UB92

When all of this transfer portal stuff was happening, one of the reasons (I thought) that this became so popular was the excitement of the recruitment process. After all, you are 16, 17, or 18 years old and you are (in many cases) getting to decide between offers. "Pick me...pick me", the teams plead. You are in your Robert Frost moment -- "Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired" And then you make your selection (perhaps you have several hats on a table...or team logos on your X feed and pare them down slowly)! Then...after the season ends, the excitement of doing this all over again trumps any of the other challenges (will your courses transfer, you sort of liked this town, a significant other you have met, do they have your major at this new school)...not to mention potential NIL money. And then you get promised reps / opportunities ... but it turns out there weren't as many as expected (see the snaps thing above). And guess what? Back in the portal, to do it again the next year! The biggest disincentive was sitting out the year. If that doesn't come back, this will continue, I think. Maybe not at the same rate, but much, much higher than it was 10 year ago.

It is not a pretty picture https://247sports.com/season/2024-football/transferportalpositionranking/?institutionkey=24068

We all know the reasons for the poor performance. It’s the track.

Wait. The return on athletic investment is better? I don’t know the exact numbers, but I’d assume UB must lose millions on athletics. I suspect someone has a decent number on that. As others have said, private money will be the way to get athletics improvements. But that seems sort of unlikely and less likely each year as the landscape changes.

This isn't the summer. I think we all had our expectations of what the first 10 games would look like. I would wager not a single person (even the most pessimistic) would have identified that one win was in the range of reasonable expectations. And it isn't like we are losing games in O/T. We are/were NET 360 for a reason. Also, "wait and see" and "too optimistic" isn't the comparison to make. We all have to "wait and see" since nothing is going to happen. I think what has to happen is we have to recalibrate what is reasonable/reality for the near future. Which I why I think even five wins, at this point, would surprise me (but in a good way). I have watched a lot of UB basketball these nearly 35 years. I would be hard pressed to think of a less competitive team, game in and game out. I mean, maybe some of those Cohane teams, but at least those young players would typically stay for a few years and develop a bit. Now...anyone who develops and is reasonable...leaves through the portal. So it makes it even harder. You have to be able to build a team through the portal now and have them gel quickly...and function like a team. As has been stated by a few on this board, the team gives vibes (at times) of looking like an intramural team that just shows up and plays together, not a team that has practices, develop plays, etc. and executes in game. Combine that with the poor shooting and you get 1 - 9. I wholeheartedly disagree that this forum is "toxic", by the way. Just long standing fans, supporters, boosters, alumni, etc., communicating their thoughts and opinions about the game, team, etc. What would be much, much worse is that if the game thread wasn't started or that no one bothered to talk about it.

Rather than tack this on to the WKY thread, I thought I'd create a new one as we don't have a game for a while. I am trying to get my head around the knowns as 400 minutes of basketball is enough to draw some conclusions. Whether they stick is another story. Here is a laundry list of thoughts.. 1. GH3 started at Villanova in 2008, but didn't get into a coaching position (at least according to Wikipedia) till 2017. 2. When Jay Wright left, GH3 didn't get the head coach job, but stayed on for another year till he left to join UB. As far as I can tell, GH3 has no head coaching experience at any level. 3. GH3 had to replace a lot of players through graduation/transfer portal. Others have documented in other threads that, while he ultimately brought players in, UB didn't win many (any?) battles for players it seems. 4. It was a known before the season and is obvious now that we lack a true ball handler. This is certainly a failure on GH3 and his staff, as this might have really helped. 5. The general skill level to hit open shots for these players that we play with...is just not good. We have ten games of evidence. 6. It can't be that almost every team we play are fast starters. I think our opponents come out in a typical way, but almost always get out to a double digit lead early. Then, realizing that they can coast a bit, they do. And the game flow has ALOT of evidence of this sort of game flow in these first ten games. And while it is easy to say "well...if we just clean up those times where we don't score, we are competitive", that is the ultimate in seeing thing thing rose (or, in this case, blue) colored glasses. So...to recap...we don't have a lot of experience or required skill level on the court, no go-to ball handler and a coach with no HC experience. It certainly doesn't pain a pretty or optimistic picture for the future. Personally, I liked the hire for a variety of reasons. But nothing that has happened since the hire has filled me with confidence about the future. I would say the the over/under total on wins (including our 1 already) is probably 3.5. I'd be a little surprised (but very pleasantly surprised) if we get to 5 wins, to be honest. I know that people are saying things like "give it time" or "give it a few years" or "he is young" or "we see some growth"...and all of that is true...but these first 10 games happened and this isn't a one-game assessment. Of course, I bleed blue and root for UB every game in every sport. So, as usual, Go Bulls. PS: I have a feeling that Butler is going to struggle in the Big East this year...the OT win at home vs. Cal notwithstanding...

