2021 Class

[Trifecta]

We should pocket the scholarship and use it on a HS player or transfer in 2022. We have a very large and deep roster now. And very young...saving it for the future can help balance out the scholarship matrix a bit.

[vivid_dude]

We don’t need anything else right now.

How frickin’ amazing is it to be able to say that? And I don’t think anyone would disagree. What a roller coaster the last several months have been. Love where the ride has ended.

On to the ‘22 class…

[SeattleJay]

With Jones leaving, how many open scholarships do we have? I think it’s 2 but there have been a lot of moving pieces lately.

Of course, whether we use them or not is a different question.

[Bluejoe]

1 open scholarship currently.

[JacobPadilla]

Just as a thought experiment, I looked up what each of the players from the 2020 class ranked in the same spots as Creighton's 2021 recruits did this year as freshmen.

46 (Kaluma): Moses Moody, Arkansas (33.8 MPG, 16.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, .568 TS%) - one-and-done
66 (Nembhard): Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (26.7 MPG, 12.2 PPG 7.1 RPG, 1.2 APG, .562 TS%)
71 (Miller): Cam’Ron Fletcher, Kentucky (9 GP, 6.6 MPG, 1.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.3 APG, .538 TS%) - transferred
73 (Alexander): Cam Hayes, NC State (23.6 MPG, 7.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 3.1 APG, .507 TS%)
147 (Christofilis): Woody Newton, Syracuse (11 games, 7.9 MPG, 3.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 0.1 APG, .597 TS%) - transferred

Moody was severely under-ranked (and many thought so before he even played at Arkansas) and he'll likely be a lottery pick this year.

For more of a range, let's look at players within 5 spots on either side.

Kaluma
41: Mady Sissoko, Michigan State (5.4 MPG, 1.1 PPG, 1.8 RPG, .549 TS%)
42: Jaemyn Brakefield, Duke (12.5 MPG, 3.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.5 APG, .477 TS%) - transferred
43: Hunter Dickinson, Michigan (26.0 MPG, 14.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 0.9 APG, .628 TS%)
44: Trey Patterson, Villanova (played 3 minutes; 2021 recruit who graduated early and enrolled in January)
47: Andre Curbelo, Illinois (21.5 MPG, 9.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.2 APG, .548 TS%)
48: Samson Ruzhentsev, Florida (7.4 MPG, 2.0 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.1 APG, .461 TS%)
49: Mac Etienne, UCLA (13 GP, 11.2 MPG, 2.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG,0.2 APG, .554 TS%)
50: RJ Davis, North Carolina (22.3 MPG, 8.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, .475 TS%)
51: Cliff Omoruyi, Rutgers (14.9 MPG, 3.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.2 APG, .699 TS%)

Nembhard, Miller, Alexander
61: KJ Martin, went pro
62: Josh Primo, Alabama (22.5 MPG, 8.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.8 APG, .565 TS%)
63: Khalen Robinson, Arkansas (11 GP, 8.4 MPG, 2.6 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 1.0 APG, .585 TS%)
64: Deivon Smith, Mississippi State (22.5 MPG, 5.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.9 APG, .411 TS%) - transferred
65: Alex Tchikou, Alabama (missed season with torn Achilles)
67: Jaxson Robinson, Texas A&M (14 GP, 9.8 MPG, 2.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.3 APG, .477 TS%) - transferred
68: Kai Sotto, went pro
69: Puff Johnson, North Carolina (14 GP, 4.1 MPG, 1.1 PPG, 0.5 RPG, 0.1 APG, .502 TS%)
70: Reece Beekman, Virginia (29.4 MPG, 4.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, .469 TS%)
72: Julian Strawther, Gonzaga (7.4 MPG, 3.4 PPG, 1.2 RPG, .595 TS%)
74: Dominick Harris, Gonzaga (7.2 MPG, 3.0 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.4 APG, .549 TS%)
75: Mwani Wilkinson, LSU (17.0 MPG, 3.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.6 APG, .793 TS%)
76: Jordan Nesbitt, Memphis (played 11 minutes in 3 games) - transferred
77: Rati Andronikashvili, Creighton (missed season with torn ACL)
78: Xavier Foster, Iowa State (7 GP, 7.9 MPG, 4.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.1 APG, .724TS%) - suffered season-ending injury

