Ray Kasongo

[Coach007]

And the recruits are knocking on the door. Just set his visit to msu!

[BeardoMSU]

Whats the story with this kid?

[hopsondawg]

For what it's worth, Malik Newman just followed him on Twitter.

[Thick]

6'9, 235 lb power forward from Oak Hill Academy

[missouridawg]

Ray was recruited by Howland and McCray while at UCLA....

[msstate7]

For what it's worth, Malik Newman just followed him on Twitter.

I feel like we'll get em both. The perfect storm keeps building...

[msstate7]

For what it's worth, Malik Newman just followed him on Twitter.

In order to send pm's on Twitter, don't you have to be following that person? Could Malik be recruiting ray for us now?

I'm probably dreaming, but please don't wake me haha

[MadisonDawg]

In order to send pm's on Twitter, don't you have to be following that person? Could Malik be recruiting ray for us now?

I'm probably dreaming, but please don't wake me haha

Yes you have to both be following each other.

[MaxedOutMaroon]

Brings up another subject, redirect me if German. Who on the current is the first to a). Transfer b). Get cut; essentially to make room and to improve the team?

[messageboardsuperhero]

Here's what I can gather on Kasongo- although he wasn't rated that high (87 on 247), he had offers and was being recruited by BIG name programs last year for the class of 2014... Arizona, Uconn, UCLA (while Howland and McCray were there), Michigan State, Kansas, Indiana, Oregon, USC, etc. He signed with Oregon and was set to enroll until there was apparently an issue with one of the credits on his transcript that forced him to go Juco. Then some pretty bizzare stuff happened in the Denver airport on his way to Juco. Kasongo did eventually make it to campus for his Juco team though and played this past year at Southern Idaho, but I would guess he'd be able to play this year at a four year college, assuming the one credit got taken care of...

Very odd story, but he sounds like a very talented basketball player.

http://247sports.com/Bolt/Former-Oregon-signee-juco-bound-30560082

http://zagsblog.com/articles/after-signing-with-southern-idaho-ray-kasongo-still-in-flux/

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/24/after-long-strange-recruitment-ray-kasongo-reportedly-going-to-juco-college-of-southern-idaho/

[MetEdDawg]

Brings up another subject, redirect me if German. Who on the current is the first to a). Transfer b). Get cut

If we end up with Malik, I have to believe Fred Thomas will transfer. They basically play the same position, but Malik plays it about 10 times better. His minutes are going to decline significantly. After that, I don't think anyone would leave. There's going to be a lot of turnover on the roster this year and next year. Roq and Bloodman are graduating this year. Then next year, Sword, Thomas, Gavin, Daniels, and Zuppardo graduate. To me everyone else on the roster will stick around because the playing time is virtually guaranteed at every position.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

If we end up with Malik, I have to believe Fred Thomas will transfer. They basically play the same position, but Malik plays it about 10 times better. His minutes are going to decline significantly. After that, I don't think anyone would leave. There's going to be a lot of turnover on the roster this year and next year. Roq and Bloodman are graduating this year. Then next year, Sword, Thomas, Gavin, Daniels, and Zuppardo graduate. To me everyone else on the roster will stick around because the playing time is virtually guaranteed at every position.

2 things. 1. Malik wants to play PG in college so he & Fred wouldn't play the same position. 2. Fred is about to be a Sr & hasn't graduated so he would have to transfer to a D2 to be eligible to play. Unless he's planning to play at Delta St I don't see him leaving.

[missouridawg]

If we end up with Malik, I have to believe Fred Thomas will transfer. They basically play the same position, but Malik plays it about 10 times better. His minutes are going to decline significantly. After that, I don't think anyone would leave. There's going to be a lot of turnover on the roster this year and next year. Roq and Bloodman are graduating this year. Then next year, Sword, Thomas, Gavin, Daniels, and Zuppardo graduate. To me everyone else on the roster will stick around because the playing time is virtually guaranteed at every position.

