244 replies to this topic

[Mackus]

What happens when Batchelor averages 12 points, 3 assists and 4 rebounds a game next year? Even at a mid-major, that will be an indictment of Willard’s ability to develop his players. If he does that at a major program (and 6’6” SGs will draw interest?) The quiet part gets loud. 

 

Remind us when that happens in another power-5 conference.

 

Martinez averaged 12 at Utah St this year, but he was someone we all liked and were sad to see go.  Hart also was good here and sad to see go, he averaged like 6 at Villanova and didn't play starter minutes.  Not much would surprise me more than Batchelor going to let's say Georgia Tech and averaging 11 points a game.  I could see double figures at Towson, but that wouldn't mean he was underutilized here.  Andre Collins could barely crack the rotation here then put in 25 a game at Loyola.

 

I'm glad to have another scholarship rather than the upperclassmen years of Swanton-Rodger and Batchelor.  Neither guy are even rotation pieces yet alone starters, IMO.  Hope they go somewhere they can play and succeed, but I don't think it's Willard's fault or blame that it didn't happen here.

[hallas]

Willard turned around a worse team that he inherited. This season was a giant turd but I don't know why everyone is suddenly saying he can't turn it around. It takes just one key acquisiton from the portal, and maybe a little development from some freshmen.

This team's results were worse than their actual level of play IMO.

[Mackus]

Willard turned around a worse team that he inherited. This season was a giant turd but I don't know why everyone is suddenly saying he can't turn it around. It takes just one key acquisiton from the portal, and maybe a little development from some freshmen.

This team's results were worse than their actual level of play IMO.

 

I'm saying it because I don't think he will have the resources necessary to land multiple good starting caliber players (recruits or transfers) in a single session while also retaining Reese and any others you think could develop into useful pieces.  Its the AD and above, and not specifically Willard, that is preventing the program from returning to consistent top-20ish relevancy.  Evans and above are not capable of competing in a pay-for-play landscape.  The department is too poorly managed to make money and too poorly led to attract donors to foot the bill for the players at the same level as the programs which we want to be peers.  It shouldn't be this way, but it is.

[You Play to Win the Game]

The development from the freshmen under KW so far has been abysmal across the board. And they clearly need more than one portal acquisition IMO. It’s a tall order, especially given the reasons outlined by Mack.

[glenn__davis]

I'm not even sure how it all went wrong. Or why we expected them to be any better than they ended up being. They were a deeply flawed team even before the zero contribution they received from the freshman class.

 

I think your last sentence hits it.  The freshmen weren't nearly as good as they needed to be or were hyped to be.

 

Kaiser was supposed to be a good shooter.  With as many close games as MD played, even if he was only an average shooter, that might have made a difference.  Couple that with Dante Scott basically mailing it in for good part of the year, and you get what happened this year.  I do agree the roster was flawed but there was plenty of reason to believe they should have been better than they were.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Is Xfinity a hard place to shoot in? Sight lines and backdrops and all that? Feels like I haven’t heard that before yet the perpetual shooting below where they should be leaves me wondering if there’s more to the story.

[glenn__davis]

Is Xfinity a hard place to shoot in? Sight lines and backdrops and all that? Feels like I haven’t heard that before yet the perpetual shooting below where they should be leaves me wondering if there’s more to the story.

 

I've questioned that on here before as well.  It seems there is a long history of guys coming here with the reputation of being great shooters and then they get here and can't shoot.  I remember doing a quick check a few years back and Eric Hayes was the last regular player that shot over a 40% clip.  Melo was great his freshman year and then really dropped off after that.  Donta Scott had a great sophomore season that was obviously an outlier.  I think Aronholt had good numbers for his season too but he was obviously a bit player.

 

Meanwhile there's been a slew of guys that have arrived with the reputation of being sharpshooters who didn't live up to it.

[BSLZackKiesel]

In addition to McDaniel and Rice, Maryland has also reportedly shown interest in Tyran Cook (VMI), Dakota Leffew (Mount St. Mary's), and Jacob Crews (UT Martin). Many more to come as the transfer portal kicks into gear.

Maryland has reportedly also met with Ja'Kobi Gillespie (Belmont).

[Mackus]

Is Xfinity a hard place to shoot in? Sight lines and backdrops and all that? Feels like I haven’t heard that before yet the perpetual shooting below where they should be leaves me wondering if there’s more to the story.

I doubt that it's a big factor, but would be interesting to see a "park effects" type stat tracking that.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Is Xfinity a hard place to shoot in? Sight lines and backdrops and all that? Feels like I haven’t heard that before yet the perpetual shooting below where they should be leaves me wondering if there’s more to the story.

Supposedly the bigger issue is the UA ball they use.

