Smith Potentially Out for Rest of Regular Season

Stating the obvious, but Smith is so important down the stretch w on ball D v guys like Ashworth & Poplar last night. He also changes pace of games with his speed, toughness & rebounding. On a team w really only 3 BE level proven guards, it is easy to say “next man up” but Smith’s loss for a sustained period of time will have a negative impact.

This does not mean our guys if locked in on D can’t battle and win. However the degree of difficulty w/o Dev increases markedly. 🙏🤞on his return when cleared.

Lastly, Creighton has played a lot of games lately in a short period. Hopefully they enter MSG w tired legs and we get the win.
 
Stating the obvious, but Smith is so important down the stretch w on ball D v guys like Ashworth & Poplar last night. He also changes pace of games with his speed, toughness & rebounding. On a team w really only 3 BE level proven guards, it is easy to say “next man up” but Smith’s loss for a sustained period of time will have a negative impact.

This does not mean our guys if locked in on D can’t battle and win. However the degree of difficulty w/o Dev increases markedly. 🙏🤞on his return when cleared.

Lastly, Creighton has played a lot of games lately in a short period. Hopefully they enter MSG w tired legs and we get the win.
We should press Creighton for most of the second half.

The optimistic way to see this news is that it’s an opportunity for one of the freshman guards to establish themselves as a core guy for next year.
 
I don't want to take the position that us losing Smith is liking the Corleone's losing Luca Brasi. but it is a major problem. The team is the most resilient we have ever had, but a team that needs to play at a frenetic pace to be successful needs some depth. Losing Brady and now perhaps Smith is not what we needed.
 
We should press Creighton for most of the second half.

The optimistic way to see this news is that it’s an opportunity for one of the freshman guards to establish themselves as a core guy for next year.
You are a consistent optimist, teach me 😇
 
Was asked again by both the player and "others" not to comment on his status
I can say coaches frustration towards the situation is not with the player nor his desire to play through injury
Thanks for your insight.
 
I'm going to add something. I've been to over 100 colleges since Oct incl such basketball powerhouses Emory, MIT through UCLA and I have not heard of a single school not having some kind of issue. When your dealing with D1 and NIL and huge personalities and egos getting kids to mesh and be on the same page for 5 months is todays society is not going to happen. NEVER. You try to manage it. Control it. So fans speculating on if their are behind the scenes issues i can save you the trouble, their ALWAYS are. Some become public, some don't. Some close to the program learn of them, others don't. My point is this team has very different personalities but don't worry about issues fractionating its success...coach has always been the best in the biz at meshing it all(sometimes we all see his frustrations)... Dev will play and will always give 100% when all
parties think it's best. This is a great season so enjoy it ..wishing everyone nothing but peace and health.
 
One only need watch this past UConn game to see Smith’s value beyond his scoring. When he’s in, the team takes on a whole different personality with their speed and offensive aggressiveness. Pushing the ball up the court while giving two great passes to Zuby on the run was the spurt we needed.

I think we take down Creighton (assuming Zuby comes out of his slump) but realistically I think the games at Marquette and UConn at the Garden with a healthy McNealy will not go our way. I think we will beat DePaul but that will be challenging as well.
Hope I’m wrong about Marquette and UConn.
 
We appreciate your contributions here.

With that, everyone on this board must respect the sensitivity of any internal dialogue.
Why's that? I hope no one is under the illusion their posts have any effect whatsoever on results of the games or outcomes of the season. Only kicking in some NIL money could accomplish that to some extent.
 
If Neptune can see this and plan for it, then certainly McDermott can as well.
It was definitely their plan. It wasn't organic at all. They attacked with purpose and trapped immediately when our guys showed any sign of vulnerability. Kudos to Neptune and staff for that.

They also jumped Glover the second he crossed the timeline...that one is a little more obvious. Glover has a target on his back for the rest of the season as a ball-handler.
 
Why's that? I hope no one is under the illusion their posts have any effect whatsoever on results of the games or outcomes of the season. Only kicking in some NIL money could accomplish that to some extent.
You missed the point. Some posters stated they hoped Sju79 would reveal some information regarding this, since he knows Smith. But he was told by the staff not to discuss it publicly.

I feel we should respect that.
 
Was asked again by both the player and "others" not to comment on his status
I can say coaches frustration towards the situation is not with the player nor his desire to play through injury
reading the tea leaves, perhaps frustration is with medical staff and/or trainers
 
In one of the interviews, one distinguishing talent Smith brings on the floor is that with Kadary, RJ, Scott, and Zuby it gives us 5 guys who are good rebounders. Staff is pushing Wilcher to become a better rebounder.

Obviously Smith gives us an x factor vs any team in the country. Defense, steals, rebounds, assists, points.

Blazing speed makes us a very good transition team.

I wonder if Father Rock is a faith healer?
 
Get him back to full strength as much as you can. We have a full month until the Big East Tournament starts. Will we lose a couple more games with Smith out? Probably. However I’d rather see a full strength Smith than what he’s been dealing with last 5 games. From here on out it’s all about positioning for the post season.
 
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