I got to thinking about Fred's role some last night. Even if Malik doesn't come, does Fred have very many minutes with us available? I could see him easily transferring... but I could also see him wanting to finish out here, playing for a fantastic coach, with a minor role. Wish him the best either way.

[Coach34]

Endo and Dunlap are most likely to not be on the roster

[Dawg61]

In order to send pm's on Twitter, don't you have to be following that person? Could Malik be recruiting ray for us now?

I'm probably dreaming, but please don't wake me haha

Too soon

[msstate7]

Too soon

Roles reversed haha

[MetEdDawg]

2 things. 1. Malik wants to play PG in college so he & Fred wouldn't play the same position. 2. Fred is about to be a Sr & hasn't graduated so he would have to transfer to a D2 to be eligible to play. Unless he's planning to play at Delta St I don't see him leaving.

It may not be his choice. I think the value of Newman is that he can be multiple. He can play 1, 2 and 3 I think. But if that happens, that means Sword, Dunlap, and Malik will all take minutes at the 2, which will cut into Thomas' overall minutes because he did play the 2 some. Then you look at Daniels, Houston and Weatherspoon. I think all three will play some 3 depending on the personnel on the court, so you have to figure some of Thomas' minutes there will get cut too.

So Thomas is running out of minutes. Most on here think Houston is as good or better than Thomas now. And with Howland coming in, the slate is clean. No history about being a senior. He's here to win and year 1 is where it starts for him. That's not good for Thomas and this is probably the worst possible scenario for him. We've got people at both of his positions that are already better than him. Add in a new head coach with a clean slate to work from and it might not work out for him.

Not saying this is what will happen, but I think it's definitely a possibility. I will also agree with Coach 34 in that I think Dunlap could go, especially if we get Malik. But if sees the bigger picture that Malik may only be here one year, he might stick it out and play as an upperclassman if Howland wants him to stay.

[thf24]

Fred could still have a good senior year if Howland can get his head straight and get him playing up to his potential on a consistent basis, something Ray obviously couldn't. I'm also hopeful he can do the same for Daniels and put him in a role that minimizes the drawbacks of his seemingly low basketball IQ.

[messageboardsuperhero]

If Thomas wants to have a good senior year, he needs to get his ass in the gym and do basic dribbling and passing drills for three hours every day this offseason. Go do that and become a little more consistent with your jumper- and Thomas is a very good college basketball player. He has all the God-given ability in the world. Either way, I think Howland keeps him, because Thomas is exactly the defender Howland likes IMO.

[Coach34]

Our roster problem is this:

Houston, Daniels, and Fred all play the same position- and they can't really play the 2 or the 4- so we got 3 guys locked into 1 spot.. Log jam there with Houston needing the most minutes. You hate to cut one- but no way to get all 3 enough minutes unless Daniels can somehow play some 4. Fred doesn't dribble or pass well enough to play the 2 and damn sure can't play the 4.

We need a 4th big better than Endo to back up Ware. Zupp and Black will be fine at the 4. Ware has no help behind him that is any kind of scoring option

[Dawg61]

If Thomas wants to have a good senior year, he needs to get his ass in the gym and do basic dribbling and passing drills for three hours every day this offseason. Go do that and become a little more consistent with your jumper- and Thomas is a very good college basketball player. He has all the God-given ability in the world. Either way, I think Howland keeps him, because Thomas is exactly the defender Howland likes IMO.

Yea Fred really needs to dribble a basketball from now until next season starts. He should be able to dribble blindfolded for 10 minutes straight by the time it starts. Dribble in the shower. Dribble while taking a shit. Dribble dribble dribble derka derka.

[msstate7]

If Thomas wants to have a good senior year, he needs to get his ass in the gym and do basic dribbling and passing drills for three hours every day this offseason. Go do that and become a little more consistent with your jumper- and Thomas is a very good college basketball player. He has all the God-given ability in the world. Either way, I think Howland keeps him, because Thomas is exactly the defender Howland likes IMO.