[BSLMikeLowe]

Occam's Razor....MD has simply had a long line of players whose shooting just doesn't translate to the next level.

[BSLZackKiesel]

In addition to McDaniel and Rice, Maryland has also reportedly shown interest in Tyran Cook (VMI), Dakota Leffew (Mount St. Mary's), and Jacob Crews (UT Martin). Many more to come as the transfer portal kicks into gear.

Maryland also showing some interest in De’Shayne Montgomery (Mount St. Mary’s).

[BSLChrisStoner]

Maryland also showing some interest in De’Shayne Montgomery (Mount St. Mary’s).

41% from 3 as a Freshman.

[BSLZackKiesel]

Saw Jeff Ermann mention that he’s heard Dug McDaniel may not want to return home to the DMV, and that Houston is a serious player for him.

[BaltBird 24]

Feel like Willard has to get at least one of Rice or McDaniel. Both would be ideal.

You really need 3-4 impact portal guys, not just Jordan Geronimo types.

[BSLZackKiesel]

Feel like Willard has to get at least one of Rice or McDaniel. Both would be ideal.

You really need 3-4 impact portal guys, not just Jordan Geronimo types.

Last I heard is that they see Rice purely as a shooting guard, so yeah even if they land him they'd need a point guard. I assume Dakota Leffew is the backup plan if McDaniel goes elsewhere, but he also has a ton of other programs vying for him.

[BSLZackKiesel]

Jahnathan Lamothe has entered the transfer portal.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Jahnathan Lamothe has entered the transfer portal.

That's one that I just don't get from either side. 
 

• Was chosen to play in the prestigious 50th Annual Hoop Culture Capital Classic in April 2023 where he was team captain of the Capital All-Stars
• Senior season in 2022-23 was highlighted by a St. Francis Academy record 57-point performance including 16 three-pointers, also a school record, against John Carroll
• Also had 30 points and seven rebounds in leading the Panthers to the MIAA AA Conference Championship. 
• Named MIAA MVP and was chosen to the BCL First Team as a senior
• Finished his prep career with over 1,000 career points after averaging 20 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals per game - became the first player in St. Frances history to average a triple double during the regular season
• Two-time all-conference first team selection
• Capital All-American as a senior in 2023 
• Selected to the City Is Mine Basketball All-Star Game in 2023
• Four-star recruit who ranked as the No. 3 recruit overall in Maryland and was as high as No. 122 nationally
• The combo guard chose Maryland over Georgetown, UCF, and Penn State
• Played on Team Durant on the AAU circuit
• As a junior, led St. Frances to a 35-8 record and a No. 2 ranking in The Baltimore Sun high school poll
• National Honor Society inductee

 

 

So he's a kid with talent, but he's not the uber talent that demands a ton of immediate playing time.
Wasn't that made clear during the recruitment?  
I'd think some version of this conversation happened prior to him committing: 

 

MD: "We are going to bring you in... you'll be developed, and you'll have an opportunity for increased time based on what we see." 

Lamothe: "That's great, I'm a local kid, I wanted to go to MD, I just want to come in, learn, and compete." 

 

 

What changed during this year?
 

Did he not like being at MD?
Did he not like how he was being coached?
Did the staff not like how he practiced and carried himself, and nudged him out the door?

Did he think he deserved more immediate playing time?

 

There's probably some combination of all of that.
They (Willard, Lamothe, Lamothe's family) not able to effectively communicate to each other?

 

It's not like after a year where he played 16 games, and had 16 total FG attempts, some other school is offering him a lot of $.

Does he just want to go somewhere and play immediately, and put up a ton of shots? Well, that was available before he joined MD to begin with. 


This year went sideways pretty quickly.
The shooting was abysmal all year.
Unless he was giving zero effort in practice, it does feel like there was an opportunity for Willard to give him some more regular time, and show Lamothe that he was going to be a piece going forward. 

 

It's probably a move that doesn't end up hurting MD.
Some will just be happy that another scholarship is opened up.
But I don't like the process.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Its rare that anyone wants to stay, compete, and grind anymore. Instant gratification. He thinks he can go to a low D1 school and get mins and shots up immediately. To be fair, if the portal was around 20 or 30 years ago the same thing wouldve happened then too.


This is what I was talking about in the Os thread about some blocked guys. Im sure some of them if it was totally their choice would choose to leave the Os org for more opportunity. I get the human nature of it. But I also believe the mantra of iron sharpens iron. As hard as you think you push yourself, if you have someone next to you they can push you even further.

[BSLMikeLowe]

Lamothe doesn't seem like the sort of kid who is going to attract NIL offers or assurances of significant playing time to come to a mid-major, but no real harm (from his perspective) to put his name in the portal and see what's out there. Not saying he's likely to withdraw and stay, but it's always an option if the grass doesn't look any greener elsewhere.