The Swamp

Giff wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:34 am Shaka Smart leaving UT for Marquette.

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:46 am Yeah, its rare to see a lateral or downward move for a coach under contract, even if its to go home like Shaka is doing. Unless there's like a mutual reduction in the buyout and he got to leave just before being fired or something its just a weird one?

Shirley wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:58 am Shaka was definitely on the hot seat at Texas. And I wonder if the current controversy over The Eyes of Texas and the athletic department's response to it didn't play a part.

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:55 am Texas is one of those jobs where it's a lot harder to succeed than what it should be with their resources, recruiting pool, etc. for no singular reason.

Rick Barnes won 402 games in 17 seasons, made 16 tourneys and a Final Four. Had them in the top 6 of the polls at some point in eight seasons. And no one cared or cares.

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 1:41 pm

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:55 am Texas is one of those jobs where it's a lot harder to succeed than what it should be with their resources, recruiting pool, etc. for no singular reason.

Rick Barnes won 402 games in 17 seasons, made 16 tourneys and a Final Four. Had them in the top 6 of the polls at some point in eight seasons. And no one cared or cares.

Circle back up to brianVGS-DTW's link about how some schools are football or basketball schools. Basketball just gets drowned out in some towns (and vice versa with football.)

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:55 am Texas is one of those jobs where it's a lot harder to succeed than what it should be with their resources, recruiting pool, etc. for no singular reason.

Rick Barnes won 402 games in 17 seasons, made 16 tourneys and a Final Four. Had them in the top 6 of the polls at some point in eight seasons. And no one cared or cares.

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon Mar 22, 2021 1:14 pm Big loss for Carolina and a huge opportunity for someone. This kid is gonna be really good.

duff wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 3:50 pm That .460 winning percentage sure will woo those recruits. Or tell them about playing for Robert Montgomery Knight. That will sure sway their decision. So Mike Woodson is the second coming off Juwan Howard?

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 4:12 pm

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon Mar 22, 2021 1:14 pm Big loss for Carolina and a huge opportunity for someone. This kid is gonna be really good.

Tyler Hansborough making it recklessly personal:

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon Mar 29, 2021 4:37 pm

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 4:12 pm

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon Mar 22, 2021 1:14 pm Big loss for Carolina and a huge opportunity for someone. This kid is gonna be really good.

Tyler Hansborough making it recklessly personal:

Tyler played a lot more as a freshman than Kessler did. And didn't have to worry about coming off the bench as a sophomore as well.

Shirley wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 7:57 am That's really interesting given UNC's long history of developing good college and pro big men. But the game has changed. That said, Kessler's bigger problem was simply that, as good as he was, he was the fourth-best big on that team. And at the time he transferred, only one of the other guys was surely leaving.

(I also found it funny that he listed Florida State as a team running an offense that can better prepare bigs for the pros. Has he ever watched a Leonard Hamilton offense?)

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon Mar 29, 2021 4:37 pm

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 4:12 pm

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon Mar 22, 2021 1:14 pm Big loss for Carolina and a huge opportunity for someone. This kid is gonna be really good.

Tyler Hansborough making it recklessly personal:

Tyler played a lot more as a freshman than Kessler did. And didn't have to worry about coming off the bench as a sophomore as well.

tennbengal wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 3:35 pm UC had so many enter the transfer portal they only have four players left.

I confess to having not paid any attention to what the transfer portal has become - is this a commonplace thing now?

Shirley wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 5:05 pm It has gotten increasingly popular, but this year is special. The NCAA has basically said this season didn't count against anyone's eligibility, so every player gets an extra year. Also, there's widespread belief that the NCAA will do away with the standard one-year sit requirement for transfers (and they'd already gotten pretty lenient with exceptions).

So basically, you're looking at a true free market of players this year.

(COVID is likely another factor in unhappy players. Imagine anyone who isn't playing enough or doesn't like their coach. Most years, they could still enjoy college and may stick around because they love the school. Not this year with everyone locked in their rooms on zoom. If the basketball season was unhappy, they had no respite.)

brian wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 6:45 pm Are they killing it in the transfer portal too?

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 7:45 pm

brian wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 6:45 pm Are they killing it in the transfer portal too?

They did get Nembhard from Florida last year.

The Gators will be active in the burgeoning transfer portal to rebuild their roster, especially since White signed just one prospect in the 2021 class: guard Kowacie Reeves.

Still, it's a troubling trend for White, who has yet to graduate a single player he signed since replacing NBA-bound Billy Donovan in 2015.

His entire classes from 2016 (Eric Hester, Dontay Bassett and Gorjok Gak) and 2017 (Deaundrae Ballard, Mike Okauru, Chase Johnson and Isaiah Stokes) have transferred. Only Keyontae Johnson remains from Florida's 2018 class, which lost talented point guard Andrew Nembhard to Gonzaga last year and now is without Locke.

Payne is the 12th of 18 signees during White's last five years to transfer, leaving the Gators with little continuity and in a constant state of rebuilding.