So did Bristow quit on the team?

I'm not sure if there is any truth to these rumors that I've missed, but feel like its much more likely Oats shut him down to try and get a RS this offseason. Pretty clear Oats is going to play this card and take advantage when he can

TideWatch97 said:

I'm not sure if there is any truth to these rumors that I've missed, but feel like its much more likely Oats shut him down to try and get a RS this offseason. Pretty clear Oats is going to play this card and take advantage when he can

I think two things can be true at once in this case.

TideWatch97 said:

I'm not sure if there is any truth to these rumors that I've missed, but feel like its much more likely Oats shut him down to try and get a RS this offseason. Pretty clear Oats is going to play this card and take advantage when he can

I do NOT have inside info on this, but I feel like Bristow quit and Oats is trying to make chicken salad out of chicken shit. Bristow, as a body, would be very valuable to us right now, but he's still got a lot of developing to do to be a big minutes guy. He flashed the traits we desperately needed, so he may have gotten a fair number of minutes. At the end of the day, having a 6'10 practice player is far better than an empty roster spot. Realities of small rosters and current NCAA structure.

It’s pretty obvious he’s been more than healthy enough to play for some time. We lacked front court depth throughout the year whether that be injuries or just needing a spark on the boards and he still didn’t play. Wasn’t like he wasn’t needed.

T12 said:

I do NOT have inside info on this, but I feel like Bristow quit and Oats is trying to make chicken salad out of chicken ****. Bristow, as a body, would be very valuable to us right now, but he's still got a lot of developing to do to be a big minutes guy. He flashed the traits we desperately needed, so he may have gotten a fair number of minutes. At the end of the day, having a 6'10 practice player is far better than an empty roster spot. Realities of small rosters and current NCAA structure.

This makes sense from all the circumstances but my thing is he’s only a sophomore right? Doesn’t make much sense to quit on a team that can offer you quite a bit of money next year and the following if you show flashes late in the season. 🤷‍♂️ Who knows though

DCTIDE09 said:

This makes sense from all the circumstances but my thing is he’s only a sophomore right? Doesn’t make much sense to quit on a team that can offer you quite a bit of money next year and the following if you show flashes late in the season. 🤷‍♂️ Who knows though

Yeah... he quit to go somewhere else IMO. He's saving this year's eligibility because he realized he is not ready for this level of basketball, and he wants to play. Best guess, he ends up at a mid-major as a 6th man.

Most likely scenario in my mind was he actually was injured and it did take a while for him to rehab. You reach a certain point in the year and it makes no sense to waste a year and a redshirt for him to only play a part of the season. And then he has knock the rust off after he starts playing. Hes probably healthy enough to play right now. But it makes no sense for him to.

Who cares if he did or didn’t. We ride with what we got.

Pretty much

T12 said:

Yeah... he quit to go somewhere else IMO. He's saving this year's eligibility because he realized he is not ready for this level of basketball, and he wants to play. Best guess, he ends up at a mid-major as a 6th man.

Then not sure why he is still around if true.

T12 said:

Yeah... he quit to go somewhere else IMO. He's saving this year's eligibility because he realized he is not ready for this level of basketball, and he wants to play. Best guess, he ends up at a mid-major as a 6th man.

I guess…but (and I may be wrong here) but wouldn’t he make more money in the long run by staying here?

A quitter still on the team? That’s a lot. I doubt Oats would keep a quitter.

He was ready to be a contributor, see the Illinois game. He's likely never going to be an all-conference guy, but he can try (hopefully get denied) to get a medical redshirt, pocket whatever NIL he got, and still transfer and try to get 3 more years of eligibility.

o_LeMac said:

A quitter still on the team? That’s a lot. I doubt Oats would keep a quitter.

This. If he quit, he wouldn’t be on the sidelines with the team.

DCTIDE09 said:

I guess…but (and I may be wrong here) but wouldn’t he make more money in the long run by staying here?

Not now lol. I don’t know what he’s thinking

Doubt we will ever find out why unless he does come back.

Without knowing the knowledge of the situation, saying the young man “quit” is a wild take

The answer is yes.

T12 said:

Not now lol. I don’t know what he’s thinking

Exactly, doesn’t make sense. Maybe he needed more work on his shot and Nate wants him as a project? But the mods here have hinted he will move on so idk…very weird

DCTIDE09 said:

Exactly, doesn’t make sense. Maybe he needed more work on his shot and Nate wants him as a project? But the mods here have hinted he will move on so idk…very weird

Yes, it definitely weird. I can’t imagine skipping half a tournament season as a bench guy on a team needing your minutes due to injury, and claiming to want a career in basketball.

BamaBoy23 said:

Without knowing the knowledge of the situation, saying the young man “quit” is a wild take

I guess. “Wild” might be a touch dramatic

BamaDude said:

This. If he quit, he wouldn’t be on the sidelines with the team.

That’s what I’d like to think but the whole thing seems pretty fishy