Nick Babb

Knowing his brother's skill set... (defensively in particular) he would be worth taking a look at. Lil' Babb might not be as skilled offensively (he can develop) but seeing that he spent a year at Arkansas with their defensive style and his brother's reputation maybe this kid could develop into ISU's defensive specialist?

Every good team, every Final Four caliber team, every national championship caliber team has a guy in their lineup that isn't in there for their offense... they are in there for their ability to matchup against a key offensive player for the opposition and shut them down. If they contribute a little on the offensive end that is just a bonus.

Look at Amile Jefferson for Duke... The kid played an average of 18.5 minutes per game in the NCAA Tournament. He took a grand total of 11 shots in the entire tournament scoring a whopping 17 points overall. Against San Diego State, Gonzaga, Michigan State, and Wisconsin he took 1 shot total. He did have 28 boards, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. On the season overall the kid had 29 games where he scored single digits. Now why would Coach K have a kid in the game for 21 minutes on average per game for the entire season when he contributed very little offensively?
 
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Fred will play 8 guys, why does it matter who is on the end of the bench?

Why not have a transfer sitting out who you know can contribute next year or someone you think has high upside? Like others have said, if he visits here he'll play with the team and they'll go from there but this is a unique situation.
 
Not really, we've had two transfers have to pay their own way for a semester before, I don't see Fred just handing out a scholarship to have an extra body unless they have high upside. From everything Fred has shown in his recruiting strategy this doesn't add up is all I'm saying. He's been focusing on proven transfers, high level recruits or upside (Greek)
People here really do just talk out their ***.
Some examples of the same thing are Edozie and Bluford. That is just in the last couple seasons.
 
People here really do just talk out their ***.
Some examples of the same thing are Edozie and Bluford. That is just in the last couple seasons.

JUCO guys with 2 years on scholarship are different than a transfer who would be on scholarship for 4 years. Please find me any transfer that Fred has had visit that didn't prove their worth before they came.
 
Why not have a transfer sitting out who you know can contribute next year or someone you think has high upside? Like others have said, if he visits here he'll play with the team and they'll go from there but this is a unique situation.
All people are saying is that perhaps changed circumstances will dictate a little different approach.
 
He's a 6'5", 196lb guard. If he has decent speed and with that size, all he has to be able to do well is play defense. Develop an outside shot and we have Chris Babb 2.0. Worth the risk, IMO.
 

6.4 ppg, 4 rebounds, top 50 recruit out of HS.

I'm not saying Fred doesn't want him, I'm not saying things didn't change all I'm saying is this a unique situation since we didn't want him out of HS and it's not there is much to evaluate on what he did at Arkansas. We do know Arkansas had a 10 man rotation and he wasn't part of it
 
Nick Babb isn't some nobody recruit either. Out of high school, Rivals had him as a 3 star. 247 sports had him ranked 167 overall, 44th as SG and #11 in Texas. He had offers from 3 major conference schools plus Wichita State. ESPN had him ranked as the 17th best player in Texas.

He didn't play much for Arkansas last year, but Arkansas had a lot of upper classmen. They played 10 guys. 7 were Jrs and Srs. One of the sophmores was SEC player of the year and the freshman was the backup PG, not Babb's position. Seems like a tough rotation to crack.

For comparison, Babb was a higher rated recruit than both Ejim and his own brother.
 
Not saying we shouldn't take him, but he wouldn't even be getting discussed if his name wasn't Babb? That said, I am interested like many of you are at least in exploring the possibility.
 
6.4 ppg, 4 rebounds, top 50 recruit out of HS.

I'm not saying Fred doesn't want him, I'm not saying things didn't change all I'm saying is this a unique situation since we didn't want him out of HS and it's not there is much to evaluate on what he did at Arkansas. We do know Arkansas had a 10 man rotation and he wasn't part of it

We maybe just didn't have room for him out of high school.
 
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Naz to Nick comparison, Nick played on a 5 seed team, Naz on a 10 seed.
 
It doesn't hurt to bring him in and let him scrimmage against the team and see if Hoiberg would believe he'd have a role next year. It wouldn't be the first time that a player is brought in and didn't earn a scholly offer - Justin Edwards for example.
 
Nick also played on a much better team with more talent than Chris did. He obviously wouldn't start here, but could be a decent role player and 'pusher' guy. Who knows?

Exactly. PSU was terrible while Chris was there. He was the best player on the team. Nick played for a top 25 Arkansas team. He's a kid that has the chance to produce as a RS Junior and Senior. The potential is there.
 

I don't really have a big opinion either way, but Booker was viewed as one of the best players on Southern Illinois. His stats weren't awe-inspiring, but I talked to a number of people at the time that said we were getting a very solid player that was greatly improved.

He obviously didn't fit in really well with what Fred was going for, but I wasn't upset at the time his transfer was announced. And he was a top 50 player coming out of high school.



edit: cytwins beat me to it
 
So we shouldn't bring in a role guy because of the chance our guys are all going to get injured? We aren't Kentucky. We are currently projected to be a top 5 team going into next season. We need role guys who can come in and develop and maybe improve to a big time position. If we take Nick it is because Fred wants him, and what Fred wants, I want.