TSU88

Without naming names (which, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve already mentioned) we have, in my estimation, 5 players who either aren’t D1 caliber, or are barely (low level) D1. So, don’t include me in the camp that is satisfied that we’re “running it back “ with the same crew as last season. Change may be unpleasant in many cases, but is often necessary. If we remain stagnant, the risk of falling behind may increase, perhaps significantly.

Well, reading between the lines suggests that the only other possible departures would be J. Cole and/or C. Paar. If neither departs, the roster is set. If 1 or both depart, we’ll be dipping our toes in the portal pool

Marcus, we hardly knew ya, but we’ll always have Montreal. Vaya con dios

So interestingly enough, I read that the ban on NIL for foreign players isn’t actually an NCAA thing, but rather such payments are banned under U.S. law

Let’s face it, the college basketball & football most of us grew up watching, no longer exists, having been replaced by a system fueled by $, feeding the mercenaries who jump from school-to-school in search of the biggest paycheck. Programs like ours have been reduced to a hand-to-mouth existence, where maybe, just maybe, we can catch lightning in a bottle and bring in a freshman or two, who can make us competitive, that is until they kick us aside in the never ending hunt for bigger bucks. Absent some well heeled donors (I guess anything’s possible, but good luck with that) we’ll be scouring the bargain bin when it comes to the transfer portal. It up to each of you to decide what you think of this brave new world. As for me, it’s an abomination

Unless/until C of C leaves the conference, we will forever be stuck on a treadmill chasing & not catching them. And for those wishing that Kelsey’s departure would help even things out, that’s a fantasy. Doesn’t matter who their coach is, they’ll just dip into the deep reservoir of their NIL coffers and get pulls like this. Reload not rebuild. And this has nothing to do with Skerry. Even if he’s gone in the next 50 years or so, we will perpetually be shopping at KMart (if we’re shopping at all) while C of C will be browsing the shelves at Saks and Neiman Marcus. But at least we’re running it back with the same roster 🥹

If Embeya struggles, as freshman sometimes do, or if he gets in foul trouble, that leaves Paar having to possibly play significant minutes. Let’s see a show of hands of everyone who’s good with that. There can be no question that there are plenty of bigs in the portal better than Paar. And I’m not talking D1 pie in the sky guys we have no shot at. I’m taking run of the mill D1 guys, D2 guys, NAIA and/or JUCOS. You cannot tell me that out of those categories that we are unable to upgrade over what we currently have

Might be another way of saying that some of them know they would draw little to no interest in the portal, so why leave. I’m glad we’re retaining Tejada, Lowey and DWill. I’m optimistic, albeit cautiously, about the 2 incoming freshmen. I’m ambivalent as to whether May stays or goes. I’d like to see what Cole and Watson could do, but that may not be in the cards. The rest…I thank for their efforts and wish the best of luck in their future non-basketball endeavors, but I don’t want them back. Let’s not conflate inertia and success. So maybe its a nice little feel good story to some (admittedly not me) that almost is everyone back. I’m highly skeptical this is going to translate into meaningful success next season

I know

Doesn’t make a great deal of sense that Watson would leave of his own volition. Seems to me he needs to prove he can still play in order to get a Euro contract. And I can’t imagine he would get any substantial NIL at another school, coming off this injury

If I get crushed, so be it. Sitting on our hands is not the formula for getting to the next level. I mean, I guess if everything goes perfect (May’s shooting gets better; Lowery develops an outside shot; DWill and Tejada take the freshman to sophomore leap; the 2 freshmen come in and make substantial contributions) then maybe we can catch lightning in a bottle, but does anyone really think all those things are going to happen? I wonder if we’ll be the only D1 team in the country not to bring a single player in via the portal?

If true, this is a complete fail. Sorry, loyalty is a wonderful quality in a dog, but this is a business. Let’s look at some of the guys he’s bringing back: Jones. Unathletic. Averaged what, 6ppg. May already have his degree, so moving him on down the line wouldn’t have hurt the young man in that regard; Hicks. He’s one strong breeze from missing all of next season, like he missed all this season. Even when healthy, he’s a “meh,” on the court; Cole. Despite my high hopes for him, he showed very little in his limited playing time last season; Coleman. D2…maybe; Paar. The best, or worst, for last. Well, he’s big, but that’s about it. He can’t shoot, you can’t throw him a pass, for fear it’ll clank off his hands, he can’t hedge on defense. Frankly, I’m not sure what he’s good at. Plus, he’s very likely has graduated, so why, why, why bring him back????? You mean to tell me there’s no one better than him in the portal? C’mon. There’s a real problem here. Is the coach just going through the motions? Why is he seemingly paralyzed in terms of making roster changes? And, if he’s really going to run Watson off…WTF???? The one guy who’s got athleticism and has proven he can score. The university pays for his room, board, classes, surgery and rehab, only to kick him to the curb, while keeping the players listed above? These incoming freshmen better be damn good, or next year could be a real fiasco

He’s facetiously talking about Kentucky, AKA “Big Blue Nation.” Calipiari has taken the head coaching position at Arkansas. Should be interesting when the Razorbacks travel to Lexington to play. Will also be interesting to see who UK hires as their new coach

There are at least two posters who have recently posted, either explicitly or implicitly, that 20 W’s is a sign of success, regardless of how we do in the postseason.I’lll thank you to do your research better moving forward before you accuse me of making things up & putting words in peoples mouths

And while I’m at it, to those who worship at the altar of a 20 W season, 6 out the 14 schools in the conference (I wasn’t a math major, but I believe that’s close to half) finished with 20 or more W’s; 1 school finished with 19, and another with 18. So, while 20 W’s is nice, it’s not the gold standard some make it out to be. Does it beat winning 12-13 games? Of course. But in and of itself, it’s of little significance if not part of a regular season crown 👑 or conference tournament title