Transfers

[vuny98]

I believe PO posted here earlier that he spoke to JO and he somewhat walked back the comments he made. I agree it was a sign of immaturity, saying too much to a reporter, maybe not understanding the impact or how it would come across. Not to mention his expectations were probably unrealistic.

That being said, he's young and made a mistake and realized it which is why he walked the comments back and didn't expound upon them when he talked with PO.

I have no ill will towards him. Hope the best for him. He learned a lesson and hopefully it can be an opportunity for the coaching staff as well to get better.

[JD24]

Perhaps the transfer portal will lose its allure.  As of now, a quick look indicates that 2/3 of the D1 basketball players who entered the portal have not found a new home.

That actually could end up working. You can transfer but if you weren't playing in particular, that could mean all teams have lost interest particularly with the added class of HSers and prep schoolers coming in.

However, I don't trust many if not most of these guys to have the self awareness to realize it is they without the chair when the music stops and not the other guys.

[nkvu]

I believe PO posted here earlier that he spoke to JO and he somewhat walked back the comments he made. I agree it was a sign of immaturity, saying too much to a reporter, maybe not understanding the impact or how it would come across. Not to mention his expectations were probably unrealistic.

That being said, he's young and made a mistake and realized it which is why he walked the comments back and didn't expound upon them when he talked with PO.

I have no ill will towards him. Hope the best for him. He learned a lesson and hopefully it can be an opportunity for the coaching staff as well to get better.

There are consequences for the things we say.  If we say them to friends or small groups maybe they are negligible. If we say them to a wider audience they are greater.  The more people realize this and consider the possible impact of what they say, the better off everyone will be. What I took from JO's interview was that he felt that the Valpo people recruiting him intentionally mislead him about the team and the university.  Otherwise, why would he have said that now with a year's experience he would be able to tell if recruiters were lying to him?  His comment struck publicly at the integrity of the people recruiting him, and by extension, the university.  As a result, Valpo needs to insure that the coaching staff is presenting an accurate picture of the university to athletes they are recruiting. At the same time, by attempting to walk back his comments, I think JO may have realized he went too far in rationalizing his decision to leave. There are two sides to this and we will never know all the details.  For me, I have moved on from JO. I wish him well. He has some skills and a higher ceiling if he works hard at the things he needs to improve. Maybe the religious aspects of his new school will meet his needs better. Regardless, I am excited about the new guys coming in and can't wait to see how the team comes together next fall.

[valpotx]

I will never fault anyone for comments or antics in their late teens/early 20s.  Pgmado is aware of some of the crap that my friends were involved at Valpo, and I was lucky that I was never much of a drinker, so I didn't get in trouble.  Now, that doesn't mean that my best friend and I didn't climb onto the roof of the Neils Science Center, among other stupid things

[bb33]

Regarding Jos comments,  I think EVERY college freshman could say that this year was not what they expected or how a college/university presented itself.  We are in the middle of a world pandemic.  Nothing is as it normally would be.  And given the circumstances, it could be, as is true in many academic settings, the concern for the mental well being of kids may lead to giving kids more freedom.  Plus the additional financial burden of Covid could have changed how they did things. 

This was a hard year for kids.  I think we all just need to get through it.  Next year should be more normal.

My questions is if everyone is allowed one free transfer, does that make getting your second transfer much more difficult?  If so, I hope all the transferring athetes are making the right decisions in selecting schools.  At least our students are getting a great education, which, at the end of the day is the most important thing.

[vu72]

The more I read about Joe Hedstrom the more excited I am.  At a legit 7' 240#, he not only got a scholarship to Wisconsin but also could have played in the PAC-12 at Utah, who also offered. 

This article was written four years ago much of which was spent with the Wisconsin coaching staff.

http://www.ny2lasports.com/article_one.aspx?articleid=3747

We were just manhandled by guys like Gaige Prim, Cameron Krutwig, Elijah Childs and Darnell Brodie.  Joe, together with Thomas Kithier will totally change our approach or vulnerabilities.

[vok22]

Regarding Jos comments,  I think EVERY college freshman could say that this year was not what they expected or how a college/university presented itself.  We are in the middle of a world pandemic.  Nothing is as it normally would be.  And given the circumstances, it could be, as is true in many academic settings, the concern for the mental well being of kids may lead to giving kids more freedom.  Plus the additional financial burden of Covid could have changed how they did things. This was a hard year for kids.  I think we all just need to get through it.  Next year should be more normal.

