Another edition of the ASOR Mailbag! Thank you for submitting your questions and continue to send them in and we will be happy to answer them in our next feature. You can send them to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, e-mail, or as a comment on the site. We had a ton of great questions this week, so let’s get right to it.

Assuming you mean other than Malik Willis, the two that stand out the most to me are Storey Jackson and Kevin Shaa. Jackson had a very nice day with 23 reps on the bench, a vertical of 32 inches, and a long jump of 9.4 feet. Scouts were paying attention to him throughout the day. While he’s probably a long shot to be drafted, expect him to be an undrafted free agent signed quickly after the draft. Shaa also had a strong day with a 38 inch vertical, a 10.11 long jump, and an unofficial 4.31 40. His size, just a hair under 5’10’, will be his biggest hurdle to overcome, but prior to Tuesday, it was very unlikely he would get a camp invite and now I think he probably will get a shot.

In addition to Jackson and Shaa, I think the most likely to get a camp invite are Elijah James, Duron Lowe, Johnny Huntley, and Ralfs Rusins.

A question from Instagram – “As of today, who is the most likely starting QB next year and how will that decision be made?”

It’s almost impossible to try to guess who will be the starting quarterback in the fall as of today. In spring practice that has been open to the media, which has only been two limited portions to this point, Johnathan Bennett is still getting the first reps at QB, followed by Charlie Brewer, and then Kaidon Salter. I do think those are the top three candidates and they have likely separated some from Nate Hampton. If I had to make a guess, and this is a complete forecast to this point, I think it will come down to Charlie Brewer and Kaidon Salter. I just think those two will pass JB this spring/summer. We will see though, Bennett is certainly well respected as a teammate and leader.

We also got a similar question on our Instagram story – “With Jonathan & Micaiah both transferring, will McKay hit the transfer portal to fill both spots?”

How about Darius McGhee?! The Flames are expected to exclusively target guys in the transfer portal with these two open scholarships. A point guard is needed. It was the biggest weakness on the team this past season after Drake Dobbs didn’t pan out. DJ Moore and Colin Porter have the potential to grow into what the team needs, but having a veteran point guard to come in and fill in that gap until they are ready would be ideal.

Another question from Instagram – “Does Liberty Basketball need to start using the transfer portal in order to remain competitive?”

I understand where the questions is coming from, but Liberty basketball has been and will continue to be competitive as long as Coach McKay is here. The Flames are a top 150 team nationally, which five years ago would have been a dream. But, to answer the context of your question, yes, I do think men’s hoops should be more proactive in utilizing the transfer portal to help the team from year to year. Hugh Freeze and Scott Jackson have used it to near perfection in football and baseball over the past couple of years. With the number of kids entering the portal each and every year, certainly there is 1-2 we could find each year to help the team. I think we will begin to see that happen more in the future.

Another question from Instagram – “Where is the scoring coming from next year in men’s basketball?”

Assuming Darius McGhee does not come back, I think we will see everyone in the rotation that returns from this past season step up in the scoring column and it will be a much more balanced attack. For example, Shiloh Robinson and Kyle Rode each averaged right about 9 points per game this past season. The way the roster currently stands, I would expect each of them to see those numbers increase to around 11-12 ppg. Brody Peebles will likely see the biggest jump in scoring, from the 5.4 ppg he averaged as a freshman to where I could see him averaging double figures. The same can be said for Joseph Venzant, Isiah Warfield, and DJ Moore. Rather than each averaging less than 4 ppg, expect to see them closer to 6-10.

I haven’t heard much in this regard to this point. Former assistant Kyle Getter, who is currently an assistant at Virginia, could return for a pay raise and to be associate head coach. Promoting from within wouldn’t be a shock either.

A similar question on Instagram – “When will fan merch not suck anymore?”

This has become a hot topic in recent months as we get asked about it frequently. Maybe it is because ASOR has ventured into the merchandising side of things. It’s all based on demand. We are and have been working on this for about a year and it is not an easy obstacle to tackle, the logistical issues based largely on the pandemic don’t help.