With commitments over the past week from Creighton transfer Zander Yates and Jaylen Davis, Liberty’s roster is now set for the 2023-24 men’s basketball season.

Yates and Davis join Bowling Green transfer Kaden Metheny and incoming freshmen Curtis Blair and Kai Yu as additions to Liberty’s roster for the upcoming season. That group will help offset the losses of Darius McGhee, Blake Preston, Isiah Warfield, Jonathan Jackson, and Stephen Burggraf.

As the Flames make the transition to Conference USA, these newcomers will play a big role on the team. Every newcomer is difficult to predict exactly how they will fit into the roster, but we do our best to break that down for this group of five with a look at each player’s ceiling, floor, and most likely projection as we look at their pros and cons.

CURTIS BLAIR

The 6’6″ Blair from Richmond, Virginia, was the first member of the 2023 signing class. He averaged 21.9 points per game this past season and was named the Tidewater Conference Player of the Year for a second straight year. A three-star recruit, Blair has been consistently ranked as one of the top players in Virginia as part of his recruiting class.

Blair certainly has the potential to be a contributor immediately. It’s also safe to say that he could grow into being the team’s best player and an all-conference or even conference player of the year level player with his ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor.

Freshmen guards are also hard to predict, and there’s a scenario where Blair’s game doesn’t translate and he can’t carve out a role on the team and ends up transferring out.

The most likely scenario is that Blair becomes a contributor and starter for the Flames. He could very easily have Joseph Venzant’s level of production with a more polished offensive game.

KAI YU

Kai Yu is a 7’0″, 240 pound big man from Shanghai, China. He has spent the past year playing a postgrad year for Link Prep in Branson, Missouri. Yu enters the program as a bit of a mystery. He has an incredibly high ceiling but his floor is pretty low too.

The Flames could certainly use a big man like Yu if his game can translate. The language and culture barrier add in to his obstacles to overcome to have an impact on the floor though. If he is able to overcome those barriers, Yu could be a program changer with his size and potential.

There is also a scenario where Yu is unable to overcome those obstacles and doesn’t pan out, becoming similar in production level to that of the previous 7-footer at Liberty, Brendan Newton. Most likely, Yu is able to overcome some of his challenges and can become a solid starter for the team after two-three years in the program.

JAYLEN DAVIS

Jaylen Davis was somehow still on the market late in the recruiting process. For a 6’5″ guard in Kentucky that picked up an offer as early as 8th grade, it is somewhat surprising that he was still available. Davis looks to have some potential as a two way player that can play defense and also has a strong offensive game highlighted by his three-point shooting ability.

Davis could develop and become the team’s top player with a skill-set that looks similar to Lovell Cabbil with more length than the former Liberty guard. At his floor, one could argue there’s a reason Davis was still available so late during his high school career and his talent doesn’t translate, ultimately not making the rotation.

The most likely result for Davis is he can have an Isiah Warfield level of impact on the program but with the ability to knock down the open three-pointer at a good clip. It might take him a year or two to adjust to the college game, but once he does he becomes a valuable member of the rotation.

KADEN METHENY

Metheny is a 5’11” guard who started 63 of 64 career games he played in at Bowling Green over the past three years. He averaged 31.8 minutes per game this past season while averaging 10.7 points and shooting 38.2% from three. For his career, Metheny averaged 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 34.0% from three.

The floor for a player like Metheny, who has proven himself at a similar level for multiple years, is much higher. He could be the team’s leading scorer this year. It is expected that he would slide into the team’s starting lineup alongside Colin Porter and provide a reliable scoring option for the Flames while scoring between 9-12 points per game. At his floor, Metheny can be a backup guard, playing behind both Colin Porter and Brody Peebles.

ZANDER YATES

A 6’7″ transfer from Creighton, Yates is a former walk-on for a program that has become a common fixture in the NCAA Tournament in recent years. Yates didn’t get consistent playing time at Creighton, and he comes to Liberty hoping to change that.

Minutes for Yates this year could be hard to come by as he looks to be behind Kyle Rode, Shiloh Robinson, and Zach Cleveland as proven contributors playing in the frontcourt. Yates does have some perimeter skills with his ability to shoot the three and also make plays with the ball in his hands. He could grow into a starter during his time at Liberty or he may not be able to get off the bench.

Here is how the 13 scholarship players fit into the roster with a projected depth chart:

Point – Colin Porter
Guard – Kaden Metheny, Brody Peebles
Wing – Joseph Venzant, Curtis Blair, Jaylen Davis
Forward – Kyle Rode, Zach Cleveland, Zander Yates, Ben Southerland
Post – Shiloh Robinson, Kai Yu, Bryson Spell