hilltopalum wrote:Jacob based on what you’ve seen from the guys Creighton has been linked with what is your pecking order?
Haven't dug in enough to feel too strongly at this point. I typically don't like wasting my time on guys who aren't going to end up in a CU jersey.
Sam Vecenie's list at The Athletic has Tylor Perry ranked second overall among all players currently in the portal (one spot ahead of Nembhard). He's much more of a scoring guard than he is a true point, but I think if you have Trey back he gives you the flexibility to take the best guard you can get whether he's a 1 or a 2 and you can feel good about it. Creighton was at its most unguardable during the brief stints when Nembhard was knocking down pull-up jumpers (including 3s), and that's what Perry does in addition to operating well out of ball screens. He puts you right back in the quandary of having a small guard for teams to target on defense, but it sounds like Perry is pretty solid on that end.
Steven Ashworth is 7th on Vecenie's list. He's interesting in that he's a better passer than Perry, but Perry's better creating off the bounce. I think he'd also pair well with Trey if the latter continues to expand his off-the-dribble game and ability to put pressure on the rim. Ashworth is a really good pick-and-roll player but is also an elite off-ball scorer with his shooting ability and constant movement. He's not that much bigger than Nembhard, and while he seems to be fairly smart, I'm not sure what kind of defender he is from a physical standpoint.
Taran Armstrong is 44th in Vecenie's rankings, and he thinks it's a little wild that other places have him as a top-5/10 transfer. The shooting and defensive concerns are very real. That being said, he really likes the fit if Armstrong were to pick Creighton. Gives you more size across the board, though I don't know that I love Armstrong and Baylor as your wings on defense if Trey has to guard point guards. He's such a good passer and smart player that he'd thrive in Creighton's offense with the weapons around him, but again, the shooting concerns put a bit of a ceiling on the offense like we saw with Nembhard during his cold stretches.
Javian McCollum is 58th in Vecenie's rankings. Electric with the ball in his hands, great in ball screens, can get to the foul line and shoot off the bounce. But he dealt with some injury issues that limited his effectiveness for part of the season. Sam's biggest area of concern is that he's just 155 pounds, and it's difficult to be effective and efficient consistently on both ends at the high-major level when you're so slight.
FWIW, Trelly Wrightsell is 49th in Sam's rankings.
Andrew Rohde is No. 32 in his rankings, though it seems like the Creighton interest was pre-Nembhard defection and they could be looking at him for a different role, either as a replacement in the event that they lose Trey or Baylor or perhaps as a sixth man to provide the offensive punch they were missing off the bench last year.
