I know the latter part is the reality of the sport now, but there’s certain guys I’m gonna have a really hard time with leaving given their roles this year and next year.
Interesting - definitely a Hurley mentality
Big fan of George
He is canadian probably going to Syracuse, ha ha. Living in Atlanta have seen him plenty and he is excellent. Did he portal? Hope he stays for karl hobbs
Mostly played off the bench until recent games. Had a big and successful run against Saint Mary's one night ago. Strong inside player.
Isn't UConn already set with Tarris and Eric Reibe (freshman next year)? This assumes Tarris doesn't enter the portal and I really hope he does not.
I hope I’m wrong about what diving head first into this trend will do to our program.
Things that make you go hmmmm. I don't think Trilly has the best source info at Uconn.
I honestly think the idea of how we built 2023/2024 is already an obsolete notion as portal system was not fully mature then. Now that it's here, and players, coaches and advisors all know how it works, it's truly a year to year deal for everyone. This is why I think the most sustainable way to win year to year is likely what Scheyer is doing - load up with top 15-20 freshmen studs annually and bring in 3-4 mature bodied transfers to balance out. You get the NBA talent that hopefully blossoms along with the insurance policy & leadership in seniority. I'm sure K and Scheyer ran through through Fuqua for analysis
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The best bigs we've ever had are in the 50-100 range and lower- Okafor, Clingan, Thabeet, Sanogo, Voskuhl, Boone.
Our team last year is now obsolete and you think the most sustainable way to win year to year is by being the best recruiting program in the country that gets their absolute pick of top freshmen and top transfers.I honestly think the idea of how we built 2023/2024 is already an obsolete notion as portal system was not fully mature then. Now that it's here, and players, coaches and advisors all know how it works, it's truly a year to year deal for everyone. This is why I think the most sustainable way to win year to year is likely what Scheyer is doing - load up with top 15-20 freshmen studs annually and bring in 3-4 mature bodied transfers to balance out. You get the NBA talent that hopefully blossoms along with the insurance policy & leadership in seniority. I'm sure K and Scheyer ran through through Fuqua for analysis
I'm going to be dying to see if a kid like Braden Smith, who could likely command a fortune in the portal, tests it. I don't think he will, but boy it has to be tempting to find out what your market is when you have no NBA future.
I think the first coach that fully commits to the “obsolete” way and has great recruiting will have teams easily head and shoulders more talented than the rest of the field on top of having actual chemistry of playing together for years.I honestly think the idea of how we built 2023/2024 is already an obsolete notion as portal system was not fully mature then. Now that it's here, and players, coaches and advisors all know how it works, it's truly a year to year deal for everyone. This is why I think the most sustainable way to win year to year is likely what Scheyer is doing - load up with top 15-20 freshmen studs annually and bring in 3-4 mature bodied transfers to balance out. You get the NBA talent that hopefully blossoms along with the insurance policy & leadership in seniority. I'm sure K and Scheyer ran through through Fuqua for analysis
The problem with your premise is that players are not going to stick around long enough to be developed
Exactly - 611 seems to see this from a program choice standpoint only. Kids will equally have choices and bolt to where they get PT & $$. You're not keeping a freshman for more than a year unless they have a clear sightline to starting year 2. There is really no replacement to develop then real playing time. So unless you're a coach that is willing to play a below grade player allowing and hoping they develop at the sake of fielding a bad team, you're going to lose them.
That’s not really a problem for bigger programs as long as you show you’re willing to invest in them. And it hasn’t really been a problem for us.
I know stating some of the obvious with Duke given their natural advantages. Had hoped the portal might neutralize some of their advantages and would level the playing field (because I hate Duke), as they seemed committed to just doing the same old build through Burger Boys routine. Rather than wait out a lot of his home grown guys like Roach & Mitchell, took the proactive and cleaned house to accelerate to the year over model by adding in portal upgrades and better roster fits. What's it's generally saying is that continuity (which is an advantage for many programs that can't recruit at that level), means jack, talent wins. With some of the super old guy COVID advantages dying off (which Pearl is reaping off of), that Duke model looks more and more sustainable. Not many can do what they are doing - although what's interesting is that Samson is bringing in a killer class this year, really a first for him after being more of a developmental guy. I consider him one of the smarter coaches out there.
Where we have a disconnect is the belief that doing this is succumbing to being a worst team and losing.
You have to get your portal players right - and there is much less excuse as there is plenty of tape at the required level. Bombing in the portal will be the kiss of death.