Yeah Marfo or Collin Smith.

Tempted to say Marfo, certainly out of need, but this begs the question of why did GW get so very little out of him while he was here?  He has produced more at programs that are both above and below GW in the historical pecking order.  JNJ is a talent but there is so much more of a need in the frontcourt that I can't consider him.  Agree it's either Marfo or Smith.

Thanks, funny how I forgot about Marfo and Smith yet remembered Shandon Brown and Shawn Walker Jr. lol

Last edited by GW0509 (1/31/2022 3:19 pm)

For me, it’s Smith or Brelsford.

Smith sat out last season and was late deciding on school to transfer to and then missed half the season this year, so my guess is off court stuff or rust explains his numbers this year, but I still believe he was one of the most promising freshman bigs we’ve had (probably the most promising since Pops, though KevLar developed to be excellent).  He was stuck behind a 7’6” guy his first year at UCF, but then his next year there was their highest usage player, an excellent rebounder and shot blocker, and a very solid center.

I can only imagine how a shot blocker like that who can also score and draw fouls inside (plus a great dunker for our transition game) would help our team this year. I think he’d have the most impact by far.

As for Brelsford, I thought he was very promising as a ball handler and seemed to have a natural nose for scoring, plus shot 35% from three for us last year.  We could have used another guard for the rotation this year who could shoot, though his TO rate is still outrageously high.  I do love JNJ’s defense and rebounding, but I don’t see JNJ as having as much long term offensive upside (especially floor spacing) as Brelsford and I think Tyler may have been more comfortable off the ball.   

Incidentally JNJ is Delaware’s highest usage player but the least efficient by far of their top 7.  He’s surrounded by solid offensive players, which should help his stats do I find a bit concerned that his A/TO ratio is still below one while taking a lot of shots.  All 6 other main guys shoot better from 2 than any of our players and 4 different guys shoot the 3 better (including 3 who shoot better than 40%).  I would think his A/TO would be better.  Maybe JNJ would help us more this year than Tyler, and maybe the extra year will really help Tyler, but I thought Tyler could develop into the kind of shooter we could use over time more likely than JNJ

Last on Marfo, I would be a big no on him helping us out. He’s great against low major players in the NEC, but look at the way he flopped both at GW and especially at Texas AM.  I mean, he probably would be better than Noel this year so I’m  being harsh, but Marfo is at the right level for him at Quinnipiac and if we are pining for him, that’s just because we are serious trouble.

Smith is definitely the better player (and would add some much needed balance to the roster) but I went with Marfo because I somewhat don't trust that JC would be able to fully maximize Smith's strengths scoring in the way we play. Perhaps he would change his approach if we had a competent big on the roster, but pretty much during JC's tenure the bigs have just screened and rebounded. Marfo isn't the scorer that Smith is at the A10 level, but he would probably fit better with how JC uses frontcourt players.

I considered the shooting as well, with Brelsford, JNJ, Maceo, and Jair in the mix, but ultimately none of them shoot well enough to make too much of a difference. 35% is just okay from 3, but really shows how bad our shooting has been recently with few exceptions. Tyler/Maceo would provide continuity which is a plus, but I'm not sure that they would get minutes in this rotation and they aren't particularly strong defensively. Without rehashing how we could have made use of JNJ in year 2 under JC, Brayon has shown more than enough in his first year that the JNJ loss stings less now. Freeman is less dynamic than JNJ, but is much better with ball security and has done decently well shooting the ball. I would probably put Jair higher up on the list than most here if he played exclusively off the ball as he's not been bad from 3 since he left GW but ultimately I'm not sure he would be providing much more than that. Knapp is a different player, but he can give us shooting if we ever choose to use it.

Terry is too ball dominant to work on this roster. I think Mezie found the right level for him in the NEC although he did have the physical tools to succeed in the A10. Sloan despite a decent shooter is horrendous defensively and is barely playing at UNH for a reason. Even as a fan of Chase, I'm not sure he would have moved the needle too much (an extra big would have helped regardless). The rest of the guys wouldn't be adding anything the roster doesn't already have.