Who stays?

Who goes?

Here is what my crystal ball sees:

Captain Chaos-Graduates
Sheldon-Graduates
PAV-Graduates
Breath-Graduates
Conners-Graduates
Simmons-Portal (Dayton, Xavier or Cincinnati)
Kelly-Portal (Pitt or Penn State)
Walking Bucket-Portal (Ohio Northern)
Evans-Portal (Paducah, KY Community College)
Elliott-Portal (Stetson)
Kuany-Portal
Fisher-Returns
Mosley-Returns
Reese-Returns
McKinney-True Freshman
Bowens-True Freshman
Coach Boals-Tod K (Daddy) Graduate Assistant

I'm not sure Simmons could do much better than a mid-major tbh. He's short to play center at a P4 and not sure he could make as much NIL at another mid-major program. Maybe I'm way off here but seems like he's the type of player that would have to thread the needle in the NIL world to maximize his earnings.

Conners - has one more year of eligibility? He only played one year at App. St.
Simmons - stays
Kuany - stays
Kelly - stays
Burris - stays
Evans - returns?
Elliott - returns
Fisher - returns
Mosley - returns
Reese - returns
McKinney - arrives
Bowens - arrives

Remember he wants to stay near his grandma who reportedly lives in New Marshfield, Millfield, Chauncey, Albany, Glouster, Nelsonville or some place around here! ;-)

JJ Kelly had a solid freshman year. But we were a .500 team in a bad conference, and he didn't average double figures and wasn't on the court in crunch time all the time.

Are we the sort of program Pitt is guys from at this point?

Here's my thoughts....I'm generally an optimist so likely overly rosey view...

Simmons - Hope he stays, we need something to build around. As others have said great late part of the year. I could do with less of the extra curriculars after every bucket.

Kelly - Very likeable, super athlete, but has to be able to shoot the 3. Hope he's back, I don't think he's going to be going higher than the MAC at this point even if he does leave.

Kuany - Hope he's back. So much potential with that length. Add some weight, watch film all offseason. Does he start at the 4? I like the occasional time at the 3 in a big lineup.

Burris - I'm not as down on him as most. Hope he returns and continues an upward trajectory. It's rare to have long term guys but I could see him contributing next year in a small role, and then being a key member his Jr/Sr years. Has to get stronger/quicker if he has any chance to make those improvements. We need a knockdown guy who shoots 40%+, can he be it?

Evans - I think he's gone. Welcome on both sides. His comment about "watching from the bench" during a vid we posted struck me as a wild thing to say, and that he's probably not loving it.

Elliott - I think he's gone too, I'm still not sure he was even at the game yesterday. Was he? His sophomore campaign was a huge disappointment. I really thought he was going to start at the 2 and be a major cog of this team.

Fisher - Likely back as his boys arrive. Is he the starting 2 next year? I hope not, but we have to find a portal SG or maybe he is. Has plenty of bounce, and I like his shot, can he make a big jump?

Mosley - Hope he's back, he looks the part of a PF. Was encouraged by the recent report that Simmons gave him some love. He was actively involved in warm-ups yesterday working with the team to get them ready which made it seem like a guy who enjoyed the experience even if not contributing directly.

McKinney - Not sure what to expect here, I'm guessing a redshirt year or something similar to Fisher's experience this year.

Bowens - Here's my nugget of "inside info"....I've got a friend who works in the recruiting biz evaluating HS kids. He works directly with coaches all over the country and I know Boals does get info from him (probably just 1 source of dozens, I'd hope). I think it's something along the line of "find me some names to consider with skill set X" and then he recommends a group of guys they look closer at. He lives in the upper Midwest so Ohio not his home range any more, but I've seen him put out content about Bowens. His comment to me last night about Bowens is that in the pre-portal era, Jordie would be a high major recruit. That doesn't mean he's starting year 1 and an immediate stud, but I'm encouraged that he's more than just one of the Reynoldsburg group that was easy to recruit. Super athletic, with a developing outside shot, likely to play the SF spot, maybe 4 in small ball lineup.

Portal - 2 PG's or a PG & a Combo G? Shooting Guard (making guard would be preferred), Center. I sat across the aisle from Buffalo's Oboh last night, he was rooting for the Cats down the stretch, even getting out of his seat a couple times, let's get him on board!

Maybe sit on one scholarship and see if there's another HS Sr. who falls through the cracks.

I'm not sure who "Reese" is (?) but Evans and Kuany need to be able to bench their body weight, presume that is around 200 pounds or should be.

If not, the hypothetical new coaching staff needs a new strength and conditioning coach. Maybe get the one from Kent State? A full time S&C assistant coach, not one that is also a yoga teacher at the community center and strength coach for the dance team. One that is JUST for hoops.

I 100% agree that keeping these four is a priority. Where I disagree is that I don't think you can play those four on the floor at the same time because they aren't good shooters. If you take their career averages, they are:

Simmons: 26% (16/61)
Elliott: 32% (16/50)
Kelly: 33% (24/73)
Kuany: 24% (7/29)

For reference, if you look at how many shooters other MAC teams had this year, it goes as follows:

Team Comps - Rotation Players > 35% from 3:
Miami: 7/9
Akron: 6/9
Toledo: 5/8
Kent: 2/9
Ohio: 1/10

Team Comps - Rotation Players > 38% from 3:
Miami: 5/9
Akron: 5/9
Toledo: 2/8
Kent: 2/9
Ohio: 0/10

I believe Kelly, Elliott, and particularly Kuany can develop into > 38% shooters, but this team MUST find guaranteed shooting. If Simmons stays, he is a phenomenal foundational piece for a quick turnaround, but he really needs spacing. If those four guys are in a starting lineup as-is, it allows defenses to collapse in on Simmons with little to no threat of hitting shots from the outside if he finds an open guy. Provide Simmons with two 38% shooters from outside, and that can turn into a recipe for a quick rebuild and turnaround.

Poor shooting was the downfall of this team all year and a big cause for the ups and downs. A bad, but high-volume shooting team will have nights where they go 40+% and punch up, but they will have even more where they shoot sub-30%. They desperately need shooting and perimeter defenders, whether that is developing the guys listed or going out and getting them via the portal.

The glass-half-full take here is that even though this season was miserable, the roster will look wildly different next year for the first time in a while, and there is an opportunity to completely reset.

More guys who can do little more than launch 3's while playing no defense?

(cough-cough Conners)

A recipe for 20+ losses next season.

A little confused, are you saying we shouldn't prioritize shooting after 0/10 guys who cracked the rotation regularly shot above 38% from 3? Defense is obviously a need, but you can't win in the modern era of basketball when your team has no good shooters. I might also be misinterpreting what you are saying.

Folks who may be on here from Muskingum County and/or are familiar with the MVL are much more qualified than me to comment on this. Would we (or should we) have interest in Maysville PG Gator Nichols. As I understand it, he was DIV player of the year last year for state champion Maysville and they have continued to beat good programs all across divisions (check out their results) this year. I believe so far his highest offers are DII. If I’m not mistaken they play Circleville in the tourney at the convo today.

who would name thier kid walking? what nationality is bucket? aint tod k toledos coach? with all the players lost to graduation we might be looking a 98 like team next year

Very nice, but give the guy a break and let him know of whom you are speaking. No reason to keep him or people who do not frequent this establishment in the dark.