Gator Basketball Next year’s basketball roster: Mike White lands #1 Graduate Transfer Kerry Blackshear

[InstiGATOR1]

I gotta admit, I don't like the signing. Hopefully White knows what he is doing.

All evidence is that White likes big guards. White really seems to like all players in the 6'5" to 6'8" range as that means you can switch all position without much of a disadvantage. So that makes this signing puzzling to me too.

 

[BMF]

 

[GatorBart]

Would really like to get a 6’7”-8” swingman type player with one of the last two spots.
We don’t need anymore shooting guards.

 

[maheo30]

Brunk would be a nice get and he has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

 

[LeeForThree]

Brunt I dont like. Milon would be great as a backup

 

[lagator]

Brunt I dont like. Milon would be great as a backup

Why?

 

[InstiGATOR1]

On these graduate transfers, where would the minutes come from? Right now if I pare down the minutes from 30, I would have

G: Locke, Nembhard and Mann each playing 25 minutes for 75 out of 80 minutes taken IF White is willing to cut Nembhards minutes down from 30+ to 25.

F: Lewis and Johnson each playing 25 minutes would use up 50 of 80 minutes.

C: Stokes and Payne each playing 25 minutes would use up all 40 minutes in the post and take up another 10 minutes at the 4 leaving only 20 minutes there.

So that means barring injury there are maybe 5 minutes at the guard position and 20 minutes at the forward position that could be allocated IF UF does not play guys like Nembhard, Mann and Johnson 30+ minutes next season.

I guess I could see one graduate transfer SF type getting enough minutes. I don't think bringing in graduate transfers in to play Okauru/Ballard type minutes as they are going to be unhappy going from playing 20+ minutes a game to mostly sitting.

 

[rogdochar]

Insti, if we speed up our play by increasing our accuracy i.e. hitting our shots quicker on the shot-clock, we create more effective time. Something like that allowed Loyola Marymont to average over 105 ppg awhile back. Sure Bball has changed. But do a little of that, to change it again. Increase fun to attract hotter players.

 

[Ancient Reptile]

Would really like to get a 6’7”-8” swingman type player with one of the last two spots.
We don’t need anymore shooting guards.

But do we need guards who can shoot?

 

[Egor's Assistant]

Brunt I dont like. Milon would be great as a backup

Brunk seems like he fits the bill. Hard working, team first, two years left. Got that height we're desperately lacking. Rebound, defend, make a layup. The Roster will clear out after next year's NBA defections anyhow. Bring him in.

 

[rogdochar]

Brunk's size, height & wingspan, would defensively give us the inside foundation that will jam up our opponent's inside scores. Perhaps Brunk's experienced help inside will improve Stokes', Basset, Payne = our entire inside attack. Never had an inside attack before. Is our coach-staff ready to develop it?

Wait ! .... Brunk has not committed to UF, has he?

 

[GatorBart]

On these graduate transfers, where would the minutes come from? Right now if I pare down the minutes from 30, I would have

G: Locke, Nembhard and Mann each playing 25 minutes for 75 out of 80 minutes taken IF White is willing to cut Nembhards minutes down from 30+ to 25.

F: Lewis and Johnson each playing 25 minutes would use up 50 of 80 minutes.

C: Stokes and Payne each playing 25 minutes would use up all 40 minutes in the post and take up another 10 minutes at the 4 leaving only 20 minutes there.

So that means barring injury there are maybe 5 minutes at the guard position and 20 minutes at the forward position that could be allocated IF UF does not play guys like Nembhard, Mann and Johnson 30+ minutes next season.

I guess I could see one graduate transfer SF type getting enough minutes. I don't think bringing in graduate transfers in to play Okauru/Ballard type minutes as they are going to be unhappy going from playing 20+ minutes a game to mostly sitting.

You keep ignoring Bassett. You think Stokes is going to play 25 min/game? That's some wishful thinking. No guarantee Payne is going to get 25 min/game either as a true Freshman who is unproven other than the ability to dunk and block shots. We're going to play more than those two big guys - I expect Bassett to garner just as much PT as Stokes and Payne, and if Gak actually gets healthy enough, he'll get in the mix too with some limited PT.

 

[InstiGATOR1]

GRAD TRANSFER PROSPECT:

Joey Brunk, 6-11, 230, C, Butler (former 4-star recruit)
Stats: 7.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Quick Scout: “Big, strong post player who plays hard as hell. Can score in the paint and is a great team guy.”
Schools: Indiana, Ole Miss, UCF, Florida, Northwestern

These Are the Best College Basketball Players Transferring This Offseason - Stadium

"This past season, Brunk averaged 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 62 percent from the floor. Those numbers came in just 18.6 minutes per contest.

