Post by dannynoonan on Jul 5, 2019 19:59:52 GMT -5
Take this for what it's worth, but someone on the Holy Cross message board indicated that rising junior Caleb Green may be leaning toward transferring to Fairfield. Green entered the transfer portal a few days ago. He's a 5'10" PG who has started all 64 games he's played in at HC. Solid stats including almost 11 ppg and 1.86 assist-to-TO ratio last season.
He played for the same AAU program (DC Blue Devils) Tshiefu played for, so that's a nice connection. I'd guess that he'd have to sit this coming season.
He'd fill a need, although not as soon as we'd like. We'll see.
Caleb Green is a 2 year starter at PG with solid numbers. Probably an upgrade over Benning and Aidas because Green is a well rounded player. However, Holy Cross has had 2 losing seasons with Green as PG. Coming out of HS, Green had the following schools after him:
New Hampshire Stoney Brook Fairfield Brown Chatanooga Loyola (Balt) Lafayette
Post by nashvillestag on Jul 6, 2019 9:11:15 GMT -5
Interesting info considering this doesn't fill a need for the coming year. I'd sure prefer the last open spot go to a prolific do it all type guard who could have immediate impact right away. That said, most of the comments from the HC board appear more than positive about the kid, both as a player and a person. Very smart too with a high GPA. As far as actual playing ability, I have to admit that I didn't watch much Crusader hoops the last two years, so all I can go by opinion wise are the said comments by the fans, plus of course his numbers, which are solid. Certainly he would really help next year (2020-21), especially since Aidas may have used up all his eligibility by then, although actually I'm not sure of that as I speak. But anyway, another interesting thing to watch from this new coaching staff that appear to be working very hard to formulate a foundation that should last for many years if successful.
I think Londonderry is the same hometown as where our former player Scott King comes from. Although I think Scott may now be working for an NBA team in some capacity, I believe he used to run local training sessions in New Hampshire before that time, so maybe he has done work with Green in the past. Now you combine this with the fact that Scott played on some Stony Brook teams when Jay Young was an assistant there, well then I think you can see there are connections. So maybe this means something (and maybe it doesn't).
Interesting info considering this doesn't fill a need for the coming year. I'd sure prefer the last open spot go to a prolific do it all type guard who could have immediate impact right away.
Are there any left? Scanning Verbal Commits, it appears there aren't really any high quality, immediately eligible, PG transfers available anymore. And how many quality HS, or JUCO, point guards are left with only a few weeks left before the Fall semester begins? Can't believe there are very many left ... unless (maybe) we go the SJ route and look overseas?
It sure would be nice to get one, but even if we do, at this point, how realistic is it to believe the player would hit the ground running and immediately take over the position? I'm not sure it is worth signing a mediocre player at a crucial position, even if it means taking a hit for the coming season. Better to sign a quality transfer and bite the bullet for a season.
No use crying over spilled milk, but if Alvarez had stayed it would have been interesting to see what this set of players could have produced.
Last Edit: Jul 6, 2019 16:37:02 GMT -5 by vastagman
Interesting to note that Green had been offered by Fairfield back in 2015. At the time, he already had an offer from Stony Brook (where Coach Young was at the time). His teammate Geo Baker ended up at Rutgers (with Coach Young).
The DC Blue Devils backcourt of Caleb Green and Geo Baker both added an offer from Fairfield this week. New Hampshire offered the duo last week while Green, who stars at Proctor Academy, held a previous offer from Stony Brook and Baker, who leads Pinkerton Academy, started with an offer from Central Connecticut earlier this month. The Blue Devils participated in both Hoop Group Jam Fest events this month.
Last Edit: Jul 6, 2019 16:42:25 GMT -5 by vastagman
Interesting info considering this doesn't fill a need for the coming year. I'd sure prefer the last open spot go to a prolific do it all type guard who could have immediate impact right away.
Are there any left? Scanning Verbal Commits, it appears there aren't really any high quality, immediately eligible, PG transfers available anymore.
I think VAStagman is right there's pretty slim pickings left. Now I'm not saying we won't hear any positive surprises but at this date we may have to play the season with the players we have.
We might have a decent year with the players we have. I think Aidas is going to prove to have a better year than many expect. I think a lot of folks underestimate him. Time will tell. We also don't know how good Benning will be this year. I gave him no shot last year of playing the minutes he played. But the kids improved significantly between his freshman and sophomore years. He earned the time he got. Maybe we will see continued development from him. We have two experienced players at that position so all is not lost.
