Losing all these transfers looks bad, but it's happening at every program in the country. Can we really blame that on Crean? Losing 2 of your best players - Camara and Wheeler - is not good. It's easy to understand losing a Brown, who wasn't playing much, or even a Fagan, whose minutes were probably gonna go down. Walton and Starks are no loss at all, and I can think of a couple of others who could transfer that wouldn't break my heart. But losing 2 of your core players is not good at all. Their experience is not easy to replace.
That said, neither are irreplaceable by any means. Camara did not shoot very well, turned the ball over too much, was very inconsistent, got in foul trouble and sulked some. I heard the staff had to babysit him a lot. If so, then we're better off without that headache, though I think Camara has great potential. Wheeler, while a great assist guy and a dynamic player, has a number of holes in his game - he turns it over waaaay too much and doesn't shoot well from the perimeter at all. Given his size, he is also a big liability on defense. It's too easy to create mismatches with him.
Until we lost Wheeler, I would have said that we have upgraded our roster Ingram's numbers at FAU were better than Camara's. Jabri Abdur-Rahim, assuming he is healthy, can be a really athletic scoring small forward. The big man from Illinois-Chicago was recruited there by our assistant Steve McClain, who he started for as a freshman. McClain has to know his game and what he brings to the table in the post, where we really need help. Baumann looks like a great perimeter shooter; he was at Long Beach St. before he transferred to USC last year, but his minutes were reduced so his numbers went down. Wright was an all state player in HS as a junior but had a labrum tear that cost him his senior season, causing him to play an extra year to to get back the interest he had had before his injury. He was originally committed to Rick Pitino at Iona, who has a great eye for talent. I know Iona thought they had gotten a steal before he decommitted. He's 6'3" and about 185 lbs, so he has size that Wheeler did not. One coach said he thought Wright was the best guard in GA last year. And we still have a couple of spots to fill.
So, honestly, we could have a much better roster on paper than last season. Still, I haven't seen any of these guys - either the freshmen or the transfers - play yet, so I can't give a fair assessment of their abilities. I guess the question is can Crean get the new team to mesh. It's easier to coach experience than a bunch of freshman like we had 2 years ago. Last year's team could have been better if KD Johnson had been eligible the whole season; he got eligible after we had begun the SEC schedule. And we had a tough, tough schedule to begin conference play. Add in COVID and it was not an easy year for us or anyone. There will be so much roster turnover at every school that it is hard to predict what the conference will be like.
All that said, it remains to be seen whether Crean is the guy for the job. Some people I know, who know players who played for Crean and coaches that have coached with Crean, don't have a high opinion of him at all. Crean has been slaughtered in recruiting in state. I don't think he can win if that doesn't improve. Some of that is on the staff, but the responsibility falls on Crean. I think his seat is pretty warm this year. We have to see improvement, both in play and in record. He might need to make the NCAAs. Don't know whether we can or not until I see what's on the court.
That said, neither are irreplaceable by any means. Camara did not shoot very well, turned the ball over too much, was very inconsistent, got in foul trouble and sulked some. I heard the staff had to babysit him a lot. If so, then we're better off without that headache, though I think Camara has great potential. Wheeler, while a great assist guy and a dynamic player, has a number of holes in his game - he turns it over waaaay too much and doesn't shoot well from the perimeter at all. Given his size, he is also a big liability on defense. It's too easy to create mismatches with him.
Until we lost Wheeler, I would have said that we have upgraded our roster Ingram's numbers at FAU were better than Camara's. Jabri Abdur-Rahim, assuming he is healthy, can be a really athletic scoring small forward. The big man from Illinois-Chicago was recruited there by our assistant Steve McClain, who he started for as a freshman. McClain has to know his game and what he brings to the table in the post, where we really need help. Baumann looks like a great perimeter shooter; he was at Long Beach St. before he transferred to USC last year, but his minutes were reduced so his numbers went down. Wright was an all state player in HS as a junior but had a labrum tear that cost him his senior season, causing him to play an extra year to to get back the interest he had had before his injury. He was originally committed to Rick Pitino at Iona, who has a great eye for talent. I know Iona thought they had gotten a steal before he decommitted. He's 6'3" and about 185 lbs, so he has size that Wheeler did not. One coach said he thought Wright was the best guard in GA last year. And we still have a couple of spots to fill.
So, honestly, we could have a much better roster on paper than last season. Still, I haven't seen any of these guys - either the freshmen or the transfers - play yet, so I can't give a fair assessment of their abilities. I guess the question is can Crean get the new team to mesh. It's easier to coach experience than a bunch of freshman like we had 2 years ago. Last year's team could have been better if KD Johnson had been eligible the whole season; he got eligible after we had begun the SEC schedule. And we had a tough, tough schedule to begin conference play. Add in COVID and it was not an easy year for us or anyone. There will be so much roster turnover at every school that it is hard to predict what the conference will be like.
All that said, it remains to be seen whether Crean is the guy for the job. Some people I know, who know players who played for Crean and coaches that have coached with Crean, don't have a high opinion of him at all. Crean has been slaughtered in recruiting in state. I don't think he can win if that doesn't improve. Some of that is on the staff, but the responsibility falls on Crean. I think his seat is pretty warm this year. We have to see improvement, both in play and in record. He might need to make the NCAAs. Don't know whether we can or not until I see what's on the court.