Keaston Willis

[t.town]

Sure hate to see him miss this year but a redshirt is a good call IMO.

That gives us some depth at guard and the freshman will get a lot of playing time and should really mature after a year in D1.

Keaston Willis to Miss Remainder of 2023-24 Season - Tulsa

TULSA, Okla. –– Tulsa men's basketball guard Keaston Willis will undergo surgery to repair a fractured 5th metatarsal of his left foot and will miss t...

tulsahurricane.com

 

[dougheffking]

He will be much more useful next year as well, when the team should be MUCH better. That's when I expect we will be rollin'

 

[Gmoney4WW]

He will be much more useful next year as well, when the team should be MUCH better. That's when I expect we will be rollin'

At least rolllin better than this year. How rolllin we are depends a lot on whether we manage to keep Archie. Also depends on how Reed progresses, and what we add to our front court, whether through maturity, or recruiting, or both.

 

[Henry Kendall]

How rolllin we are depends a lot on whether we manage to keep Archie.

Hurricane Impact

Coaches have talked about retention relies on many things, but NIL is a big deal.

 

[dougheffking]

At least rolllin better than this year. How rolllin we are depends a lot on whether we manage to keep Archie. Also depends on how Reed progresses, and what we add to our front court, whether through maturity, or recruiting, or both.

I think we will keep him. I know we aren't FAU from last year, but look at them...make a final 4 and keep everyone. Culture, winning, and coaching matters.

 

[dougheffking]

Hurricane Impact

Coaches have talked about retention relies on many things, but NIL is a big deal in retention of this roster. PJ and Tyshawn could be courted if we are not careful.

I think we need to be careful about putting this stuff all over the boards and slow our roll with this stuff.

 

[Henry Kendall]

I think we need to be careful about putting this stuff all over the boards and slow our roll with this stuff.

I amended my post. But this is not a secret, this is going to happen everywhere. We are rolling out some real young talent on the floor.

 

[dougheffking]

I amended my post. But this is not a secret, this is going to happen everywhere. We are rolling out some real young talent on the floor.

I agree. But I think we are in a much better place. For example, Keaston and cobe chose to come play for TU their last year…they could absolutely gone somewhere else and “got a bigger bag”

 

[Henry Kendall]

Very true. This staff is exceptional at building relationships and TU offers many advantages to athletes. We will not outbid most schools, so if money is the main factor, our school isn't the best place for them. However, I am trying to continually emphasize that we have to play the NIL game....it's an important, albeit sucky, part of the big picture.

 

[I.I.]

The most frustrating problem is when “P5” programs start contacting the top players in lower conferences mid season to encourage them to portal/ NIL.in April. Of course some programs have done this under the table for years but with an instant portal it is becoming rampant. Some of the young players are telling their coaches about the contact but I suspect others don’t want their coaches to know. It can affect their play for the rest of the season as well.

 

[Henry Kendall]

I continue to hope that the NCAA grows a pair and begins to rein in some of the insanity going on right now. But then again, I wanted Santa to stop by a couple of weeks ago.

 

[t.town]

Well looks like Ian Smikle is an interesting prospect @ 6' 9" 235 lbs. Not sure how many scholarships we'll have but that's a good start IMO.

I like to follow a players for 4 years.
The women seem to stick to their recruited schools and strive to get their degrees.

They don't have quite the distraction the men do. I've also noticed TU carries their injured players though gradation.

Loyalty matters IMO.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Well looks like Ian Smikle is an interesting prospect @ 6' 9" 235 lbs. Not sure how many scholarships we'll have but that's a good start IMO.

I like to follow a players for 4 years.
The women seem to stick to their recruited schools and strive to get their degrees.

They don't have quite the distraction the men do. I've also noticed TU carries their injured players though gradation.

Loyalty matters IMO.

At this point we have two open scholarships after Smikle.(unless somebody enters the transfer portal or Willis doesn't get his medical redshirt)