South goes West...to Cal
- Thread starter lou v
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Nine schollies, including the three incoming freshman, plus one transfer who can’t play.
But the point is that they still have three scholarships to fill for next year. Tomorrow is June 1. I’d be SHOCKED if they are able to fill them before next season. I think they are destined to play a man or two down next season.
A man or two down would be great. Right now they are an Infield short of a full roster for 2019-20.
Before everyone here goes off the rails, there are many grad transfers who have not committed, and new ones entering the portal as coaching changes continue. Plus, we are appealing on the non-grad transfer to make him eligible this year.
No, I don’t mean to belittle any of the transfer targets, but these guys are depth pieces. None are program “must-gets”. Yes NU needs to put players in the court, but I have doubts any of them lifts NU from bad to average or from average to good.
Relying on transfers is not a way to elevate a program. We lost 3 grad transfers, all good guys but none of them were taking us to the tourney. It wasn’t LeBron, DWade, and Bosh. It’s going to be a rough season next year. I am not going in with high expectations in the win column, but I do have high expectations in the development column. Hopefully, we will win more than I expect and the seasonable will be enjoyable.
Sometimes we sound like Fighting Lovie football fans where this or that transfer is going to be a great even though they weren’t stars at their other program. It can happen, but the odds of getting multiple grad transfer contributors to take teams to the promised land is slim.
Not everyone is going to be a fit. The players need to connect and be able to sell the program. I wonder, who are the leaders of this team now? Which guy(s) has the charisma and qualities that draw other people to him? Some pretty big shoes to fill in that area since BMac, Pardon, and Law.
I have a lot of questions about the team chemistry. I hope it is there, but have no idea.
I have a lot of questions about the team chemistry. I hope it is there, but have no idea.
Would have been nice to pick up the grad transfer guard.
His visit was on some epically crappy days weather-wise....Cal would have looked good to me.
But I suspect that the academic piece was not as easy as he might have hoped. Gonna guess that the programs he would have been interested in at NU weren't going to give him six pence for his bball.
His visit was on some epically crappy days weather-wise....Cal would have looked good to me.
But I suspect that the academic piece was not as easy as he might have hoped. Gonna guess that the programs he would have been interested in at NU weren't going to give him six pence for his bball.
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We really wring our hands over some Cats minutiae, don't we?
If you want to be concerned about 10 schollies vs 12 or 13, have a great time. But you might want to know that at least 8 out of the other 13 B10 teams enter today with 11 or fewer scholarship players - IU, Minn, Iowa, Mich, UW, Illinois, Rutgers, Nebraska. Obviously, Michigan and Nebraska have extenuating circumstances, but I'm not sure things would be much better for Nebraska, no matter who the coach is.
The programs with nearly full use of their scholarships are mostly the recent upper tiers of the B10 - MSU, Purdue, OSU and Maryland. Then there's PSU also.
Ten or 11 scholarships is not unusual. It's not a back breaker. I'm starting to think this is the new normal for the summer in college basketball. As always, the stud programs will be able to recover quickly from changes.
The NU problem is what they do with those 10 scholarships.
If you want to be concerned about 10 schollies vs 12 or 13, have a great time. But you might want to know that at least 8 out of the other 13 B10 teams enter today with 11 or fewer scholarship players - IU, Minn, Iowa, Mich, UW, Illinois, Rutgers, Nebraska. Obviously, Michigan and Nebraska have extenuating circumstances, but I'm not sure things would be much better for Nebraska, no matter who the coach is.
The programs with nearly full use of their scholarships are mostly the recent upper tiers of the B10 - MSU, Purdue, OSU and Maryland. Then there's PSU also.
Ten or 11 scholarships is not unusual. It's not a back breaker. I'm starting to think this is the new normal for the summer in college basketball. As always, the stud programs will be able to recover quickly from changes.
The NU problem is what they do with those 10 scholarships.
When you have a very academically oriented grad transfer, who fills a position of great need, on campus, you have to close the deal. Period. This is where Collins is supposed to shine!
I’m not suggesting that NU build a program around transfers. Far from it. But the team needs bodies, and, in particular, could use some veteran leadership at point guard. Maybe Collins will find someone else, but South seemed like a great option.
Next year will be a development year, sure, but NU simply MUST get out of the Big Ten cellar, one way or another. We have enough perception problems and recruiting limitations without two straight last-place finishes. South would have been a positive step toward achieving that.
The recruiting momentum seems to be fading fast. I’m excited about Bam but I need to see more players of his talent level hop on board too before I feel any better about the program’s trajectory.
@freewillie07
I don’t think South would be a rotation player on most Big Ten teams — so he’s not a loss, in my estimation, in terms of actual contribution.
I am onboard with you in that, shoot, if we get these kids on campus, with sparkling facilities and lots of shots and minutes available, it does matter that NU didn’t close the deal.
I don’t think South would be a rotation player on most Big Ten teams — so he’s not a loss, in my estimation, in terms of actual contribution.
I am onboard with you in that, shoot, if we get these kids on campus, with sparkling facilities and lots of shots and minutes available, it does matter that NU didn’t close the deal.
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This, to me, is the issue.
I don’t know how good a player South will be or how much of a contribution he could have made. Heck, Ryan Taylor was one of the most prized possessions on the grad transfer market last year, and we all saw how that turned out.
What’s troubling here is that NU identified South as a player who could help them, went after him hard, got him to take an official visit and still couldn’t land him — with a brand new arena and practice facility, as well as playing time, to sell. And they didn’t lose him to Kentucky or Michigan State, either. Cal is 5-31 in the Pac-12 the last two years and just fired their coach.
