UBinMD

50 minutes ago, promotherobot said:

UB Athletics needs to work WGR 550 to put Coach Lembo on weekly. He'd be a fun guest.

When I worked in Ft Wayne, Indiana, there was a weekly show with Bobby Knight during the season. It was a must listen to every week. I would be onboard withe a weekly radio show or podcast. Even a Lembo/Paul Peck session would be good. He's very charismatic and I think could bring in a bigger fan base.

1 hour ago, DocCas86 said:

UK has already picked up Amari Williams Drexel 2x All CAA and Andrew Carr Wake Forest 13.5 ppg at the same position. Talk about the rich getting richer.  Very discouraging.

And then next year, whichever guy (or guys) don't get the PT they want, they just portal back out again. I guess they are each betting on themselves, but ultimately, someone is making a bad decision.

10 minutes ago, DocCas86 said:

The perils of transfer portal.  Was to be a key piece for Siena, but now they have to scramble.

https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/siena-men-s-basketball-expected-lose-recruit-19457504.php

So basically, even mid-majors will decent NILs and willing to pony up as much as they can if they have a really talented player, there will always be someone willing to bid more for their services. The only hope would be to have a culture that would be beneficial to the student-athlete that is more valuable than just money. This is how the real world now works. People have to decide if the maximum dollar is in their best interest or if a blend of money and other benefits and culture/team/manager is better for you personally. These young folks are just getting to that point earlier than most of us.

28 minutes ago, TheCommish said:

In due time 😀 Should I share with everyone? My understanding the president needs to approve any use of non-profit, correct?

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2024/blueprint-sports-nil-collective-nonprofit-1234761748/

One of Blueprint’s main selling points is “501(c)(3) fundraising.” Specifically, it has a companion charity, called the BPS Foundation, which allows Blueprint’s NIL collective clients to receive tax-deductible contributions.

In effect, the BPS Foundation serves as a donor-advised fund for college sports boosters who want to contribute to for-profit NIL collectives. Instead of making the contribution to the collective directly, they would instead donate to the nonprofit, which would then be responsible for paying athletes served by the collective.

In an interview with The New York Times last year, Sine claimed he could not speak about the BPS Foundation because it was being run by others. The paper, however, noted that Sine had been listed as the nonprofit’s “president” in documents filed with the Nevada Secretary of State.

“As we understand today, they are operating within the law, and kudos for them,” Belzer said in an interview. “That is a business decision they made, and if they are making a profit, that is great. But we don’t view that as a long-term sustainable business opportunity, and if we feel something is not ethically aligned with our long-term business strategy, we are not going to engage in that business today or tomorrow.”

Here is the list I found for schools utilizing this group:

Penn St, Colorado, Arkansas, Kansas, Arizona, UCLA, NC St, Maryland, Utah, Washington, Stanford, Boston College, Villanova, DePaul, Gonzaga, UNLV, Nevada, George Washington, Wichita St; Loyola-Chicago, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Montana St, High Point

MAC Schools: Buffalo, Bowling Green, Ohio, Toledo

Looks like pretty good company to me. 

24 minutes ago, HomeyG said:

Illinois State seems to have buzz on MAC boards. Good geographic fit it appears

Will give Northern Illinois someone to play.

8 minutes ago, promotherobot said:

 

I meant you and I and whoever else are going? Easiest way for you might be by air. Reagan National to Bradley. 

Oh, sorry 😂 Yes, I plan to attend. I will either fly in or take the train up.

9 hours ago, rma said:

She had a Syracuse hat on her signing day table but picked up the blue and white.

Regardless her and the LV Aces are playing tonight at 10pm eastern.

Shame she didn't see any game action, but impressive that she made it on the roster of the defending champions. Hopefully she will get some PT. Fellow Rookie Kate Martin also did not see game action. I'm glad she made it to the opening day roster.

1 hour ago, promotherobot said:

We're going to UConn 9/28, right?

I believe that is the date 

14 minutes ago, Big 4 Hoops Blogger said:

What is being put in the water in Lewiston and Main Street lately?! Niagara and Canisius are doing a solid job of bringing in quality talent of late.

Isn't this guy from Canada originally? Do they have any talent in Canada?

14 minutes ago, verandaman said:

Surprised that UB agreed to the Robert Morris game in 2026.  They alreay have UAlbany on the schedule.  That makes two FCS games that year....unless someone knows something that I don't know.

I know in 2026 there is the @ Penn State payday game and the @ FIU game (to be returned in 2027), but two FCS games seems like an early commitment, considering that there is still two years to schedule.   Must be a SBC team or C-USA team in need of a game in 2026 (where they could go road) and have a return date.

Just seems early.....that is all. 

Seems odd, but maybe the UAlbany game will rotate out of the schedule. 

11 minutes ago, BrooklynBull said:

A rematch of the 2018 Dollar General Bowl (now 68 Ventures Bowl).

It also keeps our Sun Belt Conference tour alive.

Speaking of Bowls, I really hope we end up in the inaugural Arizona Snoop Dogg Gin and Juice Bowl. The swag from that event will be epic.

