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Who stays. Who goes

Da Jumbo Mutombo said:
Wooga was a good player and we dint need to trash him.

He had injuries and we simply asked him to do too much beyond his abilities. Wooga can be an nba level role player. But he should have the ball in his hands.

That's a roster management failure.
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I wouldn't call it a roster management failure, a lot of people, including NBA scouts/GMs wanted to see how his game evolved as he developed. There wasn't any indication that he wouldn't thrive with additional opportunities, seeing how the light came on for him during last year's Final Four run. L gave Wooga first crack at being Wong's successor, and despite being more athletic and a better perimeter shooter, he just doesn't have the ability to create his own shot consistently. That was an underrated part of Isaiah's game, the ability to take the ball in high pressure situations and create for himself.

Unfortunately, Wooga's handle precludes him from being a ball dominant guard, and that's what Miami needed him to be. Maybe he fixes it, but from my experience, a guy with a janky handle usually doesn't improve all that much, especially at this stage. Wong's handle was loose early on, but it wasn't nearly as awkward, and he wasn't a walking turnover machine. Even then, as he grew, Isaiah learned how to use his body to shield defenders, he was also able to draw fouls by being fearless in the lane.

Sometimes, when a guy is asked to grow into a new role, it doesn't work out. Honestly, I don't know if L could have sold a quality guard on coming in knowing that most were convinced that Wooga was going to be an All-ACC level guard, with additional touches and minutes. "Hey, come in, the guy that will be getting a ton of minutes at your spot is projected to be an All-ACC player". What high end guy is going to be cool with that? A lot of our fans think this is 2K, where you can have all stars back up all stars. There's a reason why Miami ended up filling out the roster with projects like Djobet.
 
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Canedude08 said:
Unless you have legit insider information, you may want to hold off on calling dudes cancers. Amazing how when he was a guy comfortable in his role, he was hustling, high energy guy that L loved. As his role changed, injuries piled up and he started pressing, and you could see that he mentally tanked as things went south. Maybe he started to believe his own hype a bit too much, but I don't believe a guy goes from being a team dude to a cancer in 6 months.
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Wish I knew the inside story of what happened after that ankle injury against North Florida. (And I'm not at all implying that injury caused Wooga's subsequent lethargic court demeanor.)

Never saw such a 180 change and why it happened remains a real mystery. He was our #1 option on offense until that game. After, he was pretty much invisible. Got his very quiet 10 points but basically invisible compared to how he had played.
 
hotshot said:
Wish I knew the inside story of what happened after that ankle injury against North Florida. (And I'm not at all implying that injury caused Wooga's subsequent lethargic court demeanor.)

Never saw such a 180 change and why it happened remains a real mystery. He was our #1 option on offense until that game. After, he was pretty much invisible. Got his very quiet 10 points but basically invisible compared to how he had played.
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He also started breaking down defensively, and that used to be something he did well. It's like he got frustrated because he wasn't what he thought he'd be offensively and it bled into his overall game. It was weird, but unless someone I trust gives me the scoop, I will not call a guy a cancer, just because. That's not fair and it's something I detest.
 
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gacaneaddict said:
Now i said he wouldnt get drafted, but i also wanted Wooga to return. I think the injury derailed him last season.


Here is who already contacted him:

St. John’s
Kansas
Villanova
Kentucky
Temple
Ole Miss
Florida State
Arizona State
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I can see him being a high volume scorer at ASU, Ole Miss, Temple and St. Johns. If he heads to Kentucky, Kansas or Villanova, odds are he will be a secondary scorer, but get a ton of minutes. The question is what matters more to him. Personal glory(But being on a crap team), or maybe being a valuable part of a top end team, but not the star. I think he is interested in Nova, he may want to return home to Philly.
 
gacaneaddict said:
Now i said he wouldnt get drafted, but i also wanted Wooga to return. I think the injury derailed him last season.


Here is who already contacted him:

St. John’s
Kansas
Villanova
Kentucky
Temple
Ole Miss
Florida State
Arizona State
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I look forward to the revisionist history and goal post moving if he signs with a major program…
 
Geddy Lee said:
Wooga was the worst dribbler I have ever seen.
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I remember in first couple games saying biggest thing was finding who had the handle to be that guy and you cant do what wong did without it..

When I mentioned the loose handle these guys had was alot of talking down and no one should question anything lmaoo
 
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8 players gone. I hope there's a plan in place to replace all those guys. Going to be another long season if we don't get more out of the portal.
 
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Maybe there are factors like NIL and getting NBA-ready or chemistry or whatever, but anyone have the dope on L's selection of number-1 offensive option. Many (maybe himself) thought Wooga would be it this past season. Perhaps injury-related, that sort of faded, and L was telling the public (that) our go to guy is Pack, "we practiced 10 minutes of plays just to feed him" etc.

George had his (offensive option) moments in the sun, and Benz shot way too much, and Cleveland was also a bit hoggish. With Pack coming back with all the fanfare and hype, I wonder if L still sees him as Nbr-1 offensive threat, and that influenced Wooga to portal out (or go pro.) - (Meaning: I'm thinking maybe Wooga likes participating in plays to feed Pack, even less than he likes defense.)
 
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Da Jumbo Mutombo said:
So this is where we're at rn I think

PG: TBD/Pack
SG: Pack/Bethea/Schwartz
SF: Cleveland/Djobet/Johnson-Arigu
PF: Brandon Johnson
C: Lynn Kidd

Need at least 3 more players. 1 PG, 1 PF, 1 C. Preferably 4 more.

I imagine Pack will play some 1 and Cleveland will play some 4 interchangeably.
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Pack starts at the point unless they land Small, which would shift Bethea to the 6th man role. Need a 3rd rotational big and then potentially a developmental big, either via prep or the portal.
 
JZCane0825 said:
Pack starts at the point unless they land Small, which would shift Bethea to the 6th man role. Need a 3rd rotational big and then potentially a developmental big, either via prep or the portal.
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I'm expecting Small. If not the Stetson kid, in which pack and him will split ball handling duties.

I like TJ Power from Duke as a 3rd forward. I think he would fit Coach L's system really nicely.

We do need another actual big tho. Can't rely solely on Kidd all year.
 
Da Jumbo Mutombo said:
I'm expecting Small. If not the Stetson kid, in which pack and him will split ball handling duties.

I like TJ Power from Duke as a 3rd forward. I think he would fit Coach L's system really nicely.

We do need another actual big tho. Can't rely solely on Kidd all year.
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That App State transfer would have made sense but he committed to UGA
 
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