KD hitting the transfer portal

[PigskinPat 2,579]

This one kind of surprises me:

 

[TitanTiger 20,481]

Man, that makes me sad.  I kinda get it though.  Tre, Aden and Denver are all probably coming back and we're adding Pettiford.  KD probably wants to play his final season somewhere as a starter and he's not going to get to do that here and his PT might have even gone down.

[CCTAU 3,325]

I’m not truly surprised. I think he felt he deserved more playing time at the end of the season. I will miss his tenacity. 

[aucom96 1,618]

Good defender, but I won't miss the turnovers and kamikaze runs in the paint. 

Good luck to him. He was certainly responsible for some fun moments and always good with the energy. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,666]

A move that basically had to happen if you just looked at the minutes, but still a very unfortunate one. Think you probably lose one of Tre and Holloway too, if they get the veteran guard they appear to be seeking. 

[augolf1716 21,123]

Not a shock the very best to KD........................ he gave his best while at AU.

[WillMunny 1,375]

Defensively, we'll be worse off.

Offensively (shot selection, turnovers), we'll be better off.

In regards to playing time, he'll be better off.

Sounds like a logical parting of the ways.  Good luck to him.

Edited March 26 by WillMunny

[Viper 3,132]

11 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Man, that makes me sad.  I kinda get it though.  Tre, Aden and Denver are all probably coming back and we're adding Pettiford.  KD probably wants to play his final season somewhere as a starter and he's not going to get to do that here and his PT might have even gone down.

Couldn’t have said it better. LOVE KD. Will miss his enthusiasm.

Just prior to Tre hitting his first three to spark the beatdown over FL, KD flies out of his chair, ready to explode. Splash. KD explodes. That’s the kind of teammate I will always remember KD by.

Sad to see him go. Won’t miss him jacking up hero ball Wendall Green threes. Completely understand the PT. This is his last shot at ever playing at a level that matters. Go get it.

[Viper 3,132]

15 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Think you probably lose one of Tre and Holloway

Hope it’s the latter. Other than a good ball handler between the rings, not sure why else he’s here. No hate. Just the facts.

[TitanTiger 20,481]

Murray State Barstool Twitter account already lobbying for him to come there.

[TitanTiger 20,481]

Just now, Viper said:

Hope it’s the latter. Other than a good ball handler between the rings, not sure why else he’s here. No hate. Just the facts.

High ceiling.  The kid is going to get better.  His shot will come back and he'll get stronger to withstand contact on drives to the rim.  It would be crazy to give up on him.

[Viper 3,132]

Just now, TitanTiger said:

High ceiling.  The kid is going to get better.  His shot will come back and he'll get stronger to withstand contact on drives to the rim.  It would be crazy to give up on him.

Maybe his shot will come back. Maybe. Other than that wish, afraid to drive. Can’t hit simple layups. Not even remotely a creative passer. Afraid to. Defensive liability.

If he’s afraid to be a PG, put him at SG and let him come off screens for the three and hope his shot gets somewhat consistent and not go ice cold for a half season. But even with that hope, he is still out there guarding other quality guards with a huge height & weight disadvantage.

[TitanTiger 20,481]

1 minute ago, Viper said:

Maybe his shot will come back. Maybe. Other than that wish, afraid to drive. Can’t hit simple layups. Not even remotely a creative passer. Afraid to. Defensive liability.

If he’s afraid to be a PG, put him at SG and let him come off screens for the three and hope his shot gets somewhat consistent and not go ice cold for a half season. But even with that hope, he is still out there guarding other quality guards with a huge height & weight disadvantage.

I remember a lot of these same things being said of Tre last season.

That said, I think you will see some shifting around where Denver runs point more and allows Aden to be more of a shooting guard next year.

[JDUBB4AU 5,121]

Thank you KD and good luck and best wishes 

I guess I’ll have to change my avatar pic 

[JDUBB4AU 5,121]

3 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

I remember a lot of these same things being said of Tre last season.

That said, I think you will see some shifting around where Denver runs point more and allows Aden to be more of a shooting guard next year.

This. Left a lot on the table with Denver this year. He has a chance to be the highest scorer on the team next year. 

[Viper 3,132]

Just now, TitanTiger said:

remember a lot of these same things being said of Tre last season.

Tre showed up big in a tournament game last season. Don’t recall which one. Not saying he is the definitive answer at PG, but he has made numerous timely shots and awesome passes in big games, both starting and off the bench.

