Rothstein’s American Athletic Conference Offseason Breakdown

[Brad]

American Athletic Conference Preseason Power Rankings
 

….

11. South Florida
Projected Starting 5:
G Javon Greene
G Caleb Murphy
G Jamir Chaplin
F Corey Walker Jr. 
C Jalyn McCreary
Projected Bench: Trey Moss, Serrel Smith, Jake Boggs, Sam Hines Jr., Bayron Matos, DJ Patrick, Russel Tchewa,  
Newcomers: Trey Moss, Javon Greene (George Mason), Serrel Smith (ETSU), Jalyn McCreary (South Carolina), Jake Boggs (UNC Wilmington), Corey Walker Jr. (Tennessee), Sam Hines Jr. (Denver), Bayron Matos (New Mexico), DJ Patrick (JUCO)
Losses: Alexis Yetna, David Collins, Michael Durr, Xavier Castaneda, Justin Brown, Rashun Williams, Luke Anderson, Prince Oduro, Madut Akec

 

https://collegehoopstoday.com/index.php/rothstein-files/american-athletic-conference-offseason-breakdown/

 

 

 

 

[Fold FB Invest in BB]

He's been wrong about this team the past couple of years. Hopefully he's wrong again?

On paper, I see more depth and talent than before, just need to see how it comes together on the court.

[jg233]

Rothstein was very high on us the last few years and that didn't work out.  It is difficult to project anything from them right now.  You could probably pick the starting 5 out of a hat right now.

[Dave_Glaser]

This prediction's gonna be flat wrong. Unless they simply don't gel at all with all the new faces, I don't see how this team is less talented than last year's. We'll rebound just as well, shoot it better and we're bigger overall. And, historically, we always perform better when the expectations are low.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Dave_Glaser

[smazza]

so much turnover...very tough to be competent unless you are bringing in blue chippers

[Dave_Glaser]

All I know is, in watching film and reading about the newcomers, this looks like a group of basketball players - NOT just run and jump athletes. That gives us a better chance. Greene is a solid D1 guard who did a little bit of everything at George Mason. He scored. He rebounded. He led them in steals. Patrick (43.9), Boggs (43.9) and Greene (37.5) all have proven ability from beyond the three-point line. Walker falls into the blue-chip category (top 75 prospect nationally as a HS senior). Tchewa (7-0), Matos (6-9) and McCreary (6-8) give us size, toughness and fouls to give inside. Hines reminds me of Fred Lewis from back in the day from the film I've seen. Murphy and Chaplin should take a step forward, and Moss may end up being the best of the bunch before his career is over at USF. I'm not saying they're going to get us an NCAA bid, but if they develop some chemistry by the time league play starts, this group shouldn't be an automatic W for anyone. Let's hope they play with a chip on their shoulder.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Dave_Glaser

[BullyPulpit]

I have to take exception with his evaluation. Not because he is going to be wrong (although I think that he will), but because he didn't list a single USF transfer in his 15 transfers likely to make an impact (either top 10 or 5 under the radar). Corey Walker, Jr. was a top-75 recruit coming out of high school to Tennessee last year. He didn't get to play due to Covid protocols and a broken bone in his foot, but I don't see how his stock could have dropped so much that he isn't one of the 15 most impactful transfers. He is a redshirt freshman with an extremely high ceiling. He has Chandler Lawson, who did pretty much nothing in his 2 seasons at Oregon, ranked in his top 10, as well as Abdul Ado, who was much ado about nothing his 4 years at Mississippi State. 

I think Gregory will have this team focused and ready to compete from the jump. This is arguably as much talent as he has had on a roster since his arrival at USF. All bets are off this season for the Bulls. I'm excited to see how things play out. 

[jg233]

7 minutes ago, BullyPulpit said:

I have to take exception with his evaluation. Not because he is going to be wrong (although I think that he will), but because he didn't list a single USF transfer in his 15 transfers likely to make an impact (either top 10 or 5 under the radar). Corey Walker, Jr. was a top-75 recruit coming out of high school to Tennessee last year. He didn't get to play due to Covid protocols and a broken bone in his foot, but I don't see how his stock could have dropped so much that he isn't one of the 15 most impactful transfers. He is a redshirt freshman with an extremely high ceiling. He has Chandler Lawson, who did pretty much nothing in his 2 seasons at Oregon, ranked in his top 10, as well as Abdul Ado, who was much ado about nothing his 4 years at Mississippi State. 

I think Gregory will have this team focused and ready to compete from the jump. This is arguably as much talent as he has had on a roster since his arrival at USF. All bets are off this season for the Bulls. I'm excited to see how things play out. 

It's pretty clear he did no research on any of our players.   

[BullyPulpit]

3 minutes ago, jg233 said:

It's pretty clear he did no research on any of our players.   

The AAC is a tough conference, I get that. Perhaps no conference in America will have improved as much as the AAC did with the transfer portal additions. I also see that, for the most part, he opted to go with players that were established and performed at a decent level prior to transferring, but he is off base about this team. He thinks that we have fallen behind Temple, Tulane, and ECU. To me, that would be a stretch. If we do finish dead-last in the conference, then CBG has to go, but I don't see that happening. I'm hoping we sneak into that middle third of the conference. 

[chapelbull]

He looked at the overwhelming amount of turnover and said this could be a tough season.