SJU Portal Targets

I've never been a fan of his but think his size and defensive ability would make him the best realistic option if we miss on Lee. It's possible his perception is slightly down due to Calipari misusing him for a good chunk of his time there, but he would need to really cut down on the hero ball possessions and ridiculous shot selection for him to really work here. He has some of the negative parts of RJ's mindset when it comes to that. I think Pitino sees similar which is why he's chosen to pursue Lee over him at this point.

At the time of that post I thought we'd be major players for Watkins and I was trying to see how it would make sense for Watkins to be a target if all of Jackson, Sellers, and Mitchell are indeed being added. Seems as though Watkins may not be a top target after all and his recruitment is completely wide open.
Yeah looks like potential bidding war for Watkins. I’d go bird in hand and nail down the kids visiting this weekend. Thx for feedback on PG situation too.
 
I think if it comes down to Watkins or Mitchell it has to be Watkins. Man is this a fun offseason.
Bird in a hand? We take the first guy to commit? It feels like we are involved with every top portal guy!

Let me just make sure I understand this correctly. Two years ago, Mike Anderson was our coach and we were shopping for mid majors at best.

Fast forward to 2025, Rick Pitino is our coach. We have a top level NIL budget. We are coming off a 30 win season where we won both the Big East regular season and tournament championship. Within the first week of the portal opening, we landed two studs and are in great position to land possibly three more. And oh yea, the heart and sole of our team, Zuby Ejiofor , returning along with some good role players who could develop into something more. Lastly, we regularly sell out the Garden, and we’re the talk of the city and the country.

Is this a frickin dream?
 
I've never been a fan of his but think his size and defensive ability would make him the best realistic option if we miss on Lee. It's possible his perception is slightly down due to Calipari misusing him for a good chunk of his time there, but he would need to really cut down on the hero ball possessions and ridiculous shot selection for him to really work here. He has some of the negative parts of RJ's mindset when it comes to that. I think Pitino sees similar which is why he's chosen to pursue Lee over him at this point.

At the time of that post I thought we'd be major players for Watkins and I was trying to see how it would make sense for Watkins to be a target if all of Jackson, Sellers, and Mitchell are indeed being added. Seems as though Watkins may not be a top target after all and his recruitment is completely wide open.
Right to assume that Watkins and Jackson and primary scorers and, with only one basketball, only makes sense to choose to bring in one? I mean I'd love an All-American caliber player at each position, but not sure that is feasible or even good sense.

Thinking:
SF - Watkins or Mitchell
SG - Joson or Jackson
PG - Lee or DJ or someone else (there seem to be a handful of quality guys in the portal)
PF - Hopkins
C - Zuby
6th man - Joson / Sellers
7th man - Sim (don't want to anger anyone by leaving off Sim)

Staff is going to work everyone (as lots of other schools are), but I'd be more than happy with either Watkins or Jackson plus Sellers or Mitchel. Key is to get the right PG and don't necessarily need a stud scorer at that level if you have one at either SF or SG. Just need someone capable who can defend, play smart and not turn it over.
 
Bird in a hand? We take the first guy to commit? It feels like we are involved with every top portal guy!

Let me just make sure I understand this correctly. Two years ago, Mike Anderson was our coach and we were shopping for mid majors at best.

Fast forward to 2025, Rick Pitino is our coach. We have a top level NIL budget. We are coming off a 30 win season where we won both the Big East regular season and tournament championship. Within the first week of the portal opening, we landed two studs and are in great position to land possibly three more. And oh yea, the heart and sole of our team, Zuby Ejiofor , returning along with some good role players who could develop into something more. Lastly, we regularly sell out the Garden, and we’re the talk of the city and the country.

Is this a frickin dream?
Bird in hand means Pitino has mega chance of closing on nice trio visiting, who all have other suitors. Rather than get into Watkins bidding war which seems likely from Mug & dk feedback, my opinion is to nail down Jackson, Mitchell and Sellers.
 
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Bird in hand means Pitino has mega chance of closing on nice trio visiting, who all have other suitors. Rather than get into Watkins bidding war which seems likely from Mug & dk feedback, my opinion is to nail down Jackson, Mitchell and Sellers.
sorry is it confirmed Jackson will be on campus this weekend?
 
