Outgoing Portal

[Lobot]

We're going to be busy on Tuesday ya'll

[swilsonsp4]

We're going to be busy on Tuesday ya'll

Chad Brendel indicated that the individual player meetings started Friday and will continue into this coming week. So far, no smoke.

[UC4me]

Is it wrong to read into the fact that Jizzle's father was never seen in Bearcats gear as a sign that his dad is pushing Jizzle to look elsewhere?

[leo from jersey]

Is it wrong to read into the fact that Jizzle's father was never seen in Bearcats gear as a sign that his dad is pushing Jizzle to look elsewhere?

That's not his fashion statement.

[Rufus]

We're going to be busy on Tuesday ya'll

Well that sounds very ominous! Going to be honest with you all, after following bearcat bball for over fifty years, a lot of the joy came from watching young men develope into adults and develope, adapt, and ultimately acclimate themselves into the coaches system, gelling into a unit. I have no inside information but this wholesale transferring at the end of each season with all programs,and having to get to "know" new players every year is making it harder for someone of my age to invest time into trying to be a fan.

[leo from jersey]

Well that sounds very ominous! Going to be honest with you all, after following bearcat bball for over fifty years, a lot of the joy came from watching young men develope into adults and develope, adapt, and ultimately acclimate themselves into the coaches system, gelling into a unit. I have no inside information but this wholesale transferring at the end of each season with all programs,and having to get to "know" new players every year is making it harder for someone of my age to invest time into trying to be a fan.

I am not in the locker room. But as in life, many are late to mature, and some never will. Many want the easiest path or what they consider the easiest. There are many variables. Can one's behavior have an effect on team chemistry. Perhaps one wants to play and not ride the bench, so he seeks a better situation. In this time of open NIL money, the pressure on the Coach to win (at all cost) has to be immense. This will be CWM fourth season and no NCAA tourney. I understand development in life, but winning is the goal of most sports. It is no longer if you win or lose, but how you play the game. Yes, I can see today's culture leaving an empty feeling, but that is the way of the world. I am sure you get my meaning my friend.

[Gmann]

Well that sounds very ominous! Going to be honest with you all, after following bearcat bball for over fifty years, a lot of the joy came from watching young men develope into adults and develope, adapt, and ultimately acclimate themselves into the coaches system, gelling into a unit. I have no inside information but this wholesale transferring at the end of each season with all programs,and having to get to "know" new players every year is making it harder for someone of my age to invest time into trying to be a fan.

I'm with you. Free agency in pro sports is bad enought. It really sucks for college. Isn't it funny that it used to be a thing that players would go on academic probation. Now it's not even mentioned. I find it hard to believe that all these players switching schools each year could be doing well academically. There can't be any continuity to their studies. It's as if being in college to get an education isn't even a factor.

[Lobot]

Is it wrong to read into the fact that Jizzle's father was never seen in Bearcats gear as a sign that his dad is pushing Jizzle to look elsewhere?

You are wrong to think so.

[Lobot]

It looks like, and nothing is in written in stone, that we will have 3 guys hitting the portal on Tuesday. All in the front court. The reason I'm not saying who is the same reason you don't ruin a commitment announcement for a kid. I'm going to let them make their own announcements on the subject. I'm not trying to tease you all. If it plays out the way I've been told, most of you will be not all that disappointed in the outcome.

[Longtime Lurker]

Well that sounds very ominous! Going to be honest with you all, after following bearcat bball for over fifty years, a lot of the joy came from watching young men develope into adults and develope, adapt, and ultimately acclimate themselves into the coaches system, gelling into a unit. I have no inside information but this wholesale transferring at the end of each season with all programs,and having to get to "know" new players every year is making it harder for someone of my age to invest time into trying to be a fan.

Agreed ,with this, albeit with a little less experience as a fan. One of the real joys of being a UC fan (in particular) has been the opportunity to watch the "under the radar" players develop over time into stars (think Levertis Robinson under Yates, Ryan Fltecher, Bobby Brannen, and even Kenyon under Huggins, Trevon Scott and Justin Jackson for Cronin as examples) over the course of 3 or 4 years, or underrecruited "glue guys" becoming instrumental (Tarrance Gibson, Jaquan Parker, Rashad Bishop (I know T Rat was a juco player, but still one of my all-time favorites for doing all the little things and after seeing several instances of true kindness from him in the community when I was still in high school). It's always been something that I felt like we have "better" than fans for UK and other "blue bloods", where you don't develop a real relationship with the one-and-dones (which is why I don't have the same level of connection to Lance, Dontoniio, Kenny Satterfield, or DerMarr-great (albeit the first two frustrated me to no end while they were here) players, but didn't get to see them develop and grow here, so don't feel as tied to them. That's all being lost now. I think I am actually sadder to see the loss of the valuable "role players" leaving to chase "stardom" that will likely never come. The reality is that many of us (in life as in sports) are better suited as "glue guys", who are the backbone and throughline of any successful organization. The ability to learn that about yourself, to commit to a system where over time you can learn how best to develop your individual skills to support the whole, and to become part of a successful team (including things that are "different from how I would do it" is incredibly valuable not just for your time as an athlete but for the rest of your existence, and I feel like that is truly lost with the unlimited transfers. To be clear, I don't think the "old way" was fair either (where coaches have unlimited free agency, but players are trapped when their coaching staff leaves them)-but there should be some way to find a happy (er) medium.

