Who said he was "afraid"? Just theorizing that the team he envisioned when he committed probably didn't include MM and/or Trey. Maybe they're coming back? And maybe he just doesn't like what he thinks that lineup would look like? A kid like Liam likely doesn't "fear" anyone at the college level. His HS team has a handful of guys that are NBA locks. He chose to play with them, could have played anywhere.
In your "hugely optimistic scenario"... what are Newton, Cupps, Leal, and Sparks doing?
Does your scenario account for Woody getting an NBA caliber big back to replace Ware? Because its more than likely that he will.
What if those "mid major" guards are Malik Mack from Harvard, and Alijah Martin from FAU? Both fit your description...and there are probably 10-15 of them out there that are better than they are that also fit your descpription. Mack, Martin, Galloway, Reneau, NBA level big... Newton coming off the bench. Even Woody could make an NCAA with that lineup.
Its not nearly as much of a long shot as it seems right now.
Maybe. And I didn't mention Newton, Cupps, Leal and Sparks because I assumed that they would be back. I think most have made that assumption, correctly or not, so I don't need to include them in any best case scenario.
But so what? Sparks is obviously extremely limited and shouldn't play any kind of significant minutes for a good team. Leal is Leal - he's been there for 4 years. His athleticism isn't getting any better.
Cupps is also limited. He may turn out to be a servicable starter on a decent team in another year or two. He's undersized and needs a LOT of strength. His shot also seems pretty jacked up at this point, but that's par for the course on IU. Not being able to hit consistent perimeter shots is the calling card of this team.
And nobody really knows anything about Newton. Will he EVER be healthy? If so, he has zero college experience and little basketball experience of any kind over the last few years.
Also, your sunshine scenario includes things that have never been done by Woody before. He's never gotten a guard out of the transfer portal. Ever. The guards that you listed are a fantasy until Woody proves that he can actually recruit a guard from the portal.
And even when (if) he can get a couple of guards, what then? His evaluation process seems to be getting the highest ranked players that he can. He's not, in any way, shown the ability to identify undervalued talent. That's a big part of the transfer portal.
He just recruits the highest ranked players and when he strikes out on them, he seems to have no backup plan and seems perplexed about why he fails. But it's the fans fault, right? LOL
He got the number 1 transfer big last year. Ware has been good. He's been playing like a highly recruited 5-star that everyone wanted both from high school and in the transfer portal.
So you're assuming that he's going to do it again? Maybe, but that's a rough way to fill out your roster. We've already seen a team that is just a bunch of different parts.
Successful coaches evaluate how well players fit together. They get to know the players over time, and decide who will fit well and who won't. That's one of the reasons that teams build chemistry. With a short transfer portal window, how will Woody do that? How does he ever do that in his last minute, late-spring recruiting?
Your good fantasy scenario is just that. A fantasy.
And it's fascinating to hear you talk about LM. So now you're speculating that even though he knew who was on the team already, he suddently decided that he doesn't want to play with some of these players? If they left, he'd want to come. Sure thing. I'm sure that's the reason that he reopened his recruiting. LOL
Occam's razor would indicate that he likely didn't like the way the team played this year and didn't want any part of it. Or maybe the rumors are true that Woodson didn't stay in contact. Not a big stretch to believe that. After all, Woodson doesn't seem to like recruiting that much, and he's certainly not experienced at it. How many players has Woody brought in that he recruited for a long time? That's what you get with a coach with zero college coaching experience prior to being hired.
