He was a defensive liability at times this season.
Letās be honest most of this team was a defensive liability most of this season. Every metric said so as did Steele multiple times. Thankfully the last 5 games we have improved.
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Will we see Paul McMillan in the transfer portal?
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Soā¦season is over. And the roster deconstruction and reconstruction needs to start immediately. I think it is pretty obvious, this team, while having a few solid pieces, is missing the talent of the upper echelon MAC teams. With the 5 signed freshman coming in, with Lairy and Etzler leaving, we are still 2 scholarships over the limit, and that is just to accommodate the new freshman. As has been reported, Steele has said he wants to be active in the portal and add at least 1 combo guard, and perhaps one other position as well. The question then becomes, who leaves. To me, Harrison is an obvious choice for one spot, as unfortunately his career has been beset by injuries and never truly got a chance to get off the ground. Never fun, but if we are going to improve, hard conversations must be had.
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I am just going to put this here as a conversation starter/continuer. This is my list of those that I think are most likely not going to return as scholarship players. I want to emphasize I am not saying I want to see these players leave or even that this is the order I would like to see. Rather, this is my prognostication from observation of playing time, Steele comments etc. What is clear is we have to open at least 2 more spots (Etzler is apparently moving on), and probably 3 or 4 to make room for portal additions. So with that said, here is how I foresee it going, and I am not including walk-ons like Yofan:
Harrison
Rylee
Smith
Tatum
Lewis
Williams
And letās not be naive, these conversations are gong to be going on in Coach Steeleās office right now, if they havenāt started already. So I donāt think it is at all ācruelā or āunseemlyā for us to be discussing it on a sports message board.
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I think we had 12 on scholarship this year. Lairy has used up his eligibility, so that pus us at 11. We have signed 5 incoming freshmen. That puts us at 16. According to guys who have participated in the zoom calls, we are going to add two transfer portal guys. That puts us at 18. So in looking at cool papaās list, 5 guys are going to be gone. Lewis and Williams have already transferred and would have to sit out a year. So the most likely 5 guys to be gone would be the 5 guys recruited by the previous staff,
Dick-I am counting Etzler as gone. So with him gone, Lairy gone, that is 10 currently on scholarship. Plus the 5 incoming. So yes, 15 currently, or 2 over the limit of 13. I think 4 spots will need to be created. But per your speculation, perhaps 5.
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I wonder if Rylee moves to scholarship, available situation (year to year)ā¦just think the Ipsaro(sp?) connection makes it compelling he would stay onā¦certainly could drop to a KY D2 sceanrio.
The rest on thst list make sense/possible, other than I assume Lewis would stay?
Iāll miss Tatum as reserve guard/defender, if soā¦it makes sense, but like his hustle.
Rylee is on scholarship.
EDIT: Ohā¦ are you saying he moves to a walkon if a scholarship isnāt available?
I knowā¦but they can be year to yearā¦correct?
If the option was year to year or leaveā¦might be the one guy I see where this could happen.
Coach has mentioned that year to year scholarship are not uncommon, but Miami writes their offers all 4 yearsā¦given the obvious numbers issues noted aboveā¦one possibility.
Right. Iām not sure what Steeleās preference is. I thought the athletic department letās each coach decide which is best for them, but you know what they say about assuming.
Something interesting that I had heard about before was giving someone an academic scholarship instead of an athletic one. There are requirements for a student athlete to be eligible, like finishing in the top 10% of their class and a 3.5+ GPA. But Iām not sure if theyāre also eligible for the cost of living stipend if that happened.
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I will be honest, I would like to figure out a way for Billy Smith to stay another year. I think he has potential, if he works hard in the offseason to develop more than his spot, wide open jumper. I wonder if he would be willing to be a walkon for year. Probably not, but maybe he would consider it.
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I think heās worth a scholarship. He ended the year dinged up a bit and I think he needs a year to develop his body. Heās missing the muscle he needs to effectively drive to the basket. Heās not someone I think is looking to go elsewhere, but I could be wrong.
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Kids watch closely the house cleaning that takes place when new coaches come in. Thatās why keeping obviously unsuccessful coaches through their final contract year inhibits recruiting so negatively. No kid in their right mind should sign an LOI with Miamiās baseball or womenās basketball program.
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Itās also possible that Billy doesnāt play much at all this year had we been healthy or good academics in November/December.
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After Bryson Tatum portal announcement
2023-24 Scholarship Players: 14
SR (3) : (F) 6-8 Anderson Mirambeaux, (F) 6-7 Kamari Williams, (G) 6-5 Morgan Safford
JR (2) : (F) 6-7 Curtis Harrison, (G) 6-6 Julian Lewis;
SO (4) : (F) 6-8 Mitchell Rylee, (G) 6-7 Billy Smith, (G) 6-5 Ryan Mabry, (F) 6-8 Jaquel Morris
FR (5): (G) Evan Ipsaro 5-10, (F) Jackson Kotecki 6-9, (G) Mekhi Cooper 6ā, (F) Eian Elmer 6-6, (C) Reece Potter 7ā
[8] Forwards/Bigs: Anderson Mirambeaux (6-8), Kamari Williams (6-7), Curtis Harrison (6-7), Mitchell Rylee (6-8), Jaquel Morris (6-8), Jackson Kotecki (6-9), Eian Elmer (6-6), Reese Potter (7ā)
[6] Guards: Julian Lewis, Morgan Safford, Billy Smith, Ryan Mabry, Evan Ipsaro, Mekhi Cooper
I hope Bryson is graduating (with summer courses maybe)ā¦then moving on for 2 years, potentially.
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After Kamari Williams portal announcement
2023-24 Scholarship Players: 13
SR (2) : (F) 6-8 Anderson Mirambeaux, (G) 6-5 Morgan Safford
JR (2) : (F) 6-7 Curtis Harrison, (G) 6-6 Julian Lewis;
SO (4) : (F) 6-8 Mitchell Rylee, (G) 6-7 Billy Smith, (G) 6-5 Ryan Mabry, (F) 6-8 Jaquel Morris
FR (5): (G) Evan Ipsaro 5-10, (F) Jackson Kotecki 6-9, (G) Mekhi Cooper 6ā, (F) Eian Elmer 6-6, (C) Reece Potter 7ā
[7] Forwards/Bigs: Anderson Mirambeaux (6-8), Curtis Harrison (6-7), Mitchell Rylee (6-8), Jaquel Morris (6-8), Jackson Kotecki (6-9), Eian Elmer (6-6), Reese Potter (7ā)
[6] Guards: Julian Lewis, Morgan Safford, Billy Smith, Ryan Mabry, Evan Ipsaro, Mekhi Cooper
That solves the question of whether there will be room for the 5 new signees.
Now we go to the question of who leaves to make room for any transfers in?
Question, I have seen Elmer listed at both 6-4 and 6-6. Anybody know which is closest to being accurate?