[leeraymond]

It looks like, and nothing is in written in stone, that we will have 3 guys hitting the portal on Tuesday. All in the front court. The reason I'm not saying who is the same reason you don't ruin a commitment announcement for a kid. I'm going to let them make their own announcements on the subject. I'm not trying to tease you all. If it plays out the way I've been told, most of you will be not all that disappointed in the outcome.

Very intriguing Labot. Do you have any more hints that you CAN share at this time?

[Lobot]

Very intriguing Labot. Do you have any more hints that you CAN share at this time?

Nope but if you look around, someone nailed it in another thread.

[sedz]

Three guys who struggled to find playing time. I never like to see guys choose to leave, but it's clear they weren't going to be key pieces moving forward.

[leeraymond]

I'm with you. Free agency in pro sports is bad enought. It really sucks for college. Isn't it funny that it used to be a thing that players would go on academic probation. Now it's not even mentioned. I find it hard to believe that all these players switching schools each year could be doing well academically. There can't be any continuity to their studies. It's as if being in college to get an education isn't even a factor.

Very good point. Very seldom do you hear anyone talk about graduation rates. Sometimes there is talk concerning an individual player graduating early or an older player being in graduate school, but very seldom, if ever, do you hear of program graduation rates. Also, when a student (non-athlete) transfers from one school to another, there typically is a loss in academic credits because not all academic credits transfer.

Has the NCAA reached a level of indifference where the academics have become secondary to the athletics and the income that the athletics can generate? Only a very small percentage of these college athletes will go pro. So, it is extremely important for these players to get a good solid education. For the players that do not have professional level talent, or go into coaching, they will go on to graduate (I guess), get married, and start families. Their educations will come in handy when playing the LIFE GAME. I truly hope that the NCAA does NOT lose focus of why most of these STUDENTS are in college in the first place; to get an education.

[zykarious]

Very good point. Very seldom do you hear anyone talk about graduation rates. Sometimes there is talk concerning an individual player graduating early or an older player being in graduate school, but very seldom, if ever, do you hear of program graduation rates. Also, when a student (non-athlete) transfers from one school to another, there typically is a loss in academic credits because not all academic credits transfer.

Has the NCAA reached a level of indifference where the academics have become secondary to the athletics and the income that the athletics can generate? Only a very small percentage of these college athletes will go pro. So, it is extremely important for these players to get a good solid education. For the players that do not have professional level talent, or go into coaching, they will go on to graduate (I guess), get married, and start families. Their educations will come in handy when playing the LIFE GAME. I truly hope that the NCAA does NOT lose focus of why most of these STUDENTS are in college in the first place; to get an education.

I agree in that I love seeing guys stick around and develop. We had it great in that aspect with Cronin, he has one of the lowest transfer rates in the NCAA throughout his career. Now with the new rules and Wes being closer to middle of the pack in retention rates, year over year turnover is becoming the norm. At least we are in the Big 12 and have a reasonable amount of NIL money, so we don't have to worry as much about losing up and coming players. If we were still in the AAC, our top players would be huge targets for other teams (and they could still get poached even at our current level).

I'd argue that athletes are more than making up for whatever they are losing out on in education. A nice chunk of NIL money to get them started after college doesn't hurt either. Let's face it, the value in college is mostly not in "education" it's in getting the piece of paper that shows you were willing to stick with it. Learning the hard work, dedication and effort required of D1 athletes is more value in the long term than missing out on some high quality classes. Businesses value that (and name recognition too), as college athletes are employed at quite a bit higher rates than college graduates.

That said, I do hope something changes down the line. It's hard to imagine without a complete remodeling (or likely a breakaway from the NCAA). Contracts, salary caps and so forth. Make it official that colleges really are a minor league system for pro-leagues. That could even come with an adjustment to the 4-year eligibility rule. Hard to say exactly what it will look like or when it will arrive, but it seems like it's coming eventually.

If Lobot's info is accurate, we are already expecting a minimum of three transfers and that's only if no one leaves later in transfer season. If we have someone get poached like MAW last year or someone leave after new guys arrive over playing time concerns we could easily get to 4/5 and turning over over half the team again once you count Newman and Ody running out of eligibility.