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I have no inside information on any of these guys at all. I just want to throw that out there first and foremost.
It is getting late to sign a 2017 recruit. But what do we do with Caleb Swanigan’s scholarship if he stays in the NBA Draft? Well there are 3 options.
Sign a 2017 recruit, which is starting to seem unlikely.
Get a 5th year transfer to fill the hole for one year. Which will make it open in 2018 anyway.
Waste an open spot, wait until 2018 to fill the void, or give it to a walk on player for a season.
That is where we are at currently. So, who is out there? I am only going to focus on big men, as in Centers or Power Forwards, because, I think we are set in the back court and wings. (I am leaving Trevor Thompson out as I have talked about him before)
Ahmed Hamdy Mohamed - VCU, 6’9” 240 Pounds, Center, 6 PPG, 4 RPG
Ahmed is a back to the basket type post player. He is pretty athletic, he is a shorter center at only 6’9”. In this video it doesn’t show that he can really stretch the defense or his rebounding ability. He wouldn’t be a bad option, but he isn’t 1A for me.
Mark Donnal - Michigan, 6’9”, 240 Pounds, Center, 4 PPG, 2 RPG
Donnal is a familiar face for us. He has never been really dominant, but he gets up and down the court really well. He would be more of a defensive plug, as he doesn’t have great scoring ability, but his motor would be nice to have.
Kameron Rooks - Cal, 7’, 260 Pounds, Center, 5 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Rooks is a big center. He doesn’t move all that great, his highlights are from his senior year in high school. But since being at Cal, he has thinned out and out some muscle on. He wouldn’t be bad to back up Haas, maybe Isaac could do 26 minutes and Rooks could fill in for 14.
Jack Whitman - William & Mary, 6’9”, 235 Pounds, Power Forward, 10 PPG, 5 RPG
Whitman is option 1A for me. I like his game a lot. He can take it off the dribble, slice the defense and has a nice back to the basket game. He would fill in well for Biggie, obviously, no one replaces Biggie, but I think Whitman could play some serious minutes.
MiKyle McIntosh - Illinois State, 6’7”, 235 Pounds, Power Forward, 12.5 PPG, 6 RPG
McIntosh is another great 5th year option. He was one of the leaders for Illinois State. He can also score in a variety of ways, but is solid on defense as well. He can shoot a jumper but play under the basket as well.
Hans Brase - Princetion, 6’8” 230 Pounds, Power Forward, 11.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG (2015-2016)
Brase has a good story. He was a leader for the Princeton Tigers in the 2015-2016 campaign. Showing a great ability to score off the dribble, back to the basket and shoot. He is a solid sized, smart kid. He had a brutal knee injury that held him out last season, you can see his story in the video below.
Who knows what Biggie will decide, or what Coach Painter could decide as well. But there were just a few options that could fill in as a quick 5th year transfer.