Portal season (Abson, Spillers, etc)

[Stonewall]

The chemistry of the 23/24 team , coaches and players, was as good as I have ever seen. On the court , inside the locker room and in the community.

[311neers]

I see one common factor in all the transfers: the coaches. Many of you have waxed on about NIL and whatnot, but in the end, relationships are very important and in some cases more important than money

It was pointed out very early how together this team was. Could it be that they were together against the staff, with winning filling in the cracks?

It seems Kerns has establish a culture of doing it his way, which is what we've needed. It's a tad risky for a program without much of a track record, but it's been paying off so far. I just worry that he may be too set in his ways, thus the numerous transfers each year. This isnt Alabama football/Nick Saban with 5* lined up behind every player, we can't afford to run off good players every year like Saban can. The good news is that he's had success in the portal to fill slots!

Any ideas on a Huntley announcement? He seems like the humble type that might just show up and ball out with no announcement!

[Stonewall]

Numerous transfers, every year , is the new reality.If we had $500k for NIL it would be different perhaps, but we don’t and it isn’t. CJ said he was coming back and working out about every day but if someone offers him $100k ??? A football coach told me that we will know who we have in August. Basketball might be the same.

[MrCraig]

Numerous transfers, every year , is the new reality.If we had $500k for NIL it would be different perhaps, but we don’t and it isn’t. CJ said he was coming back and working out about every day but if someone offers him $100k ??? A football coach told me that we will know who we have in August. Basketball might be the same.

We are seeing the results of ultimate freedom for athletes. NIL is a factor, but it's not even the biggest thing. Look at teams like Duke and Alabama that have lost a lot of players to the portal after successful seasons. There's a million reasons a player might leave, and now they can without any barriers.

[biggie]

Freedom for athletes but may eventually severely damage or kill athletics for small/less money schools. But the big/money schools and overseeing organizations won't care they want to rule everything and get all the money.

[311neers]

Another one? Man, the staff is on a roll.

[AppSt94]

Freedom for athletes but may eventually severely damage or kill athletics for small/less money schools. But the big/money schools and overseeing organizations won't care they want to rule everything and get all the money.

Greed has limits. At some point it causes you to turn on everyone.

[Stonewall]

And the beat goes on…

[Stonewall]

[Stonewall]

Couldn’t resist.

[biggie]

Guessing there is another commit today...

[appstate24]

Guessing there is another commit today...

Kerns is cooking!

GO APPS!!

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

The chemistry of the 23/24 team , coaches and players, was as good as I have ever seen. On the court , inside the locker room and in the community.

This is the way.

[Saint3333]

Freedom for athletes but may eventually severely damage or kill athletics for small/less money schools. But the big/money schools and overseeing organizations won't care they want to rule everything and get all the money.

Greed has limits. At some point it causes you to turn on everyone.

True but at that point it's too late and what was is lost.

[WASU 93]

As this was likely addressed to me in the routine passive aggressive fashion, I will opine. My assessment of Mantis’ abilities are my own and shared with the guy that sits next to me at games. Haven’t spoken to any coaches about Mantis.

My comments on Marsh were based on a conversation with Kerns in which there was no “leak of information”. I asked why Marsh didn’t seem to play much in the second half against Wake after seemingly being the catalyst for the first half comeback. Kerns comments were very coach speak esque and did not disparage the kid’s character or abilities. He simply spoke facts and said you have to put the guys on the floor that you can trust. Marsh took more shots per minute than anyone on the team which is true. He took ill advised shots and shots outside of the game plan. Again, also true. This didn’t sit well with the more veteran teammates, which would be understandable.

All of this came from an interaction in a public setting and none of it was asked to be kept confidential and nothing he said couldn’t be gleaned from a stat sheet or watching a game.

But, the flip side of this is was Marsh absolutely set in his ways, or could he be coached into the role with more playing time (we'll have to trust Kerns assessment on this). I'd take Marsh on the court vs. Mantis any day, because he competed, played defense and he had the ability to make things happen and take over a game. Marsh played an important role in the Auburn win and he is the reason we won the Louisiana game, as the offense was stagnant for most of the game until he took over.

Personally, despite the occasional run of turnovers and number of shots, I think we would have been a better team this year if Marsh would have received Mantis minutes in the second half of games. There was always more downside, than upside when Mantis was on the floor and Marsh played better when he had consistent minutes.

