One thing I can't stand hearing is that Berke Buyuktuncel or any other number of players will be an upgrade over Waterman and losing him is no big deal. Jake Hatch has a bad habit of saying that about any outgoing/incoming player, and I eye rolled so hard when he was talking about Noah potentially leaving and Berke being an upgrade, I almost crashed into the car in front of me.

Noah was one of our best defenders last year, showed stark improvement on the boards, shot the 3 very well (especially for his size), took care of the ball, and perhaps most critically, was a staple in the locker room. He had built great chemistry with the team, something that will be irreplicable by any newcomer.

I like Berke a lot, and think he will prove to be much better than his numbers showed from his year at UCLA, but you cannot expect him to come in and give us more production than what Noah gave us last year, let alone what he would give us with another year in the program as the veteran voice of the team.

We really, really want Noah back. And I hope the staff does everything possible to bring him back.