Honestly considering what players we lost last off season I wasnāt expecting too much. I donāt know about you guys but I still see his intern year as more as his year zero more than his year 1 as a head coach. Considering this is really now Fearnes core Iām more curious in seeing what players he can hold onto in the transfer window and what he can add to it in the off season.
1 Like
Definitely better luck. Not aware of any other team that had the number of injuries etc that we did. Not an excuse, just reality.
3 Likes
Which players were injured again that were the difference maker for the season so I can watch them next year?
1 Like
Jeremiah Oden being out all season was the loss of an expected contributor who was getting $$$
I know there were other injuries and sickness early as well.
To compete, need a bigger NIL pot, need to select the right talent and then hope that talent doesnāt get hurt.
3 Likes
As the other said, Oden being out all year is bad. When we would take Rosado off the floor, the next man up was Dean āBean Eaterā Reiber.
Other injuries included Rosado, Blackmon, Thomas, and I think Nika briefly thought I may be wrong on that. That left us with Rich, Reiber, Folkes, Bradford, and Szymczyk as alternates.
1 Like
If I had a dollar for every time I heard ā____ with an open shot; off the iron,ā I could pay for a semesterās tuition.
4 Likes
LIU
ETSU
(struggle) West Georgia
NIL?
We need a GM to build the roster, a complete overhaul in philosophy, and new assistants that can recruit and assess talent
Many have already stated this, but to reiterate, run a system that is easier to learn, and that is easy to recruit players into, and that players actually want to play in, we are going to have to rebuild every year, make the process easier
1 Like
I know Iām in the minority with this mentality but I think sports at a university should primarily set the stage for education. How to grow and become a more whole person by interacting on a team and compete.
The glitz and glamour of wanting to hire a GM, create contracts for ncaa players, pool more money together for recruiting, and whatnot is neat. But thatās all secondary to me for the educational aspect of college sports.
Weāre an R1 institute now. I know itās not a one or the other, but thatās just my thought here. Most of these kids are on scholarship, which is the benefit to being a D1 university. Itās why I like Fearne. Heās the kind of guy who is straight with the kids and with faculty. Heās obviously teaching lessons one way or another. Heās also good at coaching basketball, even if he didnāt have strong recruits this year. Itās also why I like patience for a coach to complete his contract. Sure, some top-level talent might be swayed more by money, but Iām sure there are some good kids who want to play for Fearne, even if theyāre not the best BBall players in the country.
5 Likes
clt says schools need to cut NIL funds if the players get hurt
I think this is more relevant than ever.
The primary purpose of a university is education not being a pro franchise owner. We all know there are benefits from having successful sports but at this point itās hard to argue that those benefits out weigh the costs.
The arguments we made in favor of football back in 2005 arenāt an easy to defend now.
4 Likes
Already hearing the graduation rates are dropping like rocks since NIL and portal.
5 Likes
Like a lot of things being spouted these days, not true.
At some point graduation rates are going to fall in rev sports they have to. Especially the rate of graduating in 4/5 yrs. We are prob just too early in this new era to see it have a massive impact
You absolutely cant do 4 schools in 4 years and graduate especially given that many of these kids are likely getting grades that wonāt transfer or credits that donāt transfer - unless schools have totally abandoned the academic portion of their responsibility.
1 Like
I agree, if data doesnāt show this yet it will in the next few years.
1 Like
Or even going to class
3 Likes
My guess is they simply stop tracking grad rates for athletes. It makes no sense to do so when an athlete can go to four schools in four years.
3 Likes
Yes, still tracking grad rates because APR is still a thing.
For now, I guess. Itās going to be a particularly useless statistic given unlimited transfers. If athletic departments do keep tracking it, itās going to make most schools grad rates look terrible, imo.
1 Like
APR is an NCAA directive, so reporting is mandatory.
Thanks for the info. Still, itās not going to be a flattering statistic for most schools. I guess that will be the new norm. Any idea if anything is tied to the grad rate? Are there penalties for not hitting a certain rate, etc??