(03-07-2017 04:51 PM)Dwight Wrote: This year, transfers Marcus Keene, Steve Taylor, and Taylor Persons had a big impact in the MAC. I'm wondering what teams have transfers who are sitting this year and who may be high level MAC players next year.
Toledo has two. Tra'Shaun Fletcher played three years at PAC-12 member Colorado. His junior year he started 14 games, averaging around 18 minutes and 7 points a game. Much of his offense came from beyond the three-point line. Coming from a big-time program where he was a contributor, the 6'7" Fletcher could be an elite MAC player in his final year of eligibility.
The other Toledo transfer is Willie Jackson, who transferred mid-year after playing the first half of his freshman year at Missouri. He will be eligible as a sophomore after the first semester ends. Jackson played about 16 minutes per game and averaged around six points. Unlike Fletcher, Jackson isn't a shooter. He's 6'5" with strength, quickness, and good jumping ability. Missouri is in a major conference, the SEC, but the team is bad, so Jackson's ability to contribute at Missouri is not as impressive as Fletcher's role at Colorado. The upside is that he has 2 1/2 years of eligibility left and was recruited above the level of the MAC out of high school.
Dwight,
FYI, Willie Jackson chose Missouri over Akron out of high school.
He probably would've chose Akron (some legitimate media members actually reported he was transferring to Akron, before his mom sent out a tweet saying "not done yet").
Obviously it didn't get done, partially because Akron technically doesn't have a scholarship (though they would've made one appear). The biggest reason, IMO, why he chose Toledo was because the Rockets offer him a better chance to play his natural "3" position.
At Akron, he would've been at the "4" spot next year since Noah Robotham, Antino Jackson and Jimond Ivey are all back. Part of the reason he left Missouri was due to playing out of position ... though I would argue the "4" in Keith Dambrot's offense is essentially another "3" but it is what it is and I wish Jackson nothing but the best at Toledo as a true wing player.
He's a kid that has, out of necessity, played out of position going back to his junior year in high school. After his sophomore year at Garfield Heights High School, the school graduated 6-10 big man David Bell (Ohio State) and 6-8 forward Jordan Davis (one of the non-qualifiers Kreed mentioned with Akron) transferred to Canton Timken (then McKinley when the two schools merged). Garfield Heights had a loaded back court with three D1 players so he was forced to be a post player on a team with state aspirations (made the state tourney both years). That stunted his development.
That development was stunted further with the ill-advised decision to commit to Missouri (you can look at the Willie Jackson thread on ZipsNation and see that I called he would be back on the market within a year when he originally committed to Missouri). It was a team that had absolutely no size and again, he was forced to play the post.
Overall, I hope Toledo will develop him as a wing, because he's a guy I still think has a very high ceiling. But there will definitely be growing pains with him and I don't expect him to do much next year in the second half and may not be great his junior year. But if he develops could be an All-MAC player his senior season.
Also, why I had a hunch Jackson was going to transfer is because I have a good friend who is very tied into Missouri basketball. He said last year that Kim Anderson was toast unless the team made major strides ... and with their roster and youth, it was an impossible feat. And guess what, Kim Anderson was just fired. Not sure how Jackson didn't see that coming, but oh well.
Bullboy,
I didn't realize Wes Clark picked Buffalo. My friend said he was going to be the biggest loss, by far, out of the transfers... and 4-5 players have (or will) leave. He loved his potential, so I think Buffalo is getting a good one in him. But outside of Willie Jackson and Frankie Hughes, I can't claim to know much about Missouri's roster other than what my friend tells me.
BTW, you guys are also getting a stud in Jayvon Graves. He's going to be a star in this league. As a Zips fan, it's tough losing a kid from your own backyard (though, technically, he's actually from a tiny town, Malvern, that's between Canton and Dover, so not exactly an Akron kid ... but that's still Akron-Canton area).