I get it, but at the same time I’m just surprised that fans don’t have higher expectations of standards for a coaching staff in their seventh season on the job. That’s all. Finished under 0.500 in both of the last two seasons, and projected to be even worse this season. This isn’t a new coach trying to clean up the mess left by his predecessor. Collins ran this thing into the ground on his own. I think the fans deserve better and should be pissed, that’s all. Maybe I’m missing something, I’m just surprised at the general “meh” attitude of most folks.
One NCAA appearance in 114 years supports a mucho "meh" attitude.......we're not exactly accustomed to success around here.
Two years ago NU was hoping that underclassmen like Rapolas and Falcon would step up with the departure of Lumpkin and Taphorn. That did not happen as injuries to Rapolas and Falzon’s physical inability to get back to 100 percent hurt along with having to not having their home court. No one stepped up and gave the team the toughness that Lumpkin had provided on the defensive end.
Last year, NU did not play with a PG which prevented them from winning 5-7 games which came down to the last 1-2 minutes of the games. Why did they not have a PG? The primary reason was not caused by the coaching staff who had a PG recruit whose scholarship offer was revoked. So can we put some of the blame of the coach and his staff for recruiting guys who had numerous injury issues after they came to Evanston and a recruit whose actions caused his scholarship to be revoked last May? Yes, there is some blame to go to them, but In my opinion, the health of a number of players and poor judgement of one player played a larger part in the failures of the past two teams. Also, coaches put the players in position to win last season and the players failed to make enough plays down the stretch, other than Pardon.
Last year, NU did not play with a PG which prevented them from winning 5-7 games which came down to the last 1-2 minutes of the games. Why did they not have a PG? The primary reason was not caused by the coaching staff who had a PG recruit whose scholarship offer was revoked. So can we put some of the blame of the coach and his staff for recruiting guys who had numerous injury issues after they came to Evanston and a recruit whose actions caused his scholarship to be revoked last May? Yes, there is some blame to go to them, but In my opinion, the health of a number of players and poor judgement of one player played a larger part in the failures of the past two teams. Also, coaches put the players in position to win last season and the players failed to make enough plays down the stretch, other than Pardon.
The margin of error at NU, due to the minuscule hole that admissions causes, is tiny.
How many transfers that NU offered (and could get in) accepted? What is Collins' average this year and how does that compare to other Big Ten teams.
One can make the argument that Collins is again at the top half of the Big Ten this year by virtue of the quality of the one transfer. But if he's not converting two our of three we're soiling our diapers.
For those saying this is not a big deal because South wouldn't have made us a "good" team, I reiterate that this is not the NBA where finishing last gets you a high draft pick. We still have to maintain competitive respectability and somehow get out of the basement, which it looks like we won't do.
It's harder to recruit when the team is finishing last place in the conference. Yes, South may not get us to the tournament but he would have helped us avoid the bottom of the conference (yet again).
And a followup to Medill90 who suggested that South was somehow scared of NU's academics, I wholeheartedly disagree. Non-athletes choose Cal all the time over Northwestern, especially for engineering and the sciences (South wanted to go into the medical field). I think this was about basketball and something is amiss in Evanston.
It's harder to recruit when the team is finishing last place in the conference. Yes, South may not get us to the tournament but he would have helped us avoid the bottom of the conference (yet again).
And a followup to Medill90 who suggested that South was somehow scared of NU's academics, I wholeheartedly disagree. Non-athletes choose Cal all the time over Northwestern, especially for engineering and the sciences (South wanted to go into the medical field). I think this was about basketball and something is amiss in Evanston.
You said it right here. Cal is a great academic school as well. If I was a grad transfer focused more on becoming a doctor than having a challenging final year of eligibility I would rather spend it in California in the PAC 12.
What incentive does he have to buy into the program and the shiny new toys?
You guys freaking out over a grad transfer who wouldnt have moved the needle one tuck is truly annoying. It really does not matter who or how these final slots get filled. They will be seat warmers to help improve the young talent and that is all.
We found put about South, what, this week? We actually have no idea about him, or where he stood in the grad transfer pecking order for us. Heck, if it were not for a few good reporters, we may have not have know we were in the running for him at all. Truly, sec 112 ended his thread with his post-- a others should read that before posting that there is actually something to be concefned about here.
I fully expect greatness starting in 2020-21. I am meh about next year because we lost two of our greatest players of all time in Law and Pardon. And CC is exceeding my expectations by having drafted the best back-to-back classes in at least 15 years, and possibly ever. If the momentum continues, and 2020 it is off to a fantastic start, it will be the best three years ever.
Actually we got Bam, and an excellent transfer, after said last-pace finish, explicit testament to our staff's ability to recruit...
Lou, he wouldn’t beat out the William and Mary kid! Writing on the wall! We will bring home the bacon cuz we are in the BT! Cats will be fine. Kid may have had issues too.
to be clear, I was not casting aspersions on South's studies
my specific thoughts were that medical-oriented degrees may already have filled seats and waiting lists for next year and would not make an exception for sports (any sport)....
or that NU med school told him that a graduate degree he may have been a candidate for did not make him a better candidate for NU med school...
that sort of thing
different case if his interest was sports marketing
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I am quite fine with the unprecedented level of players we are recruiting. Suspect you will be fine with it as well, once the inevitable results of the continued upward trend in recruiting classes combined with the infrastructure that is already in place become a reality...
We will be fine! We have a great team already if the William and Mary kid can play right away. Definitely a NCAA tournament team! All you need is ten solid guys and we got em! Let's add a few more.
Yes, we found about him last week, but the coaches didn’t. The coaches felt like he could contribute and we needed him which is why they brought him on campus.
It’s a loss for us. Agreed that it would not have made us a tourney team, but it would be nice not to finish 14th again.
It’s a loss for us. Agreed that it would not have made us a tourney team, but it would be nice not to finish 14th again.