Basketball Transfer Portal '25

[longtimefan]

How much would it cost to afford him though...?

How much should we value him? My thought is a lot.

[Lobot]

Chad Brendel commented that, while Jizzle could enter the portal, he has seen no indication to-date that the family are moving in that direction. There is no agent involved. The family handle everything.

Jizzle was the "maybe" I was referring to in my original posts about which players would be going into the. portal. I've also seen no indication that this will happen from anyone around him so far but they may just keep things quiet. Part of what's probably helping here is that The U just underwent a coaching change with Larranaga retiring and he's a first time head coach.

[Rufus]

That would be devastating to the Program!

My first question would be WHY???

It may not be JJ's decision. I'm just speculating but maybe Miller don't see it worth while having to tolerate JJ's dad. jmo

[leo from jersey]

It may not be JJ's decision. I'm just speculating but maybe Miller don't see it worth while having to tolerate JJ's dad. jmo

you might be on to something.

[Longtime Lurker]

Dead on! For a TEAM that lacked scoring options, it's a huge blow to the Program! That's why I would have to disagree with Zyk & Red_n_Black on this one.

James is the ONLY player in the team with a consistent jump shot. His upside is huge and could possibly be an All American by his senior year!

Wes can not afford to lose Jizzle.

Agree to disagree on this. Jizzle (who I think does have a lot of upside if he plays the right role in the right system) absolutely did not have a consistent jump shot. He had some hot streaks, but for far too much of the season (as a point guard), he brought the ball across half-court at 9 seconds, then dribbled around aimlessly for another 15 seconds, then rushed into a last second elbow jumper which just so happened was always open-because every other team scouted us and knows he can't resist that shot but hits it VERY inconsistently. I have never seen a team have so many shot clock violations as this team did this year, and a lot of that was on the point guards (jizzle being the bigger offender) moving the ball so slowly and pointlessly that when they finally dumped it off to someone else, they had to launch a desperation three that frequently was after the buzzer (another big offender was simas doing the same thing dancing around the 3 point line looking for a heat check 3). When Jizzle locked in on defense, got some easy baskets off steals, and drove the ball to the rim (he is a strong kid who should be able to finish through contact and get to the line more to keep the defense honest, he could be a great player-he just wasn't often enough here. Some of that is on Miller obviously, and he may well go somewhere and put up big counting stats-but if he doesn't figure out how to move the ball in the flow of an offense, he doesn't add enough value. It's a shame. He and Day Day are athletic enough that they should be able to thrive on some curated chaos-but instead we walk the ball up into sundial paced half-court sets that don't play to our strengths. It makes no sense, Wes played for Roy Williams who never failed to push the pace, make or miss.

[GoBearcats31]

6’6 OSU forward Evan Mahaffey to the portal. Moeller grad. Freshman year at Penn State. Two years at OSU. My perception of him is he’s not good offensively but very athletic, maybe a defensive specialist. Feels like a Mick era Bearcat. Wonder if he’d be a fit. Started almost every game for OSU two seasons ago but would want him as depth piece.

[longtimefan]

Agree to disagree on this. Jizzle (who I think does have a lot of upside if he plays the right role in the right system) absolutely did not have a consistent jump shot. He had some hot streaks, but for far too much of the season (as a point guard), he brought the ball across half-court at 9 seconds, then dribbled around aimlessly for another 15 seconds, then rushed into a last second elbow jumper which just so happened was always open-because every other team scouted us and knows he can't resist that shot but hits it VERY inconsistently. I have never seen a team have so many shot clock violations as this team did this year, and a lot of that was on the point guards (jizzle being the bigger offender) moving the ball so slowly and pointlessly that when they finally dumped it off to someone else, they had to launch a desperation three that frequently was after the buzzer (another big offender was simas doing the same thing dancing around the 3 point line looking for a heat check 3). When Jizzle locked in on defense, got some easy baskets off steals, and drove the ball to the rim (he is a strong kid who should be able to finish through contact and get to the line more to keep the defense honest, he could be a great player-he just wasn't often enough here. Some of that is on Miller obviously, and he may well go somewhere and put up big counting stats-but if he doesn't figure out how to move the ball in the flow of an offense, he doesn't add enough value. It's a shame. He and Day Day are athletic enough that they should be able to thrive on some curated chaos-but instead we walk the ball up into sundial paced half-court sets that don't play to our strengths. It makes no sense, Wes played for Roy Williams who never failed to push the pace, make or miss.

Agreed. I disagree.

[BearKatz]

Agree to disagree on this. Jizzle (who I think does have a lot of upside if he plays the right role in the right system) absolutely did not have a consistent jump shot. He had some hot streaks, but for far too much of the season (as a point guard), he brought the ball across half-court at 9 seconds, then dribbled around aimlessly for another 15 seconds, then rushed into a last second elbow jumper which just so happened was always open-because every other team scouted us and knows he can't resist that shot but hits it VERY inconsistently. I have never seen a team have so many shot clock violations as this team did this year, and a lot of that was on the point guards (jizzle being the bigger offender) moving the ball so slowly and pointlessly that when they finally dumped it off to someone else, they had to launch a desperation three that frequently was after the buzzer (another big offender was simas doing the same thing dancing around the 3 point line looking for a heat check 3). When Jizzle locked in on defense, got some easy baskets off steals, and drove the ball to the rim (he is a strong kid who should be able to finish through contact and get to the line more to keep the defense honest, he could be a great player-he just wasn't often enough here. Some of that is on Miller obviously, and he may well go somewhere and put up big counting stats-but if he doesn't figure out how to move the ball in the flow of an offense, he doesn't add enough value. It's a shame. He and Day Day are athletic enough that they should be able to thrive on some curated chaos-but instead we walk the ball up into sundial paced half-court sets that don't play to our strengths. It makes no sense, Wes played for Roy Williams who never failed to push the pace, make or miss.