Christofilis
142: Max Murrell, Stanford (7.9 MPG, 2.3 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 0.2 APG, .638 TS%)
143: Eugene Brown III, Ohio State (6.2 MPG, 1.2 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.2 APG, .450 TS%)
144: David Jones, DePaul (9 GP, 14.3 MPG, 5.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.4 APG, .401 TS%) - reclassified from 2021
145: Carlos Rosario, Washington State (7 GP, 5.3 MPG, 0.3 PPG, 0.6 RPG, .145 TS%) - dealt with medical problems
146: Sam Mennenga, Davidson (23.2 MPG, 6.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.0 APG, .435 TS%)
148: Gabe Wiznitzer, Louisville (12 GP, 5.8 MPG, 1.1 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.3 APG, .401 TS%) - reclassified from 2021
149: Niels Lane, Florida (14 GP, 5.8 MPG, 1.1 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.3 APG, .343 TS%)
150: Chris Moore, Auburn (11.3 MPG, 2.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.5 APG, .623 TS%)
151: Szymon Zapala, Utah State (13 GP, 3.8 MPG, 1.1 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.2 APG, .395 TS%)
152: Josh Taylor, Georgia (7 GP, 2.7 MPG, 0.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG, .250 TS%)

To sum this up, from a group of 37 2020 recruits all ranked in the same range as CU's 2021 recruits, we have:
>> 3 double-digit scorers (including two stars in Moody and Dickinson)
>> 4 guys who averaged between 7 and 10 PPG (2 struggled with efficiency, 2 were solid for good teams)
>> 4 guys who had most or al of the season wiped out by injuries
>> A whole bunch of guys who played small roles and/or really struggled when they did play
>> 5 guys who entered the transfer portal during or after the season

With so many minutes up for grabs at CU, at least a few of these guys should be able to earn significant roles as freshmen. Will be interesting to see who those guys are and how well they play.

[Nord]

Very interesting. Well done Jacob. In short, expect most guys to be modest and this season will likely not be a top 3-5 in the BE type of season. But still this class could be stellar as Sophomores and Juniors, even if one will likely transfer.

[JD4JAYS]

I expect out of the freshmen what we got out of Kalk last year. Played quality minutes, gave max effort, and you’d see flashes but you can tell they need a year.

[gtmoBlue]

Another way of looking at this is:

While only 1 or 2 of the Five new frosh may contribute significantly, all will have an opportunity to do so.
Thus the team will rely heavily on the 3 seniors, Shereef, Kalkbrenner, Rati, and Mo. With 5 returnees - 3 with significant prior PT
and adding in the 2 Sr transfers, I see no need to panic. If we have 2 frosh of the five who contribute -that gives the team a 9 man rotation.

Nothing in Jacob's data brief indicates aJays drop from the top tier of the BE. You presuppose that every other team in the league will be
better while the bottom has fallen out with us. Far from the reality of many teams having to integrate new players, learn their systems,
gel as a unit, and learn to win as a team. Every team except Nova and maybe Uconn will have these issues.

Hawkins, Feazell, AOC, Shereef, and Ryan K. give us an initial starting 5. Whomever grades best from Modestas,
Rati, Arthur, Mason, Trey, John, and Ryan N. will give us the first group of 3 or 4 guys off the bench.
Nothing is in stone, so rotations and starters will change over time. I maintain that CU has a very good shot at maintaining top tier status. If 2 (or more)
true frosh become regular and significant contributors, we will compete for the title.

[Syajeulb]

Another way of looking at this is:

While only 1 or 2 of the Five new frosh may contribute significantly, all will have an opportunity to do so.
Thus the team will rely heavily on the 3 seniors, Shereef, Kalkbrenner, Rati, and Mo. With 5 returnees - 3 with significant prior PT
and adding in the 2 Sr transfers, I see no need to panic. If we have 2 frosh of the five who contribute -that gives the team a 9 man rotation.

Nothing in Jacob's data brief indicates aJays drop from the top tier of the BE. You presuppose that every other team in the league will be
better while the bottom has fallen out with us. Far from the reality of many teams having to integrate new players, learn their systems,
gel as a unit, and learn to win as a team. Every team except Nova and maybe Uconn will have these issues.

Hawkins, Feazell, AOC, Shereef, and Ryan K. give us an initial starting 5. Whomever grades best from Modestas,
Rati, Arthur, Mason, Trey, John, and Ryan N. will give us the first group of 3 or 4 guys off the bench.
Nothing is in stone, so rotations and starters will change over time. I maintain that CU has a very good shot at maintaining top tier status. If 2 (or more)
true frosh become regular and significant contributors, we will compete for the title.

Of all the possible combinations we will have, the one I'm pretty sure we will never see is Kalkbrenner and Feazell together on the floor.

[REALITY]

Jacob's analysis is interesting and I appreciate his work putting that together, but how many of those teams that he listed lost all of their previous season's starters? The production those comparison players put up is not in a vacuum and not indicative of the actual talent (and thus potential production) of our additions. The only really informative piece in all of that is the upper and lower end bounds (season-ending injury/planted on bench and likely NBA lottery pick), but even that is a highly impacted by the situation the player lands in.