Evans isn't rated the recruit that Trent was but he probably is about the same or a little higher rated that Leon Williams was. The MAC is also a lot worse now that it was then. I haven't seen Evans play but he looks like he must be a different style of player. He isn't as thick as Williams and Trent were. I don't know how much that matters. Possibly a lot.

But when you go back and look it is a lot easier to remember the guys that did succeed early. Obviously, just because there were highly rated big man recruits that did play in the MAC a lot as freshman that we can recall doesn't mean that they all did. Heck, out of high school Wiznitzer was rated 4 stars by every major recruiting site.

As others have noted, Boals might have some real dilemmas with playing time with this team. This teams is almost certainly good enough to get into MAC contention now. I think the talent as far as depth goes is about as good as it has been in a while. That's the strength. But we lack an established star and the guy that has the best chance to be one probably isn't 100%. There is probably more higher rated talent in the freshman class than elsewhere but he has to try to win now and if the veterans are slightly better at this moment he has to find a way to keep the freshman here longterm in the portal era.

Pav went to Wofford, not Elon, FWIW.

But he and Reef are going to be the keys that drive this bus. If they can dominate a back court night in and night out, the other positions should just fall into place. Having Pav as a distributor is going to open up so many things for the offense - something that felt like it was lacking at times last season. It seemed like Jaylin had to make up too much of a scoring chunk, which isn't something you probably don't want out of your starting PG.

And if he can't be that guy (which I doubt), I'm really curious to see what Burris has to offer coming in. It's going to be hard to say a true freshman will steal some upper classmen's minutes, but this team needs someone to get the other guys the ball - especially shooters.

I'm with Leon and others on Searls - just be serviceable. Everything else on top is cream cheese icing. More than just the fundamentals it would be nice to have a backup big who doesn't foul more than he rebounds or scores. I'd be OK(ish?) with a three big rotation of Clayton, Hadaway and Searls if they can stay out of foul trouble. But that's just because we're so guard and wing heavy. Kuany and Evans could be thrown in emergency situations unless one of them completely outshines the other and earns meaningful minutes every game. I imagine one of those two will redshirt.

Really hope AJ and EJ can get back to form. Those two on the wings makes this team incredibly dangerous and a lot more athletic when attacking the rim. That was another thing that was severely lacking last season.

This team has potential, probably one of the highest ceilings/highest floor combinations we've seen in a while. At minimum this team, on paper, should win 20+ games easily IMO. Just gotta hope all the cards fall into place and the injury bug who has taken over the Convo in the last decade or so stays away from a major contributor.

I don't know that this is more true of the MAC or mid-majors. I think there's a lack of continuity across all of college basketball at the moment.

That is definitely something I'm sure they are/were considering. And I agree. Skill difference is pretty vast generally, but a 22-23 year old who has consistently put up numbers in D2 I feel can run pretty closely to a D1 freshman.

I think I've talked up Hill so much even I'm tired of hearing it, but kid had years of developing his shots and his confidence in JUCO, comes to BG and dominates. Would he have done that as a freshman? Maybe, but I doubt it. Where he was last season is honestly pretty close to what I expect from AJB this year.

With that said...

I've never seen Searls play outside of a few clips here or there, but a 250 pound 23 year old vs an 18 year old... I expect him to play. And I suspect he can hold his own more than Nichol, Kuany, etc and I bet he can bully Hadaway a bit in practice. It should only make our bigs be a little better prepared for some stronger C's that might want to bully them down low.

Two year starter for Ashland averaged 15.4 points a game, while snagging 7.5 rebounds... shot 68 percent from the field, 45.4 percent from three and 71.4 percent from the line. He can play. Can it translate to a more athletic game? I think so.

I think one key will be how much the PGs really look to put the ball into Searles hands. Are they just looking for dump-offs or PnR layups ... or are they (and Boals) looking to put the ball in his hands and let him go to work.

Boals' history ... when he has a good post guy ... is to give him opportunities to work on the block. In the long run, that opens up the game for everybody, IMO.

If this proves to be the case, then Ohio absolutely jumps into title contention as Sparks at Ball State, and Miami's rising freshman are the only true post scorers I can think of in the league (pending what we see from transfers).

If guards are willing to play 'inside/out' which may mean a few less 3-pointers, but a few more free throws, it could make for a very well balanced team come February and March.

Speaking of squad, here's a photo of the team (minus Kuany?) doing good things over the summer.
https://x.com/OhioMBasketball/status/1818704023563673927?...

These have been fun to watch. Here’s Searls. Solid clips of him bodying Hadaway and AJC in practice.

https://x.com/ohiombasketball/status/1824467334137839908?...

I know it’s only a few clips from practice, but he looks agile and coordinated. I think Vic is going to fit in just fine.

Searls Watch: A Nation Waits.

Wiz had back to back baseline drive dunks in the second half that electrified the crowd and helped spark that win over Fiami. Just sayin'

Just please give us a healthy season of AJB.

I don’t think it’s too big of a stretch to think that we may be able to put two teams on the floor for many games where both are better than the the starting five of the team we are playing. Green cool aid???