Bakari Evelyn

[NativeCheesehead]

Per Coach Lottich at the meet and greet tonight, another sit one play three joining.....


http://www.cornnation.com/2016/4/12/11414258/nebraska-basketball-freshman-bakari-evelyn-to-transfer

[a3uge]

Great news! Open up that Detroit pipeline.

[78crusader]

Why so many guards?

Paul

[vufan75]

Why so many guards?

Paul

Maybe a recruit forward is in the works yet, but I would of thought a forward or two would of been higher priorities, since we lose Alec, Jubril, and Shane after next season. Did Coach Lottich elaborate any farther than mentioning Bakari coming in terms of recruits? PG will be a competitive position in a year with Micah, Bakari, Lexus, and Max all vying for time.   

[elephtheria47]

Guard is the most important position in college basketball and I believe he will be a SOLID IMPACT type of guy. Great get

[vu72]

Why so many guards?

Paul

I suspect the reason is that Matt had the chance to pick up a real stud.  He won three state championships and was all state in Michigan.  In addition, he seems like a very well spoken young man based on this interview:

https://rivals.yahoo.com/video/college-basketball/Getting-to-know-Bakari-Evelyn-1137972

[vufan75]

In looking deeper, Bakari was a 3* recruit coming out of high school. Good for VALPOMBB and Matt and staff!

[a3uge]

Why so many guards?

Paul

Did you watch last year? We had one viable point guard!

[valpotx]

So this just leaves 1 scholarship left, correct?  This is the spot being held for Keith.

[chef]

I think Middleton in the Horizon League is most likely a 3. The 5 spot is sewed up for years to come. Both backcourt spots look to be in good shape as well. So really, we're looking at the 4 being the need position, and obviously not a need for next season  , but for 2017-18. There will be scholarships available to fill that need. So I guess that's my roundabout answer to "why so many guards?"

[atkins]

Good power forwards are tough to find. Although most teams nowadays are guard-oriented, the top teams tend to have terrific, athletic forwards. It is more difficult to find those guys than to find good guards. 
The Jubrils of basketball are highly underrated contributors. 

Guard-oriented lineups tire more easily against teams with strong forwards, at least in the Big Dance. Kansas is the historical model for forward-led squads.

[IndyValpo]

Personally I like both of these additions.  Solid potential and athletic.

[VULB#62]

Sorolla, a 6-foot-11, 240-pound center, from Spain......

In watching his tape highlights he looks quite athletic and moves well.  Would he possibly be the guy that replaces Alec at the 4 after next year.  With Derrik and Sorolla on the floor together that would be interesting.  And I thought I remembered Matt speculating on them playing together.

Depth at PG, depth at SG and a mid sized swing man together with those two would be a very strong argument.

[valpopal]

Sorolla, a 6-foot-11, 240-pound center, from Spain......

In watching his tape highlights he looks quite athletic and moves well.  Would he possibly be the guy that replaces Alec at the 4 after next year.  With Derrik and Sorolla on the floor together that would be interesting.  And I thought I remembered Matt speculating on them playing together.

Yes, though I expect Adekoya to get a lot of playing time this year, Matt said yesterday that he'd like to see a future lineup with both Sorolla and Smits together in the front line. If it happens at times this year, the front line could be Smits, Sorolla, Peters (7'1", 6'11", 6'9") with one backcourt being Hammink and Walker (6'7", 6'2")—an average height of 6' 8.4". (There have been seasons in the past when Valpo didn't have any players over 6'8". The Crusaders team that beat top-20 Notre Dame had Jim Ford at center, and he was listed in the papers as 6'5".) If you substitute Adekoya for Sorolla, the average height only drops less than an inch to 6' 7.6". As I have mentioned in the past, I would like to see lineups with Peters at the 3-position since that is how NBA scouts will perceive him.

[VULB#62]

Aha, interesting even next year.  Graduating Shane, Jubril and Alec (and maybe Keith-again) will be a big loss after next season. But a real good 3 coming in next year should help.