No matter who picks who from the portal it is hard to blend in some people can reload with transfers but I would rather do it the hard way because you cant always count on transfers I would rather build through high school players and an occasional transfer for sustainability
This. If Mullins way works, its sustainable. You don't see Loyola and Murray building through transfers, they go get freshmen and develop them then supplement their team with transfers
Umm in Loyola's final four run I believe two of their starters were transfers. You need a good mix in the current landscape
And looking at this year's Loyola rotation, just off the top of my head, Norris, Uguak, Schwieger, Knight, Hall and Clemons are all transfers, whether from D-I, D-II or JUCO. No doubt a mix is the way to go in this era, and that Southern probably needs to show more success on the transfer front going forward (while hopefully retaining key players, which has been a recent positive).
I should have been more specific... It is not ideal to have a bunch of one year transfers. I agree, the transfer game is different now, you can go get sophomores not just graduate seniors. I still prefer Wonders and Ebube paths. If they stay at SIU I have high hopes for what they look like in 5 years.
Personally my bet is on Hornecker being the next big thing around here. I do think there is a lot to love about the other guys mentioned here, but Hornecker had some serious offers. Being a 3 star 7 footer doesn't hurt either. I'm going to put an overly positive prediction that he is a starter in year 1!
That means we will have 4 centers on the “active” roster. Baring any changes.
No matter who picks who from the portal it is hard to blend in some people can reload with transfers but I would rather do it the hard way because you cant always count on transfers I would rather build through high school players and an occasional transfer for sustainability
This. If Mullins way works, its sustainable. You don't see Loyola and Murray building through transfers, they go get freshmen and develop them then supplement their team with transfers
Umm in Loyola's final four run I believe two of their starters were transfers. You need a good mix in the current landscape
And looking at this year's Loyola rotation, just off the top of my head, Norris, Uguak, Schwieger, Knight, Hall and Clemons are all transfers, whether from D-I, D-II or JUCO. No doubt a mix is the way to go in this era, and that Southern probably needs to show more success on the transfer front going forward (while hopefully retaining key players, which has been a recent positive).
I should have been more specific... It is not ideal to have a bunch of one year transfers. I agree, the transfer game is different now, you can go get sophomores not just graduate seniors. I still prefer Wonders and Ebube paths. If they stay at SIU I have high hopes for what they look like in 5 years.
Personally my bet is on Hornecker being the next big thing around here. I do think there is a lot to love about the other guys mentioned here, but Hornecker had some serious offers. Being a 3 star 7 footer doesn't hurt either. I'm going to put an overly positive prediction that he is a starter in year 1!
I wouldn't expect much from Hornecker in year 1. He seems incredibly raw and needs to put on muscle. He's honestly a redshirt candidate if they did it with Wonders and Ebube. Haven't heard much about how he's doing at all this year in high school.
Ebube is a guy that I think is going to be a good player at SIU. He's the extremely athletic player we're looking for and has lost weight and built up muscle since he dominated high school. I'm not sure how much you can expect out of Ebube next year though too given it's his first full season. It's why I've not really been on board with wasting a year with him and Wonders on a team that's going to struggle to finish .500 in the Valley.
@salukiworld I have us finishing 8-10 in conference this season, and that includes beating Bradley at home and Indiana State on the road, neither of which will be easy.
3-4 now.
2 losses to Loyola
loss to Missouri State at home
loss at Drake
loss at Northern Iowa
loss at Illinois State
win at Indiana State
win at home vs Bradley
win at home vs Valpo
Win at home vs Evansville
win at home vs Illinois State
I think SIU needs to stop relying on grad transfer, D2 transfers, and JUCOs. Exclusively recruit and develop prep players.
I think SIU needs to stop relying on grad transfer, D2 transfers, and JUCOs. Exclusively recruit and develop prep players.
Please name me one consistently good midmajor that does what you just said
I am not going to go through every teams rosters. Every team doing or not is irrelevant to SIU.
Look who SIU is starting against Loyola. The best team they will play this year. They have a JUCO in Muila who would struggle to get game time with any halfway decent team, a pretty average 6th year player in Coupet, and a D2 transfer who is streaky and not particularly good in Verplancken. If this is the route they want to go they have to do it with better players than this.
Honestly, I think SIU has some talent on this team. I think they're underachieving at this point. Part of this can be squarely placed on the shoulders of the coaching staff. Running sound offensive schemes and executing those schemes needs work. Rebounding, boxing out, and free throw shooting are all deficiencies that must be addressed if this team is going to take a step forward or continue to be a middle of the pack team in the MVC.
I am not going to go through every teams rosters. Every team doing or not is irrelevant to SIU.
Look who SIU is starting against Loyola. The best team they will play this year. They have a JUCO in Muila who would struggle to get game time with any halfway decent team, a pretty average 6th year player in Coupet, and a D2 transfer who is streaky and not particularly good in Verplancken. If this is the route they want to go they have to do it with better players than this.