Holloway was nowhere to be found on the stat sheet the back half of this season. He sure can dribble past half court though without turning it over. At least there’s that.

[Viper 3,132]

3 minutes ago, JDUBB4AU said:

Thank you KD and good luck and best wishes 

I guess I’ll have to change my avatar pic 

No no no. Leave it. It’s who I identify you with. 

[TitanTiger 20,481]

Just now, Viper said:

Tre showed up big in a tournament game last season. Don’t recall which one. Not saying he is the definitive answer at PG, but he has made numerous timely shots and awesome passes in big games, both starting and off the bench.

Yeah, he had a good tournament game, but most of the season people were complaining about him and thought he wasn't a viable PG in this league.  He made huge strides from last season to this one and I imagine will be even more improved next year.  There's zero reason the same couldn't be true of Aden.

 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,666]

15 minutes ago, Viper said:

Hope it’s the latter. Other than a good ball handler between the rings, not sure why else he’s here. No hate. Just the facts.

I can’t really see the logic in giving up on a guy with the shooting, and really overall scoring potential, he’s flashed. Dudes have underwhelming freshman years, but a lot of what he’s shown can be easily fixed (a lot of it literally goes down to him playing small).  
if he gets his feet right on those 3 pointers alone, there’s another 3-6 points you can add to his average. If the driving comes together, then you have one of Auburn’s best offensive guards in recent memory. Definitely no reason to give up on him unless you have an all world transfer locked down. Next year’s team isn’t a real championship contender just by subbing in a solid-good PG in his place. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,666]

Aden played like a very finesse player when it came to shot selection and how he drove to the rim. Tons of reverses, tons of settling for 3s coming off of screens, even when the lane was there. That screams to me that the guy was trying to accommodate for how small he is. They’ll obv pack some muscle on him, but I think he’ll also work to play stronger. 

[Viper 3,132]

6 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I can’t really see the logic in giving up on a guy with the shooting, and really overall scoring potential, he’s flashed. Dudes have underwhelming freshman years, but a lot of what he’s shown can be easily fixed (a lot of it literally goes down to him playing small).  
if he gets his feet right on those 3 pointers alone, there’s another 3-6 points you can add to his average. If the driving comes together, then you have one of Auburn’s best offensive guards in recent memory. Definitely no reason to give up on him unless you have an all world transfer locked down. Next year’s team isn’t a real championship contender just by subbing in a solid-good PG in his place. 

Like I said, hope his shooting comes back. He at least early on showed he can hit the three. Beyond that, what else in his game has he shown he is halfway decent at besides dribbling? I almost have to close my eyes when he’s guarding someone.

Edited March 26 by Viper

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,666]

4 minutes ago, Viper said:

Like I said, hope his shooting comes back. He at least early on showed he can hit the three. Beyond that, what else in his game has he shown he is halfway decent at besides dribbling? I almost have to close my eyes when he’s guarding someone.

Eh I thought he stepped it up on defense relatively speaking down the stretch. He just can’t guard bigger guys at this point, which is fine. As long as he can handle 1s and some 2s, it’s not the biggest thing. When the 2-5 is as good defensively as we’ve typically had, him becoming a 0 on that end will be enough for us.

I don’t know how much more he needs to add to become great. He has shown potential to be a good secondary facilitator, shooter, and has the pieces of a good lay up package. As far as potential (not production), he’s shown you everything that can equate to a mid 10s PPG guard. If you can get him to be like 14 PPG, 3 APG, and around 35% 3FG on good volume, that would be fantastic when you consider that they expect Pettiford to be another dynamic scorer and what Denver showed down the stretch. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,666]

Jared Harper’s stats his sophomore year were about 13 PPG, 5 APG, 2 REBs, 36% 3, 36% from the floor. Also 82% from the line. 
 

I think he’s less of a facilitator than Jared, but if you just lower that APG a bit, I think all of the rest of that is more than achievable. Harper also shared the ball with Heron, Brown and Davion. Aden will have Pettiford, Tre, Denver and maybe even another guard. That stat line would be fantastic production from him. 

[Bigtrain333 98]

You also have to factor in Nil now.  If Holloway truly makes the most on the team that could play into why it makes sense for him to move along.

[abw0004 10,112]

I will miss KD's enthusiasm on the floor.  He really was fun to watch and I will miss him.  I wish KD nothing but the best moving forward.