2025-26 Roster

[DesertFog]

So what are the statistical models predicting for the upcoming season now that Baba Miller has been added to the fold?

[zykarious]

Sounds like you agree that the rotation will be no more than 10 (in conference play). Who ends up forced out is an open question and one that may be settled by injury. I just think that we often overestimate how good freshmen will be, so a Tillery redshirt seems realistic at least. I hope he's better than Kriisa and a redshirt will sound like a dumb idea next winter.

I think the rotation will be closer to 8 than 10 in conference. Barring injury, Tillery will have to beat out Kriisa or choose between playing 5 or fewer minutes per game and red-shirting.

My belief is that fans generally overestimate the impact freshmen and transfers will have and underestimate returning players.

Assuming everyone stays healthy, the rotation in conference is probably along the lines of.

Kriisa, Day Day and Jizzle get virtually all of the guard minutes. Kriisa may be the weakest link because he's not a good defender. I'd argue Day Day is the best positioned for minutes as he is the best defender of the 3 and is a very good 3-point shooter.

Harris/Abaev share minutes at the 3, with the split slightly in Harris's favor (25/15) unless Abaev excels.

MIller/Thiam take the majority of the minutes at the 4/5, with Celestine/McKinley/Haynes/Dzellat fighting for the scraps. The backup for each game may be situational or one guy may stand out from the pack, take the majority of the backup minutes and keep the other 3 on the bench. It sounds like McKinley is the most well rounded, but he also hasn't done anything at the college level yet. Celestine/Haynes seem more like a situational rotation pair.

[sedz]

Some guys are getting pushed out of minutes no matter what, it's a good problem to have as long as you can manage the locker room - which Wes seems to do well. Plus not every transfer is a hit (even coming from another big 12 team) and some freshmen (even ones rated as high as Abaev) don't always earn minutes, especially in year one. So we can wait to see what guys go before we worry about quality players getting pushed out. It's safe to assume 2/3 guys won't perform to the level of current fan expectations.

There are three guys I'm confident will average 25 plus minutes per game, Day Day, Baba and Thiam. Competition could go a lot of different ways between everyone else.

Bana/Thiam at the 4/5 leave 30 minutes to split between 4 guys (Celestine, Haynes, McKinley and Dzellat), that means one, two or maybe even three of them don't get the minutes they are hoping for. Celestine isn't really a 3, he will struggle defensively, maybe that can be overcome with the right lineup. Haynes may just be a backup 5 and could be pushed out of that role by Baba or McKinley. There's little reason to believe he can play good enough defense to be a 4. McKinley may struggle and not earn any real minutes. Dzellat probably stays on the bench.

Harris is much more of a 3 than Celestine, which opens more minutes up at guard. But there's other ways minutes could open up for Tillery. It's possible Kriisa's minutes will be limited because of his defense and Tillery. Or maybe we good enough on defense that a defense first guy like Harris is more a luxury than a need.

Sounds like you agree that the rotation will be no more than 10 (in conference play). Who ends up forced out is an open question and one that may be settled by injury. I just think that we often overestimate how good freshmen will be, so a Tillery redshirt seems realistic at least. I hope he's better than Kriisa and a redshirt will sound like a dumb idea next winter.

[daveh]

Some guys are getting pushed out of minutes no matter what, it's a good problem to have as long as you can manage the locker room - which Wes seems to do well. Plus not every transfer is a hit (even coming from another big 12 team) and some freshmen (even ones rated as high as Abaev) don't always earn minutes, especially in year one. So we can wait to see what guys go before we worry about quality players getting pushed out. It's safe to assume 2/3 guys won't perform to the level of current fan expectations.

There are three guys I'm confident will average 25 plus minutes per game, Day Day, Baba and Thiam. Competition could go a lot of different ways between everyone else.

Bana/Thiam at the 4/5 leave 30 minutes to split between 4 guys (Celestine, Haynes, McKinley and Dzellat), that means one, two or maybe even three of them don't get the minutes they are hoping for. Celestine isn't really a 3, he will struggle defensively, maybe that can be overcome with the right lineup. Haynes may just be a backup 5 and could be pushed out of that role by Baba or McKinley. There's little reason to believe he can play good enough defense to be a 4. McKinley may struggle and not earn any real minutes. Dzellat probably stays on the bench.

Harris is much more of a 3 than Celestine, which opens more minutes up at guard. But there's other ways minutes could open up for Tillery. It's possible Kriisa's minutes will be limited because of his defense and Tillery. Or maybe we good enough on defense that a defense first guy like Harris is more a luxury than a need.

hasn't krissa been hurt a lot? injuries will also effect playing time - it somehow usually works itself out

[zykarious]

If that's the case then somebody else is being pushed out of playing time. Either Harris or if he slides down to SF then Celestine. Just not enough minutes to go around for 11 players.

Some guys are getting pushed out of minutes no matter what, it's a good problem to have as long as you can manage the locker room - which Wes seems to do well. Plus not every transfer is a hit (even coming from another big 12 team) and some freshmen (even ones rated as high as Abaev) don't always earn minutes, especially in year one. So we can wait to see what guys go before we worry about quality players getting pushed out. It's safe to assume 2/3 guys won't perform to the level of current fan expectations.

There are three guys I'm confident will average 25 plus minutes per game, Day Day, Baba and Thiam. Competition could go a lot of different ways between everyone else.

