Off The Burner 12.8.23

Welcome to Off the Burner – a semi-regular stream of consciousness about college hoops.

Nae’Qwan Tomlin has many suitors.

The former Kansas State forward has plenty of options to choose from if he decides to finish out his college basketball career. In addition to the shortlist I outlined yesterday, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga, McNeese, Memphis, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Pitt and a handful of others have expressed interest or at least inquired about adding Tomlin to their roster in January.

Tomlin is essentially a 6’10” wing. He’s extremely athletic, can handle the ball and is working on developing a more consistent three-point shot. He spent some time on NBA draft boards last year, but decided to come back to school after going through the process and getting feedback on his game. The obvious road block right now is the background check. Are teams willing to deal with whatever it is for three months? Based on the interest level he’s receiving right now, the answer appears to be yes. Not many teams will pass up an opportunity to add a potential draft pick in the middle of the season, especially if you’re a fringe title contender. Once Tomlin graduates and enters the portal, things will move quickly.

There’s a lot at stake when DePaul hosts Louisville on Saturday.

Game of the century, perhaps? Probably not, but there will be more eyes than you’d think on this game. High level boosters from each school, fan bases desperate for hope, The CBB Sickos Committee and several coaches around the country licking their chops at the prospect of leading one of these programs next year. It’s one of those games you can’t look away from.

For Kenny Payne and Tony Stubblefield, this feels like a must-win. For Stubblefield especially, this is DePaul’s best chance to get a win before Christmas. The Blue Demons face Northwestern and Villanova their next two games. The whispers about a potential in-season dismissal are growing louder and this type of game could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

For Louisville, it’s a chance to eclipse last year’s win total and play the rest of the season with house money. Despite all the close calls, bizarre press conference quotes and questionable coaching decisions, Louisville has actually shown a smidge of progress from last year. The roster construction is still wonky and the overall talent level is no where near what a school like Louisville should be okay with, but to say they got worse would be wrong. A win tomorrow would prove they’re not the *worst* team out there.

Dairy Queen update.

I caused a stir the other day with a post about Dairy Queen.

Things are happening. pic.twitter.com/3cQZFSfVaU

— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) December 5, 2023

Of course I was talking about 2024 five-star Derik Queen, but I’d be lying if I told you I knew the headquarters of said ice cream establishment was in a town called Bloomington.

It’s a funny coincidence though, because the winds have shifted towards Indiana for the first time in this recruitment (at least in my orbit). Multiple sources indicated the Hoosiers are in a good spot after a few visits to see Queen at Montverde. Indiana’s play on the court has certainly helped them too, with the emergence of Kel’el Ware and their impressive performance over Maryland last week. The Terps are still very much in this, but the prevailing thought is if it was Maryland, why hasn’t it happened yet? Houston and Kansas are still trying, but it seems unlikely at this point it’ll be either of those two.

As for a timeline, I don’t believe we’ll see it wrapped up before Christmas or even the new year, but the wheels are in motion for announcement sometime next month.

I got a new job.

Andrew Slater, a veteran scout with deep national connections to college, AAU, and powerhouse HS programs, will join the Oklahoma City Thunder scouting department, per source.

The Thunder, under GM Sam Presti, have 37 draft picks over the next 7 years as well as a talented… pic.twitter.com/WmS1rjitPr

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) December 8, 2023

Just kidding, but congrats to Andrew on his new role. The Thunder continue to make outside the box hires that make them one of the best run organizations in the NBA.

Follow @trillydonovan on X (Twitter). Stay tuned to burnerball.com to keep up with all things coaching carousel and transfer portal.

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