If we get Malik, Fred will be a nice piece bc of his defense. We won't need scoring from him with Malik and sword in the backcourt together

[Johnson85]

It may not be his choice. I think the value of Newman is that he can be multiple. He can play 1, 2 and 3 I think. But if that happens, that means Sword, Dunlap, and Malik will all take minutes at the 2, which will cut into Thomas' overall minutes because he did play the 2 some. Then you look at Daniels, Houston and Weatherspoon. I think all three will play some 3 depending on the personnel on the court, so you have to figure some of Thomas' minutes there will get cut too.

So Thomas is running out of minutes. Most on here think Houston is as good or better than Thomas now. And with Howland coming in, the slate is clean. No history about being a senior. He's here to win and year 1 is where it starts for him. That's not good for Thomas and this is probably the worst possible scenario for him. We've got people at both of his positions that are already better than him. Add in a new head coach with a clean slate to work from and it might not work out for him.

Not saying this is what will happen, but I think it's definitely a possibility. I will also agree with Coach 34 in that I think Dunlap could go, especially if we get Malik. But if sees the bigger picture that Malik may only be here one year, he might stick it out and play as an upperclassman if Howland wants him to stay.

PG - Malik Neumann, IJ Ready, ?Tookie?
SG - Sword, ?Dunlap?
SF - Thomas, Daniels, Houston,
PF - Zuppardo, ?Black?
C - Ware, Ndoye

I'm not sure there is any obvious transfer. Assuming Malik comes and is used primarily at the one, then you've got sword getting a majority of the minutes at the two, and then you've got Thomas, Daniels, and houston fighting for the majority of minutes at the 3. If Thomas can be split at the two and three, it seems there's still some good minutes available for him, especially if he is willing to be a defensive stopper. Even if we get another freshman that can demand minutes immediately, it seems like Daniels would be a more likely transfer, since he's only been in starkville two years.

I'm also not sure how committed Howland is to traditional positions. Would he let somebody like Houston be a small 4 and try to go super athletic, in which case things are opened up a lot? Or is he going to want to play big to the extent possible, in which case we are going to be relying heavily on our few players that have 4/5 size?

The most impacted person would probably be IJ Ready. He woud lose minutes at the one and with Howland's emphasis on defense, I'm not sure he'd be willing to put an undersized two out there a lot. That should be only a one year issue, but if Howland's such a good recruiter, ready might be worried that another recruit would be inserted above him his senior year too, especially if Howland thinks his size is too limiting on defense.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

We are still looking for another big who can provide immediate help. Unless the coaches flat out say I don't want you I don't expect any upperclassmen to transfer. It just doesn't make any sense.

[Coach34]

Howland is gonna bring in a couple of guys- you can count on it

[msstate7]

Was kasongo already scheduled to visit or did he just schedule?

[Irondawg]

Here's how I see it shaking out:

Dunlap is probably immediately out. I don't think he fits the mold as he's an undersized two guard and Howland values defense too much.

Endo stays b/c he has great size and a good work ethic. Howland will want to see what he is before encouraging a transfer.

Daniels leaves on his own - He's the worst defender of the group at the 3 and he showed me no competitive fire all year. Now he's got a hyper competitive coach. He'll transfer to a lower level school and frustrate them with his 17 points one night, and 2 points the next performances.

Thomas - stays and Howland tries to turn him into Bruce Bowen. Defend like hell and camp out at the 3 point line.

Tookie - wild card. I love him, but if Newman comes and wants to play the 1 will he continue to ask for his release? Assuming he stays for now looks like this:

PG: Ready/Newman/Tookie

SG: Sword/Weatherspoon (some newman)/ JUCO shooter

SF: Thomas/Houston (maybe some Sword)

PF: new reruit/Black/Zuppardo

C: Ware/Endo/

[HSVDawg]

Then some pretty bizzare stuff happened in the Denver airport on his way to Juco

Sounds like something that I Seen It may need to investigate.

