That sucks. We need all the serviceable big guys we can get to do the dirty work down low. I hope we add Livingston or another banger with decent offensive skills.
If SJU79 is right and the KA is waiting on a commitment from the staff before committing here then whoever the staff fills CJ's scholarship will be far better than CJ. This is the best thing for the program
I just dont know how this is the best thing for the program. We have 3 open ships.
CJ best of luck my man! Underused, under-appreciated, undervalued
You don't think this staff will fill those open scholarships? I think this is a slam dunk as far as it being good for the program
I have no doubt we will fill the scholarships. I do have some doubt that they will be "far better" than CJ. Do you think CJ was our worst returning player?
I know Jones had some nice games to close out the year but if you look deeper into his numbers you'll see he just wasn't very good for the vast majority of the season. He has a nice little jump shot that he developed and can score around the rim a little too but there's not much else he does well. He doesn't pass well, is not a strong rebounder on either end and is a liability on defense at the big east level
There's extremely little upside for both the program and Jones if he was to come back. I don't think he is a Big East caliber player. There are already 3 young bigs on the roster in Yakwe, Sima and Owens and I don't want Jones eating into their minutes when he wouldn't be much of a difference maker anyway. I would rather the staff bring in a true difference maker like Livingston with one scholarship and then fill the other two with high upside possible 4 year guys like a combination of Greek Freak's bro, Simon, Clark, or other sit out transfers.
Although I got a thing for seniors, I agree it's probably best that he move on. But this Livingston guy, a true difference maker? Doesn't he play for Arkansas State? That seems like a lot of respect for a bottom feeder program.
Anybody seen him play? If so, it's impressive that you figured out how to.
If we would have played Arkansas State on a neutral court the week after the Big East Tournament we probably would have been 3 point underdogs
That's what I'd expect. We were an awful team. But that doesn't sound like such an upgrade over Christian Jones and Amar Alibegovic. Good in the Sun Belt is a far cry from good in the BE - the conference that features the National Champion and several other programs who are best friends with that National Champion.
Yeah, ACC, BE, Big 10, Big 12 teams should never take guys from smaller schools as transfers. Except that Louisville's two best players this year were transfers, one from Drexel and one fron Cleveland State. One of Iowa State's best players is a transfer from Northern Illinois. Michigan State's 2nd best scorer this year was a Cleveland State transfer. Creighton's best player and one of the best in the Big East was a transfer from Boston U. I could keep going.
The fact that you think this guy isn't good just because he played in the Sun Belt is so mind bogglingly stupid. There is no way Jones or Amar would have done even close to what he did there. There's a reason why the biggest programs in the country are trying to get guys like Holden from Delaware, Barry from Charleston and Mullins from Columbia. Because they can play anywhere in the country.
Jones and Amar have proven they can't play at big east level while this kid Livingston went for 18 and 22 against an Arkansas Little Rock team that beat Purdue (the biggest team in the country) in the NCAA Tourney
It's stupid to question a transfer from Arkansas State? Um, ok.
The number of players who come from BU or some other low level program that can keep it going in a high major conference doesn't come close to the number of players who can't. There is usually a reason why you're playing at that level. Calling out the exceptions actually makes you sound like a dreamer.
For every Maurice Watson, there's a dozen Alpha Banguras, who couldn't get away with the same shit at this level on a day-to-day basis. Did he have an occasional good game? Sure. You can't call out 3 or 4 games and bet the farm on them.
And, how do you know that Christian Jones couldn't transfer to Arkansas State, build off his end of the year improvement and put up 20 points per game? If he does that, we should be all over him because he can score the ball, and we need guys who can do that.