I hope he lands in a school where he can ball out and enjoy his final year of b-ball.
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Updated. Left Podz on the list but have to think he is gone even if he gets a 2nd Round draft grade. We definitely have one spot available and most likely 2 or 3.
1 Christian Hammond - Freshman
2 Luke McEldon Freshman
3 Jake Ensminger - RS Freshman
4 Christoph Tilly - Sophomore
5 Kosy Akametu - Sophomore
6 Brenton Knapper - RS Sophomore
7 Carlos Stewart - Junior
8 Camaron Tongue - Junior
9. Brandin Podziemski - Junior ??? NBA draft process, maintain eligibility
10. Johnny O’Neil - Senior (with two years to play)
11 Parker Braun - Graduate ???
12 Carlos Marshall Jr - Graduate ???
13. Available Scholarship
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Twitter has 6-9 Johnny O’Neil from American University committing to Santa Clara.
Shooter, slasher, rebounder.
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Kinda bummed about Bediako. Seemed like a great guy who have plenty of flashes of brilliance through his time at SCU. I’m sure he saw that Tilly was likely to supplant him in the starting lineup. And he’s leaving with an SCU degree and is plenty good enough to start for a Big West or similar squad and get a free Masters along the way. Ah well. I wish him the best.
I think with Holt and Bediako moving on, it would be good to see if there’s a serviceable true center and rim protector out there. McEldon might not be ready right out of the gate, and I don’t think that’s the best primary role for Parker, Cam, or O’Neil. I’d rather not be fully reliant on Tilly to hold down the middle of the paint.
THIS.
Given his athleticism, I prefer Tilly to defend the opponent’s 3 or 4. Think of it as a defensive mismatch (to our favor). My concern with Tilly defending a husky 5 would be the weight mismatch.
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If Bediako still had a Covid year of eligibility with the Broncos, I think it’s a very positive sign for the program that he portaled out. It means we we have better players to replace him.
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Also bummed about JB. He really is a great human being. If his going to another program means earning his masters while having fun balling out - that is fantastic! I guess that leaves us with TWO scholarships. Marshall is heading overseas to play some basketball.
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Best of luck to Jaden Bediako. Great Bronco who gave it his all and showed real progression over the course of four years.
LetsGoBroncos is right, this probably is a good sign of our activity in the portal.
I would LOVE another athletic big that is a rim protector. Tilly guarding 3’s may be a little much, but he can certainly defend 4s. Or another big who can shoot would be fine. Drives me insane when we put two dudes on the court who can’t shoot.(By the way, with Tilly’s touch I have to think he can develop a three point shot).
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He looks decent. Not a scorer, but efficient and smart about when he decides to go for the hoop (basically gets all his offense within 4 ft of the rim). He was good enough to start ~20 games in his career at UVA despite minimal offense. Decent rebounder when adjusting for UVA’s slow pace and playing only 8-12 min per game. Having a true, bulky 7-footer will be a defensive asset.
Welcome!
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#$(*#$
Disastrous. He just threw out a pitch at an SCU baseball game–I assumed that meant he was comfortable and sticking around.
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That’s what I thought. This would be a big loss.
With that said, this isn’t the disaster it would have been 5 years ago. You can find decent guys in the portal, but this would be a huge step back.
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The portal bites us back. Bummer.
Ouch!..This one stings! I wish Carlos well with his next move as he was a good Bronco.
I have to assume we will be active in the portal as it relates to a PG, and an off guard that both has range and ability to attack the bucket and get to the charity stripe.
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Definitely, All the best to Carlos. His progression from Year 1 to Year 2 was impressive.
Such is life in the portal era.
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Losing the entire backcourt if Podz doesn’t end up coming back is going to be tough to recover from. With luck, Knapper will have a big progression from year 1 to 2 much like Carlos did. Currently, there is a ton of offense to find. Definitely excited to see what Tilly and Tongue can do with another summer of development. Hopefully, we can land a couple of scorers in the portal…
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Big loss there… loved his speed and tenacity.
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Best of luck to Carlos. He will be missed.
I think Knapper will be a good player eventually and I have high hopes for Ensminger, but we definitely need one or two physical guards to pair with them next season.
Getting Caffaro is important because he appears strong and will allow Tilly and Tongue to not have to waste fouls guarding the occasional giant we come up against. Caffaro does not have Bediako’s wingspan but he certainly has better mobility and looks to play rather aggressive.
Torvik is out with his Rostercast Tool. You have to remove Podz from the analysis, which takes us from 70th to 175. (Shows you how insanely valuable Podz was) https://barttorvik.com/rosters24.php?team=Santa+Clara&year=2023
The good news is Torvik’s analytics are very bullish on Tilly. Has Tilly producing a season more valuable than Justice or Stewart were this season which suggests an All Conference player. Torvik also has Tongue averaging double digits. That 175 number will obviously improve as we add two or 3 more players. O’neil also looks to be a double digit scorer in Torvik’s model once you account for the usage bump of Podz not returning.
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We are going to have an entirely different team next year. Happy for JB committing to Seton Hall! That is huge. Giordan off to Montana. Holt off to Sacramento. Would have been great if Marshall stayed to play at Santa Clara . . . I’m bummed THIS is not the summer for pre-season play. Seems we could really use it to see how we gel as a team.
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