I think Bukky is vital to what makes to unique and I truly believe another year of development of the core together could have huge impact.
I’ve also noticed his body language and its concerned me because he gets good minutes and plenty of benefit of the doubt. Most of his bench time is because of self-inflicted fouls. I assumed he was discouraged with the whistle.
Bukky could be SPECIAL. He is a nightmare matchup when he imposes himself in the game. The shot he doesn’t block he alters when he isn’t fouling. Bukky is an instant-lob threat and looked as of he developed a post game. As Bully lost confidence or frustration kicked in his 3 pt shot waned but earlier in the year he could stretch the floor as well. I would love to have Bukky another year; another year in the gym, maybe some confidence, and refined focus on the court. There is no telling what Bukky could become.
Great to have this info coming from a lot of different connected sources. My input comes from how much SCU does to develop and keep players. Normand was a top 100 prospect coming to us from Michigan St. Early injury at first seemed a few weeks then became season ending. The staff sent him for evaluation to a specialist who went in depth on his injury and also reviewed his film.
He/they discovered his running, stopping, cutting, movements were all off putting undue pressure and stress on his feet. He was then put in therapy to “change” those defects and after weeks of this has vastly improved his footwork and strength.
He’s feeling great and is SO happy with SCU and will/ is working his butt off to be ready for the summer and season(2 years remain).
We will have a ton of guards in the new roster so the competition will be fierce. Sash may bolt for $$ but also loves the freedom the coaches give him to be “him”.
Francis knows he has far better skills than Bukky including a a solid Bball IQ that Bukky lacks, frustrating but you can’t teach 7’1 and that wingspan. The coaches will need to elevate his profile and minutes to keep him in the fold.
This is the best portal opp for SCU after all the press to get a few more studs!!
I really like what Bukky brings to the team and uber athletic 7 footers are hard to find. If his development trajectory continues, he could have a long career as a professional basketball player. He strikes me as fairly introverted, so a new environment might not appeal to him. My guess is that he stays and focuses on the long game.
I don’t no either, Buckets. But Bukke has made giant strides from barely playable as a freshman. Tilly also made huge strides while at SCU. Bediako…well two out three is pretty good.
This is an ESPN article that came out earlier highlighting the biggest draft names. Graves is mentioned with prominent names on the list. Even though we all understand this to be the reality pretty impressive and shocking to see Graves name down amongst elite company when discussing the draft. The article elides to what we discussed which is that another year would serve him almost as if to suggest he is honorable mention.
Way too obvious question: Does anyone know that Santa Clara is not increasing its NIL distribution? Is it already clear that our 25-26 budget will be the same in 26-27? I ask simply because we seem so resigned to losing many of our guys. I would have thought that Sendek and the AD had been discussing this in anticipation of preparing the basketball budget for the new fiscal year. Just wondering.
I would be absolutely shocked if there isn’t a significant increase in investment after this season. But that still doesn’t mean SCU can keep all its players. Maybe SCU can afford $600k for a player that last year would have been offered $400k (50% increase). But if that same player has an offer from Arkansas for $1.3 million, Santa Clara is still going to have a helluva time with retention.
Big money investment is all relative to what your potential poachers can afford. And with SCU’s season, there’s a lot of predators circling, I’m sure.
Thanks for the clarification, Patty Mac. I guess we’re up against the price for our success. It’s hard to argue with a $700,000 difference. All we have is our track record with the portal for sure. Two years ago we lost no one and last year we had two. And as someone pointed out last week, although those departures hurt at the time, it did seem to open up playing time for some of our key contributors this year. I guess we’ll just have to roll the dice, take our best shot, and see where we are at the end of April.
I know it’s not the ideal, but it’s also not the worst thing to be one of the next-tier programs that has credibility for increasing the value of overlooked talent.
We’re known for having the eye for it. We’re known for developing it to become NBA caliber. And we’re known as a fanbase for loving our players for what they give us but not being too bitter when they seek a better opportunity. We’re in a good spot as a program in my opinion and if we play our cards right, we might be able to ride this to the next level where no one wants to leave because we are the destination. That’s down the road, but I am going to enjoy being where we are, because what we are right now is attractive to players with a chip on their shoulder. And I love that.
I see some similarities between Hammond and Aiden Mahaney. Both are skilled and had great WCC seasons. But both aren’t quite as rugged and physical as guards in other conferences. Mahaney struggled at UConn and left after one season. The grass might not be greener somewhere else. So if it comes down purely to coin, I hope SCU can make a competitive offer and convince him to stay.
I see some similarities between Hammond and Aiden Mahaney. Both are skilled and had great WCC seasons. But both aren’t quite as rugged and physical as guards in other conferences. Mahaney struggled at UConn and left after one season. The grass might not be greener somewhere else. So if it comes down purely to coin, I hope SCU can make a competitive offer and convince him to stay.
I think the difference here is that Christian has shown a willingness to being a team first guy and when he speaks his words seem to reflect that.
From everything I heard from SMC, nobody would have described Aiden that way at SMC. Christian will be successful if he moves to a P4, even if it’s in a reduced role.
Former Herb Sendek NC State star player and former Santa Clara assistant coach Justin Gainey is in the running to become head coach at NC State. Currently an Assistant under Rick Barnes at Tennessee. Nice to see another apple potentially fall from Herb’s coaching tree. Herb should insist on scheduling SCU with those he mentored (including Sean Miller at Texas).
Gainey is being reported this morning as the presumptive hire at NC State. That’s quite an enormous leap. I would have never imagined a guy who was on the SCU bench just a few years ago to jump straight to his first HC job at an ACC program. Speaks very highly of his reputation. Good for him.
