NSJ, AB, Council, Walsh quotes on their seasons + futures

Basketball Insider Board
#1

Here are quotes I got tonight from Nick Smith, Anthony Black, Ricky Council and Jordan Walsh about their futures and their seasons overall:

Nick Smith

“It was a fun year for me. The guys, I love these guys. It was probably one of the most (enjoyable teams) personality-wise I’ve been on individually, starting with Coach Muss. I just appreciate the time these guys gave me. We’ll see moving forward.”

“I don’t know what the future may hold, but just them embracing me getting back on the court is probably one of the…it touches my heart a little bit. I just appreciate the fans, I appreciate my parents and my friends and family that stuck behind me no matter what situation it was. Like I said, I get to learn from this experience. By this time next year I’ll be ready.”

“Timing, knowing how to handle situations, going about things a little differently. I’m just a normal 18 year old going through life. Y’all have been 18 before and I’m pretty sure y’all know what I’m talking about. Pretty much just coming here and learning a whole bunch of stuff outside of basketball, man. It’s been an experience, for sure, but it’s an experience I’ll remember, for sure.”

“Physically, I’m good, but those times I was out in the season, it took a toll on me, as it will anybody. But hopefully there will be no injuries next year and I’ll be ready, for sure.”

Anthony Black

“I think what I’m going to learn from this is just how hard it is because we win two games and we’re playing well and we just…we came out of this game, played against a really good team. They jumped on us early. Definitely I’ll tell anybody who is going to go through this how hard it is, just listen to people who have been there before, they know what they’re talking about. But I mean, it was a good season for the most part. And I had fun this year.”

Ricky Council

“I’ll probably no-comment on (my future) at the moment. I really don’t know. I’ve got to sit down and think about it.”

“Long year. Really special for me personally. Beat the odds, long year with major pieces of the team getting injured and coming back, losing Trevon for the whole year, it was tough. Not using it as an excuse. It’s been a tough year. We beat the odds, in our opinion. To make it this far is a blessing.”

“All of this is a surprise to me. I didn’t believe this would happen. This was my hope of what’s happened this year. And it actually happened. That rarely happens in this life. It was all a dream come true. In the next couple of weeks it’ll just start hitting me. … I’ll say it was more of a surprise for the outside. Just seeing some of the comments people say about us, they didn’t expect us to get this far. Nobody really did. They didn’t expect us to beat Illinois, they didn’t expect us to beat Kansas. Didn’t expect us to win this game, but, shoot, we lost.

Jordan Walsh

“Obviously I’m going to get right back in the lab and figure out my weaknesses that I have in my game. I kind of have an idea now just talking to the coaches. They’re putting a plan together for me to be able to really maximize myself this summer. I’m excited to get back on the grind and come back and be able to do whatever it takes to win, wherever that leads me.”

“I learned that me being a guy who’s not going to go out and score 30 or 20 or 15 or anything like that, I can still impact the game in so many ways. Not a lot of people notice it. If you’re a real basketball mind then I guess you can pick up on it. That’s pretty much it, for real.”

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#2

If you just look at those quotes, you’d say AB is gone, Nick and RC4 might come back and Walsh is definitely back. We shall see what happens from here though.

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#3

Even with his long arms, Walsh is an oversized small forward, not a true power forward in college or the NBA. He needs a respectible outside and midrange shot and to develop some effective inside moves. He was wide open over and over but turned down the shot or drive and kicked it back out to start the offense over again. He needs to be a complete scoring threat to make the bucks that he really deserves to make.

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#4

While these comments are telling, we have to remember that they were made right as the season ended with a disapointing loss. Lets see what they say in a few weeks. There will be all sorts of people filling their heads with all sorts of stuff. I just hope they talk with Muss first. I really believe he will tell them how they should proceed.

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#5

I’m just gonna assume they are gone. If any of those 4 come back, it will be like an early Christmas present.

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#6

This is what I was trying to say last night. Judging STRICTLY from his postgame comments, I took them to indicate that, at that moment, he meant “be ready next year (for the Hogs)”. But do I actually think Nick will be back? Heavens no. He is projected to go first round on every mock draft I’ve seen.
That said Nick’s stock has slipped a little. He is now projected to go 17th at nbadraftroom.com. That is not considered a “lottery” pick. AB is projected 11th (which is) and Ricky 39th.

https://nbadraftroom.com/p/2023-nba-mock-draft/

I imagine all three will go. I was just commenting on Nick’s comments and demeanor, which I appreciated.

#7

Oh…and to underline what Swine said…Walsh’s comments made it sound he was coming back. Period. Minds can change of course. But it sounds like he will be back for sure.

#8

Walsh is the only one I expect back and he wouldn’t surprise me by leaving. He needs to spend every open minute in the gym with the gun and weight room. A 12-15 foot jump shot and more strength to finish at the rim will help him tremendously along with an improved 3point shot. Black is ready minus a shot in my opinion. He does so many things well. Nick is potential. Far from a finished product but skilled. Council is my dark horse to come back. Brazile ,Council and Walsh is a great start to a team.

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#9

Where is Walsh projected on those mock drafts now? I really feel like he has nba potential. I mean I understand there are a ton of talented prospects around the world for the nba to pick from and I don’t know how far Walsh is up there right now. But Walsh really impressed me with his defense and his athleticism scoring in the post as the season went on. Given how that UConn game went in hindsight I think Walsh should have started over one of our guards that got dominated on the boards. Anyways if I was a nba executive I’d take Walsh over Council for sure. AB is a special elite point guard talent, and i don’t know about nick smith. id have to see his mri and ask him a lot of questions. I would love to have nick back as a hog. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if he is every bit as good as Malik Monk in the long run. I hope he comes back for a healthy year as a hog. Seems pretty freaking unlikely considering how much time he spent in LA during the season this year.

#10

Also where’s Devo’s quote? Not to mention our other top ESPN 100 freshmen

#11

Appreciate all of this fours talents. Hope they all consider coming back but assume all gone. Most of the NCAA teams that are playing for final four are physically strong veteran teams. More similar to what we were last two years. Got to go get some men

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#12

And 3 5* to.

#13

That, plus Devo,? would be by far the most talent Muss has returned since he’s been here, which would be great!

If Ricky declares for the NBA draft, it will be the 2nd straight year for him. If he gets at least a 2nd round evaluation, which I believe he will, I think he’s gone.

Brazile is Muss’ most important (re?)recruiting target since he’s been here. I wish Scottie would have been able to do this interview with Trevon. Maybe a thought for the near future? :wink:

I believe Walsh is the most likely to come back. Most of the 2024 Mock drafts have Jordan included, as both first and 2nd round picks. The same for Trevon, but if he’ll return completely healthy, I believe he will have a great shot at a lottery pick or higher.

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#14

Another website got an interview with Brazile last week and published it yesterday. About all they got out of him is “this could be me if I decide to come back”. So he’s not showing his cards at this point. He won’t be able to actually play basketball until probably August, and he’s fallen off the NBA mock draft radar. So we’ll see.

#15

This sounds like he may enter this year’s draft for an evaluation.

#16

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