I feel pretty strongly that if Michigan moves now to fill the Donnal spot on the roster it closes the door on Bamba. I just imagine some kind of quote from him or his brother about “not being someone’s backup plan, going to where I’m most wanted”, blah, blah, blah.
Their not moving on unless the writing is on the wall. These are clearly all contingency plans for bamba and the sudden unexpected attrition of dj or moe or both.
Not to be a bummer but imagine if we lost both and bamba goes elsewhere. Just wow, we’d go from arguably best big man combo in country to a freshman, a sophomore who played spot minutes and a redshirt freshman. Scary
I definitely see the sort of reaction from Bamba you described as a real possibility. But if Bamba’s decision hinges upon who leaves for the NBA, then I could just as easily predict that Michigan becomes more appealing to Bamba if we add a fringe NBA player in CJ or Alstork and Wilson or Wagner leave…
Just my opinion but I think it would be crazy to turn down any of the three under any circumstance. I would not prioritize any of the three over the other 2. To take it a step farther, If offering MA or CJ the “the spot thought to be reserved for Bamba” leads to a commitment from one of those guys then I say do it (as long as we upheld all promises and revised promises made to Bamba).
I have to imagine one of those promises to Bamba was allowing him to take whatever time he needs to make his decision.
Even if the coaches know of another player leaving before it becomes official, I don’t want media types and bloggers to rush Bamba to ask him about Michigan moving on without him.
Losing Langford before Michigan could open a spot made me sick (and still salty to this day), I can’t imagine if we lose out on Bamba under similar circumstances, no matter what grad transfer the team adds to the roster.
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Seems like a similar argument that we were having when Greg Elliott was the hot name: take the bird in the hand, or wait for the pterodactyl in the bush. Except Id argue that both Alstork and CJ are more valuable than adding Greg, especially since it seems we may have just one more year of DJ+Mo. Ignoring trying to guess just how likely it is that Bamba or one of the grads chooses Michigan (i.e. putting a % chance on it), because that seems like a crapshoot, I see the possible outcomes as:
Bamba likely makes us a trendy top 10 pick (especially if both DJ and Mo are back), with unlimited upside. He would be the face of the program for at least a year, and possibly swing our recruiting into a real asset.
Either grad transfer probably solidified us as a top 1/3 B1G team, with room to outgrow preseason expectations.
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Interesting, but I didn’t see much in the article that would lead the author to conclude that there is a “good chance” that he ends up at Kentucky.
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Isn’t that said about every kid right after they that get a Kentucky offer?
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They’ve got so many wing options coming in I’ve got no idea why a guy would transfer there to compete with multiple players.
Another one out there:
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Interesting. Don’t know much about him other than the fact that he averaged 27 ppg as a junior. That number dropped a bit this year but his A/T ratio got back on the right side of 1.
He only played two games this year and took a RS.
I remember watching film of him before the Howard game and being impressed by his ability in the PNR game.
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Low shooting %s and super high TO rates but anyone who has scored 27 a game catches my attention.
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As a veteran option at the PG spot for next season, could be an interesting fit — split time with Simpson and reduce the need for Brooks to play as a Fr.
In my opinion, Cam Johnson from Pitt is the better player, but Daniel may be the better positional fit for '17-18. I don’t see much value in Alstork, other than injury protection if the 13th scholarship slot is available.
What value is there not to see in a 6’4" guard that can create for himself and others, scores efficiently and rebounds decently for a guard and had familiarity with one of our assistants?
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I see Alstork and Daniel filling the same role: pick and roll creator. Obviously Daniel is a guy that has to guard ones (he’s only 5-11), but they are both high volume ball screen players. Personally I find both fits fairly intriguing.
I like Cam Johnson and he screams out Beilein wing with his length & shooting, but his role is much more necessary on the roster if DJ goes to the NBA.
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Yeah, from looking at that video of CJ, he would look really good in Beilein’s offense. And from everything that’s been said, there a good chance he would be around longer than Bamba. Just sayin’.
The only reason to take CJ is if DJ is gone in my opinion. Good to have the option but I see no reason to bring him in with DJ, Matthews, Livers and Duncan this year.
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