OTF Premium OTF update: Dailyn Swain (Thursday 6:20pm CT)

[Gerry Hamilton]

OTF update: Dailyn Swain

A Thursday night update.

OTF currently believes Dailyn Swain is leaning to entering the 2026 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility, which would keep the door open for a potential return to Texas for a final season. 

The key is maintaining his eligibility. Should Swain finalize that decision, he can participate in the NBA Draft Combine work out for individual teams and gather important feedback on his draft prospects before deciding whether to stay in the NBA Draft or return to college for a final season.

Key dates to know:
NBA Draft Combine in Chicago is May 10-17

Last day for college players to withdraw and return to school is May 27 or 28 at 11:59pm ET

OTF will continue to monitor Swain's decision.

[Gerry Hamilton]

BTW, nothing has changed with Matas. 

OTF feels good. 
 

[Gerry Hamilton]

Think Texas fans will start seeing some players announcing intentions in the next few days. 

[Bunk Moreland]

Did you accost him at the airport? Apparently that’s how you’re supposed to ask Texas MBB players if they’re returning.

[Gerry Hamilton]

1 minute ago, Bunk Moreland said:

Did you accost him at the airport? Apparently that’s how you’re supposed to ask Texas MBB players if they’re returning.

lol 

Heard a funny story about that one.

[JMarquette]

This is kind of the worst case scenario, right? Keeping eligibility open kind of hurts us because we would essentially wait on him to commit one way or another, no?

[Gerry Hamilton]

2 minutes ago, JMarquette said:

This is kind of the worst case scenario, right? Keeping eligibility open kind of hurts us because we would essentially wait on him to commit one way or another, no?

My belief if Texas will have to build 2026-27 roster as if he won’t be back…. Even if he ends up coming back 

[spaintex]

8 hours ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

My belief if Texas will have to build 2026-27 roster as if he won’t be back…. Even if he ends up coming back 

But in that scenario how do they manage/allocate the NIL budget?

[harveycmd]

1 hour ago, spaintex said:

But in that scenario how do they manage/allocate the NIL budget?

They must assume he's not coming back and allocate the money to another high level player. If he does come back, they can try to raise the money, but you can't hold the money for a low chance opportunity. 

I'd say it's 80/20 he'll stay in the draft. He's being consistently mocked in the low to mid 20s pick range now, and he'll likely outperform many of the guys being mocked ahead of him (Haugh, Mullins, etc.) during the workout process.

[harveycmd]

I want be clear. You don't spend the money on another 3. You spend it on the high level 4 and 1 that you need.

I don't agree with Gerry that you can just forget the 1 and go combo. A few examples of outliers doesn't change the fundamentals of the game. Time doesn't change it either. The law of gravity doesn't change with time. There are plenty of true point guards tall enough to defend more than one position, and that's all you're worried about with this combo nonsense.

[Gerry Hamilton]

22 minutes ago, harveycmd said:

I want be clear. You don't spend the money on another 3. You spend it on the high level 4 and 1 that you need.

I don't agree with Gerry that you can just forget the 1 and go combo. A few examples of outliers doesn't change the fundamentals of the game. Time doesn't change it either. The law of gravity doesn't change with time. There are plenty of true point guards tall enough to defend more than one position, and that's all you're worried about with this combo nonsense.

Well, it's proven there are NC's being won with system's that play multiple combo guards and team runner vs. pure PG's. 

Half your teams in the FF this season don't have true or pure PG's. 

It's literally happened the last three years in CBK with the National Champions. UConn is system based with CG's, and Florida had a team runner that isn't close to being a pure PG. 

I would say the reality is there are different ways to win big in basketball now. 

And as I've said (and college coaches and former really good pro PG's have said) ... young players aren't training from a young age to be true PG's anymore. The different training now is centered around scoring/shooting and playing within system's more than being the maestro, so young kids growing up aren't growing in the game with creativity first and truly running the team with ball in hand 95% of the time. 

If you can find one, great, but they are fewer and farther between more and more. 

And the two All-American PG's this season are home watching. So yes, it's not a guarantee with the best PG's in CBK either. 

I know the old school guys disagree, and that's fine, but the reality is right in front of everyone's face. The game has changed, and is continuing to change. You need a team runner, but it's being proven it doesn't have to be the pure PG. Just different ways to win now. 

[Gerry Hamilton]

Even your last three NBA Champions ... not true or pure PG led. 

OKC Thunder - Shai is called the OKC lead guard, and he is ... not a pure PG. He's the modern day best lead guard. 

Boston Celtics (2023-24) - ball didn't run through their PG (Holiday or backup much at all). 

Denver Nuggets - Jamal Murray is their lead guard. Everything outside of ball screen game runs through Jokic, however. He's the primary playmaker for the Nuggets. Murray and Jokic pretty much split duties. Jokic will even be the offense initiator brining the ball up at times. 

The John Stockton, Jason Kidd, etc... days of basketball are few and far between. I do think there will be a few special/close to special guys come along, but it's difficult with the way the game is being taught at a young age right now. 

I believe the game isn't as much fun to watch offensively because of the modern game, but I still love it. The size/athleticism/skill combo is off the charts, but it's not as much of a fun watch because it's all drive and kick for 25 footer, or drive baseline and kick opposite corner. It's all 25 foot spacing, three-point analytics, etc... and I get it because of the length and athleticism in the game now. 

[horn1]

True PG or Combo Guard...doesn't matter.

We just need someone better & more athletic than Jordan Pope.  

If Miller proved he could eventually coach up & win big games with a guy like Jordan Pope running the point, then there's no telling how good we could be with a superior talent upgrade.

[Gerry Hamilton]

1 hour ago, harveycmd said:

I want be clear. You don't spend the money on another 3. You spend it on the high level 4 and 1 that you need.

I don't agree with Gerry that you can just forget the 1 and go combo. A few examples of outliers doesn't change the fundamentals of the game. Time doesn't change it either. The law of gravity doesn't change with time. There are plenty of true point guards tall enough to defend more than one position, and that's all you're worried about with this combo nonsense.

A very simple search will explain how the game has changed ... it's not even as hard as studying the game on a daily basis (if someone doesn't want to do that). 

The game has changed. The pure PG's are few and far between because the game has changed and kids are training differently growing up

"Point guards (PGs) in basketball have evolved from pass-first, floor-general playmakers into high-scoring, versatile, and often "positionless" threats who prioritize shooting and creating their own offense. This shift has been driven by the rise of analytics, increased three-point shooting, and a decrease in physical, hand-checking defense. [1, 2, 3]

Here are the key ways point guards have changed:

From Facilitators to Scorers: Traditionally, PGs were expected to set up teammates and manage the tempo, like John Stockton or Magic Johnson. Modern point guards, exemplified by Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are now primarily "score-first" players with high usage rates.

The Rise of "Positionless" Basketball: Modern PGs are often taller and more versatile, blending with the shooting guard or small forward roles. Tall point guards like Luka Dončić (6'7") are becoming more common, utilizing their height to see over defenses, similar to Magic Johnson's era, but with the added ability to shoot from deep.

Increased Three-Point Shooting: PGs have experienced a massive leap in three-point attempts, increasing from an average of 1.3 to over 4.0 attempts per game over the past three decades.

Declining Assist Numbers: As PGs focus more on scoring, there has been a steady, slight decrease in assists per game over the last 30 years, moving away from the "pure" PG role." 

 

[Nathan B]

Atleast if he doesn’t enter the portal when going through the draft Texas knows what they are up against. A lot of these guys are entering the portal and going through the process.