Big 4 Hoops Blogger

This is a quote on Bobcat Attack allegedly from Jeff Boals regarding the transfer portal while talking to fans at a caravan event: Unsurprising insight from caravan event in Pickerington: Players in the portal are driven by dollar signs. "And big men are more expensive than anyone else." -- Jeff Boals. I read somewhere that it was rumored Ohio had a decent chunk of change in their collective for basketball. They recently added a former 4-star Maryland transfer and 3-star Creighton transfer. Pair that together with UB being relatively quiet on the portal front and it makes you think. Jerrod Calhoun was rumored to not be interested in the job once he heard about the Bulls NIL situation. I think this is going to play a bigger factor going forward than many posters on this board want to admit.

I don't think anyone is saying UB needs to pay basketball recruits $50,000+ to sign with our program but it is possible to get kids a few thousand bucks through a collective with a little bit of effort. The priority should be on improving facilities and making the program sustainable for long term success first and foremost but it's clear that Buffalo can't just ignore NIL's. There are other mid-majors securing four star recruits and high level transfers. If UB wants to be among the top mid-majors again, they'll have to play the same game as everyone else. Woj comments in the video that if you're not willing to do what it takes, you're gonna fall behind. He even mentions that Bona has to figure things out as well. The collectives aren't just about bringing players in but they can also play a pivotal role in keeping players at your program. There are mid-major players with agents and family members shopping their services to power programs in season. Schools with collectives can sometimes find ways to convince players to stay.

Didn't know where to post this but thought it was relevant to UB and recent conversations on our board regarding NIL collectives and facilities. Woj is absolutely correct. It sucks to admit as a mid-major program but a huge part of recruiting now is paying up and taking a year-to-year approach. Will be interesting to see how we fill out our roster.

Dwight Wilson will be a big loss for them. He was the Bobcats best player last year and a force in the post. Baker turned it on late but should be replaceable. Ohio might have the best collection of guards in the MAC next year and I wouldn't be surprised to see them utilize four guard lineups at times. They return Jaylin Hunter, AJ Brown (former top 200 recruit), Elmore James, Miles Brown and just added Maryland transfer Ike Cornish (former 4-star, top 115 recruit) and Creighton transfer Shareef Mitchell (former 3-star, top 235 recruit).

Solid addition for Ohio. Looks like he might have two years of eligibility remaining since he only played in six games his junior year at Creighton. Former Top 250 recruit and Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year. Will be interesting to see where he fits in with the Bobcats guard rotation that returns Hunter/James/AJ Brown/M. Brown. Can sometimes be difficult projecting P5 backups transferring to the mid-major level.

I don't know how many of you actively use Twitter but I'm always posting about UB sports and the Bills/Sabres. You can find me at @Mike_Bundt

I don't know how many of you actively use Twitter but I'm always posting about UB sports and the Bills/Sabres. You can find me at @Mike_Bundt

Hey guys, We're back for another episode of Talkin' Big 4 Hoops tonight. John Snyder and myself will be joined by Kevin Massare around 6:30ish. We'll have a link to the live show below. You can also watch the replay of the entire episode after the fact. We have some juicy news regarding the latest rumors surrounding the UB coaching search and give our opinions on where things currently stand.

Hey guys, We're back for another episode of Talkin' Big 4 Hoops tonight. John Snyder and myself will be joined by Kevin Massare around 6:30ish. We'll have a link to the live show below. You can also watch the replay of the entire episode after the fact. We have some juicy news regarding the latest rumors surrounding the UB coaching search and give our opinions on where things currently stand.

He had a huge decline in minutes and production this year under Michael Lewis. Niagara will offer him an opportunity to start again and be a key contributor on an improving MAAC squad. I like the fit for him on the Purple Eagles. He wasn't a great player in the MAC but should be decent in the MAAC.

Wouldn't this be how UB is trying to help their student athletes acquire NIL deals? They have a Built In Buffalo NIL student request form. https://ubbulls.com/sb_output.aspx?form=22

I don't know if UB currently has one but Ohio launched their NIL program last May: https://ohiobobcats.com/news/2022/5/24/general-ohio-athletics-unveils-the-ohio-nil-exchange-to-public.aspx Here's an idea of how it operates: https://dash.inflcr.com/exchange/ohio-university

I recently gave my thoughts on UB firing Jim Whitesell on Trainwreck Sports. Fast forward to the 12:20 mark for our coaching discussion.

It appears that only three of their regional locations have been announced at this time (Wichita, Louisville, West Virginia). I know there was speculation about Buffalo in the past and would think that's a strong possibility given Blue Collar's recent string of success. https://thetournament.com/tbt/2023-locations/

That's an overly vague statement that doesn't include a lot of context. Sure, there's plenty of former great recruiters that didn't pan out to be good head coaches. There's also a ton of great teachers, developers and game managers that didn't turn into great head coaches because they couldn't recruit the level of players needed to be successful. There are plenty of different skills needed to be a successful head coach at the D1 level. To diminish any skillset as non-important is wrong. Ideally, you want someone well rounded but that's not always possible at the mid-major level.