Here is a surprising article. https://www.sportskeeda.com/college-football/cole-snyder-transfer-portal-5-potential-landing-spots-buffalo-qb-feat-florida-state-indiana also…‘cuse fans are mixed on Snyder. I think they see him mostly as QB2. I sort of think Snyder will end up a starter in FBS at this rate. Toledo QB got sucked into the portal…

Definitely a better performance for a good chunk of the game. Especially when they went to the rim. A lot of young, inexperienced guys we have. Butler didn't play great, certainly, but we have to take any positives we can at this point. With this same effort and approach, we can certainly be in the game/compete for a win on Saturday. Go Bulls.

16 votes in and one person had "FBS starter". Not sure if Vandy is looking at him as a starter, but as someone else posted, they made an offer.

I expect, with UB being about 25 point dogs and in the famous Hinkle Fieldhouse, that they will likely be down 13 - 0 by the under 16 break. At that point, Butler will take their collective foot off the gas as they look forward to Cal (after coming off a hard fought win vs Texas Tech). And then we get the run...and we are back in it. In other words. Step 1: Make a run after getting shut out early. Step 2: ? Step 3: Win game.

I just picked a random comment here... I know people are complaining (or supporting) after every game (and during the game!). This is fantastic. After all, the alternative is crickets. So even though there probably is so much noise (statistically speaking) to analyze an individual game (and, especially, during a game), it fills the time and allows people/fans to express their interest and support (even if it is only "this coach isn't very good...we need a new coach...and AD"). I may not post as much, but I read almost everything. It would be sad to come to the board during/after the game and not read anything. Go Bulls!

People say our team doesn't have an identity? This is it...we don't score for many minutes at a time (especially to start the game)...and then we lull the other team into complacency...and then we strike. It hasn't worked out well...yet. But we are getting a lot of practice at it and, thus, I'd expect us to get better over time at this strategy! GH3 playing 4D chess.

Does KJ ever say "Buffalo" or "UB"?

There was some (albeit brief) debate on whether Snyder will be a starter in FBS. So...let's poll it.

Not that it matters, but this is going to be a grad transfer deal...right? I mean, he has been in college since 2019, so I assume he has will earn his degree by the end of the spring semester? At any rate, there are probably some team that has a good line...and is graduating a QB (or that QB is going in the portal) who could use someone like Snyder. Given time with feet set, he can deliver the ball. He is pretty limited in a variey of other ways, but with better protection (and better coaching), I think a team can accentuate his positives and limit the exposure to his negatives. Let's face it. The playcalling this year makes Kotelnicki look like Bill Walsh.

This is a naive response. Let's take, for example, TAMU. TAMU hires a guy to manage NIL. https://12thman.com/staff-directory/jamie-wood/2188 Advancement has donors that give money to TAMU, unspecified (of course), but those go to this position. And this (new) position manages NIL. I don't know that for sure, but these are how things happen. In this instance, TAMU is prioritizing NIL (so much so, they made a position for this). By the way TAMU is just one (outlier) example.

