WTF?!? Stop.
I just thought Tatum might fit in better with Steelerās system preferable to Owens. Anyhow, time to move on and focus on the current roster.
1 Like
Miami adds a player to the roster: PWO
https://x.com/jacksauer_/status/1789109857213182250?s=61&t=XpZ4Gnjhh_TvaNPAWRUyMQ
2 Likes
First Loveland player since Eric Van Buskirk I believe
1 Like
Yeah, I had to look that one up. 
2 Likes
IIRC didnāt van buskirk only play one year but remained a student at Miami after that year?
2 Likes
Yes I believe thatās correct. Had good size and somebody I was hopeful to see develop but wasnāt to be. That was in the midst of the curse Miami big men were under cc: @mollautt
3 Likes
We already had 3 walk ons with eligibility remaining. Isnāt there a hard cap of 15 total players on the roster?
1 Like
So do we know that those walkons are returning to the team? If they are, that would suggest that we are not giving out all our scholarships. Maybe a way to make it possible to use all the scholarship players every game.
2 Likes
I donāt think we know that yet.
3 Likes
Going to give my prediction for how we use the final 3 scholarships:
- A PG with 1 year of eligibility - I think the right guards are on the team to be successful, but it never hurts to have a PG who can get their own bucket that Skaljac/Ipsaro can learn from
- Another transfer wing - Steele loves guys that can play the 2, 3, or 4. I imagine somebody 6ā6" or 6"7 that rebounds well and has range as well
- A freshman big - hot take, but we donāt need another center for this season. Potter and Woolfolk will be the clear top 2 without many minutes to attract a transfer. Good opportunity to let a freshman develop with minutes in low pressure situations
4 Likes
I echoed this in another thread, but I agree. Woofolk, Potter and Kotecki should be a fine rotation. Especially for the way Steele wants to play. Itās also hard for me to imagine we can get another big who can impact this season anyway.
Definitely agree on another veteran pg/comb guard. That to me was our biggest issue down the stretch; not having a guard who could create.
I think a wing would help, but Iād really like another shooter. Mabrey, Hunter and Dean were basically our three best three pt shooters and we havenāt really replaced them outside of Kraft.
the 3 big rotation will be good, need a fourth similar to role Kotecki played last year. Injury, foul trouble etc need someone who can defend post and rebound
The other thing I would say is Elmer can and probably will see some time at the four when we go small. Suder as well, similar to what we did with Bultman last year.
3 Likes
Byers is 6ā8 too. Or at least listed there. Weāll have a few bodies to throw at bigs if need be. But agree another 6ā6-6ā8 wing type would be a nice addition.
1 Like
Not sure I agree with that. Craft replaces Hunter, but Skaljac was a 39% 3pt shooter last season. I think he can not just replace Dean, but probably be more effective in other areas. Then Mabrey shot 8% from 3 over the last 10 games. He hit 37% on the season (only 42% on 2ptrs), but you canāt rely on him to have any consistency, he fades for stretches, and heās a liability defensively. Plus weāre adding Byers as a solid shooter too.
3 Likes
Maybe less than replacing the guys we lost, it would just be nice to have more more floor spacers in general. Obviously the three guys I mentioned were wildly inconsistent, but you can never really have enough shooting.
1 Like
Maybe we bring in a JUCO big. Someone who can be additive or perhaps get by with a little help from their friends not unlike Darrian Ringo Starr did back in the day. I loved that guy btw. Great player.
1 Like
Hereās a podcast Coach Steele was just on. Some highlights:
- Coach Richburg has been promoted with Summers getting the Missouri job
- Miami was third in the conference defensively last season. Expects it to improve with Mirambeaux graduating and the players coming in.
- Steele expects Craft to be one of the leading scorers in the conference this season. āIām going to let him looseā
- Potter has added 17lbs this offseason. Also shared how he went out and played with no pre-season and hardly any practice due to injury. Expects him to have a massive leap this season
- Elmer had the biggest jump during the season and heās continuing to improve
- Says Byers is going to be really good
- āI think he (Skaljac) is the best player in the state of Ohioā
- Q; Do you anticipate struggling to get guys the minutes they want. āIām ok playing nine. Weāre going to play really fast and pick up full court defensively, so we need 9. Iāll tell guys youāre either in the rotation or not before the game so they arenāt wondering.ā
- Only two scholarships available - Yofan has been given a scholarship!
- 13 scholarships is too many. You canāt keep them all happy in this landscape
- Steele anticipates the MAC to be much better next year
- UMass is joining, so everyone better be upping their budget, collective, and talent if they want to compete. Right now their budget and collective is miles past all the other teams. Steele hopes it pushes the conference to invest more.
- Pretty sure he called out @danielren123, @preaves_15, and @AdamRedSuit as students who are changing the culture around attending games.
- āWeāre gonna be good. We have a great product to put out on the floor.ā
- June 15th is the golf outing. All the players will be there since they move in the 12th
8 Likes
Great for Eli! Thatās a smart move because he wonāt gripe if he doesnāt get a ton of minutes, practices hard, is a great teammate, and has great grades. Also, when he does play, he plays smart and within his skill set. Happy to hear this.
Edit: happy also for Coach Richburg. He is going to go far.
2 Likes