I’ve seen this before, in fact I have it bookmarked. As we look at this, Pierce was ranked 5th and Cumberland 19th, Moss is 20th, BUT we need a two. Cumberland is a two, as is Moss. Pierce is really a three. And Pierce is off the board.
Here’s the way I look at this. Cumberland, though 19th on this list is the 5th ranked SG, plays the position we most need to fill. Moss, also a SG, is 20th and 6th. Of the four prospects rated ahead of them, three are already gone. Perhaps we should have prioritized one of those, Christian Keeling, for instance, but he’s going to Carolina, too. We prioritized Pierce, basically a SF, and we didn’t get him.
Admon Gilder, the sixth ranked player, and number one ranked SG on this list is still available, but it’s probably too late to get involved with him, if he is even a player our staff wants. He is visiting Gonzaga this weekend, they are pressing hard for him and we are not listed as being involved with him.
So, in my opinion, either Jaevin Cumberland or Isaiah Moss are our best bets. They are the 5th and 6th ranked SGs on this list. Cumberland is a very good shooter with range. I think he’d be a very good option. If the staff likes him better, Isaiah Moss is ranked just below Cumberland, and he can shoot it, too. Either of them would come in and compete, I think mostly with Eli, for the starting two position. I think initially Eli would have the edge, perhaps not, but it would develop into a dog fight, making both players better. In any case, we would have options at the two that we perhaps don’t have now, solid options.
I still hope Franz comes, or Iggy stays. I think the chances of the former are a lot better than the latter, but in either of those two scenarios, we’d be stacked at the wing. We need to be solid at the two. We need a shooter at the two. Yes, one of our wings could slide down to the two, but it’s a different position than the three/four. I’m sure Coach B would figure it out, but it would be really nice to have a solid two, rather than a wing playing the two.
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I trust Coach Beilein and his staff, but, and I know nothing about what they are thinking, BUT I think I’d be going hard after Jaevin Cumberland, a true shooting guard and the number five SG on this list. Or, if not Jaevin, for whatever reason, then Isaiah Moss, a 42% three point shooter last year for Iowa, and a starter on a B1G team. Both of them good options.
Gilder MIGHT be an option, though I don’t think so, but we have two good options at a position of need in either Cumberland or Moss. And again, it may sound like sour grapes, though it really isn’t, I think those options are easily as good as the one we missed on.
In any case, I hope we go after whoever we want with a vengeance, because soon those options may be gone, and while I love the players we have, a solid two would sure be nice. Other options may still come up, but sometimes that bird in the hand sure is nice. Just my two cents worth on a quiet but sunny, cool, and quite beautiful Saturday morning.