Post by thetulsawarrior on Apr 29, 2023 12:21:35 GMT -6
Ten, three and nine. If you recognized what those numbers represent you are spending too much time following the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay basketball program. Ten players have transferred out, three remain from the worst season in the program’s history and nine new players have been added to the roster.
FYI, those are the exact numbers happening in Indianapolis as coach Thad Matta rebuilds the Butler Bulldogs. It is all a sign of the times in college sports. With immediate eligibility for first time transfers we’ve seen about 2,000 student-athlete basketball players in the market for a new school. The overwhelming number were not pushed. Some were. It has always been that way.
College sports are a powerful marketing tool for schools and like it or not it is a business.
The dust has settled now that the Nix roster has been essentially rebuilt. Coach Wicks and Company now have the luxury of taking their time for the right fit as they fill the final scholarship opening. That decision will be the icing on top for the biggest influx of talent in the school’s basketball history.
The key to understanding the situation is understanding how much the rules of the game have changed. The game that I’m talking about has to do with easy transfers. Name, image, and likeness money can also make the poaching of mid-major talent easier than ever before. Dick Bennett’s approach of redshirting a player for development will not work in this era.
I think mid-major programs will opt more and more for high and mid-major transfers who prefer playing time to the glory of sitting on a bench at a perceived bigger program.
In the last days GB added two players who figure to see a lot of court time in Wyoming transfer Noah Reynolds and National JUCO champion team member Elijah Jones. Both apparently saw a unique opportunity and fit with a program that was rated as the third worse division one program in the country.
The new coaching staff has been able to attract players based on those two factors – opportunity and fit. What we have witnessed in the last few months is the most effective sales jobs since the Nix were making regular appearances in the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. That is impressive since Coach Wick’s team has not won a game yet.
FYI, those are the exact numbers happening in Indianapolis as coach Thad Matta rebuilds the Butler Bulldogs. It is all a sign of the times in college sports. With immediate eligibility for first time transfers we’ve seen about 2,000 student-athlete basketball players in the market for a new school. The overwhelming number were not pushed. Some were. It has always been that way.
College sports are a powerful marketing tool for schools and like it or not it is a business.
The dust has settled now that the Nix roster has been essentially rebuilt. Coach Wicks and Company now have the luxury of taking their time for the right fit as they fill the final scholarship opening. That decision will be the icing on top for the biggest influx of talent in the school’s basketball history.
The key to understanding the situation is understanding how much the rules of the game have changed. The game that I’m talking about has to do with easy transfers. Name, image, and likeness money can also make the poaching of mid-major talent easier than ever before. Dick Bennett’s approach of redshirting a player for development will not work in this era.
I think mid-major programs will opt more and more for high and mid-major transfers who prefer playing time to the glory of sitting on a bench at a perceived bigger program.
In the last days GB added two players who figure to see a lot of court time in Wyoming transfer Noah Reynolds and National JUCO champion team member Elijah Jones. Both apparently saw a unique opportunity and fit with a program that was rated as the third worse division one program in the country.
The new coaching staff has been able to attract players based on those two factors – opportunity and fit. What we have witnessed in the last few months is the most effective sales jobs since the Nix were making regular appearances in the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. That is impressive since Coach Wick’s team has not won a game yet.