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Transfer portal

egib52 said:
Underutilized?!? He was a starter most of the season even though he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.
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Yeah I don’t think he fit the style of the other “gas pedal” guards they had, and Hawkins also out there perimeter clogging it up. He only took 5 shots a game, I think he’s more of a scorer/creator than a knockdown shooter.. but with the personnel they had we didn’t get to see him in that role. I think he will be good somewhere.
 
I guess I agree with both you guys. RJ Melendez was a spectacular high school player, and got numerous high-major offers. He's an athletic big shooting guard, 6'6" with good ball handling skills and shot creating skills. He's not a point guard, so no surprise that he averaged less than 1 assist per game. He would be a good player in a system that featured him as one of their primary scorers. He did play a lot this season (21.5 mpg), but never seemed to be as big a part of the Illini offense as he could have been. It appeared Underwood favored portal import gunners like Terrance Shannon (32% from three) and Matthew Mayer (33% from three) over his own recruits.
I'm not surprised that highly regarded recruits like 4-star guards Skyy Clark and Jayden Epps are bailing out of Illinois, along with Melendez.

I haven't heard if Bradley is recruiting him, but I hope they are.
IMO, if he transferred into the MVC, he'd be an All-MVC player. But I expect him to land at another Power 5/6 school.
 
Da Coach said:
I guess I agree with both you guys. RJ Melendez was a spectacular high school player, and got numerous high-major offers. He's an athletic big shooting guard, 6'6" with good ball handling skills and shot creating skills. He's not a point guard, so no surprise that he averaged less than 1 assist per game. He would be a good player in a system that featured him as one of their primary scorers. He did play a lot this season (21.5 mpg), but never seemed to be as big a part of the Illini offense as he could have been. It appeared Underwood favored portal import gunners like Terrance Shannon (32% from three) and Matthew Mayer (33% from three) over his own recruits.
I'm not surprised that highly regarded recruits like 4-star guards Skyy Clark and Jayden Epps are bailing out of Illinois, along with Melendez.

I haven't heard if Bradley is recruiting him, but I hope they are.
IMO, if he transferred into the MVC, he'd be an All-MVC player. But I expect him to land at another Power 5/6 school.
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Yeah definitely, he would excel a lot in the MVC.

There have to be a lot of players in the portal that were either not getting minutes they thought they should be getting at their power5 school, or were recruited over and pushed into the portal. Its going to be interesting to see where these players end up in general. Will there be enough bottom feeder power5 schools to pick them up? Or will they want or be forced to go down to a mid-major conference?
 
Stryker said:
Yeah definitely, he would excel a lot in the MVC.

There have to be a lot of players in the portal that were either not getting minutes they thought they should be getting at their power5 school, or were recruited over and pushed into the portal. Its going to be interesting to see where these players end up in general. Will there be enough bottom feeder power5 schools to pick them up? Or will they want or be forced to go down to a mid-major conference?
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Their best bet would be go to a mid-major conference where they would get more playing time and more notoriety. If they go to bottom feeders then they will stay down there and not be recognized because they are on a poor team
 
bradleyfan124 said:
Their best bet would be go to a mid-major conference where they would get more playing time and more notoriety. If they go to bottom feeders then they will stay down there and not be recognized because they are on a poor team
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Absolutely, but they may still have better NIL deals there, and may consider it for the $$. Who knows how this will all fall out. Hopefully younger kids and highschool recruits are all of this closely...
 
I could see Melendez transferring to a lower tier Power 5 conference team like Wake Forest. Their head coach Steve Forbes seem to like athletic wings like Melendez.
 
Da Coach said:
I guess I agree with both you guys. RJ Melendez was a spectacular high school player, and got numerous high-major offers. He's an athletic big shooting guard, 6'6" with good ball handling skills and shot creating skills. He's not a point guard, so no surprise that he averaged less than 1 assist per game. He would be a good player in a system that featured him as one of their primary scorers. He did play a lot this season (21.5 mpg), but never seemed to be as big a part of the Illini offense as he could have been. It appeared Underwood favored portal import gunners like Terrance Shannon (32% from three) and Matthew Mayer (33% from three) over his own recruits.
I'm not surprised that highly regarded recruits like 4-star guards Skyy Clark and Jayden Epps are bailing out of Illinois, along with Melendez.

I haven't heard if Bradley is recruiting him, but I hope they are.
IMO, if he transferred into the MVC, he'd be an All-MVC player. But I expect him to land at another Power 5/6 school.
Click to expand...

If he's smart, he'd follow what his fellow Illinois recruit Podz did at Santa Clara, and replicate it. However, he's not as good a shooter. Most likely will end up at a P6.
 
Another familiar name in the portal- Latrell Wrightsell, Jr. He was a 2020 recruit that attended the October 13, 2018, Red-White game and Bradley offered him while he was here-
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...day#post465854

He ended up committing to Cal State Fullerton, and has spent 3 seasons there. He just entered the transfer portal, looking to transfer. He has nice numbers, and was named 1st team All-Big West Conference.
https://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/m-baskbl/2022-23/releases/20230306oh7d3y

Bio- https://www.fullertontitans.com/spor...._latrell_e9o0
Stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...-wrightsell-jr

I do not know if Bradley is recruiting him. He might be looking for a Power 5 school. He would have 2 years of eligibility left.
 
egib52 on 3/13/23 said:
https://twitter.com/VerbalCommits/st...IOwA4hBpw&s=19
Noah Reynolds to the portal.
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Da Coach on 3/13/23 said:
Noah Reynolds played limited minutes his freshman season at Wyoming- 11 mpg, and he averaged 2.9 ppg. But as a sophomore, he played 25 mpg, and his scoring average improved to 14.5 ppg. That was 2nd highest on the Wyoming team.
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba.../noah-reynolds
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Former Peoria Notre Dame star, and one time Bradley recruit Noah Reynolds, who entered the transfer portal after 2 seasons at Wyoming commits to Wisconsin.
https://twitter.com/noahreynolds21/s...75689529892865
https://twitter.com/Evan_Flood/statu...76422513606663
https://verbalcommits.com/players/noah-reynolds

Good for him. Did not see that coming.
 
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