Bird in hand means Pitino has mega chance of closing on nice trio visiting, who all have other suitors. Rather than get into Watkins bidding war which seems likely from Mug & dk feedback, my opinion is to nail down Jackson, Mitchell and Sellers.
Agree - I would be happy with those 3 and then try to land either Lee or Wagner at PG and we are done.

PG: Lee/Wagner, Wilcher
Guards & Wings: Sanon, Jackson, Sellers, Glover, Liotopoulos
Forwards: Hopkins, Mitchell, Ayo, Imran if he comes.
Centers: Zuby, Vince, Prey, Maker

If we find an emergency PG someplace to put behind Wilcher, fine.
 
Bird in hand means Pitino has mega chance of closing on nice trio visiting, who all have other suitors. Rather than get into Watkins bidding war which seems likely from Mug & dk feedback, my opinion is to nail down Jackson, Mitchell and Sellers.
Love this kind of info!
You are back in your prime!
 
Bird in hand means Pitino has mega chance of closing on nice trio visiting, who all have other suitors. Rather than get into Watkins bidding war which seems likely from Mug & dk feedback, my opinion is to nail down Jackson, Mitchell and Sellers.
Thanks for the post.
Corollaries to the “bird in hand”
(But of course it could be argued that with Coach Pitino’s recruiting prowess, there’s no real risk of losing out altogether, that it might be worth the risk of releasing the one already in hand etc. as CRP will very likely get his share of top tier portal players)
  • Better safe than sorry": This saying highlights the importance of caution and avoiding risks, similar to the bird in the hand proverb.

  • "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth": This proverb suggests that you shouldn't be ungrateful for what you've been given or question the value of something you've received, which aligns with the idea of valuing what you have.

  • "A stitch in time saves nine": This proverb suggests that addressing a problem early on can prevent a bigger problem later, which is similar to the idea of not risking a good thing for a potentially better one.
What a season and seasons for us to enjoy!
SS&G
 
Thanks for the post.
Corollaries to the “bird in hand”
(But of course it could be argued that with Coach Pitino’s recruiting prowess, there’s no real risk of losing out altogether, that it might be worth the risk of releasing the one already in hand etc. as CRP will very likely get his share of top tier portal players)
  • Better safe than sorry": This saying highlights the importance of caution and avoiding risks, similar to the bird in the hand proverb.

  • "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth": This proverb suggests that you shouldn't be ungrateful for what you've been given or question the value of something you've received, which aligns with the idea of valuing what you have.

  • "A stitch in time saves nine": This proverb suggests that addressing a problem early on can prevent a bigger problem later, which is similar to the idea of not risking a good thing for a potentially better one.
What a season and seasons for us to enjoy!
SS&G
Am so glad you are back, bringing some sanity to this Forum
 
Thanks for the post.
Corollaries to the “bird in hand”
(But of course it could be argued that with Coach Pitino’s recruiting prowess, there’s no real risk of losing out altogether, that it might be worth the risk of releasing the one already in hand etc. as CRP will very likely get his share of top tier portal players)
  • Better safe than sorry": This saying highlights the importance of caution and avoiding risks, similar to the bird in the hand proverb.

  • "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth": This proverb suggests that you shouldn't be ungrateful for what you've been given or question the value of something you've received, which aligns with the idea of valuing what you have.

  • "A stitch in time saves nine": This proverb suggests that addressing a problem early on can prevent a bigger problem later, which is similar to the idea of not risking a good thing for a potentially better one.
What a season and seasons for us to enjoy!
SS&G
you left out:

an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure

also:

a bad year of Big East basketball is better than a good year of ACC basketball.
 
Watkins-Hopkins-Zuby would be a frontcourt of just basketball players, man. All of sudden, that's a pretty big frontline too.
If you are an opposing guard, and those are the 3 guys you are trying to get "mismatches" with, good freaking luck man. And Prey and Ayo are coming in behind them.
 
I think there's 2 ways Watkins still being a priority target here would make sense.

1) Jackson isn't quite a done deal yet. Trilly said this morning that Jackson isn't locked in yet and his recruitment is more open than people think. It's also been said he's asking for a ridiculous NIL figure.
2) The plan if we miss on Lee is to go PG by committee with Watkins, Jackson, Sim all playing minutes at point. None of them are close to being true points but all have either some experience playing on the ball or have the tools to theoretically be able to handle it for stretches.

The next 7 days might be wild
Sorry to say but Option 2 sucks
 
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