Bana/Thiam at the 4/5 leave 30 minutes to split between 4 guys (Celestine, Haynes, McKinley and Dzellat), that means one, two or maybe even three of them don't get the minutes they are hoping for. Celestine isn't really a 3, he will struggle defensively, maybe that can be overcome with the right lineup. Haynes may just be a backup 5 and could be pushed out of that role by Baba or McKinley. There's little reason to believe he can play good enough defense to be a 4. McKinley may struggle and not earn any real minutes. Dzellat probably stays on the bench.

Harris is much more of a 3 than Celestine, which opens more minutes up at guard. But there's other ways minutes could open up for Tillery. It's possible Kriisa's minutes will be limited because of his defense and Tillery. Or maybe we good enough on defense that a defense first guy like Harris is more a luxury than a need.

[daveh]

If that's the case then somebody else is being pushed out of playing time. Either Harris or if he slides down to SF then Celestine. Just not enough minutes to go around for 11 players.

its called competiton - guys pushing each other - no mumbo jumbo stats on this, but let the best man get the most minutes

[sedz]

Based on the scouting, Tillery is a true floor general, he may have a leg up on getting playing time at PG. Only Kerr and DayDay are true PGs, and neither are excellent passers. I think Tillery takes 12-15 minutes at PG with Kerr or DayDay sliding over to SG when Jizzle takes a break. I'd really like two excellent ball handlers and passers on the floor together with the wing/Bigs coming in. I know that really doesn't fit Wes' offensive scheme, but man the possibilities are high.

If that's the case then somebody else is being pushed out of playing time. Either Harris or if he slides down to SF then Celestine. Just not enough minutes to go around for 11 players.

[swilsonsp4]

Based on the scouting, Tillery is a true floor general, he may have a leg up on getting playing time at PG. Only Kerr and DayDay are true PGs, and neither are excellent passers. I think Tillery takes 12-15 minutes at PG with Kerr or DayDay sliding over to SG when Jizzle takes a break. I'd really like two excellent ball handlers and passers on the floor together with the wing/Bigs coming in. I know that really doesn't fit Wes' offensive scheme, but man the possibilities are high.

Kriisa isn't an excellent passer? He led the P12 in assists in 2021-22 with 155 and had even more the next season (180). After his 2023-24 suspension, which limited him to 23 games, he had 109 more. His D1 career A:TO is 2:1.

[red_n_black_attack]

PG: Day Day / Kriisa / Tillery
SG: Jizzle / Harris
SF: Abaev / Celestine
PF: Baba / McKinley
C: Thiam / Haynes / Dzellat

I wonder if Tillery might try to redshirt. We're already two deep at every position and it's rare to have more than a 10 man rotation. We could always bring him into the fold if there's an injury.

Adam Finkelstein:

Today is commitment day for New Hampton School and City Rocks point guard Keyshuan Tillery, who will announce his college decision live on the @247Sports channel at 4pm. https://www.youtube.com/live/G3szNytz7i8

Scouting Keyshuan Tillery:
- True 2-way floor general & leader
- Elite competitor & intangibles
- Sets tone defensively; pressures ball
- Paint touches, fast with ball, improved shooter

Based on the scouting, Tillery is a true floor general, he may have a leg up on getting playing time at PG. Only Kerr and DayDay are true PGs, and neither are excellent passers. I think Tillery takes 12-15 minutes at PG with Kerr or DayDay sliding over to SG when Jizzle takes a break. I'd really like two excellent ball handlers and passers on the floor together with the wing/Bigs coming in. I know that really doesn't fit Wes' offensive scheme, but man the possibilities are high.

[GoBearcats31]

Just gotta add 6'4 Sencire Harris (West Virginia) and voila.

True haha, oops... I sincerely apologize

[sedz]

PG: Day Day / Kriisa / Tillery
SG: Jizzle / Harris
SF: Abaev / Celestine
PF: Baba / McKinley
C: Thiam / Haynes / Dzellat

I wonder if Tillery might try to redshirt. We're already two deep at every position and it's rare to have more than a 10 man rotation. We could always bring him into the fold if there's an injury.

[Carthage World]

6' Keyshuan Tillery - freshman
6'1 Day Day Thomas
6'3 Jizzle James
6'3 Kerr Kriisa (Kentucky)
6'7 Jalen Celestine (Baylor)
6'7 Shon Abaev - freshman
6'8 Jalen Haynes (George mason)
6'9 Tyler McKinley
6'10 Halvine Dzellat
7' Baba Miller
7'2 Moustapha Thiam (UCF)

Just gotta add 6'4 Sencire Harris (West Virginia) and voila.

[GoBearcats31]

6' Keyshuan Tillery - freshman
6'1 Day Day Thomas
6'3 Jizzle James
6'3 Kerr Kriisa (Kentucky)
6'7 Jalen Celestine (Baylor)
6'7 Shon Abaev - freshman
6'8 Jalen Haynes (George mason)
6'9 Tyler McKinley
6'10 Halvine Dzellat
7' Baba Miller
7'2 Moustapha Thiam (UCF)

[leeraymond]

According to Jon Rothstein, CBS Sports, Page will play for Northwestern next season. Very good academic school. If basketball does not quite work out, at least he will have a world-class degree. Not bad.

[leeraymond]

Any word on if Page is returning or if he is moving on? Has anyone heard anything on Page?