No insight. Just suppositions.

No insight. Just suppositions.
by NDMike2001 (2022-08-03 09:19:00)

In reply to: Any insight on the 46% of the athletes not playing? posted by pmoose

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That's something that is probably impossible to track. Academic, personal, cultural, illness and other outside influences are all things that impact a decision to transfer. But I assume nobody is asking players to check boxes for their reasons.

As for the # of players stuck in the portal I'd have to believe that the extra covid year, increased red shirt flexibility (and programs managing them better) also lead to the increased supply of players relative to the demand of the respective teams.

And finally, as a coach and a program, I'd expect that some folks are more comfortable carrying fewer players knowing that the portal exists to plug any gaps.

Take Niele's decision to roll with 9 this year. While I think it's crazy this year, it also means that she's going into next year with 7 (8 if Jenna gets a waiver). I'd have to believe that a coach is comfortable with that because she knows there's hundreds of players available in the portal next year. So no need to look for one now.

The same could essentially be said about Brey's roster management going into next season. But he's always pretty much sucked at recruiting so I used Niele as the example, because the woman's team has the luxury of being more selective.

To be fair to Brey, the comparison to women's recruiting...

...is apples-to-oranges. The money going towards playing in the WNBA just isn't anywhere close to what's in the NBA. One can argue whether that's fair or equitable or whatever argument you want to make. However, it does change the dynamic of how recruiting goes for men versus women, and how the student-athlete approaches the process.

In the men's game, there are guys convinced they will be making a high 6- to 7-figure salary in a year. Do you think the academic side of things factors into their equation for most of those guys?

Women aren't seeing anywhere close to that money, and it's quite unusual for women to jump to the WNBA before at least finishing junior year. The recruiting conversations are much different there.

That is not to give a pass to Brey - I agree that he could be doing a better job recruiting.

I wasn't making a comparison.

I was simply stating my observations of the current states of the programs.

I used the women's team as an example because it seemed that Niele was comfortable with her squad and the transfers that she brought in. She apparently feels OK with the smaller squad.

Brey didn't quite fit the point I was making because he did try to bring in some other guys, but wasn't able to do so.

Understood...

Seemed like a bit of a comparison to me, but I also understood the point you were making with Niele.

The worry I have about coaches that decide to go with a smaller roster, especially in a sport like basketball where your max numbers are pretty small anyway, is having a major injury. For example, Paige Bueckers just tore an ACL, which is likely to cause major problems for UConn this season.