So what direction does this team take now that the two options talked about last week in the front court are now off the table?

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Michigan basketball adds Tennessee grad transfer Olivier Nkamhoua

I guess JTT can play the four and the young guys play the five.

EJ is a 5. He lacks the quickness to play the 4 especially after the injury which severely limited his mobility. We have to hope we can get Bridges back and if not I'm sure Drew is looking at some other portal guys to replace him.

He is very quick for a big man and has a pretty good three point shot.

Before the injury, I agree he had quickness, great feet and lateral movement. What made him so special was he could switcb and guard the perimeter. But last season he was a shell of himself and we can't gamble on him to log heavy minutes, especially at a new position requiring even more quickness and athleticism, if we have national championship aspirations.

I anticipate he will be much closer to his old self by the time November rolls around. He can definitely play power forward. The team can simply run some different defensive schemes to adjust to the talent on the roster. I have been told his lateral movement is continuing to improve. Last season while he returned ahead of schedule he was still not 100%.

I don't think we need Bridges to return, or another big-time transfer, to be highly competitive next season. We do need a couple more players for depth and for competitive 5 on 5 scrimmages in practice. This team will have 10 competitive D-1 players and talent. We're only going as far as our top talent can take us and they have the supporting cast to go all the way if they are good enough. We'll have the flexibility to go big or go small.

I am ignoring the current Top 25 rankings and so should you. Unless you still trust the opinion of the same guys picking the Top 25 that picked North Carolina #1 last year.

Agreed on the last part. The certainty on some of the early rankings is wild. Some even in the top 10 I just don't see it at all. Some deeply flawed rosters.

Now I do think we need Bridges to contend. Not quite enough proven fire power right now. But I am high on the "unprovens" of Walter, Grimes, and Nunn with our staff. I agree they might surprise but still need one more piece to contend.

Also think Love will breakout like he would have in 21'/22' before the injury.

We've seen how throwing a bunch of new guys goes

Everyone has that issue now more than before but we will have A LOT of new talent. I've tempered expectations. Hoping for a top 4 conf finish barring one experienced transfer coming in and then I'm willing to reassess

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Every other team in the conference also must also adjust on the fly with a completely new roster. I would love a top 4 finish in conference would be a 2 or 3 seed in the tournament which would be yet another great season for us and put us in position to make a deep run.

Quinton said:

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Agreed on the last part. The certainty on some of the early rankings is wild. Some even in the top 10 I just don't see it at all. Some deeply flawed rosters.

Now I do think we need Bridges to contend. Not quite enough proven fire power right now. But I am high on the "unprovens" of Walter, Grimes, and Nunn with our staff. I agree they might surprise but still need one more piece to contend.

Also think Love will breakout like he would have in 21'/22' before the injury.

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I wouldn't put Nunn in the unproven group. He's started more than 60 games at the Division I level. He may not be an impact player in the Big 12, but I think he can safely be counted on to be a contributing member of the rotation.

We still need more talent, though. I like our guards, but without Bridges, we're going to be woefully lacking in the frontcourt again this year. And I'd still like to see Bridges return and another forward added through the portal.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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Before the injury, I agree he had quickness, great feet and lateral movement. What made him so special was he could switcb and guard the perimeter. But last season he was a shell of himself and we can't gamble on him to log heavy minutes, especially at a new position requiring even more quickness and athleticism, if we have national championship aspirations.

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He was ahead of schedule in comng back, Maybe he gets back to where he was, maybe he doesn't. But the fact that he played at all last year is a positive, not a negative, in gauging his upside.

I love EJ and I love his heart and determination. I am questioning the poster who said EJ would be a candidate to start at PF for us. My point is that EJ has always been a 5 and that was before the injury. Expecting him to transition to a new position requiring more quickness and athleticism than he possessed BEFORE the injury is an unfair and unrealistic expectation, in my opinion. We need Bridges or a portal guy to man the 4 with EJ splitting minutes at the 5.

Fre3dombear said:

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Despite what you may think, nobody cares about message board members' predictions.

Do we know who we're chasing in the portal after whiffing on Olivier? Don't have much faith Bridges comes back or even really wants to for that matter. BU seems to be a last resort for him.

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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Fre3dombear said:

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Despite what you may think, nobody cares about message board members' predictions.

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What????

Since when???

It's been really quiet. Doesn't seem like the best sign. I thought the miss on the two transfers was more about Bridges coming back, but looking like that was not the case.

Looks like we may get an answer on Bridges here very soon

Information from the podcast or other source? Crazy that it has taken this long.

Podcast, sounds like they think his decision will be made this week. Really is crazy it's taken this long.