Ray J Enters the Transfer Portal
Quote from BSUBass77 on April 27, 2023, 8:21 amThe MAC Player of the Year, Ray J Dennis entered the portal yesterday. And just like that, he was picked up by Illinois. He also declared for the NBA, but can withdraw by the end of May.
Maybe my comments will spur some discussion. Ray J was one of Leon's missteps. Leon put his stock in Akot rather than Ray J. Ray J would become a 20 pt per game guy, Akot was never better than a 10 ppg guy. At Western Kentucky, Akot was still getting 10 ppg, second to their star player.
The bigger question of would Leon commit to playing Ray J over Shaver Jr, which would be a much bigger decision. Shaver won several games for us over the past three years.
The past is over, but the real question is: has Leon and his staff learned from this misstep. Will they trust their own recruiting and development process with HS recruits and avoid the temptation of playing portal players from big programs. We will see, because Locket, Andrew and probably Ugbo are going to be really good players for us, if we can keep them.
The MAC Player of the Year, Ray J Dennis entered the portal yesterday. And just like that, he was picked up by Illinois. He also declared for the NBA, but can withdraw by the end of May.
Maybe my comments will spur some discussion. Ray J was one of Leon's missteps. Leon put his stock in Akot rather than Ray J. Ray J would become a 20 pt per game guy, Akot was never better than a 10 ppg guy. At Western Kentucky, Akot was still getting 10 ppg, second to their star player.
The bigger question of would Leon commit to playing Ray J over Shaver Jr, which would be a much bigger decision. Shaver won several games for us over the past three years.
The past is over, but the real question is: has Leon and his staff learned from this misstep. Will they trust their own recruiting and development process with HS recruits and avoid the temptation of playing portal players from big programs. We will see, because Locket, Andrew and probably Ugbo are going to be really good players for us, if we can keep them.
Quote from BroncoChief on April 27, 2023, 8:24 pmI really liked RayJ and was disappointed when he left for Toledo. I thought he wanted to lay closer to home. But I like your take on Akot, maybe he was ahead of RayJ at the time. Did RayJ flash 20 point potential while he was here? It seems he didn’t want to wait his turn. In the end, he made the right decision for himself. With the treasure trove of incoming freshmen and a nice transfer haul along with the current members, it’ll be interesting to see how Leon manages the minutes. He will do what’s best for the team this year. Good topic.
I really liked RayJ and was disappointed when he left for Toledo. I thought he wanted to lay closer to home. But I like your take on Akot, maybe he was ahead of RayJ at the time. Did RayJ flash 20 point potential while he was here? It seems he didn’t want to wait his turn. In the end, he made the right decision for himself. With the treasure trove of incoming freshmen and a nice transfer haul along with the current members, it’ll be interesting to see how Leon manages the minutes. He will do what’s best for the team this year. Good topic.
Quote from BSUaddict on April 28, 2023, 9:00 amI think part of our issue with RayJ as well is that coach Rice puts a ton of emphasis on being able to give max effort on both ends of the court. Not saying RayJ didn't do that and maybe my memory is a little foggy but it did seem like he struggled pretty bad at times on defense the tail end of his career here. The talent on offense was always there. I don't know if he reaches his true potential offensively with us. Glad he had big time success at Toledo though. They had a fun team to follow and was pretty convenient that some of their conference games were on CBS sports right before we played or another MW matchup. So was able to watch a few of their games.
I think part of our issue with RayJ as well is that coach Rice puts a ton of emphasis on being able to give max effort on both ends of the court. Not saying RayJ didn't do that and maybe my memory is a little foggy but it did seem like he struggled pretty bad at times on defense the tail end of his career here. The talent on offense was always there. I don't know if he reaches his true potential offensively with us. Glad he had big time success at Toledo though. They had a fun team to follow and was pretty convenient that some of their conference games were on CBS sports right before we played or another MW matchup. So was able to watch a few of their games.