Okay, I'm going to make it a bit simpler, RJ.
1) We were going after Fahro and a host of other awful big bodies with a year of eligibility because our frontcourt is grossly inadequate for the ACC level. None of these players were ACC caliber, but they were all over 6'6 and could give us minutes. Fahro was allegedly a thug, but this kid sounded like a good kid. He put up Nikita numbers in a decent mid-major program. He could have given us spot minutes if we needed them and his one year of eligibility and solid intangibles make it a win-win situation for a rebuilding team. Once again, Danny Manning's comments reflect this; [Redacted]'s are absolutely inane (you can find them via the search function on the last thread).
Picking someone for a mid-major is vastly different than picking someone for a high-major. Danny understands this (and wouldn't be a bad replacement for [Redacted]-he is a local). He put up mediocre, and this is important, worse numbers than he did two years ago at a doormat program.
2) There's a big difference in getting freshmen experience and throwing guys into the fire. Daniel was thrown into the fire last year, for better or for worse. He gave us under a 2 PPG and 2 RPG in very few minutes per game. Tyler and Devin, whether you want to believe it or not, will struggle next season. They both play in utterly worthless HS leagues and Cav has just one season as a high-level AAU starter. I believe that they'll both be good players for us, but to assume that they're going to give us Travis production as freshman is naive. Andre's profile speaks for itself. I hope he pans out, but he'll have to have a great work ethic to turn into the player we need him to be.
Of course Devin and Tyler will struggle. Very few frosh won't. No one has EVER said they would give us Travis-like production as frosh. Certainly not me. don't even try saying I did. I never have.
3) Travis is not a PF nor should he be a PF (the same goes for Moto and Rountree). If I was him and was told that I was going to play out of position for the third straight year, then I'd leave. I've gained a ton of respect for Travis throughout all of this... He is a 6'7 SF and he plays inside because we don't have the personnel this or last year to allow him to play on the wing. Last season, our frontcourt rotation was as such:
PF: Travis/Nikita
C: Ty/Carson/Daniel
Of course I don't want Travis to play PF. I'd rather even the shorter Moto play that position on D.
As I've already pointed out, of those four true post players, just one is returning and he's approximately 8% of the foursome's scoring and 12% of its rebounding. He'll improve (and I think I may be his biggest fan on these boards), but we have a lot of ground to make up, seeing as all we're doing is replacing those four players with four freshman, two of whom are unknowns and one who we know can give us Daniel production, at best.
Travis (and Moto/Tree) will play PF to the detriment of this team.
4) Did I mention that we have scholarships, this kid had excellent intangibles, and we need bodies? Take a look at these numbers: Nikita had averaged 0.9 and 0.3 PPG at Georgetown during his sophomore year. He was a vital part of any improvement we made as a team last year.
Long before you came to the boards, I have had a consistent position that you don't give out a scholarship just because you have it.
5) You're still missing my point, RJ. Our staff told us that they were going to fill in the holes in our frontcourt with a grad-transfer or late signing. They were desperate and bent the standards of their self-imposed culture. There were plenty of options on the table and we know the players that they decided to go after. The latest was Fahro. If Danny Manning knew about this kid and his staff at one of the worst mid-major programs in the country was able to talk him into coming, then there's no reason why our staff couldn't have made a play on him. Manning is a proven evaluator of talent as one of Kansas's top recruiters and big men coaches and frankly, the whole thing is just embarrassing. That we're constantly being fed shovels-full of sh*t and expected to stand by our dear [Redacted] is just another insult to our team and its fans.
