WTKA Roundtable 2/6/2025: Pick Your Tradeoff

Things Discussed:

Signing Day: Got the most talent on offense since…1998? Down the list:

• OL: Two of the highest-ranked OTs in the history of the program, Gach was a Priority 1 for the program, Strayhorn is a center.
• RB: Jasper Parker the sites just missed; poorer man's Adrian Peterson. M thinks DJ is healthy.
• WR: Marsh was a big pull vs heavy hitters, Year 1 player. Browder needs development but Junior Hemingway upside. Washington is tall and can move well.
• TE: Owens is a Bredeson, really hurts that they missed on Olesh.
• DL: We love the heavy-handed build-a-bears that Esposito recruits. Remember his WMU guys? Moten and Patterson are going to be those guys too. Lou is convinced Benny Patterson is the guy. Kanka is a Godin. Marshall was a Priority and a big win. Can't expect them to get the scouting coup of the century with Graham and Grant every year but they can scout and now they can win the guys they scouted.

Basketball:

• Every guy is good with a tradeoff, and that tradeoff is turnovers, e.g. look at the defense that Roddy Gayle (and Pippen) played on Ace Bailey.
• Rutgers: We got a break by missing Harper, who just shredded Illinois.
• Oregon game: the mental errors are baked in at this point, like they're not going to score at the rim as well as you want them to.
• Also baked in is the fact that they switch everything and play drop coverage, so your Shelstad types who make 50%+ of other twos after attacking a Goldin or Wolf are going to score.
• Sugarplum vision of a top-3 seed and winning the B10 is probably gone. All but one of their remaining games (all but Rutgers at home) are Kenpom A (top-50) tier, IE Q1 opportunities.