NCAA Basketball 2020-2021: Uncertainty Galore!

[Assembly Hall]

My favorite UK win of all time. I wish I could have been there with you.

Congrats to Baylor. A remarkable turnaround in that program. They were just too good for the Zags last night.

As a life long Hoosier fan...the '75 IU team was the best I ever saw.

[Assembly Hall]

And on top of that, the Zags were basically helpless for much of the night attempting to stop Baylor's dribble penetration.

Pre-Covid pause, Baylor, IMO, was clearly the better team of the two and they proved it tonight. And this Zags team, even with its starting 5 five star power, lacked the quality depth of past strong Gonzaga teams.

I am exaggerating here but last night Baylor looked like an NBA team...the 'Zags looked like a deer in the headlights.

[Roy Tucker]

My favorite UK win of all time. I wish I could have been there with you.

Congrats to Baylor. A remarkable turnaround in that program. They were just too good for the Zags last night.

That ‘75 game was a long time ago and I don’t remember a lot of specifics about it. One was we sat between the UK and IU bands and during timeouts, one or the other played incessantly. I went with my ex-father-in-law. The other was just the constant action and back and forth. A lot like the Gonzaga-UCLA game. I do remember hearing Knight bellow and ream out his team at an early TO.

I do think Baylor was the better team and would win over Gonzaga no matter what. But I do think the Zags were somewhat still sapped from Saturday’s game. Baylor is an excellent team and well coached. And randomly, I was in Waco last Thursday.

[WVRed]

I am exaggerating here but last night Baylor looked like an NBA team...the 'Zags looked like a deer in the headlights.

I think Gonzaga was emotionally spent from the UCLA game. To play a game like that and then have to turn around and beat a red hot Baylor team was simply too much.

[WVRed]

Will Davis be a Doherty or a Guthridge?

Neither.

What will be interesting with this though is will Davis keep the “Carolina Way”. One thing that I think gets overlooked is his NBA playing career and like Calipari and Penny Hardaway he would have connections to the league that would appeal to recruits.

College sports as a whole is changing with the transfer portal. That’s why Roy got out and I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next couple of years Coach K follows suit. UNC will have to adapt which I think Roy wasn’t comfortable with doing.

[bucksfan2]

Neither.

What will be interesting with this though is will Davis keep the “Carolina Way”. One thing that I think gets overlooked is his NBA playing career and like Calipari and Penny Hardaway he would have connections to the league that would appeal to recruits.

College sports as a whole is changing with the transfer portal. That’s why Roy got out and I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next couple of years Coach K follows suit. UNC will have to adapt which I think Roy wasn’t comfortable with doing.

I go back and forth on this transfer portal thing. I think it hurts the game more than it helps the game. But I also think the kids are the most disgruntled are the ones who have a long way to go to become a contributor. You won't see a guy in his 3rd or 4th season really blossom at a big time university, but your key contributors will in all likelihood stay until they would normally go.

[Assembly Hall]

I go back and forth on this transfer portal thing. I think it hurts the game more than it helps the game. But I also think the kids are the most disgruntled are the ones who have a long way to go to become a contributor. You won't see a guy in his 3rd or 4th season really blossom at a big time university, but your key contributors will in all likelihood stay until they would normally go.

Kids today that get a scholly in major college hoops aren't content with getting a free education. But they used to be...

[WVRed]

I go back and forth on this transfer portal thing. I think it hurts the game more than it helps the game. But I also think the kids are the most disgruntled are the ones who have a long way to go to become a contributor. You won't see a guy in his 3rd or 4th season really blossom at a big time university, but your key contributors will in all likelihood stay until they would normally go.

I completely agree with this. It’s over-glorified free agency.

Kentucky had a player who’s dad announced at the end of the season that he would be back next season (Devin Askew) and Askew himself said he wanted to break the trend of UK players from California not staying longer than 1 season (Baker, Juzang). Well, yesterday he entered the transfer portal.

