His role here would have been limited but we have an influx of talent that isn’t common among even high majors.
Any coach that gives Mag a green light from 3 at this point should have his clipboard and head examined for cracks.
He could be a very valuable player for a lot of major schools where they already have two or three scorers but are a bit soft.
That’s a decent number of schools right now.
We just over-indexed this year on guys who couldn’t put the ball in the hoop from the guard position or play strong on-ball defense at the 3-4-5 spots.
Basketball is very much about matchups.
Guys like McConnell and Mag are valuable because you can say to them - neutralize the opponents best scorer - who is often their 2 or 3- and the other 4 guys we have are better than the opponents other 4 guys.
There aren’t many guys who have that kind of mentality and athleticism for 30+ minutes per night.
They are built differently.
It is also a strategy that works.
However, it is IMPERATIVE that you win to reward this sacrifice, have complementary players who are much better offensively and have a culture that rewards performance over politics.
Because it needs to be as obvious to him as everyone else that every shot he takes away from scoring options 1,2 and 3 better be good ones.
This is where leadership comes in and is increasingly difficult if there’s a talent issue, which we had this year when Cam left.
The head coach, assistant coaches, veteran teammates, parents and other advisors all have competing perspectives and often conflicting opinions.
To get a 18-22 year old young man to see things in perspective is not easy and it’s ultimately their life to live.
Mag can be a very valuable player for the right program and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go to an ACC, SEC, B1G or Big East school and get starters minutes even if he comes in as a sixth man.
But he will have to convince people he’s both healthy and not a quitter. It would have been much easier for him had he played out the year and stayed in good graces with Pike.
It could turn out to be a $400k mistake or not matter at all.
The market is neither rational or efficient.
