Big 4 Hoops Blogger

My crew at Trainwreck Sports is already getting involved with supporting UB athletics through NIL.

2 hours ago, BrooklynBull said:

Expect an announcement tomorrow on NIL from UB.

This announcement has been a long time coming. Heard they originally had issues convincing boosters that NIL was necessary but that they now understand the importance after seeing what's taken place the last few years at UB and across college basketball.

1 hour ago, DaBulls99 said:

An interesting article. East Tennessee State AD says their hoops team needs $200k annually. 

https://richmond.com/sports/college/schools/university-richmond/university-of-richmond-atlantic-10-conference/article_b4fcd2f0-00a3-11ef-8d09-9ba837b436cf.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

I can tell you the amount UB hopes to raise annually in NIL once it's announced and it's six figures as well.

36 minutes ago, BrooklynBull said:

The PAC2, will have no bids in any sport as a two team "conference".  They are not even a real conference in the NCAA next year.  A conference needs six members, which is why Johns Hopkins is in the Big 10 in lacrosse.

It won't be a league for the next few seasons but there's a good chance that several Mountain West teams will either climb over or they'll merge with the two "PAC-2" schools and keep the "PAC" naming rights for branding purposes.

I had heard that Long was connected to Cage about a month ago. Thought there was a chance he would come to UB. Now it makes complete sense why he transferred to Hampton.

3 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

Was CJ able to throw with some level of accuracy or was it mainly a running attack? The one clip I saw from Nik McMillian's catch seemed to come from DiPillo.

Great to hear that there is a noticeable difference. I heard something similar from one of the player's dad's who was also in attendance.

Just mentioned this in the QB1 thread but Ogbonna looked solid on Saturday. He was whipping the ball around and connected on multiple deep balls to Taji Johnson for 50+ yard touchdowns. He also threw a TD to Victor Snow. It's clear they're testing his arm out during the spring.

I've been to two spring practices so far. It appears that CJ Ogbonna has a solid lead over Gunnar Gray. Ogbonna had three touchdown passes during their scrimmage on Saturday including two BOMBS to Taji Johnson who had himself a day! Gray really hasn't really stood out too much. Can't wait for the Spring Game to see how they play in front of a crowd!

I've been to two spring practices and can already see a huge difference between how things are run under Lembo compared to Mo.

Practices have been upbeat and he enjoys being a teacher and letting his coaches coach. He's going to get UB football back on track.

Btw, CJ Ogbonna looked really good during their scrimmage on Saturday and appears to be leading the QB battle.

Right now, Canisius is in the beginning stages of their NIL. They're not really sure what to expect but their number one goal is aimed at player retention.

Niagara also has an NIL collective launching as well. Stay tuned regarding UB!

I was at the Jim Christian press conference today and spoke with him afterwards.

I'm going to increase my college basketball coverage next season. With me being back with Trainwreck Sports, I will be credentialed with UB, Canisius and Niagara so I look forward to providing additional content in the future.

Nate Oats ends the speculation by tweeting that he's staying at Alabama. Good for him!

2 hours ago, MKBullsfan said:

I think the allure of coaching a top college program is not what it used to be. It’s changed since the NIL and more schools have money to pay coaches. The winning is not guaranteed anymore. Everyone is buying players these days and players can get paid sooner so development is not a priority. Cal saw he was getting exposed and not winning anymore so he bailed. He just took a 5 year deal to bridge him to retirement. 

Calipari is heading to an Arkansas program that's giving him a $5 million/year NIL budget and leaving Kentucky where he was feeling the heat. He was also looking into the Ohio State vacancy a little while back according to reports.

The Blue Blood jobs are still alluring but you're right that some coaches don't want the added pressure at those type of schools.

26 minutes ago, everlast2504 said:

Winning a championship in Alabama is significant for both the school and Oats. Not winning a championship in Kentucky would be significant for both the school and Oats if he went there. 

Alabama can compete and probably offer more on every level except history. It's also an 18 million buyout, plus a significant jump in salary to make Oats think about moving. Base on SI, his new contract is top 5 at 5 million a year. He has a huge contract with a huge buyout. Saban is gone. He is now the face of 'Bama sports. 

Your top point is significant. The question is whether or not Oats truly cares about that. We know he says he does but he also discussed turning UB into the Gonzaga of the east and that was all talk.

Oats is good enough to win a title at Alabama which would make him a God down there. At Kentucky, they'd get upset if he didn't eventually win one. The difference is that it's fairly easy to have UK in contention every year. It's not that simple to do that at Bama even though he's had them in the NCAA Tournament four consecutive years.

He could absolutely stay at Alabama and would continue to succeed. Will be interesting how everything plays out.