1 hour ago, UB92 said:

100%.  Even if they are in the portal next year, we can offer an opportunity.  We need good players.  
 

I really like what Lembo has done so far.   

He's done a really good job. He retained most of the roster, which I think had really good, talented players that underperformed (mainly due to coaching in my opinion). He retained most of a really solid recruiting class, he worked what he had hard in the offseason and let them display their talents in the Spring Game and is now reshuffling the deck to fill the needs he and the staff saw via the portal, etc. Also, bringing back a guy like Dolac speaks volumes about the previous regime as well. I think it has been a great build and I am really exciting to see this team on the field.

This is technically 2025, but I think this is a nice home-home series for us. Good work staff.

3 minutes ago, zigo230 said:

 

Yeah I agree.  The Ooozfest video was good stuff.  He seems like a good fit here... the way he's starting out running the program kind of reminds me of the professionalism of Lance L. but Pete has a more outgoing personality. 

I think that is an apt description.

3 hours ago, BrooklynBull said:

Player to be named later from the Oats hire.

Hopefully he can kick!

44 minutes ago, RecoveringHillbilly said:

We picked up 2 P4 transfers today:

Upton Bellefant, K from 'Bama. No stats 3 years to play. 5star recruit with several offers.

Eddie Pleasant III, CB from Michigan St, no stats 4 years to play. Many big offers out of HS in FL

Nice to be able to pluck some P5 guys if they have the talent and now get an opportunity to play.

20 minutes ago, promotherobot said:

UConn makes sense for football but they'll never bring all sports to the MAC.

Not a chance.

10 minutes ago, MaineBull said:

With the commitment from Miches our roster now appears to be finalized for the 2024 season and looks as follows:

Guards:  Dunn, Sabol, Boldin, Akot, Bradford, Migues

Wings:  Wilson, Mcveigh, Michaels, Batchelor, Jackson

Bigs:  Mighty, Oboh

That gives us the following class breakdown:

Freshman (6):   

Bradford         

Michaels

Oboh

Jackson

Akot

Miques

Sophmores (4): 

Sabol

Boldin

Wilson

Mcveigh

Juniors (2):

Mighty

Batchelor

Seniors (1)

Dunn

At this point it appears we have used up all of our scholarships for the season.   

My guess at starters for next season as of now with the information we have at this time:

PG: Dunn

SG: Sabol

SF: Boldin

PF:  Batchelor

Center:  Mighty

As many have been saying this roster lacks experience and that cannot be denied.  This roster does appear to have athleticism and some length.  I think we will see a much deeper team next season.  I have no doubt the youth will result in some bumps in the road by I think this roster is heading in the right direction.  I think if this staff could do it all over again they would have told the Whitesell players to walk in year one to get their type of players on the roster sooner.  That could have resulted in this roster on the team last year.  Last year in so many ways was a wasted and lost year that we all had to suffer thru.  I think this admin believes in the system this staff is trying to build and they clearly are behind them in a slow building process.  I think we will all be pleasantly surprised with the play of this team next year.  I think we will see a level of effort on the defensive end that was lacking from almost the entire roster last year minus a few players.  I think we will see an unselfish team that will be willing to pass the ball to generate quality looks as opposed to last years horrible shot selection.  I think the quality of basketball will be much improved.  As a fan the basketball viewing will be much improved, lets be honest, it cannot be as bad as last year.  We had two of the most selfish basketball players in the history of UB on the same team, it was just gross to watch.  I am not sure it will result in the amount of wins that we all want but this appears to be a slow build that may take a few years to get back to where we want to be.  I am excited for the season and I look forward to hearing what trickles in this summer about who is performing.  I am hoping for one or two big hits out of our 6 freshman in this class.  I am hoping the next big UB player will be among them.   Go Bulls!    

I agree with you and hope our optimism is rewarded. Let's hope these guys can build together over the summer and into the fall.

Just now, BrooklynBull said:

He is Australian, not Austrian.

I know, I guess I either spelled it wrong or got autocorrected.

3 hours ago, umassfan said:

Posters on the MAC cnsbbs board are discussing this. Here is the latest post and link.

 

My preference is for Buffalo to leave, so that gets you back to 12 😂

1 hour ago, DocCas86 said:

Did a little digging and see Dunn was a teammate of Kobe Elvis in HS.  I was unsuccessful finding stats so far.

He is going to have to provide leadership for UB this season.

Hopefully will be our court general

On 5/11/2024 at 9:01 PM, DaBulls99 said:

Walking on at Ohio State. Competing with 2 other punters. Dumb move if he rides the bench. Great move if he’s the starter. 

And has now been replaced by former Old Dominion and Australian punter Ethan Duane, grad transfer:

1 minute ago, DocCas86 said:

Man this is going to be a young team.  I really don't know what to expect.

Very young. Hopefully it starts with defense and maybe getting back to fast-break points. The offense I think, will be a work in progress throughout the year I think.

https://basketball.realgm.com/highschool/teams/12117/College-Jean-De-Brebeuf

Found this. Looks like a kid from last year's team is at Wichita St. Several others from that HS made it to D1 over the last several years. I guess we will see!