Are there any left? Scanning Verbal Commits, it appears there aren't really any high quality, immediately eligible, PG transfers available anymore.
I think VAStagman is right there's pretty slim pickings left. Now I'm not saying we won't hear any positive surprises but at this date we may have to play the season with the players we have.
We might have a decent year with the players we have. I think Aidas is going to prove to have a better year than many expect. I think a lot of folks underestimate him. Time will tell. We also don't know how good Benning will be this year. I gave him no shot last year of playing the minutes he played. But the kids improved significantly between his freshman and sophomore years. He earned the time he got. Maybe we will see continued development from him. We have two experienced players at that position so all is not lost.
No all is not lost at the PG position, especially if Aidas is completely free of some of the nagging injuries he has had during his career. However where we may be short is in the 2G position, a lot of that having to do with (at least at this time) the appearance that we don't have enough talented players that can do all of the things required from that spot such as shooting, handling, passing (maybe even defending) etc. TBD of course if Landon and Calvin have expanded their games enough to really fit into that category now. I've got a feeling that Jay Young has worked hard with them to do just that. Therefore as I mentioned a few days ago, maybe that is why he has not been in a hurry to bring in immediate help in that area. We'll see if my feeling and hope is realized in due time I guess. If it is, we could be pretty good. OTOH if it is not (and barring that last minute recruiting surprise), maybe we will be somewhat less then that, at least for this one year. But again, as far as PG, as long as Taj and Aidas stay healthy we should be fine in that area.
Last Edit: Jul 7, 2019 8:42:07 GMT -5 by nashvillestag
Fact is we don’t have an aggressive playmaker/ penetrator like we had in Alvarez. I’m skeptical but who knows what Jay is capable of. At least it will be a fresh start to the program. I’m most happy about that.
Looks like it will be our second guard by committee or play our two point guards together when we face pressure all game. Either is not ideal to having a strong combo guard, or two, available, but it seems to be where we are.
Looks like it will be our second guard by committee or play our two point guards together when we face pressure all game. Either is not ideal to having a strong combo guard, or two, available, but it seems to be where we are.
Well as limited as our depth is, I feel like we've been in worst shape in the recent path. I think back at this roster:
Lincoln Davis Guard 6–3 170 Freshman Pittsburgh, PA K.J. Rose Guard 6–1 190 Freshman Binghamton, New York Steve Johnston Guard 6–0 170 Junior Stamford, Connecticut Doug Chappell Guard 6–2 175 Freshman Alexandria, Virginia Sean Grennan Guard 6–3 175 Junior Toms River, New Jersey
and think we probably have at least 3 guys on this team that are better than just about anyone on the 2013 roster.
Looks like it will be our second guard by committee or play our two point guards together when we face pressure all game. Either is not ideal to having a strong combo guard, or two, available, but it seems to be where we are.
Well as limited as our depth is, I feel like we've been in worst shape in the recent path. I think back at this roster:
Lincoln Davis Guard 6–3 170 Freshman Pittsburgh, PA K.J. Rose Guard 6–1 190 Freshman Binghamton, New York Steve Johnston Guard 6–0 170 Junior Stamford, Connecticut Doug Chappell Guard 6–2 175 Freshman Alexandria, Virginia Sean Grennan Guard 6–3 175 Junior Toms River, New Jersey
and think we probably have at least 3 guys on this team that are better than just about anyone on the 2013 roster.
Yeah well considering that team was 7-25 I certainly hope we have at least 3 guys that are better or else we are in trouble. I see you're only talking about guards and not the forwards from 2013-14, but obviously that crew (in retrospect) never was as good or efficient as Taj and Aidas have been in their time here. OTOH we did have a couple of decent forwards at that time, particularly Marcus Gilbert and Amadou in the infant stages of their careers, so I would put them up there as being pretty much equal with some of our current guys. Anyway if we're looking at a standard to match, surely the 13-14 team is not the one to set the bar of what the 2019-20 Stags hope to beat, right?
Post by nashvillestag on Jul 7, 2019 19:40:58 GMT -5
Oh yeah (as I check for accuracy), Mo Barrow, an upper classman who I think it would be fair to say was indeed better than ANYONE on this current team. Just saying.
Post by nittanystag on Jul 7, 2019 20:31:16 GMT -5
Stags will be in deep trouble if Aidas (or Taj) goes down with an injury. And we all know how snakebite the Stags have been over the years in that regard.