16 minutes ago, DaBulls99 said:

What can Kentucky offer that Alabama can’t? Seriously. I know Kentucky is the “blue blood”, but Bama has just as many dollars to offer. Oats just went toe to toe with the likely back to back champion in the Final Four. Clearly he can do it at Bama too. 

Kentucky basketball is the equivalent of Alabama football. We're talking about a school that's potentially willing to pay an $18 million buyout and possibly give Oats a substantial raise over what's already an incredible contract. 

Oats is an amazing coach and recruiter at a school like Bama. Imagine would he could do at a Blue Blood. I'm not exaggerating when I say this... He could be one of the best head coaches of this generation if he takes the Kentucky job.

I'm talking about someone that could win multiple National Championships and be remembered as an all-time great among the likes of Roy Williams, Coach K and Rick Pitino.

There isn't even a comparison between Kentucky and Alabama outside of resources. The question is whether Oats wants to stay with the project he built or be the star coach at probably the top job in the nation.

Kentucky vs. Alabama:

17 Final Fours to 1

8 National Championships to none

Blue Blood vs. solid SEC program

2 hours ago, DooleyBull06 said:

18 million dollar buyout. We will see how badly Kentucky wants him. 

Question is: Does Nate want Kentucky and all the baggage of expectations that come with it?

Those are the two big questions right now. I think Oats could become one of the best coaches of this generation if he goes to Kentucky. Knowing how much he cares about winning, it's hard for me to see him turning down that type of opportunity.

If Kentucky is willing to pay his MASSIVE buyout, I think Oats would bolt to Kentucky in a second. It's a true blue blood with unlimited resources and a ton of history. Perfect timing coming off a Final Four appearance. Could get interesting soon.

Looking back, it's clear that Adam Cohen and Ben McCollum were really good candidates. Calhoun... Who knows the real story with him... My UB sources now seem to indicate he wasn't really part of the discussion despite a few Twitter accounts throwing his name out last year.

What I can say is that I'm of the belief Buffalo thought they had a really good chance to land Cohen when they originally let go of Jim Whitesell and that something happened that they either didn't anticipate or he changed course after gathering more information.

Tahj Staveskie averaged 10.5 ppg, 4.5 assists and 4 rebounds per game as a freshman at Canisius and was a big reason the Griffs were picked to finish 3rd in the MAAC preseason poll. He only played in two games last year due to an injury. The rumor is that he either didn't rehab it properly or something happened that prevented him from returning. The injury was not supposed to be season ending so it either worsened or he chose to sit out games as some Canisius fans speculate. On the surface, he would be a quality transfer for UB and would probably instantly slot in as their starting point guard.

Zxavier Long is more of a hustle guy. 7 ppg and 6 rebounds as a sophomore but missed all of last year. Would be a decent add if healthy.

These aren't the type of guys UB would've targeted in the past with Oats but wouldn't be bad pickups considering where the program currently is. It's hard to get experienced transfers right now with our NIL situation. Gotta take what you can get! 

(Don't know if the rumors of them being interested in UB are true or false)

59 minutes ago, TheCommish said:

they constructed the best team they could afford. We have zero NIL. How will they build the roster without going the HS route and hoping for the best.

The high school route was their strategy last offseason. They've been actively pursuing transfers since the portal opened. The NIL situation is getting addressed as well.

These are all reasons why I said recently that I have some optimism about their program heading into the future despite what happened this past season.

1 hour ago, MuchMany said:

We're adding four HS seniors and a sophomore and losing a senior and four juniors as it stands. Two open spots remain. Not sure I'm seeing any evidence of the strategy you describe.

There's a difference between what they want to do and what they're actually able to do. They know their roster wasn't properly constructed this past season.

38 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

Understand that, but that buyout could have been bigger and they also should have spent on a better candidate. We were in a position to actually start at a plateau point and then advance forward. JW offered some stability and likely preservation of the roster, but it basically caused us to stay at that plateau without moving up. I also am not talking about BH, I am talking about a competent HC with a winning history where UB would have been a step up and then he could have advanced to that next level.

It didn't happen, so here we are.

Yea, you're absolutely right. I'm not sure Oats would've signed an extension with a much larger buyout though when that could've been a deterrent from other schools pursuing him.

The buyout money definitely should've been used for going after a bigger coaching candidate though.

Have heard that Halcovage has gone into this offseason with a slightly different team building mentality. He arrived at UB last year with the intention of building the program through young players and development. I think he's aware that he needs more veterans on this team. Whether or not he'll be successful in convincing experienced players to transfer to UB is another story.

13 hours ago, UBinMD said:

Guaranteed the feeling isn’t mutual. ADMA really messed up that buyout. Should have set us up to hire a $1 million coach. 

To be fair, Oats signed that extension fully aware that he was likely leaving in the near future. He was doing the athletic department a favor with the buyout but UB chose to promote a cheaper internal candidate rather than spend big money on an up and coming outsider.