'Transfer Culture'

Transfer Culture may be a thing, but it keeps HC even more honest. Now more than ever, the value of the education, the success of the program, the culture, the PR, the institutional support, the fan support, and everything else is under assault. It's the free market economy, and what it will support. If HC can't withstand that competition, then maybe they aren't as deserving for any top flight players. It won't get any easier as colleges more broadly face macroeconomic challenges.

With more options to leave, what options and angles is HC adding to the mix to continue to get AND keep players? They should be thinking about that if they haven't already.

Which is pretty shocking, to be honest. 

Every single person who was on that webinar has a real interest in HC basketball. The reason they were invited to the damn thing was because they have donated money to HC athletics! Barring sanctions against a program that either limit scholarships or ban postseason play, I can't imagine all of these defections have ever happened at a school in one year. To be frank, it's embarrassing. 

Did ADMB and HCBN not see the elephant sitting in the corner of the room? The PL ROY just announced he was leaving the program and many other players also have left the program all under Nelson's watch. I think it's pretty tone deaf not even to address it. They could have been cryptic about mentioning reasons as to departures, but to act as if having SEVEN OF ELEVEN non-senior scholarship players leave the program since the beginning of the 2019-20 season doesn't warrant some commentary is bizarre. In fact, I would surmise that there would be an uncomfortable feeling in the "room" by not doing so. 

In context, he was speaking about the process of recruiting (amid NCAA investigations of multiple programs) and we needed someone who would do things the right way. BN had no such marks against his record.

IMHO we won't be able to judge some of this current upheaval until we are down the road a bit and do so in hindsight.

Did I hear correctly as to a reference made in passing to the FBI investigation. 

You did hear that - but without any further explanation. I am not sure what (or who) such an investigation involved.

Could be.

I jotted down "FBI scandal". And I was pretty surprised to hear it. I also thought that was the first time we heard that coming from an HC administrator.

I don’t think so. I believe it was the Christian Dawkins scandal. 

I didn’t connect that dot either.  

So a kid plays AAU from age 7. Maybe his dad coaches his teams and makes sure he plays point guard and gets the most touches. Maybe he’s pretty good and works hard. Gives up all other sports and majors in hoops. Every weekend of the year there are tournaments in all corners of the state, some out of state requiring airplane rides and hotels. Family vacations are cancelled. Along the way he’s told over and over he’s the best around. Every now and then he finds himself on a team where he isn’t billed as the top star so he bounces.

Flash forward a few years and he’s played for maybe 4-5 AAU teams, transferred in junior high and again in high school. He is constantly recorded on video and over the years he has a nice mix tape. He’s invested so much time by now that not playing college ball would be absurd. He starts getting recruited and tweets how blessed he is to have so much lover from everyone. He creates a basketball related twitter handle and an online persona. His grades are decent and he gets offers from low majors down to D3. But he’s been playing for so long and been told he’s the best for so long that’s not good enough. Doesn’t think too much about adulthood and getting a job, just living up to expectations as an athlete.

To get higher offers be preps for a year and this goes well. Adds a few plays to his mix tape. Now he gets mid-major offers but that’s still not good enough. He’s maybe an inch too short or a step too slow. Ends up getting an offer from Holy Cross University, some little Catholic school up north that his family doesn’t know from Adam. His father says, “Hey there’s nothing wrong with Holy Cross. It’s not Duke but it’s D1. Did you know Bob Cousey went there?” Kid is like, “Who’s that?” Kid ends up buying into the recruitment chatter and signs a LOI. He knows it’s a great academic school but doesn’t really care about that. Dad says out of the corner of his mouth, “By the way if you do well there you can always transfer up.” Kid has had full permission to think of himself first and this just reinforces it, but knows how to talk the talk as it relates to being a teammate.

He shows up to HC with good enough intentions but with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. Finds HC to be hard academically. Does OK as the hoops seasons go on but finds HC to be a far less glamorous place to play D1 basketball. No much fan support, losses pile up, crappy gym, apathetic students and fans, no celebrity status, not even a score board with video. Now maybe the kid isn’t getting much playing time and becomes unhappy. Or maybe he’s doing so well that he is again convinced he should have been given a high major offer. Starts to think about bouncing and maybe starts looking for things to complain about. Maybe he decides he wants to go to a warmer place or have an easier course load or major. Decides his hoop dreams are not coming true and that’s a heavy load to bear after all these years of work and being told how great he is. It’s now or never. Enter the transfer portal. He gets interest from a high major school whose top two players just went pro after 1-2 years and he wouldn’t even have to sit out a year. He bounces and never again thinks of Mt. St. James, his teammates, or the value of degree he just crapped on. Rinse and repeat.

For HC, this may be how it goes indefinitely.