McBulls

Just perusing Verbal Commits- one thing we have in our favor is that none of our competitors have a scholarship to give. Miss St and Arkansas are already over-signed for next year, and DePaul at the limit (13). Arizona St appears to have a spot but Mickey Mitchell is incorrectly listed as a senior on the site. Obviously in the era of the "transfer epidemic" this may not hold, but if Hawkins is hoping for a 3/30 commit we may be the only school on his final list with a committable offer. That said, stranger things have happened. Last year Anthony Higgs chose Illinois after not including them in his final 3 schools under consideration. He sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders and just the type of big that would work well in our system- very mobile, pretty fluid, runs the floor.

Hey BB- totally agree, in such a situation I would feel that compensation is warranted for Notre Dame and Wisconsin from UB for such transfers. I don't know how to quantify the loss of an individual player player, but imagine a formula could be arranged dependent upon production/playing time at the prior institution and/or production/% snaps played at the institution to which a graduate transfer moves. If this compensation involved the transfer of available scholarships it would have to be trailing the post-grad season to allow such data to be formulated. As implied above, transfers from most P5 institutions to a G5 school involve a cast-off/afterthought player seeking playing time. Generally these players have a limited body of work from which the accepting institution can judge the merits of taking on such a player. A transfer from Buffalo to a P5 school? Typically the cream of our crop, with plenty of live game footage to back them up. Each has value, but probably not the same. I think that the only way to temper the player movement explosion is to extract a greater cost on schools accepting transfers. The decision becomes much more difficult if poaching a KJ Osborn costs not only a one year scholarship and the possibility that his game won't translate to a "higher level" but also the opportunity to recruit future players who are seemingly less of a sure thing out of the high school/JUCO ranks. Until then prepare for the perceived lesser conference schools to hemorrhage top talent to blue bloods in football and basketball each year and the talent gap that admittedly already exists to become a gaping chasm. And at that point- why even pretend that we compete with these schools as equals? If we don't view a school like this as a competitor and equal, and the transfer of a player to a program like Miami is met with cheers and congratulations for the player rather than lamenting the loss and feeling a sense of betrayal for our program and school, then why do we have a program at all? If your sense of accomplishment is passing along players to "better" D1 football schools, and more- if you offer congrats to KJ Osborn for living his dream by transferring to a "better" school at the D1 level- then shut the program down today. Spare me the placement of such schools on a pedestal, and spare me if I don't congratulate a former Bulls receiver who felt the same way. I don't begrudge KJ transferring, and I don't want him on my team if he wants to be elsewhere. But I also won't congratulate or root for him any more than I would my wife if she left me for another "better" man.

In reality, both points of view are entirely understandable. KJ clearly thinks that transferring to a higher profile conference will improve his career opportunities. He has graduated and is well within his rights to make such a move. I won't happily cheer for him, however, in his new landing spot. KJ may feel that the move is best for him, and if so, is entitled to transfer. It is a slap in the face, however, to the school that has developed and educated him for the past four years. The covenant between school and player should be of mutual benefit. KJ was clearly not prepared to contribute as a freshman. The best move, for program and player, was to redshirt: Osborn maintains eligibility, learns the game, and grows stronger. It also ensures a fifth year of tuition free undergraduate or graduate education which is of lifelong benefit. UB earns a fifth year experienced player better ready to contribute down the line. In transferring for his senior season KJ still pockets his benefits, while UB loses out entirely on their investment. Miami and other P5 schools further have no cause to pause when recruiting away a ready made graduate transfer from their G5 brethren. The NCAA, in order to maintain some semblance of a level playing field, needs to address the situation. Some form of compensatory transfer of scholarship(s) from the recipient institution to the donor, so to speak, seems most fair. Miami wants a polished 5th year starter from Buffalo? Two scholarships transferred to Buffalo in exchange. If we are to serve as a farm system to the schools we are expected to compete against we ought to have the benefit of casting a wider net up front. In this manner, player movement remains free but a cost is extracted from the bigger institutions almost always on the receiving end of top talent from the Buffalo's of the world. For the record, I am a physician. I graduated from UB undergrad and medical school. Within the medical world people are generally upset when someone leaves a practice to work at a perceived competitor. Onerous restrictive covenants are commonplace. My own contract has a two year non-compete for the region with a buyout well into the six figures. Want to move to a "better job?" Be prepared to have a pound of flesh extracted and expect hard feelings from the former partners who have aided your professional development.

What a strange situation- had read somewhere that Oats had been on him for several years, maybe even dating back to high school. Change of heart three weeks before signing day leaves us in a tough situation. Given the timing (shortly after the verbal of another JUCO wing), could it be concern over playing time? Just baffles me- no other reported offers right now. In any event- good luck to Sean, hope he finds the school and program he is looking for. Looks like a dynamic player who will provide good minutes for whatever school he chooses. I image it will be difficult to get in on any freshman to be this late in the game, and the ones we have on offer (Drumgoole, Samuel, etc) seem headed to bigger schools. Looks like a year we will round out the class with JUCOs and transfers. Many ways to build a roster, trust in Oats and Co.

https://mobile.twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1053783165788217345

https://twitter.com/JucoRecruiting/status/1053419220602667009 Cadwell being recruited by New Mexico and SMU. Rojas I think from Jamestown originally. I believe was 1st team all-WNY and had impressive stats as a freshman at a high level JUCO.

Like the pick up. Very athletic. Should be a rotation player from day 1, which will add to depth for next year. Seems like we have two good JUCOs coming. Hope we add at least two solid freshman in the early signing period to round out the class. Would have one scholarship left- could use any number of ways, including taking on a mid season transfer or head transfer.

https://mobile.twitter.com/coreyevans_10/status/1045776340006457345 Hooe we land both.

https://247sports.com/PlayerInstitution/Emmanuel-Andrew-at-Kearns-221547/CurrentExpertPredictions/ 112th ranked player in the country, per 247. Predictions are often pretty accurate. Would be another great get, if it comes true.