2023-24 Roster

[Lethal_Interjection]

Oh well, keep it moving.

[sweetness]

Akok is too skinny to play the 5, it has to be Cook with Mutombo as back-up. And Massoud is clearly the starting PF. He would've provided nice depth, but I'm ok with it. Fielder gets more minutes this way, which is better for the future.

[bostonfan]

Aug 10, 2023 12:55:38 GMT -5 sweetness said:

Akok is too skinny to play the 5, it has to be Cook with Mutombo as back-up. And Massoud is clearly the starting PF. He would've provided nice depth, but I'm ok with it. Fielder gets more minutes this way, which is better for the future.

Losing Akok is a significant loss. He is an experienced, multi-skilled player who showed last year that he plays with great effort on both ends of the floor. I think Cooley and his staff would have done a good job with him and allowed him to have his best season as a college player to date.

It sounds like he has different ideas and the team will miss him, but it seems like every year there are players and fans that want more minutes for various players. There are going to be a lot of minutes for everyone on the roster this year without Akok.

[HometownHoya]

Good luck to Akok. I'd imagine this didn't blindside Coach Cooley and he has multiple other plans in mind.

[MCIGuy]

Aug 10, 2023 13:30:38 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

Aug 10, 2023 12:55:38 GMT -5 sweetness said:

Akok is too skinny to play the 5, it has to be Cook with Mutombo as back-up. And Massoud is clearly the starting PF. He would've provided nice depth, but I'm ok with it. Fielder gets more minutes this way, which is better for the future.

Losing Akok is a significant loss. He is an experienced, multi-skilled player who showed last year that he plays with great effort on both ends of the floor. .

And he literally made no difference last season. Would be nice to have had him but I am happy the other guys will get more minutes.

[daveg023]

Akok would have made us more competitive this year, but if your focus is on a better team for 2024-2025, it's probably a better thing. I personally would like to see Mutombo get the minutes, as I think his ceiling is higher than Cook. Fielder is a wildcard though, and maybe he is the one that stands to benefit the most.

[bostonfan]

You have to believe that if Akok is entering the portal at this late date, he already knows where he is going to land. I am not throwing stones at anyone, because I think all the schools, including Georgetown, probably have back channel discussions with players who are committed to other teams, but the NCAA should really try to implement some type of "tampering" rules that keep teams from pursuing players who are on other rosters until they actually declare they are going into the portal.

Just a thought!!!

[DanMcQ]

[calhoya]

It's a shame to lose him as I would like to see what Cooley could have done with him. I was frustrated last year that his offense consisted of spot up corner shots from beyond the perimeter. Also thought his mobility could have been used much better on offense. However, this year there should be plenty of minutes for everyone and that hopefully includes Ryan and the Freshmen. Who knows maybe there is someone left in the portal that Cooley can bring in to help the depleted post position.

[hoyaboya]

Aug 10, 2023 14:00:54 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

You have to believe that if Akok is entering the portal at this late date, he already knows where he is going to land. I am not throwing stones at anyone, because I think all the schools, including Georgetown, probably have back channel discussions with players who are committed to other teams, but the NCAA should really try to implement some type of "tampering" rules that keep teams from pursuing players who are on other rosters until they actually declare they are going into the portal.

Just a thought!!!

Cooley tampered on both Hunter Dickinson and the Spencer kid from Rutgers, among others. Not sure how you police it, but we are not innocent here, as you state. Cooley just didn’t land the guys he tampered with.

[jackofjoy]

Aug 10, 2023 18:14:25 GMT -5 hoyaboya said:

Aug 10, 2023 14:00:54 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

You have to believe that if Akok is entering the portal at this late date, he already knows where he is going to land. I am not throwing stones at anyone, because I think all the schools, including Georgetown, probably have back channel discussions with players who are committed to other teams, but the NCAA should really try to implement some type of "tampering" rules that keep teams from pursuing players who are on other rosters until they actually declare they are going into the portal.

Just a thought!!!

Cooley tampered on both Hunter Dickinson and the Spencer kid from Rutgers, among others. Not sure how you police it, but we are not innocent here, as you state. Cooley just didn’t land the guys he tampered with.

