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11 minutes ago, skrabukes said:

Trimble from Akron listed as moving on to Missouri State.  Are most of these guys just transferring to transfer? That doesn't seem like a step up in any way, for someone who has received solid minutes at Akron. I'll just never understand this nonsense. Maybe it's closer to home...I don't know much about him.

If someone moves for a lateral position you can assume they either weren’t happy with minutes, or didn’t like the coach/culture/setup of team. What else can there be? 

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11 minutes ago, UBminicre said:

If someone moves for a lateral position you can assume they either weren’t happy with minutes, or didn’t like the coach/culture/setup of team. What else can there be? 

I mean, this guy played 28 minutes per game on a team that made the NCAA tournament. It just doesn't make sense to me as to why someone would play 4 years at a school, that they helped bring to the tournament, just to leave to go to the MVC. He played 4 years total already, so realistically he doesn't owe the school anything since he should legitimately be completed with his time (but we're in freebie 5 year Covid non-sense time), but still, it seems like just a change for sake of change. 

Edit - in doing more research, he's from Missouri originally, so maybe he's just going home, which in a free 5th year seems like a rational and positive move.

Edited by skrabukes
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20 minutes ago, rma said:

Even though they underperformed, I'd rather have Boals gone than Groce.

Like it matters anyway. If they bring someone good in, they'll just leave next year anyhow. Boals seems to do better bringing them in, crazy Groce seems to get more out of those he brings in.

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3 hours ago, DaBulls99 said:

Boals and Groce getting a lot of buzz about the Butler job. 

Crazy what is now happening in college basketball!! Coaches being hired and many lasting less years than their contracts because of any factors including not having competitive teams or being offered jobs in a better conference. Now with the portal players leaving when coaches are fired or the players not being happy etc. The days of coaches honoring their contracts and and players saying they love their school are gone. The days of the true fans following their college because of the coaches and players seem to be coming to an end especially if the team is not competitive. Sad way to lose some of your fan base but it will happen and is now happening. It certainly appears the college landscape has changed forever and not sure it is for the fans It has changed for both the coaches, players and for the colleges because of the money and opportunities. 

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1 hour ago, John said:

Crazy what is now happening in college basketball!! Coaches being hired and many lasting less years than their contracts because of any factors including not having competitive teams or being offered jobs in a better conference. Now with the portal players leaving when coaches are fired or the players not being happy etc. The days of coaches honoring their contracts and and players saying they love their school are gone. The days of the true fans following their college because of the coaches and players seem to be coming to an end especially if the team is not competitive. Sad way to lose some of your fan base but it will happen and is now happening. It certainly appears the college landscape has changed forever and not sure it is for the fans It has changed for both the coaches, players and for the colleges because of the money and opportunities. 

It’s just going to be like the pros. Like a team but don’t bother liking a player or a coach. Maybe a franchise QB will stick, beyond that it’s a free for all. Especially if you win low level teams throw giant contracts to second tier players. You are 100% correct though, the kids love the recruiting process, free trips, free swag and some extra love. Then it changes when you hit the practice floor.

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9 hours ago, UBinMD said:

And the recycling of coaches continues…

On the other extreme is; the recycling of players continues and hope the players have happiness and contentment with their new teams. There is no peace and contentment for many of us fans but life will go on and we will find other avenues for our enjoyment. 

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Retaining talent from the #267 rated team is a little bit easier than a top 25 team. Sparks is the most intriguing piece of the bunch and he’s a slow footed center that also doesn’t protect the rim (1.9% block rate in the MAC). If he had high major offers I’d imagine he would be gone, but he would be played off the court at that level. Same reason I don’t imagine Skogman ends up at a high major and at least Skogman can stretch the floor

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37 minutes ago, trueblue32 said:

Retaining talent from the #267 rated team is a little bit easier than a top 25 team. Sparks is the most intriguing piece of the bunch and he’s a slow footed center that also doesn’t protect the rim (1.9% block rate in the MAC). If he had high major offers I’d imagine he would be gone, but he would be played off the court at that level. Same reason I don’t imagine Skogman ends up at a high major and at least Skogman can stretch the floor

Fair points...looking over Ball St. stats - where they were weakest last year was defensive.  I expect Sparks and Sellers to have good offensive seasons this year - but how much they improve will depend on how they play defensively.

