I'm unsure why you think it makes me uncomfortable.
Just inferring from word choice and tone. Very real possibility I'm off on that, but you seem to feel very, very strongly that asking a handful of unproductive players to transfer is somehow akin to trying to turnover everybody but your starters every year. Felt pretty hyperbolic, especially when couple with super rosy projections for Evans and Nicol.
What I don't like is people thinking we should cast guys off or Boals should cut them on a whim or single down year. This was in reference to the trio of Sheldon/Evans/Nicol everyone on here seems to want to jettison.
Not that it really matters, but it's pretty hyperbolic to say the suggestions here are that Boals cuts people "on a whim" -- you're welcome to disagree about Evans/Nicol's potential, but it's pretty ridiculous to call others assessment of their performance a whim. Like it or not, there's far more evidence to support the fact that both have a very, very long ways to go than there is to support your optimism. I am pretty sure you yourself said earlier this season that you don't expect Evans to be ready for at least another year.
There's very little that Evans showed on the court to build on; his block rate was very good. He did nothing else well. It's a small sample size, and I hope he develops. But I spent a lot of time looking and couldn't find a comp for a freshman year like that turning into a starter.
Like I said, totally fine to disagree. But the way you're categorizing what seem like pretty rational thought processes doesn't seem all that accurate.
All I said was don't be surprised if Boals doesn't cut any of them, contrary to what the board wants. I also said, any/all could move on if it was THEIR decision - and the most likely one to move on would likely be Nicol since he was recruited over and appeared buried on the bench here (I was right again).
I don't think Boals will move on from Evans or Sheldon. I just think he should move on from Evans. I'd prefer Sheldon stay, because you can easily see how he improves.
Next year, I think that there's a very high probability chance that our bigs rotation is still a problem, and that Evans will leave the program next summer. I think the Boals era is at the point where we've got to be decisive and do everything we can to address very obvious gaps on the roster. Boals sees Evans play basketball way more than I do, and maybe he sees things in practice that make him confident he'll be a contributor next year. But if he's not, it's a pretty big problem and we need two bigs in the portal.
My statement regarding bringing in multiple bigs and playing time still stands. I think we need to bring in a starting center. Whomever that is should get significant minutes. When combined with Hadaway and then some additional contribution of minutes between Kuany and Evans (something I fully hope and expect to see next year contrary to many on here) - that whomever the other/second big we bring in is will likely see minimal to no PT. But sure, if we bring in two world-beaters and recruit over Kuany and Evans, or shoot even Hadaway, bring it on!
Our only real point of disagreement is Evans' likelihood to contribute, and how smart it is to rely on him or Kuany to be a key rotation piece. Particularly in a scenario -- the one you outline -- where the only way that approach makes any sense at all is if we ALSO find a starter to play way more minutes than those guys. Really unclear to me why you accept that as a given, and wouldn't want more bites at that apple. I mean, you're the most wildly optimistic dude here and even in your pie in the sky scenario, Evans and Kuany are backups who split minutes for the third rotation spot.
All it takes for one of those two guys to have to be a starter is 1) failing to sign a starting caliber big on the portal or 2) an injury to that starting caliber big.
One injury, and our entire big rotation is Evans/Hadaway/Kuany. Seems like very bad roster construction to me.
But that may just be my whimsy talking.
Last Edited: 3/27/2025 6:50:06 PM by Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame