Chris Beard and Progress

[caryhorn]

Assuming he gets out of the draft before the deadline, Kendric Davis from SMU would be at the top of my list for guards.

There aren't a ton of bigs available who would be used in a way we'd want them to (big bodies underneath who could prevent another Purdue disaster). Morehead had a guy who is making waves in the portal (Johni Broome). But I don't see him as an improvement over Tre Mitchell. We're probably better off going after guys who are like 6'7" or 6'8" like we had with Hamm and get them to just body up with people without needing much offense from them. I don't think Huntley from Tennessee would do well here. Manny Bates from NC State is tempting but I'm unaware of his health issues or why he was so apt to bolt this year.

My favorite forward who I think we actually might have a shot at is Norchad Omier from Arkansas State. Stays down low on offense. Over a block per game. Shot 63% and didn't try to jack up 3's like Mitchell. He's not the biggest guy ever, but he makes up for that with effort.

Thanks. Nice analysis.

 

[Horns11]

Davis made the intra-conference transfer for Memphis for his extra year. Kind of interesting... the Penny Hardaway and Larry Brown angle is hard to deny. He probably won't win the Wooden Award at the end of the season, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's in the conversation. He's probably going to average 20 and 7 for them.

Carr stays with us, so overall it's a W at that position. I just hope he isn't relied upon to be the sole distributor.

Best available guards:
Tyrese Hunter - ISU - It's kind of a no-brainer because of what we've seen from him in the flesh. He was solid both time we played ISU this year, especially at getting passes to wide open guys. His 3-point shot is bad, but that hasn't really been our strong suit anyhow.

Jermaine Couisnard - South Carolina - He's a terrible shooter but kind of makes up for it with effort. Gets to the FT line, makes assists, plays good D. He could easily take Askew's minutes and then some.

Xavier Pinson - Mizzou then LSU - Elevated his game at LSU. He went from a combo guard who was relied upon to make his own shot selection to more of a PG who doubled his assist rate. Great FT shooter for those tight end-of-game situations. He'd only be a 1-season rental.

Adam Miller - Illinois then LSU - kind of wary to rank him higher even though he seems like the best available athlete. Started every game as a true freshman for the Illini. Eats up minutes. Can score but wouldn't be asked to do that much for us.