthusiasm, as well as your ability to pick the right data to make your strongest case. However, you suggested we will have one of the best groups of guards in the country. I hope you are right but I’m not seeing it.