I truly feel bad for Toledo fans. To win three straight regular season titles and fall short in Cleveland each time is absolutely brutal.

I'm going to assume that most of our roster will look to transfer out and seek other opportunities. It's not necessarily a bad thing for a new coach with the current state of the transfer portal. You can guarantee newcomers immediate playing time which should help land some decent recruits. St. Bonaventure had to reconstruct their entire roster last season and while they had an overall down season this year, they're set up to be somewhat successful in the upcoming years with some of their quality younger players.

Hiring a guy like Hodgson to be head coach would certainly come with some risks but it would be worthwhile in my opinion. If he flops and can't handle the job, you can easily move on after three seasons and start over. From my past experience covering other mid-major programs, the ones that had the highest upside were schools that specifically targeted high level recruiters. It's probably the riskiest path because you need to surround yourself with a skilled staff to make up for your shortcomings. I think UB still has enough to offer as a mid-major to allow him to recruit at a high level. He would certainly be more limited recruiting as a head coach but I still think his skillset would still come in handy. He was bringing in high 3-star, borderline 4-star guys to UB and 5-star, All Americans to Alabama. That's absolutely unreal recruiting ability. The issue with X & O's guys is that they need talent to develop and coach up. The MAC is a very top heavy with Akron, Kent, Toledo and Ohio. You need 3-star guys to compete with them. If you can't keep up with them recruiting wise, you're toast. If you do out-recruit them, you can win in spite of being a below average X & O guy if you have other talented coaches on your staff. So to wrap up, it's definitely a risk. Hodgson could go 24-8 or 8-24 depending on how things come together if he were to get the job. An X & O guy might consistently go 18-12. You could be solid every year but never good enough to go dancing. Essentially, I'm saying to take to risk to go after the highest ceiling rather than settle for a safe hire. The other candidates mentioned are certainly good options as well.

Being a good recruiter doesn't mean you'll be a good coach. It's an important skillset but not the only one. Some people are X & O guys, other coaches specialize in developing players and some focus on recruiting. The key is to have a solid staff that can excel in each category. WKU wasn't winning at the level expected when they hired Rick Stansbury. He had tremendous recruiting classes but couldn't guide them to the tournament during his seven seasons. Despite that, he still was winning at a very high rate and won 20+ games 14 times in his career including his time at Mississippi State. I'm not a supporter of Hodgson because he can recruit. I'm a fan of his because he's an ELITE recruiter. If he ends up being their choice, I'll be happy but I'm also content with the other guys mentioned on the lists being leaked to the media.

The three names that make the most sense are Cohen, Hodgson or Hartman. Cohen knows the game, can recruit and has local ties. He would be a perfect hire and would likely use UB to catapult his career. Hodgson brings elite recruiting ability, local ties and familiarity with the UB program. He'd instantly bring higher level players to Buffalo (transfers, 3 and possibly 4 star recruits). He'd need to surround himself with a strong staff to make up for his shortcomings. Hartman is a Buffalo local that has put his time in as a major assistant. He'd bring familiarity with WNY, someone appreciative of the opportunity that could potentially stay longterm at UB and certainly knows the game. I'm open to other names not listed as well. It's safe to say we'll likely lose a good portion of our roster in the upcoming weeks so whoever gets hired will need to have solid roster building skills because it'll likely be a brand new squad next year.

2. Jeff Boals was overlooked for jobs twice at Ohio before being hired. 3. Many assistants coach for 10+ years before getting their first head coaching job. That's not uncommon at all. 4. He wasn't the head coach because it didn't fit his schedule at Alabama in terms of recruiting and events. He was originally supposed to be the head coach and stepped down prior to TBT beginning the first year. He was responsible for the entire roster of guys playing. 5. The players at TBT came back because they wanted to play together. He was the one that convinced them. He has built great relationships with players which is why he's a tremendous recruiter. Hodgson might not get the job or be a top candidate but some of your speculation is slightly off base. I personally know about the TBT info from talking with former players and people within the UB athletic department that let Blue Collar practice at UB.

The story that got out and the truth of what actually happened don't line up. Hodgson was told they weren't considering him for the job so he moved on. Bad look on his part but it didn't play out the way many on this board discuss the incident and I know that for a fact.

Take this for what it's worth but a group of donors are pushing Alnutt to hire Hodgson. That certainly means something after he wasn't considered four years ago when Oats departed. While he certainly has his detractors, there's a large portion of the fanbase that wants UB to hire him. Out of all the potential candidates, he'll have the largest backing heading into the process. I'm not against the idea of Josh Pastner but don't think that's likely. Mike Anderson is a nice name but could be viewed similarly as Whitesell as a retread head coach that's a short term fix despite a much more impressive resume. All of that said, I think UB is more likely to target a young, rising assistant in my opinion.