Still no player from another school other than Iowa or Drake.
Let's go coach Mac!
Let's go coach Mac!
*****Bennett Stirtz & Isaia Howard will follow Ben McCollum to Iowa City. Who else will be? 8 of 15 Roster spots filled*****
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
So?
Do you want dudes for the sake of having dudes, or do you want the RIGHT dudes for his system?
I posted this on March 26, as well.
It will be interesting to see if anything develops with Simm-marten Saadi, a 6'9, 230 pound forward out of Sunrise Christian Academy. He's originally from Estonia. Class of 2025, so he has 4 years of eligibility.
Here are a couple minutes of highlights:
When it comes to filling out the roster:
* We probably should add a big or two.
* Do we have enough shooters? Ben made it clear that he wanted Dix and Pryce back; both likely are going elsewhere but they would be 2 shooters this roster could REALLY use.
* We probably should add a big or two.
* Do we have enough shooters? Ben made it clear that he wanted Dix and Pryce back; both likely are going elsewhere but they would be 2 shooters this roster could REALLY use.
Yeah, I wish he'd either say he's coming back or announce he's entering the transfer portal
Do you think Simm-Marten Saadi would be a good fit for B1G play?
That's a nice nugget on Tavion.
If he fits Ben's system I'm down. He's a big that plays on the perimeter and can also rebound.
His skills down low don't empress me. But for a freshman coming in with that size and skill we can't ask for much more
I am guessing this is the hold up. After Stirtz, I think he was the next most important piece to being competitive next year.
"My name is... my name is... my name is (slicka slicka) Simm Saadi!"
Actual pronunciation may vary.
Hopefully this opens up a lot of NIL money so Ben can get more aggressive in the portal
Getting a center/big and a shooting guard are hopefully in the works. Hopefully Ben finds a PG/combo guard, too.
Will the real Simm Saadi please stand up?
Hoping we hear something on this kid:
From Arman Jovic of PDT Scouting:
6'10 PF Aleksa Vlajic (Class of 2025) recently de-commitment from Fordham. He is a native of Serbia and averaged 22.4 PPG, 10.3 RPG, and 3.3 APG at International Sport Academy, located in NY state.
He shot 43% from three on 4.4 attempts per game.
Vlajic has talked to coaches from the following schools: Ohio State, Cincinnati, Iowa, Charleston, Robert Morris, Georgia Southern, Marshall, Omaha, La Salle, Indiana State, Manhattan+ More
6 Minutes of highlights:
From Arman Jovic of PDT Scouting:
6'10 PF Aleksa Vlajic (Class of 2025) recently de-commitment from Fordham. He is a native of Serbia and averaged 22.4 PPG, 10.3 RPG, and 3.3 APG at International Sport Academy, located in NY state.
He shot 43% from three on 4.4 attempts per game.
Vlajic has talked to coaches from the following schools: Ohio State, Cincinnati, Iowa, Charleston, Robert Morris, Georgia Southern, Marshall, Omaha, La Salle, Indiana State, Manhattan+ More
6 Minutes of highlights:
Ben's admitted he wants to play at a faster pace offensively. And they have to play defense.
Based on this, who's next?
Hoping we hear something on this kid:
From Arman Jovic of PDT Scouting:
6'10 PF Aleksa Vlajic (Class of 2025) recently de-commitment from Fordham. He is a native of Serbia and averaged 22.4 PPG, 10.3 RPG, and 3.3 APG at International Sport Academy, located in NY state.
He shot 43% from three on 4.4 attempts per game.
Vlajic has talked to coaches from the following schools: Ohio State, Cincinnati, Iowa, Charleston, Robert Morris, Georgia Southern, Marshall, Omaha, La Salle, Indiana State, Manhattan+ More
6 Minutes of highlights:
A slightly shorter Garza.
And so much for the "Dix is staying at Iowa, and an announcement is coming in the next day or two" tweet I saw posted the other day as well.
Tavion Banks could be our next commit because he entered the transfer portal with a do not contact tag. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 10.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last season at Drake en route to Missouri Valley Conference Sixth Man of the Year honors. Banks played in 34 games with the Bulldogs last season and started one contest.
Of those leaving, Dix is the only one who looked like a power conference player (couldn't evaluate Freeman since he was checked out the entire season).
Iowa will be a very difficult rebuild for Ben McCollum. Stirtz is the only power conference caliber player on their current roster. In today's college basketball, the program has to develop and keep some players, then really hit big on several portal players. Will McCollum be able to get to that point? It's way too early to tell one way or another.
I still 100% behind a coaching change being made -- Fran was never going to break through in the NCAA tournament, and his program had been trending down for the past 3 years.
Iowa will be a very difficult rebuild for Ben McCollum. Stirtz is the only power conference caliber player on their current roster. In today's college basketball, the program has to develop and keep some players, then really hit big on several portal players. Will McCollum be able to get to that point? It's way too early to tell one way or another.
I still 100% behind a coaching change being made -- Fran was never going to break through in the NCAA tournament, and his program had been trending down for the past 3 years.
One good thing is we can now stop worrying about former Iowa players. Now, lets watch Ben continue to build the new roster with the players that fit his system. Having a top 3 in the country point guard is a GREAT start. Cooper Koch is gonna be good (hopefully he stays healthy).
What's the word on Shabazz? I know we're trying to get guys for next season so maybe off the radar a little bit.
The bolded is a really stupid statement. If they went on the open market, Manyawu and Howard would each have a bunch of power conference offers. IJA and Koch were both Top 150 players in the country coming out of high school.
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Good. Sick of watching Iowa get shredded defensively and on the boards. Burn it and start over with Ben Mc’s guys.
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