With Sam Webb putting in a crystal ball for Davante Jones, that pretty much will close the door on Franz Wagner coming back. If there’s an inkling that Franz is coming back, he wouldn’t be accepting his commitment this Saturday.
I still stand by my opinion on Franz returning. Just sayin!
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I don’t think Franz will come back but, I do think if Jones comes Zeb will transfer. FWIW
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The player he most reminds me of is Dirk Nowitski as a leader, teammate and German native speaker. Dragen Petrocic as a playmaker. Maybe a little Arvydas Sabonis in the way he sees the floor. Defensively, a veteran Detlef Schempf. Swag? Peak Stojakovic. But unfair to compare him to anybody not born in continental Europe! 
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Ps — You young bucks need to look up Dragen. For three minutes, he was just about the coolest cat in the NBA. A Rod Strickland type with extra mambo sauce.
PPS— You’re welcome.
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Episode 6 on Drazen Petrovic released today coincidentally:
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Drazen was an A+ shooter, don’t remember him being that much of a playmaker. Other than being European players, not sure he reminds of them.
I’ll continue to push the AK47 like influence on games. Great defender, underrated playmaker, Ok shooter. Can impact all facets, doesn’t need to just score to make a difference.
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B, I think you are right: AK47 is a good best case scenario for Franz.
I was entirely joking and just trying to think of Euro archetypes, and I guess I do think Dragen was one of the best off the dribble. I know people love Rubio’s passing but when I think playmaker, I like to think about a guy who can get a shot for himself. Drazen was great at that. A couple dribbles, a head fake, a step through … swish. He was sweet.
Oh wow … thanks!
I once walked into a little basketball boutique shop in Split, Croatia that was basically an homage to Petrovic. Memories are fuzzy now, but if I recall he did really have a flair to his game.
Good podcast? Looks promising…
It’s good. A few of the episodes stretch things a little too far looking for broader social context, but I enjoy learning and relearning about some of these players.
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4 of those guys were all stars this year. That’s kind of my point though it’s the best basketball league in the world. On average 6 or so lottery picks eventually bust so we are pretty much talking a 50-50 proposition on whether lottery picks make it. Obviously it would be a nice accomplishment to be a lottery pick but it’s better to find the right organization and hit big on your 2nd contract than be a lottery pick, find a bad organization and be out of the league in a few years eg. Nik Stauskas, Thon Maker, Dragan Bender, Jahlil Okafor and the list goes on.
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Zeb knows a guard is coming. If he were going to leave, we probably would’ve heard it by now.
On Zeb, I think he stays for the summer, works to improve with Eisley and Sanderson, sees what he looks like compared to Jones and the frosh and then decides to either stay or transfer. I don’t think there is any specifics to the rule that he would not be eligible right away if he stayed the summer.
I would think either Toledo or Bowling Green would be the likely transfer location and that they would be elated to take him starting in September. .
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There actually is a date they gave for immediate eligibility
Correct. Athletes need to notify their schools of their intent to transfer by July 1st in order to have the automatic immediate eligibility (assuming it’s their first one). So in that scenario, Zeb wouldn’t have much time to see where he stands and then find a potential landing spot.
I believe Preston, from Ohio, is going to the draft. Tournament team that is only losing Preston and one other senior. Not sure if that senior is coming back with Covid eligibility. Not sure if there is interest from either side.
Preston is a legit NBA PG. Amazing for a guy with zero offer coming out of HS and enrolled at UCF as a student before transferring to prep school to try to realize his D1 basketball dream in which a highlight video from twitter got him a couple D1 offers. He grew and gained weight into a D1 sized PG.
He is a Pistons fan thanks to his mom and wrote for Pistons Powered as a student. Now, he’s a legit NBA prospect. Love his story!
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Did those guys wash out because they went to the wrong organization, or just because they didn’t develop? I mean, Okafor and Stauskas spent time on bad Sixers teams, but so did Joel Embiid and he’s doing just fine.
I don’t think you improve your chance to find the “right organization” by dropping out of the lottery. The right organization might not want you. And if you’re a player you’ll be able to develop and find a niche.
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