by my math we now have10 players with 3-5 more open scholarships. Is that correct?
12 players announced under scholarship: Haynes, House, Hawkins, Steffe, Walsh, Mayo, Sykes, Aligbe, Webber, Moreno, Pikaar and Pauliukonis. I honestly think we will only go with 13 scholarship players, but of course I may be wrong. That means 1 more announcement if I'm right and up to 3 if I'm wrong.by my math we now have10 players with 3-5 more open scholarships. Is that correct?
12 players announced under scholarship: Haynes, House, Hawkins, Steffe, Walsh, Mayo, Sykes, Aligbe, Webber, Moreno, Pikaar and Pauliukonis. I honestly think we will only go with 13 scholarship players, but of course I may be wrong. That means 1 more announcement if I'm right and up to 3 if I'm wrong.by my math we now have10 players with 3-5 more open scholarships. Is that correct?
Yeah, I'm fearing they're gonna stop at Stafford with Finlinson going to Hawaii. Maybe they hold out hope for Prince Aligbe or even Dibba.
It feels a lot like the class of 2 years ago though with Hensley, Trey Miller, Stulic, and RJ McGee where the lack of production is noticeable. IMO, the Valley has had a really strong Portal season and we've lagged way behind.
Stafford is a big time scorer. If it stops at 13 your scorers are Stafford, Steffe, House and possibly Walsh. I would expect Stafford, Steffe and House to all average double figures. I think there needs to be 2 more reliable scorers emerge besides those 3 to have a chance to compete for the upper division. Walsh is certainly a candidate even though he is a freshman.12 players announced under scholarship: Haynes, House, Hawkins, Steffe, Walsh, Mayo, Sykes, Aligbe, Webber, Moreno, Pikaar and Pauliukonis. I honestly think we will only go with 13 scholarship players, but of course I may be wrong. That means 1 more announcement if I'm right and up to 3 if I'm wrong.by my math we now have10 players with 3-5 more open scholarships. Is that correct?
Yeah, I'm fearing they're gonna stop at Stafford with Finlinson going to Hawaii. Maybe they hold out hope for Prince Aligbe or even Dibba.
It feels a lot like the class of 2 years ago though with Hensley, Trey Miller, Stulic, and RJ McGee where the lack of production is noticeable. IMO, the Valley has had a really strong Portal season and we've lagged way behind.
12 players announced under scholarship: Haynes, House, Hawkins, Steffe, Walsh, Mayo, Sykes, Aligbe, Webber, Moreno, Pikaar and Pauliukonis. I honestly think we will only go with 13 scholarship players, but of course I may be wrong. That means 1 more announcement if I'm right and up to 3 if I'm wrong.by my math we now have10 players with 3-5 more open scholarships. Is that correct?
Is Hawkins under scholarship or a walk on ?
Does anyone know where we are with Stanford? Appears there is an assumption he is transferring to SIU.
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Everyone talks about how we need a big scoring wing. And I’ll agree that it would help but last year we had multiple guys that fit that role and we had our worse conference finish in a few years. If we get Stafford, we will have a proven scorer at guard, a ton of options for bigs at 4/5, and some really good shooters. I still hope we find a tall scorer, but I don’t think our season will be defined by it like some others think.
Everyone talks about how we need a big scoring wing. And I’ll agree that it would help but last year we had multiple guys that fit that role and we had our worse conference finish in a few years. If we get Stafford, we will have a proven scorer at guard, a ton of options for bigs at 4/5, and some really good shooters. I still hope we find a tall scorer, but I don’t think our season will be defined by it like some others think.
I also look at it from a defensive standpoint, as in who on this roster can defend other teams’ athletic wings in the 6-5 to 6-7 range without fouling left and right. Really struggling to answer that looking at the current roster besides maybe Sykes if he locks in.
I think right now that's going to fall on Sykes and Aligbe to guard the 4 if we are playing man to man and maybe Steffe and Mayo to guard the 3 which makes up the majority of the athletic wings. Steffe improved his defense as the season went on last year, however he isn't the quickest when it comes to guarding more athletic wings. I also think Mayo will guard taller wings when he is playing the 3. We may play more zone as Hawkins showed a willingness to play zone at times last year.Everyone talks about how we need a big scoring wing. And I’ll agree that it would help but last year we had multiple guys that fit that role and we had our worse conference finish in a few years. If we get Stafford, we will have a proven scorer at guard, a ton of options for bigs at 4/5, and some really good shooters. I still hope we find a tall scorer, but I don’t think our season will be defined by it like some others think.