[whosyourdawgy]

Transfers that i could see happening.
Fallou Ndoye - he was a project from the start and is still a project 2 years in. You can't teach catching and passing and walking and chewing gum to a 19-20 year old He is always gonna be a project and is a wasted scholarship to me. Good kid and a hard worker. But that doesn't mean he should get a scholarship at an SEC School

Travis Daniels - most frustrating player we have. Seems to have potential to be very good. But he's just too damn passive and disappears. If Howland can get the light bulb lit, give him another year. If not, he isn't worthy of a scholarship either

I don't see these transferring.
Fred is a senior and in Howlands defense minded system, Fred could be very serviceable. So I don't see him going anywhere.
Oliver Black showed some potential last year to me and with maturing and good coaching could actually be an asset
Houston - see Black
Dunlap - we didn't get to even see what he can do. He wasn't really good in limited playing time but you can't teach what you see shooting in his high school film. Again a year older and wiser and coaching and Maurice could be a good one
And I don't think there is even another question mark

We could potentially open up two more scholarships by letting Ndoye and Daniels transfer and bring in some juco players to help immediately or if Malik pulls the trigger get another stud high school player

[smootness]

PG: Ready/Newman/Tookie

SG: Sword/Weatherspoon (some newman)/ JUCO shooter

SF: Thomas/Houston (maybe some Sword)

PF: new reruit/Black/Zuppardo

C: Ware/Endo/

If Newman comes, he absolutely starts. If Tookie also comes, you redshirt him probably.

Houston will start next year.

[tcdog70]

Fred could still have a good senior year if Howland can get his head straight and get him playing up to his potential on a consistent basis, something Ray obviously couldn't. I'm also hopeful he can do the same for Daniels and put him in a role that minimizes the drawbacks of his seemingly low basketball IQ.

agree-I see the same thing

[Thick]

I'm sorry for the Kasonga info. He's a JUCO, and it's apparent some of you already knew that, my bad. I read that he was Oak Hill.

[Coach007]

Was kasongo already scheduled to visit or did he just schedule?





I don't believe he was. This was scheduled this week. Also.... Ray had not offered him.

[HailState39110]

look who was the main recruiter for Kasongo out of high school when he was offered by LSU. None other than Korey McCray:

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-Ray-Kasongo-142723

Also Malik just started following Kasongo on twitter. Get your popcorn ready boys !

[Todd4State]

What I would like to see is us get Newman and four of his McDonald's All-American friends and then make Sword and Ware the sixth and seventh guys off the bench. Pipe dream, I know.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I don't believe he was. This was scheduled this week. Also.... Ray had not offered him.

Ray had offered last week. Offered last week when we went to watch him play in the Juco tourney.

[Coach007]

Ray had offered last week. Offered last week when we went to watch him play in the Juco tourney.

I didn't think so. Just looked at 247 and scout. No listing of when. I do know that on the scout page, gene says that the former staff had not offered him.

[smootness]

I didn't think so. Just looked at 247 and scout. No listing of when. I do know that on the scout page, gene says that the former staff had not offered him.

If Ifyouonlyknew says it, it is 100% fact. You'll learn that pretty quickly. He's the best thing this board has.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

If Ifyouonlyknew says it, it is 100% fact. You'll learn that pretty quickly. He's the best thing this board has.

Definitely wouldn't go that far but we did offer the night we went to watch him.

[missouridawg]

Who is Endo?

[msstate7]

Definitely wouldn't go that far but we did offer the night we went to watch him.

I wonder if the offer still stands

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Considering we desperately need another ready to play big I would say yes. Also he would have 3yrs of eligibility left so he's not your typical Juco kid.

[msstate7]

If Ifyouonlyknew says it, it is 100% fact. You'll learn that pretty quickly. He's the best thing this board has.

I thought the best thing was between...

I seen it vs will baseball arguing

The Ray vs stansbury nonstop bickering

My Braves' spam on the main page


Haha

[Coach34]

Who is Endo?

the tall guy that backs up Ware...and the torture guy in Lethal Weapon

[BeardoMSU]

the tall guy that backs up Ware...and the torture guy in Lethal Weapon

Awesome LW ref.

http://breakinggeek.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/mr-endo.jpg