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Who stays. Who goes

JZCane0825 said:
There was no portal back then. You had to wait on most bigs 2-3 years before they could contribute. Don't have to do that anymore.
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No need to recruit a project. Plenty of kids in the portal who can be role players especially mid tier kids who can give real minutes without being a liability.
 
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JZCane0825 said:
His U19 play in June of last year was incredibly promising - 12 and 5 per including an 18 point performance against Spain. He also played pretty well in the France scrimmages too from what I remember.

I'm not sure what happened between then and the beginning of the season but he looked totally out of place. Between him, Aire and some of the other developmental bigs we've brought in over the past handful of years, I wouldn't be surprised if the staff looks to exclusively acquire talent at the 5 spot via the portal moving forward.
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International play. How is it working out for Aire?
 
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JZCane0825 said:
Going to call BS on this. The staff placed a big bet on Nwoko to come in and contribute right away, even deciding that they didn't need a proven backup big. He played 18 minutes at Rupp, 13 minutes against FIU and then 33 minutes against Syracuse early in conference play, so there were plenty of opportunities that came his way. His offensive game is incredibly raw and he looked completely out of place on the defensive end.

I think there's a reason why no one has plucked him out of the portal yet and I'll keep it at that.
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King of Allapattah said:
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Coming into this season, lots of people were saying the same thing about playing time and being a key piece. Nwoko wasn't going to waste another year on the bench. I don't blame him one iota. To me, blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff for not finding a way to get him more involved this season.
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Nwoku wasn’t ready to play big minutes right away and that’s ok. He did get plenty of minutes for a raw freshman center, and I think it’s no doubt he would’ve been a key piece of the rotation next year. He has a lot of great traits and it seemed like L really wanted him to succeed here. I think this is a big mistake on his part cuz he could’ve been a starter next year… interested to see where he goes and if he gets in half as good of a situation.
 
JZCane0825 said:
Going to call BS on this. The staff placed a big bet on Nwoko to come in and contribute right away, even deciding that they didn't need a proven backup big. He played 18 minutes at Rupp, 13 minutes against FIU and then 33 minutes against Syracuse early in conference play, so there were plenty of opportunities that came his way. His offensive game is incredibly raw and he looked completely out of place on the defensive end.

I think there's a reason why no one has plucked him out of the portal yet and I'll keep it at that.
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Big bet on Nwoko? That's a nice way of spinning it I guess. Miami going into the season with only 1 true big wasn't by choice. They tried bringing in another big man through the portal but just couldn't close the deal. You can call it BS, but the fact of the matter is Nwoko's playing time was very inconsistent throughout the season. Playing big minutes one game and 1 or 2 minutes the next didn't go well with Nwoko and his people. It is what it is. Staff should've done a better job of getting him minutes early in the season and allowing him to play thru some of his mistakes. Kind of how they did it with George.
 
Canesbro31 said:
Nwoku wasn’t ready to play big minutes right away and that’s ok. He did get plenty of minutes for a raw freshman center, and I think it’s no doubt he would’ve been a key piece of the rotation next year. He has a lot of great traits and it seemed like L really wanted him to succeed here. I think this is a big mistake on his part cuz he could’ve been a starter next year… interested to see where he goes and if he gets in half as good of a situation.
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I don't disagree with you, but although Nwoko may not have been ready to play big minutes right away I don't think there's any question it would've benefited all parties involved if Nwoko would've been given more opportunities, particularly in the blowouts. Miami won 8 games by double digits this year. Nwoko averaged 7 minutes in those games. I also think keeping him on the bench and out of 3 games midway thru the season didn't help matters.
 
King of Allapattah said:
I don't disagree with you, but although Nwoko may not have been ready to play big minutes right away I don't think there's any question it would've benefited all parties involved if Nwoko would've been given more opportunities, particularly in the blowouts. Miami won 8 games by double digits this year. Nwoko averaged 7 minutes in those games. I also think keeping him on the bench and out of 3 games midway thru the season didn't help matters.
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One of the pillars of L’s coaching philosophy is that playing time is earned.

Nwoko got the minutes he got because he wasn’t doing the things the staff wanted/needed him to do to get more minutes.

He has a lot of potential but if he didn’t recognize his own deficiencies and understand why he wasn’t getting more minutes and what he needed to do to get more minutes… the portal is the best thing for all involved.

L absolutely wanted him to stay and develop (and made a substantial effort to build a relationship and good communication with Nwoko, without just capitulating and giving him more unearned minutes)… but he isn’t/wasn’t good enough to just be allowed to play through his deficiencies (think DQJ under Haith).
 
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AmherstCane said:
One of the pillars of L’s coaching philosophy is that playing time is earned.

Nwoko got the minutes he got because he wasn’t doing the things the staff wanted/needed him to do to get more minutes.

