The 2023 Official “Jay Bilas No Rules” Transfer Portal Thread

[Shockm]

Discussed this earlier. He put up decent numbers on a very bad team that played a very bad schedule. He's the most proven player on the roster but he SHOULD be a solid backup for a tournament level team not a starter.

That's exactly what Alabama people are saying about Walton. He's a solid backup who put up good numbers, but played on a bad team. Not a starter.

[rjl]

I really like Kenny Pohto, but I don't think he's going to a quality P6 program to be a starter at this point in his development. The guy averaged 8.7 and 5.7 in the AAC last year playing 27 minutes a game. If he goes to a quality program he likely comes off the bench and plays ~15 minutes a game.

It depends what game tape other teams are seeing. If it is first half of the season Pohto, he's only transferring to a low-major school that needs him to dust the bottom of the backboard and tighten the rim screws. If it's second half of the season Pohto, I can easily see him going to a P6 school.

He'll be interesting to see because, as has been discussed here earlier, if he's still a Swedish citizen then he can't get the standard NIL money as that violates his student visa. He'd have to get it from somewhere in Sweden.

I'm not sure how hard it would be for a booster to set up a Swedish LLC (or whatever the Swedish equivalent is) just for the sole purpose of giving Pohto money.

[Stickboy46]

I think some of the disconnect between us right now is expectation levels.

it seems some expect Wichita State to be a "tournament level" team year 1 under Paul Mills.

Others expect a competitive but down year (by WSU standards) for year 1 but expect that to be short term as Mills rebuilds the program.

I can understand both sides. I do think it is a little unfair to expect Mills to come in and immediately put a top 3 AAC team (what it would take to be a tournament level team IMO). But I do agree that most years that SHOULD be the expectation.

5 years ago, I'd say my expectations for year 1 would be different. Transfer portal has changed that. The talent is there for the taking to be Top 3 AAC year one. Then on the other side of the portal, it feels like rebuilding years will just create new rebuilding years because players will just keep moving on if you are trying to grow in house.

[JVShocker]

You're not completely wrong, but I have always had a likely unpopular opinion on this. I don't think Kentucky was that underseeded. I just thought they underperformed, relative to their talent. They had dropped out of the Top 25 towads the end of the regular season, having 3 of their last 4, including a BAD loss at South Carolina. If Kentucky was the 29th ranked team in the country, that would put them at an 8 seed, which is exactly what they were seeded to be.

So...yeah, I think there were some other shenanigans done by the committee (WSU, Michigan, Duke, Louisville, and Kentucky all in that same region..)



But if I blame anyone for WSU having to play Kentucky in the second round, I blame Kentucky. Had they given that same effort all season that they gave in the NCAA Tournament, they no doubt would have been a Top 4 seed. But they f***ed around and did not deserve a better seed.

The talent level at Kentucky that year was high, and if I recall, Kentucky was the preseason #1 pick in CBB (with Karl Anthony Towns and Devin Booker). The level of criticism was supremely high about why WiTchitaW State couldn't be a 1 seed. It was a good game, one for the ages, and arguably one of the most entertaining and contested games in recent NCAA Tourney history.

[Shocker Dude]

It depends what game tape other teams are seeing. If it is first half of the season Pohto, he's only transferring to a low-major school that needs him to dust the bottom of the backboard and tighten the rim screws. If it's second half of the season Pohto, I can easily see him going to a P6 school.

He'll be interesting to see because, as has been discussed here earlier, if he's still a Swedish citizen then he can't get the standard NIL money as that violates his student visa. He'd have to get it from somewhere in Sweden.

I'm not sure how hard it would be for a booster to set up a Swedish LLC (or whatever the Swedish equivalent is) just for the sole purpose of giving Pohto money.

[Shockm]

Yea, that's been a consistent theme all the way back to Marshall (cough *Frankamp* cough). But Marshall and IB were the same coaching tree. So yes, I'm also hopeful for a change with a whole new coaching tree and philosophy.

IB and Marshall had significant differences in their coaching (although they both preached defense, and both didn't have teams that shot great including FVV and Ron's teams). Marshall's teams were always great rebounders, and he constantly preached to hold down Turnovers. Brown's teams weren't disciplined, they rebounded poorly (this year rebouding improved some, but not dominating) and made a lot of bad decisions.

Rojas had a lot of athletic talent, but he made a lot of bad decisions (stupid turnovers and fouls). I have a feeling that Mills will make a difference in those areas. I know that Mills teams tend to shoot well, and I'm not sure about his teams on rebounding.

[shock]

Thank goodness stick wasnt on here ahead of Fifi’s senior year.

[Shockm]

Thank goodness stick wasnt on here ahead of Fifi’s senior year.

Was that Paul Miller or Garrett Stutz, because both of them were not great until their Senior years.

[shock]

Was that Paul Miller or Garrett Stutz, because both of them were not great until their Senior years.

Miller

[SubGod22]

Both of them had good JR years, but at that point so many were stuck on the they suck and will never get better train they didn't see it. There was steady improvement each year, as one would expect with big guys. Especially big guys that aren't used to playing with their back to the basket like Stutz (who was a guard until he hit a late growth spurt) and Pohto (who played Euro ball and was used on the perimeter).

[shockerfan]

5 years ago, I'd say my expectations for year 1 would be different. Transfer portal has changed that. The talent is there for the taking to be Top 3 AAC year one. Then on the other side of the portal, it feels like rebuilding years will just create new rebuilding years because players will just keep moving on if you are trying to grow in house.

I agree talent is there. But when you are a first year coach at WSU, putting together a new roster, at a middle of the pack AAC team and in a lot of cases only have a year or so left to play.....that could be a hard sell when you are going against teams that have already proven to be tournament teams

Regardless, still a lot of talent left to be had. So we will see what happens. We will likely have to use a lot of unproven talent and hope Mills hits the jackpot like Tang....etc.

[forevershockerfan]

Was Paul Mills doing a live recruiting update today? If so, do we know what time and where it could be heard?

[WuShock16]

The talent level at Kentucky that year was high, and if I recall, Kentucky was the preseason #1 pick in CBB (with Karl Anthony Towns and Devin Booker). The level of criticism was supremely high about why WiTchitaW State couldn't be a 1 seed. It was a good game, one for the ages, and arguably one of the most entertaining and contested games in recent NCAA Tourney history.

Oh, no doubt. It will probably forever be the greatest basketball game that I will have ever attended. Haymaker after haymaker, back and forth. WSU unfortunately missed the knockout blow at the buzzer. It was bittersweet that WSU got more respect for that one loss than it did for the 35 previous wins.

[SubGod22]

Was Paul Mills doing a live recruiting update today? If so, do we know what time and where it could be heard?

He can't do much of an update on recruiting unless they've signed their NLI, and he's already released public comments about those two.

[Shocker82/85]

Was Paul Mills doing a live recruiting update today? If so, do we know what time and where it could be heard?

A local radio show said that WSU was having a news conference or some kind of press gathering and that Mills and the assistants would be there. Who knows if he will have any new news to share.