If Marsh was coachable, I would have loved to see him make a full four-year run in Boone. It won't happen, but the potential was there.

Wish Marsh could give his input but we only hear the coaches side of things. A ton of our guys took horrible shots, not just Marsh. Anyone that watched the games/played beyond middle school could tell Marsh was better player than X (D2) Mantis and sometimes Tate/Harcum. It’s unfortunate that coach and him couldn’t work it out. He will be fine at Asheville with free reign. He gave his all for us with effort and hustle so that’s good that Kerns didn’t question any of that or his character. Hopefully we’ve filled our X factor get us back in the game roll that is void with his departure.

X played great on the ball D, so if you had scorers on the floor his minutes were justified. And, he transferred to be closer to his family, so that’s understandable.

It’s not looking nearly as bad as it did after the Sun Belt Tourney. It will come down to team chemistry and the players buying in.

[311neers]

As this was likely addressed to me in the routine passive aggressive fashion, I will opine. My assessment of Mantis’ abilities are my own and shared with the guy that sits next to me at games. Haven’t spoken to any coaches about Mantis.

My comments on Marsh were based on a conversation with Kerns in which there was no “leak of information”. I asked why Marsh didn’t seem to play much in the second half against Wake after seemingly being the catalyst for the first half comeback. Kerns comments were very coach speak esque and did not disparage the kid’s character or abilities. He simply spoke facts and said you have to put the guys on the floor that you can trust. Marsh took more shots per minute than anyone on the team which is true. He took ill advised shots and shots outside of the game plan. Again, also true. This didn’t sit well with the more veteran teammates, which would be understandable.

All of this came from an interaction in a public setting and none of it was asked to be kept confidential and nothing he said couldn’t be gleaned from a stat sheet or watching a game.

But, the flip side of this is was Marsh absolutely set in his ways, or could he be coached into the role with more playing time (we'll have to trust Kerns assessment on this). I'd take Marsh on the court vs. Mantis any day, because he competed, played defense and he had the ability to make things happen and take over a game. Marsh played an important role in the Auburn win and he is the reason we won the Louisiana game, as the offense was stagnant for most of the game until he took over.

Personally, despite the occasional run of turnovers and number of shots, I think we would have been a better team this year if Marsh would have received Mantis minutes in the second half of games. There was always more downside, than upside when Mantis was on the floor and Marsh played better when he had consistent minutes.

If Marsh was coachable, I would have loved to see him make a full four-year run in Boone. It won't happen, but the potential was there.

Wish Marsh could give his input but we only hear the coaches side of things. A ton of our guys took horrible shots, not just Marsh. Anyone that watched the games/played beyond middle school could tell Marsh was better player than X (D2) Mantis and sometimes Tate/Harcum. It’s unfortunate that coach and him couldn’t work it out. He will be fine at Asheville with free reign. He gave his all for us with effort and hustle so that’s good that Kerns didn’t question any of that or his character. Hopefully we’ve filled our X factor get us back in the game roll that is void with his departure.

X played great on the ball D, so if you had scorers on the floor his minutes were justified. And, he transferred to be closer to his family, so that’s understandable.

It’s not looking nearly as bad as it did after the Sun Belt Tourney. It will come down to team chemistry and the players buying in.

X was fine for us, his defense and athleticism was great. But his skill keeps him from being D1. Marsh is D1 even with his small stature.

We need some more help at the moment with only 4 guys that have played college ball currently on the roster. Will be interesting to see who todays commit was. Kerns has proven he can do it, but on paper, we are lacking.

[Saint3333]

X transferred to a school 1,700 miles from his hometown. Can we put to rest the narrative that he wanted to be close to home?

[AppSt94]

X transferred to a school 1,700 miles from his hometown. Can we put to rest the narrative that he wanted to be close to home?

That was his desire. He lost his father and grandfather while he was in Boone. Maybe he didn’t find somewhere in California and took what he could get. Not everything that doesn’t work out was an intended was a false narrative.

[Saint3333]

There are D2 schools in CA. Close to home was not the driving force in the decision.

[Stonewall]

Well , I haven’t talked to him since he announced, but he said he wanted to get closer to home . Looks like it’s about half way and a lot easier to get to. Perhaps the draw of the Physical Therapy program played a part. In any event , I’m not calling the guy out. He will graduate next month and as pointed out above he has overcome a lot . If there’s some deep dark deception, I don’t see it.