2024 Offseason Portal Rumors

[unipanther2154]

Happy to finally get bond on board. This might only be a year lease but that’s the landscape of college athletics unfortunately. Looking forward to seeing this team come together with so many new faces.

[Username]

Finally official word from Leon Bond:

I can't fathom how much of an insane and shocking get this is.

I don't think he carries us or is our best player, but he is still a P6 player at the end of the day that Virginia did not want to lose.

[Username]

He is not. Confirmed by Ethan last night.

Realistically, we probably weren't going to fill them all anyway, he only ties it up for 1 year and there's a legitimate chance that he plays 5-8 minutes.

Yeah, don’t mind it too much given it was likely going end up RBorn or him got it anyway. Roster spots and playing time are shrinking. Hopefully it doesn’t end up being both.

[SteinPizza]

Still one scholarship available, correct?

[BCPanther]

Still one scholarship available, correct?

Correct.

A 1 year PG would be perfect but I'm not sure we're not done and he'll either bank the last one or give it to Born.

Either way, on paper, this roster is better than it was last year. Certainly more versatile and athletic.

[06panther10]

Correct.

A 1 year PG would be perfect but I'm not sure we're not done and he'll either bank the last one or give it to Born.

Either way, on paper, this roster is better than it was last year. Certainly more versatile and athletic.

Time will tell, but its hard to outright say the roster is better. We lost 2 All Valley level players, Bowen could have been our all time leading scorer if he stayed, and Nate will play a major role on a top 5 ranked team in the Nation next year.

Are Bond and Weisbrod going to make all Valley teams? Are they going to produce like those 2? Seems unlikely.

[BCPanther]

Time will tell, but its hard to outright say the roster is better. We lost 2 All Valley level players, Bowen could have been our all time leading scorer if he stayed, and Nate will play a major role on a top 5 ranked team in the Nation next year.

Are Bond and Weisbrod going to make all Valley teams? Are they going to produce like those 2? Seems unlikely.

Agreed if we're talking healthy Born that shoots 40% and can get to the rim, not so much if we're talking banged up Born that shoots 31% and can't move.

[clenz]

Fair but also Oof

I mean, sure, "oof". His resume is pretty damn good though, and as a rotation piece as part of a 13 scholarship roster there are far far far worse places to tie a scholarship up with.

4x First Team All ARC
2x DPOY
Finalist for D3 National POY

Yes, D3 is D3. Whatever, but the kid can play, and clearly at a level well above D3. He had 11 points 2 boards 2 assists 1 steal against us in a scrimmage to start the season. Minnesota just signed a D3 kid as well.

Again, it's been pointed out many times, Ben Humrichous was at a couple of NAIA schools before landing at Evansville last year. Had he stayed healthy all season he would have had a legit shot at 1st team all Valley. As a junior at that NAIA, he averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds on 46% from 2 and 35% shooting from deep playing 32 minutes per game. As a sophomore, he averaged 11 points and 5 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Cael's 4 seasons at Coe went

15.2 points 2.2 boards 4.4 assists 2 steals on a shooting slash line of 47.4/35.9/86.2
12.7 points 2.1 boards 4.0 assists 2 steas on a shooting slash line of 40.9/38.5/65.2 - his worst season overall
17.8 points 3.2 boards 3.3 assists 2 steals on a shooting slash line of 40.8/40.1/73.6
17.6 points 3.0 boards 3.0 assists 2.4 steals on a shooting slash line of 43.8/36.0/69.1

No one is going to claim he is going to be a starter playing 30 minutes per game. The kid, clearly, can play though. Worst case scenario he is the 4th option on the wing, players a few minutes per game but is a real pest defensively when he is out there. He has the upside, for a one-year scholarship, to be a real solid piece that could play 10-15 minutes a night and not have it be painful to watch because we just don't have anyone else.

[Wxcpanther]

Time will tell, but its hard to outright say the roster is better. We lost 2 All Valley level players, Bowen could have been our all time leading scorer if he stayed, and Nate will play a major role on a top 5 ranked team in the Nation next year.

Are Bond and Weisbrod going to make all Valley teams? Are they going to produce like those 2? Seems unlikely.

Bond certainly can be an All Valley guy, and I think if we get a full season of the Tytan and Hutty we got the last month, they can both be all MVC guys. You could argue too that Tytan should have been all MVC anyway

[Blue42]

I mean, sure, "oof". His resume is pretty damn good though, and as a rotation piece as part of a 13 scholarship roster there are far far far worse places to tie a scholarship up with.

4x First Team All ARC
2x DPOY
Finalist for D3 National POY

Yes, D3 is D3. Whatever, but the kid can play, and clearly at a level well above D3. He had 11 points 2 boards 2 assists 1 steal against us in a scrimmage to start the season. Minnesota just signed a D3 kid as well.

