Weekend of highs and lows. We soundly beat UF but also may have run off Mario McKinney and one of the few decent talents CM has actually convinced to come to Columbia.
[Reply]

Had to get the brisket running for the Chiefs game so I wasn't able to make it to the FL game Saturday - probably missed the best game they'll play this year.

Hate to see the McKinney news but the bottom line is that we just don't know anything right now. Could be a 'tough love' thing but it also could be McKinney is starting fights in practice or something and simply isn't going to work out here.

I'd be awfully bummed out to see it. McKinney shows those same flashes that Pinson did last year where you just see an extra gear for him that will show up more and more as the game slows down. But sometimes a kid/coach just don't work out. And other times the kid just needs to be re-directed to reach his potential.

Hopefully this is the latter.
[Reply]

It's too bad considering he's a legacy, you'd think Jimmy would be in his ear about not being an idiot.
[Reply]

And he's gone!!! Now 1 scholarship open for 2020 assuming no more departures, however CM doesn't appear to be in on anyone...
[Reply]

Rumors 'round these parts are that he'd been getting in fights at practice and had become something of a general malcontent given his lack of playing time.

Seems pretty likely that it came down to Pinson v. McKinney and Cuonzo has a type. I always thought Cuonzo would like Pinson because he's a scrappy 'dirty tough' Chicago guard who has a chip on his shoulder.

Feels like the Geist thing 2.0 when Geist was getting PT over the two freshman and they couldn't break into the rotation ahead of him before eventually transferring. Turns out Blake Harris is just something of a flake and left NC State shortly thereafter as well. CJ Roberts appears to have just vanished.

For as upset as I was by that choice, Geist ended up being the better guy to keep anyway. Hopefully Cuonzo is right again but at some point he has to have a little lighter touch with these young guards.
[Reply]

I don't hold this against him necessarily, but this is becoming way too common. And now after this season we will have zero underclass guards on the roster.
[Reply]

Exactly.

Best I can find is that Roberts flaked out on tech as well and is now playing community college ball for some place called Ranger college. Seems like Harris and Roberts just weren't cut out for the rigors of D1 ball - shit happens.

Maybe McKinney goes the same route. When the rubber hits the road, there are a lot more stories like Harris, Roberts and Gant than there are guys like JWIII who go someplace else and thrive.

But at some point you have to start finding ways to salvage assets or adjust your recruiting to account for personality somehow. You can't just keep roasting scholarships and recruiting capital on guys that aren't gonna fit here. The story is that Watts was in some ways a casualty of the McKinney recruiting tour so even if McKinney wasn't the right fit here, chasing him may have cost them Rocket so it's a loss both ways.

Something's gotta give...
[Reply]

Ranger is where Geist went. Billie Clyde Gillespie is the coach there, I believe.

Re: spots, I expect Tilmon to go make money playing professionally somewhere after this season. So they’re going to have 2.

They’re still chasing Josh Christopher. I don’t expect them to land him, but his list is small and not blue blood-ed up. Would be a Jaylen Brown-like WTF moment.

They should pursue a true transfer G for the other spot.

And they should run off Axel Okongo and use that scholarship on a grad transfer big man, who can pick and pop.
[Reply]

Christopher appears to be the only real plus recruit they're after.

Hell, he almost seems to be the only recruit they're after period.

Not been a great 12 months for Cuonzo...
[Reply]

Wake me when the Bozo experiment is taken out behind the shed & shot.
[Reply]

Good Lord 20 points in the 1st half.
[Reply]

Cuonzo Martin is really not any better than Kim Anderson in the grand scheme of things.
[Reply]

That may be the stupidest thing youve ever posted and thats saying alot because you're a moron. Martin isn't gonna make this team a power house, but Kimmy Anderson had 27 wins in 3 years. Martin had that many in half the time. KA had 7 conference wins in 3 seasons, Martin had 10 in his first season.

To act like Martin is anywhere near as bad as Kim is retarded. Quit being so emotional and posting when your on your period.
[Reply]

But with Cuonzo working with him, Tillmon has improved from a raw big man who scored about 10ppg and couldn't play more than 10 minutes without getting into foul trouble, to a raw big man who scores about 9ppg and can't play more than 5 minutes without getting into foul trouble.

Think of all the blue-chippers that will attract.
[Reply]

And how has Martin done without the Porters?

His first season doesn't count. He's going to be fired at the end of 2021.
[Reply]