He has a lot of potential but if he didn’t recognize his own deficiencies and understand why he wasn’t getting more minutes and what he needed to do to get more minutes… the portal is the best thing for all involved.

L absolutely wanted him to stay and develop (and made a substantial effort to build a relationship and good communication with Nwoko, without just capitulating and giving him more unearned minutes)… but he isn’t/wasn’t good enough to just be allowed to play through his deficiencies (think DQJ under Haith).
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I hear ya loud & clear and agree with just about everything here. However, if the objective is to develop, then PT vs the cupcakes would've been a good start to do that. The landscape of college basketball isn't what it was 20 years ago. ****, it's not what it was when COVID hit. Fact of the matter is kids have options now and most of them aren't willing to sit idly and wait their turn. No question in my mind that the relationship with Nwoko would've been salvageable had a few bones been thrown his way. Don't think anyone is saying he should've been starting or playing 30 minutes a game, but playing him sparingly in blowout wins and sitting him out of games completely didn't help matters.
 
AmherstCane said:
One of the pillars of L’s coaching philosophy is that playing time is earned.

Nwoko got the minutes he got because he wasn’t doing the things the staff wanted/needed him to do to get more minutes.

He has a lot of potential but if he didn’t recognize his own deficiencies and understand why he wasn’t getting more minutes and what he needed to do to get more minutes… the portal is the best thing for all involved.

L absolutely wanted him to stay and develop (and made a substantial effort to build a relationship and good communication with Nwoko, without just capitulating and giving him more unearned minutes)… but he isn’t/wasn’t good enough to just be allowed to play through his deficiencies (think DQJ under Haith).
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An additional 50 to 60 minutes in preseason wouldn't have mattered one iota. He was lost in ACC play.

I think the kid was ****ed because he was getting 5 to 8 minutes per during the 10 games losing streak. He got 21 minutes against Duke in a blow out loss.
 
King of Allapattah said:
I hear ya loud & clear and agree with just about everything here. However, if the objective is to develop, then PT vs the cupcakes would've been a good start to do that. The landscape of college basketball isn't what it was 20 years ago. ****, it's not what it was when COVID hit. Fact of the matter is kids have options now and most of them aren't willing to sit idly and wait their turn. No question in my mind that the relationship with Nwoko would've been salvageable had a few bones been thrown his way. Don't think anyone is saying he should've been starting or playing 30 minutes a game, but playing him sparingly in blowout wins and sitting him out of games completely didn't help matters.
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I am willing to bet he gets 8 minutes per if he lands at a P4 school this fall.. He wants to play more he should go to a mid tier.
 
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JZCane0825 said:
I now expect Cleveland back with the Omier news
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Larry David Reaction GIF


I mean...if he wants to?

I just feel he's maxxed out and isn't gonna do much more for us than what he did this year. Unless his hustle gets so much better that he rebounds/plays D at a much higher level, and becomes more efficient scoring the ball, I think we can do better.
 
BWCD said:
Larry David Reaction GIF


I mean...if he wants to?

I just feel he's maxxed out and isn't gonna do much more for us than what he did this year. Unless his hustle gets so much better that he rebounds/plays D at a much higher level, and becomes more efficient scoring the ball, I think we can do better.
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He was playing out of position all year and still managed 14 and 6 on nearly 50% from the field.
 
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JZCane0825 said:
He was playing out of position all year and still managed 14 and 6 on nearly 50% from the field.
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I’m just not the biggest fan. I think his game didn’t really match the rest of the roster. He’s a guy that might end up being a better pro than college player due to his iso play. He’s gonna have to get better on D and rebounding though, I will stand by that.

Like I was last season with Casey, I’m skeptical. I’d love for him to prove me wrong and develop his game more and get better.
 
King of Allapattah said:
I hear ya loud & clear and agree with just about everything here. However, if the objective is to develop, then PT vs the cupcakes would've been a good start to do that. The landscape of college basketball isn't what it was 20 years ago. ****, it's not what it was when COVID hit. Fact of the matter is kids have options now and most of them aren't willing to sit idly and wait their turn. No question in my mind that the relationship with Nwoko would've been salvageable had a few bones been thrown his way. Don't think anyone is saying he should've been starting or playing 30 minutes a game, but playing him sparingly in blowout wins and sitting him out of games completely didn't help matters.
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Coaching is so tough. Stubbornness is both an essential ingredient to success and a quick path to failure.

I think you’re right… but L obviously wasn’t willing to throw those bones. Also, Nwoko had a little bit of a soft side (and I don’t mean soft as in kind or compassionate) to him.

Having said that, L has shown the ability to adapt (winning with different styles at multiple - and very different - schools) so I’m intrigued to see what comes next. Bethea will be a big test next year.
 
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