As happy as I am about the Chicago kid, this does nothing for me. Can't have Doug Taylor playing 27 minutes next year. That is not a recipe for success. Need another big with Carter who knows how to make at least one offensive move.

****Green offensively.....not good****

Per article found: Mickle, who still is green offensively, redshirted as a true freshman at Central Connecticut State and will be graduating next month. He's apparently going to take a step down from Division I in search of more playing time.

Surprised that quite a few people are so down on this signing, although respectfully, I think some of your expectations for this last scholarship were a bit unrealistic. Mickle is exactly the kind of guy this roster needed. Not every player on the roster has to be a major offensive threat. With Carter and Taylor, along with the freshman bigs, our low-post offense should be fine. What the team really needed was a defensive cog in the paint. That's exactly what Mickle forecasts to be.

As Jeff mentioned, if we'd signed Mickle straight out of Juco ball last year with the stats he put up, people would have been very excited. No, he didn't play 30 minutes per game at FGSU, but FGSU was also an excellent, deep team last year. Their primary big, Demetris Morant, was a transfer from UNLV. Their other best returning forward, Marc-Eddy Norelia, was coming off a year in which he'd posted 17 and 10 per game during his junior season. Fellow back-up forward Antravious Simmons was a 6'9" VCU transfer in his third year in the FGSU program, and yet only played a couple minutes more per game than Mickle. This was an experienced, deep, and talented front court.

Neither Terren Harbut or Jon Smith lit the world up from an offensive perspective (both averaged under 10 points and 5 boards per game), yet both provided an invaluable post presence for two of our NCAA tournament teams. Neither of those teams would have made the dance without their often overlooked contributions. Whether Mickle can make a similar impact remains to be seen, of course, but good teams depend on guys like this. We're lucky to add a player like this at this juncture in the recruiting cycle.

+1

Consider the Kent game in Cleveland. If Kevin Mickle would have been able to spell the bigs and if he stopped just one Hall basket, grabbed one rebound that wasn't grabbed and his main contribution just keeping Carter on the floor at the end of the game, who knows how the final 10 seconds play out?!?

In close games the saying goes that it is the miNUTE particulars that are often the difference.

We won't know anything unless/until Kevin Mickle laces up his sneaks, but your assessment was well researched, well thought out and very well stated, Flomo-genized. Bringing up Harbut and Smith, who were around the same height as Mickle, really helps to state your case. My agreement with you primarily is based upon the coaches electing to give Mickle the scholarship when there are still a lot of guys out there who could potentially fit the bill. This was the type of grad transfer I suspected they would go after in one of my earlier posts. And don't underestimate the effect a Brooklyn-style aggressive, physical player can have in regard to ratcheting up the intensity level of the entire team.

Mind sharing the article about Mickle, which seems to be from a couple years ago?

I'm not saying it's going to happen, because I'm not a scout, and I don't possess a time machine or a crystal ball, but if Taylor and Mickle step up and give more than you're giving them credit for, are prepared to eat crow?

J/C

Obviously nothing is a sure thing and we won't know the true value of this signing until well into next season - but this is a FANTASTIC signing. I'm not sure what planet some of you are on with your assessments.

Look, Tony's not coming back. It's quite likely Jaaron is gone too. This team next year - yeah I'm not high on their potential. HOWEVER, we had exactly 1 post player on the roster. Doug Taylor.

Carter is a PF who was forced to play out of position last year - and while he more than proved his worth on the offensive side of the ball - he got literally abused on defense. He was forced to either let the other team get into the lane at ease/rebound at will - or foul out trying to stop them.

Dozier - couldn't even see the floor when we had nobody else to put in. Enough said.

The two incoming freshmen - Gareri is a stretch 4. Vander Plas is a hybrid 3/4. Neither will be post players unless forced to play out of position just like Carter.