I would disagree as well.

Here's the biggest reason we can't afford to lose James? He's not the PG next season, Tillery is.

And Tillery being on board gives James a chance to play his natural position, SG!

James will have even more of an impact with Tillery at PG!

[sedz]

Jizzle was not a good shooter this year. Whether that's the fault of the player or our system is up for debate (I think it's the system), but his effective field goal percentage of 46% is WAY below the national average and the worst on our team. That's a fact. You can't have a good offense if your highest volume shooter is missing that many shots.

If he's going to play SG he will have to dramatically improve his defense and rebounding against bigger wings. And he has to get to the rim so he can convert at least 53%.

[sedz]

6’6 OSU forward Evan Mahaffey to the portal. Moeller grad. Freshman year at Penn State. Two years at OSU. My perception of him is he’s not good offensively but very athletic, maybe a defensive specialist. Feels like a Mick era Bearcat. Wonder if he’d be a fit. Started almost every game for OSU two seasons ago but would want him as depth piece.

Mahaffey had a 3.9 BPM vs top 100, and 4.9 overall. Defensive specialist and a good offensive rebounder. I would take that.

[Carthage World]

6’6 OSU forward Evan Mahaffey to the portal. Moeller grad. Freshman year at Penn State. Two years at OSU. My perception of him is he’s not good offensively but very athletic, maybe a defensive specialist. Feels like a Mick era Bearcat. Wonder if he’d be a fit. Started almost every game for OSU two seasons ago but would want him as depth piece.

I was a big fan of his coming out of high school. Just like Tyler McKinley, his game screamed "Bearcat" to me from the onset.

His dad (who won 3 titles coaching at NCH during the OJ Mayo era) had some highly-publicized health issues this past season and thankfully had a successful heart transplant procedure in January.

It had to have been tough for Evan to focus on just basketball with all of that going on. There's a good chance he may want to finish his career closer to home.

Hard to say right now if he'd make our roster better though. Really depends on who stays and goes at the 3/4 spots.

[swilsonsp4]

UC's staff are very interested in 6'6" forward Cameron McDowell, from NW OK, an NCAA D2 school. He shot 53% from the floor, 39% from the arc and 83% from the line. Several decent schools are involved.

McDowell is from GA and Chad Dollar is very familiar with him, as he was on the staff at GA, who were involved in his recruitment out of HS.

[sedz]

UC's staff are very interested in 6'6" forward Cameron McDowell, from NW OK, an NCAA D2 school. He shot 53% from the floor, 39% from the arc and 83% from the line. Several decent schools are involved.

McDowell is from GA and Chad Dollar is very familiar with him, as he was on the staff at GA, who were involved in his recruitment out of HS.

3 turnovers per game though. Looks like that's what kept him off the court at Jacksonville St a couple years ago, where he had a 34% turnover rate as a sophomore.

McDowell had 83 turnovers in 980 minutes this year. If we assume 65 possession games and a 25% usage, that comes out to a 21% turnover rate. That would have been the worst on our team this year, even higher than Page.

For reference, Day Day had 65 turnovers in 951 minutes in his final Juco year, which is a 17% turnover rate - exactly the same as his rate this year and right at the national average.

But 60% effective field goals is really nice if that translates to the higher level.

[leeraymond]

UC's staff are very interested in 6'6" forward Cameron McDowell, from NW OK, an NCAA D2 school. He shot 53% from the floor, 39% from the arc and 83% from the line. Several decent schools are involved.

McDowell is from GA and Chad Dollar is very familiar with him, as he was on the staff at GA, who were involved in his recruitment out of HS.

If he plays the power forward spot, Miller should pass on him. Not big enough for inside play in the BIG XII or against national teams. Does UC really need another wing or small forward if everyone returns? UC has wings now that do not get much playing time. Also, UC is bringing in a pro prospect at the wing spot that is taller than McDowell.

UC needs to go after some size in the paint. Miller needs to look for power forwards / center types,6'9" or taller, that can defend, rebound, and display some offense in the paint. Any smaller forwards would give UC more of what it already has.

[GoBearcats31]

Listened to part of last night's BCJ BBP podcast this morning and a couple items mentioned by Chad Brendel (I am paraphrasing):

- Said he expects a bunch of roster turnover but also suggested some core pieces would be staying (I'd say Jizzle, Day Day, Dillon, Dan and Josh are the only "core" guys with eligibility based on minutes played this year)
- Re: Jizzle James transfer rumors, said he has no information suggesting that is imminent and, while certainly he could, he's gotten no information as of last night suggesting JJ is leaving