I’ll copy and paste what I wrote in the game thread since it addresses this similarly. I’m sure the true center whiffs have factored, but it might come down to style of play. I’m not sure Boals and staff like the idea of a Jon Smith-type (defense/rebounding) if they cannot shoot the 3.

As someone who follows the portal closely, there have been plenty of bigs or guys who play big that could have helped us from all levels of college hoops. They just don’t have the offensive profile Boals seems to target so I think it’s less about cost and more style of play.

This isn’t an NIL hurdle, it’s bending on a lesser offensive profile/outside shooter that knows his role is cleaning up inside, defense, and rebounding.

This by no means has to be a true center. Smith (best example I have) was 6’6 but played like a center.

“This. At the end of the day, this is Boals ball and his roster. It's position-less with a heavy emphasis on 3PT shooting. Like SBH said, for better or worse.

I tend to lean towards the latter, since it's glaring we need guys in the paint who aren't the prototypical Boals player. Even Kuany and Evans who have size, also have the ability hit the 3. I'm not sure Boals is looking at a kid at this point if he can't to some extent.

Just look at our recruiting tab on here. There's only two total "bigs" on the first page we offered for 2025 in Scantlebury and Alan Gballou. Our current class consists of more (bigger) wings/guards. Mosley is the closest thing to potential post player by default given he's 6'7. That's it. Doesn't exactly solve anything for next season.

It's not an NIL issue, this how Boals prefers to build his roster. The Myles Fosters of the portal world cost a premium, but we don't need that. We need guys who man the paint, crash boards, and can be disruptive on defense. A slash of 5-6ppg, 5-8rpg, and 1-2bpg. You know why that doesn't cost $200K? Because that's currently our old friend Seth Towns. 6ppg/7rpg/1.5bpg.

Players with this skill-set are littered throughout the landscape from HS, JUCO, D2, and D3. I really just don't think Boals is looking at them because it's not his style. It's almost like he's trying to outsmart the basketball world with his position-less preference and 3pt shooting, while neglecting rebounding and physical play.

It reminds me a lot of Bengals and how Zac Taylor has built his team. The Bengals have been dubbed as a Pac12 team trying to play in Big10. All Finesse and no physicality. That's pretty much our brand of basketball.”

We recruited a pretty highly ranked big, he's just not getting minutes in the veteran front-court.

I keep saying it, but I think we need to force feed him minutes in these games that in all honesty are glorified scrimmages.

Is he a big? I've always thought of him as basically a long wing.

Clayton was not recruited as a BIG, he’s just big, and didn’t play it in HS. True centers are costin 6 figures. Money we don’t have.

I was really hoping he could end up as a larger/longer version of a Travis Wilkins type. Low volume/high percentage shooter. Time will tell, but I'm really surprised/disappointed he hasn't seen floor time yet this season.

I'm old school when it comes to this stuff: A post man should play in the post. I understand why mids want the 'stretch 4' guy playing in the post. But to me that does two negative things. 1) You have no post presence, especially vs. P5s that demand a defender stays close to the basket. And 2) for all a 'stretch 4' post guy may give you in terms of 3-point shooting, those guys are rarely quality rebounders, rarely get opposing post guys in foul trouble and rarely go to the line.

Making a couple 3-pointers a game from these guys, in my mind, is fools gold. That said, finding a true 6-9 or bigger post player with the girth to hold his own inside is a true unicorn at this level. But there are some big-butt 6-7 types who could serve the same purpose, and I think those guys are being under-recruited because they don't ... 'stretch the floor.'

Let the guards and wings shoot the 3-pointers. Find a guy who likes to work on the block and gets the four-point play (basket, free throw, opponent foul) should not be a lost art, but it is fast becoming so and I just don't understand it.

Not really sure how to interpret this given my post. Are you saying we're no longer trying to recruit 5s because they all cost 100k?

Rewarding veterans with playing time? Lack of confidence in freshman philosophically?

I suspect he doesn’t look as good in practice as a couple 23/24 year olds, that’s why we should hit fast forward a bit in these early games.

Oh, okay. On the recruiting page, we do not seem to be in on many 5s. I see we offered the French PF, lost a PF to Penn, and have offers to a couple of class of 2027 PFs.

But in terms of Centers, we lost one 2024 offer to NIU and have one offer oou in the class of 2026. We do not seem to be recruiting true 5s at nearly the volume I'd expect given the current roster construction.

I'm not really sure that's true. They just have to be more mobile, and there's now a strong preference that they can shoot a bit. But everybody at every level wants rim protection and rebounding.

It feels like a false premise to suggest that my stance is we need to recruit lesser players. But we seem to consistently load up on wings and guards, and plenty of them don't hit. Last year, Cornish was basically a wasted roster spot. Ben Nicol hasn't played a minute. Burris is injured, but in that same wing mold. Our recruiting class next year includes two small forwards and two shooting guards.

I get we're not gonna get the 7 footer unless he's a project. But we need more strength. It doesn't have to be a blue chip guy, and he doesn't have to be particularly talented. But somebody who can protect the paint and rebound at this point's far preferable to another 6'7 (in recruiting world, but actually 6'4) wing who is 180lbs.

The team has had the exact same deficit for 2 seasons now. Just hoping Boals acknowledges that, and this isn't just a symptom of Boals ball.

I’m not sure how to answer whether or not Towns is happy with his current statistical production — that’s on him and his ability. However, he’s putting up those numbers playing 28mpg. So, I’m sure he’s content with his role.

It’s wild to suggest that players at the HS, JUCO, D2, and D3 levels wouldn’t commit to a mid-major because they’d have to earn playing time. Searls and Evans are just that.

If competing for playing time is such an issue, why are so many guards/wings committing to us?

I’m with BLSS that finding guys who can play big isn’t a direct correlation of recruiting lesser players. It’s a choice of roster build and style.

We’ve both referred to Jon Smith as a profile example. These types aren’t lesser players nor are they impossible to land, but necessary to balance out a team relying heavily on 3PT shooting and playing smaller.

The potential of both Evans and Kuany is intriguing, sure. However, I expect Boals to know his roster well enough to determine if it makes sense to prioritize future potential over immediate need, or find a happy medium of both.