This year’s team has 3 grad students, 2 seniors, 2 juniors, 1 soph, 1 RS soph, 3 RS freshmen, and 2 true freshmen. Next year we can have 15 scholarship players which means if all of the underclassmen return, we will have 6 'ships to give. But, if history tells us anything, the odds of all 9 underclassmen returning are not very good.
I know CKS is well ware of all of this and is planning accordingly. The NIL is a double edged sword; on one hand kids can be lured away by higher paying teams, on the other hand it will help keep some kids here that might otherwise leave for the bigger bag. As far as the lure of the NBA is concerned, that’s always a crap shoot. But there again, Sampson is planning for that possibility.
arcenueax more likely gone than back. he almost left in the offseason… he will try to get pro this year, the portal is very real if he doesnt… staff likely knows that…
we recruited heavily for wings this year when arcenueax has years and mccarthy behind him… to recruit 2 more wings
Ummm…whoever is still calling Arceneaux a pro prospect needs to stop already…he’s nowhere close (never has been, IMO)…he or anyone else are delusional to think he is…and if he leaves for the portal, that’s gonna be because we’re either not gonna be willing to give him the keys or make him feel like he’s not expendable…either way, pro prospects aren’t normally shown that kind of apathy.
to me its more complicated than that. Is what he does even close to what a pro prospect is? probably not! he only does five points a game… BUT because of his natural tools, the gap between him being a not significant role player to star is a short one…
IMO he is just 10-15lbs of muscle away from being a super star… watch his tape last year he actually became really aggressive offensively … it just wasnt noted because he was barely making them… he loves to drive and body players away before finishing, and also loves posting up… the issues is that the players he is trying to post up or body out the way aren’t moving because he isn’t strong enough. he settles for long floater/shots or passes out of it…
examples
Arcneueax that can impose his will would be a dominant player, adding muscle would also improve his rebounding and defense with more strength…l ook at his box scores before he was injured
instead of 1-8 (4pts), 3-9 (6pts) zero fts in both… he is more like 6-11 (15pts, some Fts in there) …14pts 8rbs 2stl averages isnt that far of a reach if he was stronger… im just not sure he’s reached that yet
also i dont think its delusional to that he thinks he is a pro prospect, you are pro prospect if the nba scouts say you are, and most nba scouts said he was as early as last year, and he is still on many top 100 boards, tho he is on the outside of the top 60 for most right now
Yes, and you just proved my point…the guy can jump out of the gym, fake you out of your sneakers and shorts and can get off the nice Kobe-esque turnaround fadeaway from the wing…but it means nothing if you can’t finish, and this is where he struggles…the end result is just not consistent enough, hence his 1-for-8 or sub-35% accuracy in several games.
Also, top 100 or just outside the top 60 also means NOT DRAFTED, with the NBA draft being just 2 rounds…so, again, Arceneaux is NOT a pro prospect to me…another pro scout may say he is, and I’m sure several do, but like I said in my OP, they probably need to stop…if YOU mean he’s a pro prospect in the sense that he could play overseas or on some lower level circuit, fine, but these are not the goals I’m sure he has nor what it would take to forgo his remaining collegiate eligibility, here or elsewhere.
I think the point here, that some are missing, is if you are expecting to see Arcenaux with Houston again next season, you have a high chance of being disappointed. It would seem his expectations are to get enough playing time to show out and get drafted. If he doesn’t get the playing time, or if he doesn’t impress the scouts enough, then he might view Houston as a place that’s no longer best for accomplishing his career goals.
So where he ends up might not be the NBA, but it also might not be Houston again either.
Reality can always set in and expectations can change. His best chance at the NBA is still after a really good college season. I hope he helps lead us to the Promise Land and fulfills his dreams but if it takes him a while to get back to himself from the injury then we’ll see.