This would require the MAC to be forward thinking. The MAC is a stone, slowly sinking through the water. http://realtimerpi.com/college_football/ncaaf_conf_Men.html http://realtimerpi.com/college_football/2022-2023/ncaaf_conf_Men.html While "It just means more" is a phrase of pride (and defiance) the SEC uses, MACTION is a word that always comes with a bit of "they are making fun of us" in its use. Congratulations to Miami and their 1 vote (25th place) in the Top-25 despite being 10 - 2.

NIL isn't a major priority from Advancement. I don't think it will be in the future with this President. I suspect it is a big deal for the AD, but sports (regardless of the interest on this board) isn't a big deal at UB. There has been decades and decades of evidence that supports this. If you want to make change, you need to be in a position to influence decision makers. Hopefully there is someone on this board (or reads this board) who will be on the search committee for the next President...and can encourage the committee, etc., as it relates to athletics and its importance. I don't know where the fiscal oversight is for UB and how it is related to the SUNY Board. But if there are decision makers/people with influence there, this is how we can get change made. Same thing with donors and/or members at UB Foundation.

I just did a cursory search and could not find the reason for the the OC leaving the program. Was he truly fired or did he leave? Was it mutual? I mean, why fire the OC (with all of his experience) and then replace him with someone who has much less experience, especially at the high levels/as coordinator? Also, I think the O-line didn't open many holes, which made it very difficult for Snyder since we were (seemingly) always in passing situations. The play calling didn't help either, but Snyder was not put in the best position to succeed. He needs a clean pocket and to get his feet set...then he can deliver the ball. Anything else is a challenge.

Since we know you are connected, can you elaborate a bit on this point...to the extent you can. When you say "I know", that seems to me more than just a typical "I think" masquerading as actual knowledge.

I don’t who the color commentator is, but he mentioned talking to the coach this week and he came off as it the team had a strong record. It was an interesting observation and it seemed like he was saying it in a “matter of fact” way. However, as the game has progressed, the color commentator has been increasingly critical of the team, their approach, decision making, etc.

Perfect encapsulation of season. Snyder scrambles when all he needed to do was stay in the pocket. What the heck was he doing? Awful call or blocking or both on fake. Need a different QB since he has no real confidence playing. And then when we bring in the other QB they stack line since they know he isn’t throwing

Back on the court early today...a good time to forget about whatever yesterday was and see if we can be competitive here from the outset. There are 351 teams that NCAA ranks in various categories. Our team is ranked 345 in FG% against. On the other side of the ball (and, likely correlated with the former stat) is our assist:turnover ratio. It stands at 0.71...which makes us 321 in the nation. For comparison, the lowest is Coppin State at 0.39. Iowa is at 3.11, which is #1 in the nation. Our turnover margin on a per game basis sits at 346 in the nation. We are providing 6.5 more turnovers per game than our opponent. Our FG percentage sits at 236 in the nation...42.8%. We are 330 in the nation in 3 pt FG percentage against (39%). Who is #1? The team we face today...at 13%. I don't think the odds makers have effectively determined yet how to assess this team. The line is about 10. Not sure what we will see...but we need a much, much better effort on both the defensive end and in keeping care of the ball. We can work on the offense in the future...but we need to focus on defense here.

One of the things that really stood out watching this game was that the team didn’t really look organized or with a plan on either side of the ball. I wonder what practices look like. The contrast with Oats is stark. When Oats took over UB, he already had like ten years as a head coach (albeit in HS), but he apparently ran things like you would in a D1 program. He sort of knew what he was doing right from the jump. Our new coach may have a lot of experience in doing a variety of jobs in a top notch D1 program like Nova, but no one could have watched that game today and not be concerned with the the future. At times, it looked like an intramural team playing together (or worse…a pickup game). Even Reggie ball…with those handoffs on the perimeter, was a plan. I know it is only a few games, but I am sort of scratching my head about what that was. Maybe there was a disciplinary issue. Maybe he is trying out different players in different groupings. But whatever it was, it looked non-competitive. That’s about the most damning thing I could say.

And so it starts…