Bernman wrote:These two transfers seem underwhelming. Boyd was the 1 who stood out. But he's the one who hasn't been delivered, yet.
Rohde could be a 1-yr wonder. His sophomore yr was abysmal. Then he didn't even crack double-digits. Defense is adequate. Virginia's been bad. Apparently he's much better w/ the ball in his hands. But would that be justified w/ Blackwell, & Boyd or whoever else here?
Then the bad Rapp on the other kid is he couldn't crack 40% as a big, #'s dropped against better opposition, & is very slow.
I think you add another guard & just best talent available, ideally a 3. They have enough big bodies. Winter, Amos is a solid frontcourt.
Underwhelming?
I think the idea here is in theory Winter and Blackwell are your alphas and you are filling in a supporting cast. We are figuring out $ and the portal era, which is great, but we're still not a powerhouse that is going to buy the top 2 guys on the market to add to our 2 stellar returners (and Amos, if back, has great upside).
Boyd is the good version of Klesmit as the best comparison...but he does more with the ball in his hands, might be a bit smaller.
I understand the issues with Rapp given lower efficiency vs. better competition - I agree, could see a Rohde-like sophomore slump. But to do what Rapp did as a freshman is impressive and at worst he can space the floor.
Rohde is a very nice jack-of-all-trades. That slump at Virginia was likely due to stepping up in competition - but you see why other than Duke that most teams in the E8 are very senior-laden because guys like Broome and Baker-Mazara can be all-conference small conference players at age 20, but they can be all-conference major conference players at age 22 (in CBM's case, look what he can do at almost age 25).
