Anyone else concerned that it’s April 8th and we haven’t locked down our 20 minute per game portal big man yet? And please don’t say Vic Searls.

This is starting to feel like groundhog day all over again.

Guys are still jumping into the portal left and right.

Couldn't Searls play stretch 4 forward? He stats are decent on 3-point shooting.

Boals is probably cautious to not bring in a bust when the next Ali Ali is out there. I'm pretty picky about basketball players and Searls doesn't worry me.

We haven't even ended the season yet. Still way early in the portal process. Lots of guys still entering the portal each day. Including our own Ike Cornish today.

Plenty of time to scout and contact guys and figure out what needs and fits for next year.

It went the way of black and white TV, drive in movies, car hops and manners.

With guys like Bradshaw from UK and Mark from Arkansas jumping into the portal today, where exactly does Cornish think he will end up? Is that tiny college in South Carolina where Ellis Dozier went looking for some no-NIL-needed players?

Could this be a reaction to some small forwards showing interest in the portal that would bury him at the end of the bench here? What ever happened to guys just toughing it out and staying to get a degree if pro ball is not an option?

Why are you so sure this was Cornish's decision?

For some reason people look at the portal and talk about how players make the decision to enter. Coaches can basically force their hand. To your point, there are a zillion 4 point, 2 rebound guys. You think they all are in the portal because they're naive and don't know their value? Or do you think a bunch of them are in there because their coach told them their value and they're hoping to catch on somewhere in a last ditch effort?

And Marantz stereo systems?

There are so many good players in the portal, too many to name that could be reasonably had. There are two guards in the portal at a certain HBCU that would be a good haul as a package deal. One is big enough to play small forward. Their combined average per game was:

30 points / 6 rebounds / 5 assists / 3.5 steals

One of them actually made 93% at the FT line. Not sure if that was #1 in the nation but it had to be close if not. Put the ball in his hands late in a close game? I think it would be a wise move.

Getting those two would be a move Billy Beane would be proud of.

I think Cornish just left looking for a clear path to more PT. The portal is a pain in the ass for all coaches. Even if we add another wing this cycle and Cornish didn’t leave, it’s literally not hurting us to roster a former top 100 recruit to see if there’s improvement. Trying to replace his schollie might be a bigger headache than it’s worth (for staff), pending how it all shakes out. Time will tell. [/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=FJC31]
Are we really convinced that he can't help as a role player moving forward with some defensive improvement? We've been through two portal cycles so far and our best gets have been Jaylin and Shereef, even they have their flaws.

I respect how you feel in regards to Cornish, but I'm just not convinced it's going to be that easy to find a replacement (role/bench player) with more upside because...well, it just hasn't been for us.

This to me is wait and see/be careful what you wish for. Our staff couldn't even find a warm body above 6'5 at any level last cycle for our last remaining schollie. Even if just for a year and that was an absolute need. [/QUOTE]I am being pretty careful what I'm wishing for here, I think. Expectations couldn't possibly be lower. My stance is literally that it doesn't matter if the staff swings and misses on a Cornish replacement because 1) his minutes are easy to distribute amongst other, better wings and 2) he doesn't fulfill a need on next year's roster.

Boals clearly didn't trust him to play more. I'm not 100% sure why, but my sense of it is that he was just too much of a defensive liability and too soft.

At a certain point, it stops making a ton of sense to try and parse the dude's stats for value. He couldn't stay on the floor for us, and he or Boals (or the two of them together) decided Ohio isn't the right place for him. Is what it is.

[QUOTE=FJC31]
Are we really convinced that he can't help as a role player moving forward with some defensive improvement? We've been through two portal cycles so far and our best gets have been Jaylin and Shereef, even they have their flaws.

I respect how you feel in regards to Cornish, but I'm just not convinced it's going to be that easy to find a replacement (role/bench player) with more upside because...well, it just hasn't been for us.

People act like we're turning down super athletes left and right, when - like FJC said - we were literally looking for any human over 6'5 to play C and we couldn't do it. We were left at the alter.

I'm not following. Would you rather Cornish be on the floor than either AJB or EJ4?

In the biggest game of our season -- a game where Akron's length was killing us -- Cornish played 0 minutes. I didn't make that choice, Boals did. Both AJB and EJ4 played (injured, no less) more than Cornish throughout the season when all were available.

If you think Cornish's minutes can't be replaced by the two of them, you've got much bigger fish to fry regarding Boals' rotation choices.