The idea that the concept of “tampering” still exists in a world of NIL is another idiocy of the NCAA

[hoyasaxa2003]

Aug 10, 2023 18:14:25 GMT -5 hoyaboya said:

Aug 10, 2023 14:00:54 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

You have to believe that if Akok is entering the portal at this late date, he already knows where he is going to land. I am not throwing stones at anyone, because I think all the schools, including Georgetown, probably have back channel discussions with players who are committed to other teams, but the NCAA should really try to implement some type of "tampering" rules that keep teams from pursuing players who are on other rosters until they actually declare they are going into the portal.

Just a thought!!!

Cooley tampered on both Hunter Dickinson and the Spencer kid from Rutgers, among others. Not sure how you police it, but we are not innocent here, as you state. Cooley just didn’t land the guys he tampered with.

Based on how people use the word "tampered," I am guessing every NCAA high major coach is guilty of "tampering." The idea that kids aren't going to talk to potential suitors before they announce entry into the portal is naive. That doesn't make it a good thing--it's not--but it happens all the time, and happened well before NIL was even a thing. NIL is just an accelerant on a lot of this stuff.

[DanMcQ]

[hoyas315]

According to sources, West Virginia had indeed offered Akok a bigger NIL package than what he was getting at Georgetown. However, Akok wanted a certain figure to enter the portal, and WVU wasn’t giving him the exact number he wanted, which is why this situation has been fluid for several weeks now.

[TC]

If the difference here is that Fielder and Mutombo both get 15 more minutes than they would have, I honestly think this is a win/win. We're going to get developmental time for two players we're going to need in 2024-2025 and that have not used a free transfer, and Akok gets his additional NIL $ and gets to go play for a last place team and another Coach who won't have a job in a year and gets to soak up all the garbage time minutes he wants.

We had this discussion last month and the general consensus was that with Akok in the lineup, both Fielder and Mutombo would be pretty much be entirely edged out of the rotation :
hoyatalk2.proboards.com/post/1030890/thread

The downside here is that we still need a couple of frontcourt bodies - but filling those roles is going to be hard. We need a couple of players that (a) don't have huge playing time expectations (b) are available in August (c) won't screw up our APR.

[blueandgray]

Losing Akok is an undeniable blow to the team. We were always going to finish in the bottom third of the conference …this May have cemented 10th or 11th place though.

But yes, the focus has always been on next year…so from that perspective…this doesn’t change anything.

[thedragon]

Per usual, it's become pretty apparent that Hilltop Hoops / Aidan has the best sources of any Hoya hoops contributor out there. They were on this weeks ago while pay sites were sourcing Akok as staying as recently as Monday.

As for Akok, can't fault the kid at all. Hope he has a good final year of eligibility and appreciate his contribution to a tough situation.

[prhoya]

Aug 11, 2023 6:22:29 GMT -5 hoyas315 said:

Philly is all in.

[hoyasaxaphone]

If this is about $$$, which I think it must be, it sucks. Cooley would have coached Akok and used him effectively but, yeah, not going to be a post-season at Georgetown or in Morgantown so why not collect a bit more change. So much for college athletics. I agree that this development will help give other players more playing time who need it for the future.

[prhoya]

Aug 11, 2023 6:22:29 GMT -5 hoyas315 said:

According to sources, West Virginia had indeed offered Akok a bigger NIL package than what he was getting at Georgetown. However, Akok wanted a certain figure to enter the portal, and WVU wasn’t giving him the exact number he wanted, which is why this situation has been fluid for several weeks now.

What is going on with the NIL$ bag that GU supposedly had for Dickinson? IIRC, since that failed recruitment, we haven’t signed a top eligible player who required a substantial NIL$ amount. Why couldn’t Akok get a larger cut from the allegedly available NIL$? Is Cooley holding out for someone coming soon?

Asked about the mass exodus in his initial press conferences, he said that he didn’t want any players who didn’t want to be here (and I agree). Is that the case with Akok or was it NIL$? Supposedly, Cooley has an open-door policy. Someone (Hilltop, I’m looking at you) should stop by and ask him.

I’m a Cooley fan and I will not blame him for this past season’s mass exodus, but Akok is on him. It’s not like this situation caught him by surprise. This has been brewing for weeks.

It’s a week before the fall semester starts and we have 10 scholarship players. We have gone from having an old, experienced BE starter in a position without a proven backup (Ish plays more like a SF), with all the available pt that he could manage, to having no experienced PF and having to play the position by committee. I was looking forward to seeing what Cooley could do for Akok’s offensive game.

It’s August and, once again, GU doesn’t have a set roster. When we signed Cooley, I didn’t think we would be in this situation yet again.