Again, it's been pointed out many times, Ben Humrichous was at a couple of NAIA schools before landing at Evansville last year. Had he stayed healthy all season he would have had a legit shot at 1st team all Valley. As a junior at that NAIA, he averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds on 46% from 2 and 35% shooting from deep playing 32 minutes per game. As a sophomore, he averaged 11 points and 5 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Cael's 4 seasons at Coe went

15.2 points 2.2 boards 4.4 assists 2 steals on a shooting slash line of 47.4/35.9/86.2
12.7 points 2.1 boards 4.0 assists 2 steas on a shooting slash line of 40.9/38.5/65.2 - his worst season overall
17.8 points 3.2 boards 3.3 assists 2 steals on a shooting slash line of 40.8/40.1/73.6
17.6 points 3.0 boards 3.0 assists 2.4 steals on a shooting slash line of 43.8/36.0/69.1

No one is going to claim he is going to be a starter playing 30 minutes per game. The kid, clearly, can play though. Worst case scenario he is the 4th option on the wing, players a few minutes per game but is a real pest defensively when he is out there. He has the upside, for a one-year scholarship, to be a real solid piece that could play 10-15 minutes a night and not have it be painful to watch because we just don't have anyone else.

21 or 22 year old kid with 4 years of college playing experience.

Decent size and a consistent shooting history.

Candidate for POY at any level says a lot.

Could he contribute in the Valley? I think it's a good bet.

[MVCBeat]

Kind of feels like to me we got one transfer we can feel pretty good about making a big contribution (Bond) and three that we'll have to wait and see. Reasons to be excited about Weisbrod, Schmitt and Schweiger, but reasons to cautious about expectations as well. Especially for the latter two.

You'd like to hope that we are a big enough program that we could, on paper, do better than two non-DI guys, a guy who did not play much of a role on an A-10 team last year, and an open spot with 80% of our transfer scholarships. But it remains to be seen how well they'll fit into the system, and all three have shown they can play at some level. Also, we do have quite a bit to be excited about returning even with the mass exodus. And we still could use that last scholarship. There are still plenty of guys in the portal.

I don't know if I would say this is an obviously better roster than last year on paper. We don't have as many proven commodities like Heise and Born. But we have a lot of potential if we can mix the ingredients together well. It does feel like we should be better defensively and should be a quicker, more athletic team. But I think we've lost a lot of shooting.

[CyCarp]

Kind of feels like to me we got one transfer we can feel pretty good about making a big contribution (Bond) and three that we'll have to wait and see. Reasons to be excited about Weisbrod, Schmitt and Schweiger, but reasons to cautious about expectations as well. Especially for the latter two.

You'd like to hope that we are a big enough program that we could, on paper, do better than two non-DI guys, a guy who did not play much of a role on an A-10 team last year, and an open spot with 80% of our transfer scholarships. But it remains to be seen how well they'll fit into the system, and all three have shown they can play at some level. Also, we do have quite a bit to be excited about returning even with the mass exodus. And we still could use that last scholarship. There are still plenty of guys in the portal.

I don't know if I would say this is an obviously better roster than last year on paper. We don't have as many proven commodities like Heise and Born. But we have a lot of potential if we can mix the ingredients together well. It does feel like we should be better defensively and should be a quicker, more athletic team. But I think we've lost a lot of shooting.

My biggest concern is 3 point shooting. We lost arguably 3 of our 4 best 3 point shooters - that doesn't include Duax who didn't shoot the 3 much, but when he did he shot it very well. I do think Weisbrod is a proven shooter, even at the lower level. Bond isn't an outside shooter. Schweiger? Maybe... Schmitt? Meh, I'm not convinced he gets many minutes. I don't see Redek getting many minutes. Hornseth isn't a 3 point threat. I don't see RJ turning into that guy either. Does Pock step up? Possibly, but he really struggled down the stretch last year. Am I wrong in thinking that we really only have three somewhat legitimate 3 point threats (Campbell, Pock, Weisbrod)? That includes two guys who are very much unproven at this level - although as I said before, I think Weisbrod is a guy who will be just fine in the Valley. It could be a good change of style for us, but 3 point shooting is more important than ever is todays game. Otherwise, maybe I'm just way off here and dudes will step up, but I'm skeptical. Regardless, I think we need another piece to this puzzle. I hope we don't just pocket the last ride.

[06panther10]

My biggest concern is 3 point shooting. We lost arguably 3 of our 4 best 3 point shooters - that doesn't include Duax who didn't shoot the 3 much, but when he did he shot it very well. I do think Weisbrod is a proven shooter, even at the lower level. Bond isn't an outside shooter. Schweiger? Maybe... Schmitt? Meh, I'm not convinced he gets many minutes. I don't see Redek getting many minutes. Hornseth isn't a 3 point threat. I don't see RJ turning into that guy either. Does Pock step up? Possibly, but he really struggled down the stretch last year. Am I wrong in thinking that we really only have three somewhat legitimate 3 point threats (Campbell, Pock, Weisbrod)? That includes two guys who are very much unproven at this level - although as I said before, I think Weisbrod is a guy who will be just fine in the Valley. It could be a good change of style for us, but 3 point shooting is more important than ever is todays game. Otherwise, maybe I'm just way off here and dudes will step up, but I'm skeptical. Regardless, I think we need another piece to this puzzle. I hope we don't just pocket the last ride.

That's correct. Shooting and ball handling are the major concerns with this roster, at least on paper.

[BCPanther]

That's correct. Shooting and ball handling are the major concerns with this roster, at least on paper.

Agreed. Trey is much more comfortable playing off the ball. Gotta have somebody beyond RJ.

[kochrab]

I still feel like we're going to go after another PG, this roster doesn't feel complete without one more. I know we'd be absolutely loaded and crunched for minutes, but it absolutely seems necessary.