 

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52 minutes ago, Bill said:

Well then. That was unexpected, right? 

Not necessarily! 😎 Vecenie's content is second to none.

On 3/12/2022 at 11:46 AM, MuchMany said:

Not sure how deep you all get with your basketball content consumption, but Sam Vecenie at The Athletic does some of the best young player content around (CBB and NBA). His most recent podcast at the 45:30 mark highlights Toledo's Ryan Rollins as a top 30 NBA draft prospect this year and a better NBA prospect than Jason Preston was last year. Concerns are athleticism and in-game shooting (granted with solid mechanics) while pluses are suddenness, finishing through contact, and scoring relative to age (he and Johnny Davis are the only teenagers in CBB to average 19+ ppg).

It would obviously be good news for UB if he splits after this year. It's also good to know that people are indeed combing the MAC for talent (just not 6'6.5" forwards with inconsistent motors who can't really shoot or dribble). And while the safe bet is to temper expectations for incoming freshman, I'm going to believe Ceaser is the MAC's Ja Morant until I see otherwise in person 😂. We're due for a guy in the Association!

This also dispels the notion someone floated recently that there aren't impact freshmen in the MAC. Sometimes you luck into one and then luck into him sticking around for an all-conference sophomore year before they bolt to the NBA. Also a good reminder that recruiting rankings have significant margin for error beyond the top 100.

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8 minutes ago, ub2019 said:

Sears going to play for Oats.

Beat me to it. Solid pick up for Oats. Will be interesting to see how a MAC player does in the SEC. 
 

He’s from Alabama. So this is a perfect scenario for a kid portal’ing. Transfer up, go home and play for a contender.

Edited by DooleyBull06
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You guys know I love Mark Sears but I have no clue how this will play out.

He’s a great mid-major scorer but has some limitations. Sears didn’t have the best vision and his height limits him.

Luckily for him at Alabama, he won’t be asked to be an impact player like he was at Ohio. I see him being a SG now, averaging 10-15 mpg, 6-7 ppg and 1-2 apg. I think he’s talented enough to play P5 basketball but I’m not sure he’s good enough to be an impact player at that level.

My gut says he’ll be more of a role player. Has a great shot and offensive game. Wish him the best!

Edited by Big 4 Hoops Blogger
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14 minutes ago, Big 4 Hoops Blogger said:

You guys know I love Mark Sears but I have no clue how this will play out.

He’s a great mid-major scorer but has some limitations. Sears didn’t have the best vision and his height limits him.

Luckily for him at Alabama, he won’t be asked to be an impact player like he was at Ohio. I see him being a SG now, averaging 10-15 mpg, 6-7 ppg and 1-2 apg. I think he’s talented enough to play P5 basketball but I’m not sure he’s good enough to be an impact player at that level.

My gut says he’ll be more of a role player. Has a great shot and offensive game. Wish him the best!

To this point I think Oats is looking for glue guys. Especially after this season. So it’s likely he envisions Sears finishing his career and being that vet leader to surround the one and dones.

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22 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

To this point I think Oats is looking for glue guys. Especially after this season. So it’s likely he envisions Sears finishing his career and being that vet leader to surround the one and dones.

Maybe Oats is looking for guys.who will actually buy into what he’s selling. That takes guys coming in with something to prove. We will see how it plays out. 

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On 4/7/2022 at 8:09 PM, UBinMD said:

Maybe Oats is looking for guys.who will actually buy into what he’s selling. That takes guys coming in with something to prove. We will see how it plays out. 

You can have all the 4/5 star recruits but if a coach can’t get them to play some kind of team mentality it will be tough to win at a high level as evidenced as to what happened at Alabama last year. As far as Sears, yes he was a very good player in the MAC but when he came up against the better quick and athletic players he struggled. The SEC has more of those type players so it will be interesting how he will fit in.

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