I also look at it from a defensive standpoint, as in who on this roster can defend other teams’ athletic wings in the 6-5 to 6-7 range without fouling left and right. Really struggling to answer that looking at the current roster besides maybe Sykes if he locks in.
Scholarship12 players announced under scholarship: Haynes, House, Hawkins, Steffe, Walsh, Mayo, Sykes, Aligbe, Webber, Moreno, Pikaar and Pauliukonis. I honestly think we will only go with 13 scholarship players, but of course I may be wrong. That means 1 more announcement if I'm right and up to 3 if I'm wrong.by my math we now have10 players with 3-5 more open scholarships. Is that correct?
Is Hawkins under scholarship or a walk on ?
I know this video only shows Pikaar in SLU practice but you can really see just how diverse and impressive his skill set is.
https://x.com/SaintLouisMBB/status/1874176252992774471
Also, Robbie Avila to Max Pikaar against Fordham.
I think right now that's going to fall on Sykes and Aligbe to guard the 4 if we are playing man to man and maybe Steffe and Mayo to guard the 3 which makes up the majority of the athletic wings. Steffe improved his defense as the season went on last year, however he isn't the quickest when it comes to guarding more athletic wings. I also think Mayo will guard taller wings when he is playing the 3. We may play more zone as Hawkins showed a willingness to play zone at times last year.Everyone talks about how we need a big scoring wing. And I’ll agree that it would help but last year we had multiple guys that fit that role and we had our worse conference finish in a few years. If we get Stafford, we will have a proven scorer at guard, a ton of options for bigs at 4/5, and some really good shooters. I still hope we find a tall scorer, but I don’t think our season will be defined by it like some others think.
I also look at it from a defensive standpoint, as in who on this roster can defend other teams’ athletic wings in the 6-5 to 6-7 range without fouling left and right. Really struggling to answer that looking at the current roster besides maybe Sykes if he locks in.
Agree with this but IMO it’s a pretty significant weakness as the roster currently stands. Not sure asking Steffe to guard quick wings is playing to his strengths, Mayo would be giving up 4-5 inches against some of these guys, Aligbe probably would be foul-prone against 6-6 slashers, etc.
All true statements. Kennard and Dibba fell into that role last year. Not sure how good Finlinson's defense is but he was the obvious replacement for Kennard.I think right now that's going to fall on Sykes and Aligbe to guard the 4 if we are playing man to man and maybe Steffe and Mayo to guard the 3 which makes up the majority of the athletic wings. Steffe improved his defense as the season went on last year, however he isn't the quickest when it comes to guarding more athletic wings. I also think Mayo will guard taller wings when he is playing the 3. We may play more zone as Hawkins showed a willingness to play zone at times last year.Everyone talks about how we need a big scoring wing. And I’ll agree that it would help but last year we had multiple guys that fit that role and we had our worse conference finish in a few years. If we get Stafford, we will have a proven scorer at guard, a ton of options for bigs at 4/5, and some really good shooters. I still hope we find a tall scorer, but I don’t think our season will be defined by it like some others think.
I also look at it from a defensive standpoint, as in who on this roster can defend other teams’ athletic wings in the 6-5 to 6-7 range without fouling left and right. Really struggling to answer that looking at the current roster besides maybe Sykes if he locks in.
Agree with this but IMO it’s a pretty significant weakness as the roster currently stands. Not sure asking Steffe to guard quick wings is playing to his strengths, Mayo would be giving up 4-5 inches against some of these guys, Aligbe probably would be foul-prone against 6-6 slashers, etc.
I am actually excited for the Pikaar signing - upside is huge. I saw him play when he was in Academy and I couldn't believe a guy that big was shooting and playing how he was. I know lots of European guys have that skillset - I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do
Any update on Stafford. Unless he flunked some classes there is 0 reason we’re still waiting
