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Syracuse was in Swider's final 4 back in 2018 and it looks like they're trying to rekindle the spark. I remember wanting him in 18..

Going to dig into this guy more. Looks to have the profile of a high volume outside shooting big with some D upside. Averaged 15.4/5.8 /2.5/0.9/1.1 with 1.5 3PTs on 4.5 attempts per game (34%). That 3PT % is after he had a 5 game run of just awful 3PT shooting in January (2/6, 0/5, 0/4, 1/5, 1/4). Shot much better through end of year (and in December) and in general, ended the year on a very strong run. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/noah-gurley-1.html

Well...Archie was essentially away from basketball from 2018-2020 but you’re his biggest supporter.

Kenyon Amare Tyson JKidd all averaged more than 20mpg. Even 35 year old Pablo played more than 1500 mins. And they played decent minutes at various points to Camby, Sheed & Kurt Thomas, all 38 years or older. Even their weighted age per minute is top 2 oldest. Let’s not ignore amare coming back from microfracture surgery after Dantoni ran him into the ground.. So what’s the coaching case for playing fast cause I sure don’t see it.

You ever think that maybe the reason they played so slow is because they were the oldest team in the nba?

But you were questioning his offensive credentials. In 2013, they shot 45% more 3s on average than the league. In today’s modern nba, that same difference between #1 and league average is down to 20%. Today’s game is far more uniform in style than in 2013. So if anything, this shows that he was ahead of the offensive curve...especially when you look at their long 2 attempt rates..

Not just that. They were also one of, if not the first to embrace self-created 3 pt shooting. Despite the highest 3PT attempt rate, they weren’t heavily reliant on assists. This was still relatively ahead of the curve as most 3pt heavy teams still produced the majority of their shots via system. I think it shows a flexibility & willingness to adapt. And their 3pt strategy was definitely intentional. They ranked bottom 5ish in long 2 pt attempts per game...for anybody that isn’t a die hard nba fan, just know that getting Prime Melo to drastically reduce his midrange diet is a massive accomplishment in itself

Cant let AF get in the way of the Blake Wesley era..

Exactly. Few has never lived outside the Northwest. Wright isn’t coming for $7M, which is only a $1M raise. We’d probably have to offer Bennett $5M+ (and then we’d immediately complain about his offense) The one guy I actually was curious about was Bill Self. Arguably the best coach last 20 years and he makes $3.5M. I wonder whether a Stevens-type offer would have got him here..just a fun hypothetical

I think my point is that I don’t think a big offer like >$5M is prying away many of the coaches we coveted. I think we underestimate how much value the status quo carries. For a random coach making $3M, is 1-2 more million/year worth leaving a program they’ve built, the family life they’ve established there (especially if they have kids they’d have to uproot), the job stability, etc. for a job in a tough conference with a fan base that has (perceived) unrealistic expectations? I don’t see it

I thought I heard Michigan and Louisville were going after him hard?

Out of curiosity, who do you think we could have gotten with a $5M-$7M offer?

Young Julius was a black hole with tunnel vision who would just steamroll to the lane. Crazy how much his game has developed.

Yeah I figured he would get similar feedback from the nba but given his age, I thought he’d pull the trigger & declare

TJD?!

And I’m glad we finally got a hometown hire, although not the one I preferred. I wanted us to name Luke Brown as Player / Coach.

Even before yesterday, UCLA had been to 3 final fours in the last 15 or so years. Now 4. If they are/were a dying blue blood living in the past, what does that make us?

There were a lot of “rumblings” that Drew was interested in the job but Dolson did not contact him. He was initially seen as likely to have the most interest out of the Texas coaches (Drew, Beard) Off top my head, I know Roy left Kansas after an L in the championship. Larry Brown jumped to NBA right after winning one..I want to say Pitino did the same but not certain.

While the Stevens saga may have felt like a long time, in reality it was just a few days. The assistants have been recruiting this whole time - IU has been listed as a school whose contacted a few transfers already. There are going to be more noteworthy entries to the transfer portal as programs wrap up year end meetings and kids deliberate on their next steps.

Agreed. Just look at last 2 national champs. Nova and UVA played 4 G/Fs, with the 2-4s being 6’5-6’9. Both had a smaller lead PG (Guy and Brunson) and both played a smallish big man (Spellman for Nova and a couple of 6’9 guys at UVA). Its a versatile approach that can really hum and be devastating if you can field a lengthy team with multiple creators. Also, I think it’s also easier to recruit into that type of system where you can target archetypes and mix and match strengths and weaknesses

I’m with you 100% that we should’ve made a $5M+ offer to the clear cut guys (Beard, Oats, etc) and should’ve floated a $7M+ offer to guys like Wright or Bennett. But there’s a lot we don’t need know - maybe the $7M was a Stevens-only exception. Maybe we did backchannel and see if $7M gets us a home run hire. But I think the reality is the job isn’t nearly as attractive as we’d like to believe. And for a coach making $4M, is another couple million worth leaving a program they’ve built, the life they’ve established there, the stability, etc. for a job in a tough conference with a fan base that has (perceived) unrealistic expectations? Perhaps it’s a tougher sell than maybe we’d like to admit

Most options you listed weren’t obtainable. It’s like me saying I wish we would’ve hired Coach Spo 1. Few hasn’t left the NW in his entire life. Maybe he would’ve come for bigger $ but he was a 1st round flameout at the time (unfair rep obviously) and who knows if he wanted a rebuild. And Bennett wasn’t even at UVA when Crean was hired. 2. Donovan was never coming. Bennett maybe? If he knew how good his 17-18 team could be, no chance he comes. What P5 coach then? 3. We tried to get Stevens. By all accounts, Oats wasn’t an option. Agree with you on Drew. So maybe we could have gotten Drew with the big $$$ offer that we seemed finally ready to make this time.

I think we may get a good gauge of how good of a Day 1 recruiter Woody is based on portal movement, especially with a few of our own...

I think a lot of folks are becoming increasingly uneasy about it, especially now as we are looking at the potential loss of 2-3 key guys. I think we all were ultimately fine with Smith and Damezi leaving, but if it’s Race, Armaan, JG and Lander? Very uncomfortable being on the other side From a basketball standpoint, this makes team continuity that much more important. If anyone is ever bored, it’s interesting to go back and look at the roster composition (production relative to class, roster turnover, etc) of F4 teams of the last 5 years or so. It really illuminates how much of a competitive advantage continuity can be.

I’m wondering the same thing. He is a game changer. I would think he might be the most coveted transfer just at first guess but I haven’t really dove into the portal options yet.