Now that he’s gone and happily at Notre Dame - he left bc he hoped to get more exposure for a chance at playing professionally. The expectation was that he’d go to smaller conference. However the minutes are there at ND. These were minutes he knew he was not going to see at NU. Roper by all accounts loved NU and left on good terms.
This does not ring completely true.
Roper was highly recruited for an NU prospect.
Offers from Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Northwestern, Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Roper was the starter (over Berry) for the 2nd half of his promising freshman season.
Lowery came in. Berry regained the starting position.
Roper came off the bench for Berry in every game he played last season.
He rolled his ankle in January and missed a couple of games.
He re-injured the same ankle in his first game back and was done for the season.
NU's season ended on March 18th.
Micah Shrewsbury got the ND job on March 23rd.
Roper entered the portal on March 27th and committed to ND on April 18th.
Many (most?) on this message board appeared to be certain that both Buie and Audige were returning to NU.
If Audige returned, that would certainly limit Roper's playing time. If not, Roper was going to be a starter.
And then there's Shrewsberry.
“Just from my two years playing against him, I just love what he did,” the 6-foot-3 junior said of Shrewsberry ahead of an Irish team summer workout earlier this week. “And just being on the court, I could hear his voice and the confidence he gave his guys, and the freedom he let his guys play with.
“That was a big thing for me. So, once I found out he was interested, it was almost like I had to come check it out and see what he was about. And everything matched up.”
So people can say what they want. In his departing statement, Roper wrote "Being at Northwestern has been nothing short of amazing and I will forever cherish the memories I made here. I would like to thank Coach Collins for giving me the opportunity to attend such a prestigious university. Thank you for the love and support.
After reflecting on my last two years I have decided to enter the transfer portal."
I don't believe for a second that he was going to step down in competition. If he was concerned about minutes, it was due to Audige's possible return. But he left so quickly it suggests he was looking while injured - and if he loved NU, then he wasn't thrilled with NU basketball.
At least he left respectfully.