Listed at 6-foot-11 and 230 pounds, Brunk was one of the most efficient low-post scorers in the entire Big East. To go along with his ability to score on the low block, Brunk showed himself to be a willing and effective passer, and also has a solid touch in the mid-range.

Brunk did play seven games as a freshman, but he was granted a redshirt year due to missing time with the team while tending to his ailing father who eventually passed away due to complications from cancer...he is on pace to be a May graduate, and will have two years remaining of eligibility to play at a school coming forward."

247 article: Joey Brunk makes decision to transfer

We are talking about a guy who started 13 out of 33 Butler games this year. His stats are in 18.6 minutes per game. It is hard for me to believe he will be better than Stokes or Bassett or worth investing more minutes in than Payne.

 

[InstiGATOR1]

You keep ignoring Bassett. You think Stokes is going to play 25 min/game? That's some wishful thinking. No guarantee Payne is going to get 25 min/game either as a true Freshman who is unproven other than the ability to dunk and block shots. We're going to play more than those two big guys - I expect Bassett to garner just as much PT as Stokes and Payne, and if Gak actually gets healthy enough, he'll get in the mix too with some limited PT.

You are correct that I have ignored Bassett. Adding in Bassett means there are even less minutes for a grad transfer. I suspect there are more shoes to drop concerning next years roster.

 

[gatordad3]

You are correct that I have ignored Bassett. Adding in Bassett means there are even less minutes for a grad transfer. I suspect there are more shoes to drop concerning next years roster.

We can only hope Bassett improves the same way Hayes improved over the years while at UF. Bassett to me was very painful to watch on the court late in the season. Taking an ill advised 3, not hustling for rebounds, etc.

 

[maheo30]

We are talking about a guy who started 13 out of 33 Butler games this year. His stats are in 18.6 minutes per game. It is hard for me to believe he will be better than Stokes or Bassett or worth investing more minutes in than Payne.

Bassett
11.3 mpg
2.7 ppg
2.3 rpg
45 fg%

Brunk
18.6 mpg
7.6 ppg
3.6rpg
61.7 fg%

Bassett didn't improve much from year 1 to year 2. Brunk did improve from last season to this. Brunk has at least been productive for Butler hitting double digits in scoring multiple times. Bassett has done that once. I don't know about Brunk's defense, but I've seen Bassett. It is terrible. I'll take 2 more years of Brunk over Bassett any day.

 

[rogdochar]

The number of minutes a coach gives to a player isn't only dependent on how skilled he is. What if young Burk's position were held by a senior center who is 20% more effective = he gets the minutes. It ain't logical to downgrade Brunk comparing him to first string "big men" that we can't get. We might can get Brunk. High likelihood that he'll play more minutes at a poor inside-game school (UF). He'll play more, score more & will compete well with Stokes & Payne. With 2 years left, he's still learning, albeit, coming here he's probably going to the worse inside-game training & philosophy school. That's why his bigness of 6'11" is needed so much.

One player playing 30 minutes, gets that tiredness that slows reflexes, slows slashes, shoots air-balls & rim-clangers. Possibly, the leads we lost in the second half were from slowed-down everything. Want an upbeat pace.

 

[t-gator]

I would look to develop what we have rather than take Brunk. But the milon kid would be a nice pick up. Not sure why he'd want to come here to be the 2nd guard off the bench though.

 

[MertzJay26]

Give me Blackshear or give me death

 

[rogdochar]

Just lessen "live by the sword" 3-point philosophy. Taking basketball smarts (BBall IQ) out of players' minds makes for dumb-to-watch game. Seeing UF smart play that fools the defense makes fans proud - feel full of cheer. A back door play gets maximum cheers. We shot less than 30% on threes, meanwhile our no-hands inside man shot 67%.?
Gracious, go for good-hands bigs to get even higher than 70%. How guard-biased can a coach be to be blind to that.

We say we've got good 3-pt shooters, but 30% is a 70% turnover rate each possession. The UF program has too very successfully pursue several very tall players and put some preventive "bracing" on their knees. At the high pay of an HC-CEO we deserve an "resource full" teacher. How about a long-time volleyball coach, really low pay, to teach the best jumping technique for every player. Angling your knees in a bit and Stomping your launch-feet protects the knees & increases the jump-height. Would begin & end practices with tai chi to increase muscle movement awareness that could relax the post-practice bodies, enhance physiological recovery, lower injuries and insert a calm feeling of control? Tell White it's all avant-guarde - he'll like that part.