How will the schollies work out (from Thomas thread)

[MtnBuff]

That's a pretty simple assessment that does not take into account something like who can afford to pay "any" tuition. Or who may have been told that they would get an offer for 1 year and then it would be year to year.

I think Eli's parents are major loaded with cash and getting a chance to play D1 was important to him. He was ready to pay his way other places and we just don't know what happened. Tad could have wanted him as a walkon and then was able to tell him, "Hey - I got a scholarship for at least the first year and we'll see after that".

Bottom line, Tad has 3 kids coming in and he's had a contingency plan all along. Had to.

This makes some sense, may explain how the entire commit happened and the timeline for it.

 

[PuebloBuff]

I know people want to justify Dre staying another year and assume that another year will improve his offense, but can we just admit that Dre is what he is offensively? I mean, there will always be incremental improvements, but he's not going to suddenly transform his game. He's not going to be the type of player you run an offense through or design set plays for, even at the college level. Last night, nik called him the ultimate college glue guy, and that's exactly right. And it's OK. It's the role he'll fill in the NBA too.

If Dre comes back next year though, I really don't think it's about his draft stock. He's probably a late first or second round pick either way. Returning next year would be about the experience and the opportunity to make a deep postseason run.

I agree about Dre's draft stock from this year to next. But if he could improve his FT% (right now at 53 percent) I think it would be a real boost to the team and his scoring avg. Is it too much to hope for him to get in the high 60s?
Also would be nice to see him cut down on turnovers — he currently leads us with 53.
I feel dirty saying this because he's been so good in so many other ways, but it just seems those are two areas with a lot of bang for the buck that don't require an unrealistic transformation of his game.

 

[mattrob]

I agree about Dre's draft stock from this year to next. But if he could improve his FT% (right now at 53 percent) I think it would be a real boost to the team and his scoring avg. Is it too much to hope for him to get in the high 60s?
Also would be nice to see him cut down on turnovers — he currently leads us with 53.
I feel dirty saying this because he's been so good in so many other ways, but it just seems those are two areas with a lot of bang for the buck that don't require an unrealistic transformation of his game.

No, that's all pretty realistic. That's what I'm saying though, he can show incremental improvements (FT's would be a great start), but he won't suddenly become this offensive force that some want him to be.

 

[Goose]

This makes some sense, may explain how the entire commit happened and the timeline for it.

Except it's not true. Eli got a full scholarship. The Sabatino Chen "I'll take a scholarship if you have it, but otherwise will be a walk on" position is INCREDIBLY rare, so people need to stop thinking it's legit or likely.

 

[Buffnik]

Except it's not true. Eli got a full scholarship. The Sabatino Chen "I'll take a scholarship if you have it, but otherwise will be a walk on" position is INCREDIBLY rare, so people need to stop thinking it's legit or likely.

Thank you for adding some realism to this thread by stating the actual facts of the situation. The speculation going on, while interesting, was unfounded. Eli Stalzer is a scholarship freshman the same way Josh Scott is. No special deal here.

 

[buffaholic]

Thank you for adding some realism to this thread by stating the actual facts of the situation. The speculation going on, while interesting, was unfounded. Eli Stalzer is a scholarship freshman the same way Josh Scott is. No special deal here.

Is this a known fact? Serious question. It actually does happen fairly often with kids who have no offers and it's a late offer.
So you guys are sure Tad did not make a deal with Eli?

I have no idea for the record, but I've seen it happen plenty.

One thing I'm pretty sure of is that Tad knew when he signed 3 guys, that he might have a numbers problem and he knew how he'd deal with it.

 

[Gold]

I know people want to justify Dre staying another year and assume that another year will improve his offense, but can we just admit that Dre is what he is offensively? I mean, there will always be incremental improvements, but he's not going to suddenly transform his game. He's not going to be the type of player you run an offense through or design set plays for, even at the college level. Last night, nik called him the ultimate college glue guy, and that's exactly right. And it's OK. It's the role he'll fill in the NBA too.

If Dre comes back next year though, I really don't think it's about his draft stock. He's probably a late first or second round pick either way. Returning next year would be about the experience and the opportunity to make a deep postseason run.

I see why someone would say this, but it doesn't completely jive with what makes this team and Dre special. He is a true team player, in that he's selfless on the court. And probably to the team's detriment and his offensive stats. We do not usually see Dre demand the ball on the low post. But it's not because he can't score down low. We've seen it, and he can score with his back to the basket. We have a very polished low post player (Scott), numerous options on offense, and it's just not Dre-like to start demanding the ball. That's just not his game or style. If it was, I believe we would see 15ppg, more post scoring, and the traditional NBA skill set of a 6-7 forward he'll need to show to make it to the next level. But I don't believe it's because he is limited offensively.

 

[mattrob]

I see why someone would say this, but it doesn't completely jive with what makes this team and Dre special. He is a true team player, in that he's selfless on the court. And probably to the team's detriment and his offensive stats. We do not usually see Dre demand the ball on the low post. But it's not because he can't score down low. We've seen it, and he can score with his back to the basket. We have a very polished low post player (Scott), numerous options on offense, and it's just not Dre-like to start demanding the ball. That's just not his game or style. If it was, I believe we would see 15ppg, more post scoring, and the traditional NBA skill set of a 6-7 forward he'll need to show to make it to the next level. But I don't believe it's because he is limited offensively.

When in the last 3 years has Dre shown the ability to score with his back to the basket? It's just not part of his game. He'll never be a go-to offensive player at any level. He's still a great player, a great Buff, and a kid I'd love to have return next year. I just think fans have been fooling themselves with the “he could be a great offensive player if he just had one more year" argument for three years now.

 

[Gold]

When in the last 3 years has Dre shown the ability to score with his back to the basket? It's just not part of his game. He'll never be a go-to offensive player at any level. He's still a great player, a great Buff, and a kid I'd love to have return next year. I just don't think fans have been fooling themselves with the “he could be a great offensive player if he just had one more year" argument for three years now.

I've seen plenty of back to the basket moves. Just doesn't happen nearly enough. I hear what you're saying, but I disagree and am bullish on his skills. I say it's the team first, move the ball around mentality he has that has him taking the 4th fewest shots on the team.

 

[Goose]

Is this a known fact? Serious question. It actually does happen fairly often with kids who have no offers and it's a late offer.
So you guys are sure Tad did not make a deal with Eli?

Yes. I can confirm it. Eli was given a full offer.

I'm not calling you out specifically on this either, but I'm going to say that this discussion isn't fair to Eli. The kid had interest from schools last year and chose Colorado. It's not fair to think of him as a "lesser" recruit. He was recruited to be our backup PG, and he will be our backup PG for four years and do a damn good job of it.

 

[mattrob]

I've seen plenty of back to the basket moves. Just doesn't happen nearly enough. I hear what you're saying, but I disagree and am bullish on his skills. I say it's the team first, move the ball around mentality he has that has him taking the 4th fewest shots on the team.

Well, agree to disagree then. I think taking it further on my end is going to come across as attacking Dre and the kid has meant far too much to this program to do that.