Enaruna makes it official, hits the portal

WhoISthis

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I also get the feeling his game is suited more to playing a hybrid big/wing role on offense given everywhere he played before ISU, for the Dutch national team he was listed as a SG. Don't know if he has the ball handling for that at this level and there were a lot more potential minutes available in the post last year so it just maybe wasn't an ideal fit.
Imo his ball-handling is sufficient if being defended by a frontcourt player- he needs ISU era Hoiberg that was known as one of the best at dictating mismatches.

You don't bring Enaruna in if you want him to play junkyard dog. And although he's not bad on defense, not like CF thinks, he is not going to beat out other bigs at the 5 in our scheme, and he's not going to be as savvy in the no-volume role as Kunc
 

isucy86

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Spot on. Three things were weird during February. Jaden Walker’s increased minutes, and the absences of Tristen Enaruna and Tre Jackson for whatever reason. I think Tristan has talent, just has to be in the right system.

IMO TJ was willing to experiment a bit with his 8th guy from a PT standpoint. At the same time, giving ISU the best chance to win. Grill was going to be his top bench player at the 1-4 spots and Jones was going to be Conditt's backup.

He gave Jackson, Enaruna and Walker all shots to show they were Big12 caliber players during the season, mainly at different times. But IMO none of them stepped up consistently. They all had some nice moments, but just not enough of them to be on next year's team.

Like it or not, with the transfer portal coaches are going to try to upgrade their full roster each off season.
 

WhoISthis

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IMO TJ was willing to experiment a bit with his 8th guy from a PT standpoint. At the same time, giving ISU the best chance to win. Grill was going to be his top bench player at the 1-4 spots and Jones was going to be Conditt's backup.

He gave Jackson, Enaruna and Walker all shots to show they were Big12 caliber players during the season, mainly at different times. But IMO none of them stepped up consistently. They all had some nice moments, but just not enough of them to be on next year's team.

Like it or not, with the transfer portal coaches are going to try to upgrade their full roster each off season.
Starting Enaruna is an odd experiment.

He's just as much a Big 12 caliber player as Jones, but Jones may more readily accept the 10th man role.

The 2 and the 5 were the positions most in need of upgrading imo
 
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blutarsky

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It is hard to produce if you don't get consistent minutes.

Going for 23 and 8 in 28 minutes in our close loss to #1 Baylor, but only a couple games before that only getting 10 minutes against Jackson St and 10 minutes against SELA. 12 minutes against Alabama St, 16 minutes against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

It wasn't talent or inability to produce. It was how he was used, or rather not used. That could be all on Enaruna, or it could also be some on the staff. We didn't use ANY of our bigs the way he would need to be used. We did not show an ability or desire to use multiple small-ball forwards. He needs to be in a small-ball frontcourt that plays with pace and gets volume imo, Our bigs were all low-production, low-volume roles. I don't think Enaruna took to that well. He was exactly who it seemed like when we recruited him imo. I'm surprised we signed him in hindsight
I'll push back slightly. Especially on the idea that Enaruna needed more minutes. I agree that players need "game" minutes to gain experience and develop. That said this staff had ample practice time with Enaruna. He also received some meaningful game minutes and flashed potential with defensive liability. If there is ONE thing this staff values ... it's defense. It's not a shock that both player and program are parting in this case.
 
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isucy86

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Starting Enaruna is an odd experiment.

He's just as much a Big 12 caliber player as Jones, but Jones may more readily accept the 10th man role.

The 2 and the 5 were the positions most in need of upgrading imo

Jones & Enaruna bring 2 different skill sets and approaches to the game.

Jones brings a motor and some toughness to the roster. He is also a true 5. I realize you don't value having a true 5, but it's pretty obvious TJ does. Jones doesn't have much upside, but i am sure TJ appreciates the consistency he brings when he steps on the court.

I am not sure what to think of Enaruna's game. People talk about a skilled wing player, but he didn't take many. IMO he could be a skilled low-post player on offense, but I don't think that is where his heart is.

It's not like he had much success at KU either. They recruit at a different level than ISU, but he didn't get much of a shot their either. Seems to me TJ took a risk that a change of scenery might help, but it didn't.
 

cyclonehomer

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Best of luck Enaruna. Hopefully this thread can put a bow on the endless whining about his playing time from a certain segment of our fan base.
My guess for who gets the most threads is Lipsey.
 

isucy86

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Without a waiver I believe he would.

Seems like there are a ton of guys in the portal who just transferred last spring.

Seems like players are expecting the exception process to be pretty lenient. Not sure if they feel NCAA will turn a blind eye in cases where there is a coaching change or maybe their prior school giving the OK. If ISU encouraged Tristan to transfer, then maybe he can get a waiver.
 
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Pat

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Without a waiver I believe he would.

Did the one-time transfer rule end grad transfers? I thought that if a player graduated they could transfer a second time and play immediately, but I might have misunderstood.
 

Cyclonepride

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Guy has a lot of talent, and I think he will flourish in the right system. I'm not going to pretend I know exactly what didn't fit with ours, but it is my suspicion that it was help defense (the timing of which is pretty critical for it to work this well). Definitely wish him the best, someone is going to be very happy once he hits his stride.
 
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