Blake Verbeek Enters the Transfer Portal

On the bright side, we have seen a balanced attrition via the transfer portal the last couple of years (some good and some not so good, some tall and some short, some rookies and some relative veterans). Just about the only bright side to HC BB I can find this rainy AM.

In defense of Coach Carmody, the two recruits he brought in in the fall of 2018 were last minute recruits. It wasn't until Charles and Stevens were removed from the program in I believe early March of 2018, that two scholarships were available. Until then, I don't think there were any plans to bring in anyone that fall because there were no scholarships available.

great post, tim. my guess is that it was ultimately a bad mix, and that some compromise was in order from both sides for the good of the program that did not occur.

from lowder's side, he needed to respect his coach (even if it was not who he committed to... he committed to the *school*), and that respect would hold even if nelson's methods were questionable (benching with no other options, calling him out in media interviews, etc.) and somewhat tone deaf to the classroom behavior of holy cross student athletes. the moping in layup lines when benched is somewhat understandable for an 18 year old, but still out of line.

from nelson's side, he needed to understand that while it is important to show that you are in charge, that some of the aforementioned methods were a bit strong/tone deaf for a first year coach and that respect must be earned, even if it is a player like lowder who seemed a bit too headstrong. pitino and those types have earned respect from players (maybe not fans for how they run the program) resultant from decades of success. suffice to say nelson isn't there yet.

again, compromise would have seemed appropriate and the program would be in a much less risky position. i can't think of a player who has had more pressure on his shoulders from day one than rj johnson? we will struggle and are another year away from contending for a pl title, but another sub-10 win season is not acceptable for a program already on life support after a 3 win season, so johnson had better be ready.

i wish lowder and the rest of the players who left the program the best, but that's not what i am concerned about. nelson is who i care about since he is our leader, and i don't want to see this happen with any more talented players.

the truth is almost always in the middle as tim, efg, myself and many others have posted, and i think all but just a few posters (really just one?) here sees it that way. i just hope we don't see anything like this again because you need to keep talented players in the program at this level.

The 15 minute diary requirement to be "on time" has always bothered me. If that is the time the players must be there, say so! Of course, I was forgetting that the amount of practice time is limited. By doing it this way (get here 15 minutes early and stretch or you are late), it does not take away from practice time and does allow a team to get around the "time limit" in NCAA regulations.

Much/most of what I know about all that has gone on I get from Crossports. If the talent of new HC recruits is well above the level those who were here, the overall effect can be positive. I believe Nelson and his staff have a plan. Have no clear idea how the transfer portal fits into that plan. Are we losing players that we want to keep, or are we clearing spots for future recruits? The opinions here run the gamut so one can pick and choose what they wish got believe about what has happened/is happening. I do have to. chuckle about those who express chagrin over players entering the transfer portal - who here. same people said were not real Division 1 level players.
Which is it?

Personally, I hope we start the year with the new recruits joining Butler, Pridgen, Niego, Ward and Faw - along with others who are now on the team. That alone would be a strong start to moving the rebuilding along. As time passes, we will see. On a related. note, I am also interested to see how the football coaches work around all that is happening to get ready for September.

Dado
There was as much or almost as much pressure on Lowder this season as there will be for RJ next year

"What if..." can be a very tricky game and hindsight can appear to be 20/20. Even if HC might have been better served by holding the scholarships, what point does bringing it up now serve?

RGS it's not 20/20 hindsight I said the same thing when Carmody recruited these guys. Like it or not Carmody's recruiting efforts are a major reason why we are where we are.

Bill Walton might have butted heads with BN. Did John Wooden lose many players off of his teams? How did he corral Walton and get the best out of him?

We have finished in last place in the PL in each of the past two years, and have had one season with a record above .500 in the PL in the past eight seasons -- the bar has been set incredibly low.

Nobody in their right mind should expect that this group of freshmen is going to come in and immediately turn this program around. 

Willard's teams observed "Crusader Time." If you arrived 15 minutes early to practice, you were on time; if you arrived "on time," you were late.

As mentioned in another post, sophomore transfers with two years left (like Herren) would be better for class balancing purposes than frosh transfers with 3 years left (though those are more attractive for the obvious reason of the extra year). Sophomore transfers wind up in Ryan Wade’s class. Freshmen transfers wind up in RJ Johnson’s class.