What that means is - Doug Taylor is our starting center next year. Some of you (me included) are okay with that. Some of you shudder at the thought. He'll be a junior. Those of us okay with the idea realize his potential on the glass and on defense. He needs to improve offensively to be at least serviceable with one or two go-to post moves. But if he can be a big body inside that isn't a black hole on offense - he's a net positive IMO. That does mean I hope he makes some big strides this off-season.

That being said you can't go into a season with ONE center. Even if Taylor improves leaps and bounds he can't play 40 minutes. Let alone foul trouble. We HAD to get a backup big.

I could care less about offense. We don't need offense. What we need is somebody who is athletic around the rim. Somebody who can step up and take a charge. Somebody who is athletic enough to hedge and recover on ball screens to minimize dribble penetration. Somebody who can block a couple shots on slashers to protect the rim and make them think twice about crashing to the hoop. Somebody who can body up other low post players on defense without reaching and fouling. Somebody who can box out and get big rebounds.

To me - Kevin Mickle sounds like EXACTLY that guy. If Taylor doesn't improve maybe Mickle starts, but my guess is he's a 15-20 minute a night guy who backs up Doug and is a smart, tough, physical defensive presence. EXACTLY what this team needed. I think the Jon Smith and Tarren Harbut comparisons fit nicely.

Again, nobody knows anything for sure at this point. But I absolutely love this get.

Gotta agree with Graf. I am literally flummoxed w/ the anti-Mickle comments. Who were you people expecting Coach Phillips to get at this point, the second coming of Patrick Ewing?? Geez.

Here's a suggestion. Why don't we let Coach Phillips do his job? The guy clearly seems to know what he's doing. Maybe this get works out, maybe he doesn't. But Phillips knows his locker room A LOT better than any of us could ever hope to, and by all accounts Mickle was a good "glue" guy.

Like I said, I have no clue if this was a good pickup (at first blush it seems to be) but I'm sure not going to go on here and say I'm less than impressed.

Fired up post. The truth is that we recruited underwhelming recruit. We have tried to dress it up with the Brooklyn playgrounds, the he must have wide shoulders, the he was the best post defender. He is the redshirt senior up and comer. We have one more play, we can say that he has long arms like the Greek Freak. The insults don't sting because in reality we are all scratching our heads. First, he is undersized and second he played on the same level as us and put up end of the bench numbers. We should have kept Wadley, he is taller, blocks more shots and gets more rebounds. I will except the moral victory for the young mans sake. I hope he succeeds, but keep your loyalty haymakers to yourself.

I love it

I love the fact that it brought Tim Ford and most of Flomo out of the woodwork, my day would be complete if I read a quote from Slimmy before it is over.

I love what I hear about this kid. A one year that balances the classes and keeps us from committing and tying up a scholly while we get back on the trail

I love that he has been in the Convo and wants to be here.

I love that he fills a spot we need filled and has some skills....and some bounce and some speed and can guard any spot on the floor. I have parents and recruits all the time asking why they are " being played out of position". I tell them everybody loves a utility guy. This one sounds like he can be of service all over the court.

I like Devo...I would be very happy with a similar body.

I forgot what FGCU listed him at when I looked a couple of days ago but he is not on the roster today. From what I have seen on tapes and video he looks like a true 6'7 http://www.fgcuathletics.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=3948&path=...

Thanks Tim and Flomo for poking your nose in here

Sure..article was from 2 days ago: http://www.naplesnews.com/story/sports/college/fgcu/2017/... /

And yes...I will always come back here and say when and if I'm wrong. We can't have another swing and miss with a graduate transfer.

This is the most important stat I've read so far. I don't try and argue about recruits because I do not try and pretend to be an expert. However, this tells me he had a role on a tournament team and we need someone (if not two players) in the paint to eat up minutes to keep Carter out of foul trouble.

Thank you for mentioning Toledo. Because they have had so much success with Kowalczyk that we should say they are getting quality power 5 transfers. (Insert sarcastic laugh)

Even with beer goggles, this looks questionable. I hope the kid does well. I would have tried to recruit someone who could compete with Doug Taylor for minutes, not ED.