That I can agree with
That is my biggest concern with Ebube and the expectations people have for him. If he was good enough to contribute he would not be redshirting, as neither Muila nor Filewich should be starters on a D1 basketball team and D'Avanzo is just whatever, a punt on a D2 senior who really isn't up for this level of basketball.
I really hope he does come in next year and own the paint but I would like if that's possible it'd be happening now.
Honestly, I think SIU has some talent on this team. I think they're underachieving at this point. Part of this can be squarely placed on the shoulders of the coaching staff. Running sound offensive schemes and executing those schemes needs work. Rebounding, boxing out, and free throw shooting are all deficiencies that must be addressed if this team is going to take a step forward or continue to be a middle of the pack team in the MVC.
I respectfully disagree. Our bottom 8-9 roster spots couldn't even be practice players on a top 25 team. This teams level of talent is poor and that is exactly what this team is. A poor team.
I'm not sayin' -- I'm just sayin'!
We just need better players. Lack of size is really exposed on defense and very little scoring punch. Staff need to focus big time on upgrading the roster. We need to turn the roster over by 2 or 3 players. This can't continue next year
I think it's a fair question. Currently, we are indeed mediocre-at-best. I'd like to see some big improvement next year and I think we will.
Ebube will be an upgrade at the 5 and Wonders is better (potentially) than any of our current 2s. I agree with Salukiworld that people are expecting too much of Hornecker as a Freshman. He has tons of potential, but has to get bigger and stronger.
I believe in the Mullins brothers and Javon as recruiters. These guys work hard and are always in on some very good players. When the near-misses become hits, we are going to have some serious talent. I hated losing the PG from Tuscola to Loyola. But the miss on NJ Benson allowed us to stay in on (and eventually sign) the much more heralded Cade Hornecker.
We are definitely going to need to sign a stud combo guard for next year. I believe this will come via Juco or the Transfer Portal. And I hate to say this, but we might want to look at recruiting over players who have been habitually ineffective and/or unavailable to play. That's just my opinion and I mean no disrespect to any player on our roster.
I think SIU needs to stop relying on grad transfer, D2 transfers, and JUCOs. Exclusively recruit and develop prep players.
Please name me one consistently good midmajor that does what you just said
Agree. That would be a recipe for disaster with the way kids transfer - you simply cant count on kids staying 4 - 5 years.
You need to get HS kids but get some talent and experience from the portal.
I do agree we need to get better talent. Easier said than done.
No matter who picks who from the portal it is hard to blend in some people can reload with transfers but I would rather do it the hard way because you cant always count on transfers I would rather build through high school players and an occasional transfer for sustainability
This. If Mullins way works, its sustainable. You don't see Loyola and Murray building through transfers, they go get freshmen and develop them then supplement their team with transfers
Umm in Loyola's final four run I believe two of their starters were transfers. You need a good mix in the current landscape
And looking at this year's Loyola rotation, just off the top of my head, Norris, Uguak, Schwieger, Knight, Hall and Clemons are all transfers, whether from D-I, D-II or JUCO. No doubt a mix is the way to go in this era, and that Southern probably needs to show more success on the transfer front going forward (while hopefully retaining key players, which has been a recent positive).
I should have been more specific... It is not ideal to have a bunch of one year transfers. I agree, the transfer game is different now, you can go get sophomores not just graduate seniors. I still prefer Wonders and Ebube paths. If they stay at SIU I have high hopes for what they look like in 5 years.
Personally my bet is on Hornecker being the next big thing around here. I do think there is a lot to love about the other guys mentioned here, but Hornecker had some serious offers. Being a 3 star 7 footer doesn't hurt either. I'm going to put an overly positive prediction that he is a starter in year 1!
I wouldn't expect much from Hornecker in year 1. He seems incredibly raw and needs to put on muscle. He's honestly a redshirt candidate if they did it with Wonders and Ebube. Haven't heard much about how he's doing at all this year in high school.
Ebube is a guy that I think is going to be a good player at SIU. He's the extremely athletic player we're looking for and has lost weight and built up muscle since he dominated high school. I'm not sure how much you can expect out of Ebube next year though too given it's his first full season. It's why I've not really been on board with wasting a year with him and Wonders on a team that's going to struggle to finish .500 in the Valley.
Wouldn't the opposite be true, why waste a year of eligibility on a team that isn't going to be that good. He should be playing his second year with the same guys in Domask and Jones.
@salukiworld I have us finishing 8-10 in conference this season, and that includes beating Bradley at home and Indiana State on the road, neither of which will be easy.
3-4 now.
2 losses to Loyola
loss to Missouri State at home
loss at Drake
loss at Northern Iowa
loss at Illinois State
win at Indiana State
win at home vs Bradley
win at home vs Valpo
Win at home vs Evansville
win at home vs Illinois State
Win Loyola or Missouri Sate
Win vs Valpo
Win vs Illinois State at home (Just lost their best post)
Win vs Bradley at home
Win vs Evansville at home
Win at Indiana State
Win at Illinois State (Best post player thing again)
10 Wins. 2/3 coming starting Thursday. Shoot we may mess around and win 3 in a row and I may have to bump the projection to 11 wins.
