Portal Recruiting and Roster Updates

[InChristAlone]

The first portal commitments occurred on April 3rd last year. There should be a lot of activity over the next few weeks. What needs to happen to improve this team?

Current Returnees:

Sr. F Robert Jennings (Assuming he gets a med RS)
Sr. G Isaiah Coleman
Sr. G Kanye Clary
Sr. G Jaylen Curry
Jr. F Andrija Vukovic
Jr. G Vyctorius Miller
So. G Ryan Crotty
So. F Ben Ahmed
So. F Mekhi Ragland
So. G Daniel Guetta

Incoming Transfers:



Incoming Freshmen:

F Latrell Almond
G/F Jalen Montonati
G Parker Robinson

Departures:

Sr. F Parsa Fallah
Sr. G Anthony Roy
Sr. G Kirk Cole
Sr. F Christian Coleman
Fr. F Lefteris Mantzoukas

 

[Okstatekerr]

The #1 thing I want is a couple of pass first point guards that can initiate the offense.

 

[Chairman of the Board]

The first portal commitments occurred on April 3rd last year. There should be a lot of activity over the next few weeks. What needs to happen to improve this team?

Current Returnees:

Sr. F Robert Jennings (Assuming he gets a med RS)
Sr. G Isaiah Coleman
Sr. G Kanye Clary
Sr. G Jaylen Curry
Jr. F Andrija Vukovic
Jr. G Vyctorius Miller
So. G Ryan Crotty
So. F Ben Ahmed
So. F Mekhi Ragland
So. G Daniel Guetta

Incoming Transfers:



Incoming Freshmen:

F Latrell Almond
G/F Jalen Montonati
G Parker Robinson

Departures:

Sr. F Parsa Fallah
Sr. G Anthony Roy
Sr. G Kirk Cole
Sr. F Christian Coleman
Fr. F Lefteris Mantzoukas

After thinking about it, if I were HCSL I'd keep:

Ahmed--huge upside

I Coleman--it was ugly at times, but he's one of the few who I didn't question his effort and he eventually bought into his role. Could become a great defender.

Vukovic--he's a decent backup who learned to score as the year went on. Could help more if he adds weight

Either Clary or Curry--both had their moments. Both were infuriating. Keep one, lose one, find a real PG.

Guetta--appreciated his effort. Seems to be a good locker room guy.

So I'd say bye to VJ Miller, Crotty, Ragland, and one of the PGs.

Of course it's far from a guarantee that any of them will want to come back. It will be an interesting month.

 

[zone2poke]

After thinking about it, if I were HCSL I'd keep:

Ahmed--huge upside

I Coleman--it was ugly at times, but he's one of the few who I didn't question his effort and he eventually bought into his role. Could become a great defender.

Vukovic--he's a decent backup who learned to score as the year went on. Could help more if he adds weight

Either Clary or Curry--both had their moments. Both were infuriating. Keep one, lose one, find a real PG.

Guetta--appreciated his effort. Seems to be a good locker room guy.

So I'd say bye to VJ Miller, Crotty, Ragland, and one of the PGs.

Of course it's far from a guarantee that any of them will want to come back. It will be an interesting month.

I would keep Miller, Crotty, and Ragland. Miller has a chance to be a special player. He can shoot. Crotty never found his high school form. I think he can get there. Ragland is a diamond in the rough.

I would let both point guards go, unless we have no alternatives. Then keep Curry.

 

[InChristAlone]

From the outside looking in, I would want to add some transfers to the following core of guys:

G Clary
G Curry
G Robinson
G/F Montonati
F Allmond
F Jennings
F Vukovic
F Ahmed
F Ragland

I would look to add a pass first PG, a scoring wing, a strong defensive wing, a defense oriented/rim protecting big man, and a strong offensive big man in the Ousmane/Fallah mold.

 

[SlurrrPup]

Need to dust off Mario Boggan's weighted vest and give it to Ragland to wear for the next 8 months, otherwise he only brings 5 fouls to the table.

 

[Okstatekerr]

Need to dust off Mario Boggan's weighted vest and give it to Ragland to wear for the next 8 months, otherwise he only brings 5 fouls to the table.

Looking at him in the last few games, it does look like he has slimmed down from where he was at the beginning of the season. Hopefully, he can get it figured out because he has a nice touch around the rim.

 

[SlurrrPup]

Bring back:
Ahmed (could be a big time player, he needs to work on his hands and squeeze the orange)
I Coleman (contributor, 6th man, high energy player)
V Miller (offense only contributor, his defense is horrible)
I prefer Curry over Clary's fancy passes and dribbles that become turnovers. Clary chokes at the line on 1-n-1's and late (pressure situations).

 

[Chairman of the Board]

I would keep Miller, Crotty, and Ragland. Miller has a chance to be a special player. He can shoot. Crotty never found his high school form. I think he can get there. Ragland is a diamond in the rough.

I would let both point guards go, unless we have no alternatives. Then keep Curry.

Have to disagree on Miller. He's the first one I'm asking to leave. He was arguably the worst defender on a team that didn't play defense. He was decent on offense but not enough to offset his defense, and he was 2nd on the team in turnovers. He had the least rebounds among all regulars. If you're trying to change the culture and create a more blue collar team, guys like this have to go.