Jemarl Baker was one of the first players to leave Kentucky and went to Arizona. He showed major flashes of potential until he got injured but now he’s in the portal again to try his hand at PG.

[bucksfan2]

I completely agree with this. It’s over-glorified free agency.

Kentucky had a player who’s dad announced at the end of the season that he would be back next season (Devin Askew) and Askew himself said he wanted to break the trend of UK players from California not staying longer than 1 season (Baker, Juzang). Well, yesterday he entered the transfer portal.

Jemarl Baker was one of the first players to leave Kentucky and went to Arizona. He showed major flashes of potential until he got injured but now he’s in the portal again to try his hand at PG.

OSU has lost their fair share of transfers. I think this type of player is going to be the one who more often than not transfers:

Alonzo Gaffney was a 4* recruit for OSU in its 2019 class from Cleveland. Guy had all the tools, but wasn't physically ready to play. He played sparingly, announced he was going to transfer, and even though about the G-League. Ends up he transferred to a community college in FL and averaged 8 or so points a game. Had he stayed at OSU, put in the work, he would be further along on his basketball journey than he is now. But what is he now?

In the end, Gaffney is the loser in this situation because he overvalued his abilities and wasn't ready to compete at the college level. It maybe the middle aged guy in me, but you don't see those players who come in as a raw prospect, put in the time, and grow as a player ready to contribute in their 3rd or 4th season. Or at least you don't see those guys in power 6 basketball. As a fan its fun to watch players over a career who you get to know and follow them through their career. That is slowly coming to and end, and I don't know if its better in the long run for anyone.

[WVRed]

OSU has lost their fair share of transfers. I think this type of player is going to be the one who more often than not transfers:

Alonzo Gaffney was a 4* recruit for OSU in its 2019 class from Cleveland. Guy had all the tools, but wasn't physically ready to play. He played sparingly, announced he was going to transfer, and even though about the G-League. Ends up he transferred to a community college in FL and averaged 8 or so points a game. Had he stayed at OSU, put in the work, he would be further along on his basketball journey than he is now. But what is he now?

In the end, Gaffney is the loser in this situation because he overvalued his abilities and wasn't ready to compete at the college level. It maybe the middle aged guy in me, but you don't see those players who come in as a raw prospect, put in the time, and grow as a player ready to contribute in their 3rd or 4th season. Or at least you don't see those guys in power 6 basketball. As a fan its fun to watch players over a career who you get to know and follow them through their career. That is slowly coming to and end, and I don't know if its better in the long run for anyone.

It’s really amazing when you look at Kentucky basketball the players who have not only transferred but also put their name in the NBA Draft when they had no business doing so. A lot of them could/should have stayed and improved their draft stock but the way Cal recruits is Tom Creans version of Spring Creaning at IU.

[oregonred]

The transfer portal swings both ways.

Now since it is the trendy thing to do, a lot of guys will overvalue their skills and may end up in worse situations for development and career potential

[Assembly Hall]

It’s really amazing when you look at Kentucky basketball the players who have not only transferred but also put their name in the NBA Draft when they had no business doing so. A lot of them could/should have stayed and improved their draft stock but the way Cal recruits is Tom Creans version of Spring Creaning at IU.

With all due respect...Crean recruited some guys that should never been recruited in the first place. I give you Grant Gelon.

[RedTeamGo!]

Kids today that get a scholly in major college hoops aren't content with getting a free education. But they used to be...

Probably because they realized they are getting a “free education” as payment for making a business make billions of dollars on their backs.

[Boston Red]

Sean Miller was fired by Arizona. Shocked it took this long. Miller guided the Wildcats to a tidy zero Final Fours in his 12 years.

[oregonred]

Yeah what was AZ waiting for...

The NBA G-League is the perfect solution for any HS or college player that feels shafted by the current system and not interested in being the big man on campus. Let the NBA development league pay your true market value