 

[InChristAlone]

Have to disagree on Miller. He's the first one I'm asking to leave. He was arguably the worst defender on a team that didn't play defense. He was decent on offense but not enough to offset his defense, and he was 2nd on the team in turnovers. He had the least rebounds among all regulars. If you're trying to change the culture and create a more blue collar team, guys like this have to go.

I agree with this. I don't want anybody on the team who gets suspended during the postseason. Totally unreliable when the team needs you most. Further, Miller's offense disappeared in conference play. His conference effective field goal percentage was the lowest of any player who played in more than 3 conference games at 40.7 eFG%. So in conference play he had 1) no defense 2) no offense, and 3) a disengaged, nonchalant attitude.

 

[Popoke]

Bring back:
Ahmed (could be a big time player, he needs to work on his hands and squeeze the orange)
I Coleman (contributor, 6th man, high energy player)
V Miller (offense only contributor, his defense is horrible)
I prefer Curry over Clary's fancy passes and dribbles that become turnovers. Clary chokes at the line on 1-n-1's and late (pressure situations).

I.Coleman and Miller are as good as gone.

Curry doesn’t have the strength Clary has. And Curry is definitely the worse of the two when it comes to to playing out of control, taking bad shots, and not playing team ball. There’s a reason Clary started and played more minutes and produced better numbers.

 

[zone2poke]

Have to disagree on Miller. He's the first one I'm asking to leave. He was arguably the worst defender on a team that didn't play defense. He was decent on offense but not enough to offset his defense, and he was 2nd on the team in turnovers. He had the least rebounds among all regulars. If you're trying to change the culture and create a more blue collar team, guys like this have to go.

Agree he didn't play well often enough. But I think he's capable of being terrific at the college level. I guess I assume Lutz will take a hard look in the mirror and decide to ramp up his coaching, and that would in turn help Miller become a solid all-arounder. But it sounds like Vyctorius wants to take his talents elsewhere, as the kids say, so the question may be moot.

 

[zone2poke]

I.Coleman and Miller are as good as gone.

Curry doesn’t have the strength Clary has. And Curry is definitely the worse of the two when it comes to to playing out of control, taking bad shots, and not playing team ball. There’s a reason Clary started and played more minutes and produced better numbers.

Wanting to keep Curry (in the absence of alternatives) is really a personal issue with me. When I see Clary dribble into the trees, turn around, bend over, hug the ball, and look for someone to pass to, I pull my hair out. And I can't afford to lose any more hair at this point.

 

[Stargazer]

In a perfect world, Steve would have the resources to completely rebuild the roster around the incoming freshmen. Outside of those newcomers, it’s hard to justify keeping anyone. Of course, that’s not even remotely realistic.

Until the head coach has the necessary NIL backing, we’re going to remain near the bottom of the conference. That’s just the reality of this new era. We simply don’t have the financial support needed to compete at a high level. And honestly, even programs that do aren’t guaranteed success—look at schools like Kentucky that spent heavily and still underperformed. It’s happening all over the country.

What I can’t stand about this era isn’t just the money—it’s the constant transfer movement. There needs to be some level of commitment. At minimum, players should be tied to a two-year deal. If it were up to me, it would be a four-year commitment, with one transfer allowed that immediately costs two years of eligibility. Without something like that, college athletics—especially basketball and football—are going to keep drifting further into chaos.

All we can do now is hope Steve and his staff somehow strike gold. But with the limited NIL funds available, even that feels like a long shot.
This wild west version of college sports is hard to envision a sustainable future. IMO, I've nearly lost all interest in college basketball and football. Everything I enjoyed is gone... never to return. It's sad.

 

[Chairman of the Board]

In a perfect world, Steve would have the resources to completely rebuild the roster around the incoming freshmen. Outside of those newcomers, it’s hard to justify keeping anyone. Of course, that’s not even remotely realistic.

Until the head coach has the necessary NIL backing, we’re going to remain near the bottom of the conference. That’s just the reality of this new era. We simply don’t have the financial support needed to compete at a high level. And honestly, even programs that do aren’t guaranteed success—look at schools like Kentucky that spent heavily and still underperformed. It’s happening all over the country.

What I can’t stand about this era isn’t just the money—it’s the constant transfer movement. There needs to be some level of commitment. At minimum, players should be tied to a two-year deal. If it were up to me, it would be a four-year commitment, with one transfer allowed that immediately costs two years of eligibility. Without something like that, college athletics—especially basketball and football—are going to keep drifting further into chaos.

All we can do now is hope Steve and his staff somehow strike gold. But with the limited NIL funds available, even that feels like a long shot.
This wild west version of college sports is hard to envision a sustainable future. IMO, I've nearly lost all interest in college basketball and football. Everything I enjoyed is gone... never to return. It's sad.

I have no doubt that Lutz would be better with more NIL money.

HOWEVER, it is still his job to get the most of the players he has. I'd say he fell pretty short of that. I don't expect OSU basketball to be in the top 5 of the league, but I also don't think its doomed to be at the bottom.

Finishing between 7-10 is not unrealistic. Those teams don't have crazy NIL budgets, either. They just play harder and smarter. Lutz needs to get the most out of the program, starting this offseason.