As a college freshman who decided to go 9 hours away from home (Valpo) to school, I can say this is absolutely correct. I go to a large school, so it has been a little manageable, but I imagine it is even harder at a small school like Valpo. Either way I came within hours of just packing up and leaving school and going home midway through the semester, and heavily considered just transferring closer to home. Unfortunately for me, the school I go to is the only school in the country that has my major, so my options are limited. All that being said, I have no doubt my current school is the right choice for me long term, but this year tried its best to change my mind. Things will be back to normal for the most part by next school year it seems, but I know not a single friend or fellow student that didn't have a very rough time. In fact, many students I talked to about this mentioned how they "wished they went (somewhere else)". That somewhere else was different for almost everybody, usually dependent on where they were from or what they are accustomed to. Students had a very uncomfortable year (like everybody else, too) and likely desired to be somewhere they were more in a comfort bubble, whether it was closer to home with more friends, or in JOs case, a more strictly religious school. I think a lot of these people, myself included, figured the grass was definitely greener somewhere else. In reality, it sucked everywhere, for everyone. I think it would be foolish to assume that this same sentiment doesn't apply to student-athletes as well, especially freshmen.

[crusader05]

I agree with Vok, this year was straight trash for college students whether they were able to be on campus or have their sport or whatnot. There were no good choices and none of them were fun. Students on campus had to deal with quarantines and getting sick, students off campus didn't have friends nearby and were stuck learning over computers.

Sporting events were held with no attendees, travel sucked with back to back games, conditioning was lost and opportunities for team bonding were probably limited.

All of that could absolutely exacerbate and magnify other frustrations. Dorm food is worse when you can't go out to eat and restaurants or  there aren't as many events with food at them, The housing is even worse when you're trapped in it, personality clashes increase and it pushed people into different ways of coping. Some wanted things to look as normal as possible, others wanted greater flexibility and rules relaxed and those two were in conflict all the time. One student grateful for relaxed standards in one class may have had a prof in another class refusing to give an inch to "keep things normal" while another may have been frustrated that other students seemed to view this year as a mulligan or not work as hard.

[VUBBFan]

Last year was anything but normal and not at all indicative of what college life really is. As a result any new freshman was subjective to an unreal college/campus experience.

Coach Gore lamented about this in a recent pod-cast. He expressed his frustration in not being able to connect and interact with players. It made his job of coaching so much harder. Because there was no famillarity or expectations between each other. It becomes almost impossible to forge relationships/friendships when you are regulated and isolated to the walls of a dorm room for days or weeks at a time. 

Hopefully this next year will get back to normal and players will be able to gel together, experience real campus life and forge lasting  friendships. Thus becoming a real part of the college.

[FWalum]

Coach Gore lamented about this in a recent pod-cast. He expressed his frustration in not being able to connect and interact with players.

What podcast was that? Would love to listen.

[tjjvalpo]

So, when everything is said and done, won't about a third of these athletes end up with no scholarship or school to attend?

[valpotx]

So, when everything is said and done, won't about a third of these athletes end up with no scholarship or school to attend?

Yes, there is a large risk for those athletes who remain unsigned.  This is probably why some of our transfers in/out made the school decisions that they did, versus waiting any longer.

[wh]

Saw this video clip on another message board. What Jerry Seinfeld said regarding professional sports is becoming apropos of college basketball.

https://vimeo.com/47283296

[IrishDawg]

Saw this video clip on another message board. What Jerry Seinfeld said regarding professional sports is becoming apropos of college basketball.

https://vimeo.com/47283296

I mean, it was true before this latest wave of transfers in college sports.  There is turnover in professional sports, but college sports, especially at places like Duke and Kentucky, half the team is turning over every year.  Heck, even at Butler, there were 7 new scholarship players (5 freshmen, 2 transfers) this past season.  College sports has always been about rooting for the name on the front of the jersey more than the names on the back.  You can get attached to guys when they're good players and good fits at your program, but the real attachment is to the school or the program itself.

I do find the discussion on recruiting in the era of transfers, especially at a mid-major level pretty fascinating.  It will be interesting to see how the programs that make it work are utilizing it.

[VUBBFan]

Coach Gore lamented about this in a recent pod-cast. He expressed his frustration in not being able to connect and interact with players.

What podcast was that? Would love to listen.

It was the pod cast "jack vita show". He was interviewing coach Gore about the sweet 16. It's rather long and they don't say much about Valpo until the last 1/4 of the pod cast.

[vu72]

Tom Izzo on Thomas Kithier:

https://247sports.com/Video/Izzo-starts-Kithier-because-he-does-every-little-thing-right-10134261/

[vuny98]

Tom Izzo on Thomas Kithier: https://247sports.com/Video/Izzo-starts-Kithier-because-he-does-every-little-thing-right-10134261/

Seems like Kiser was for us. From a pure talent standpoint, probably not talented enough to play at the level he was, but did everything right and such a good team player that he raised the level of play for the others and earned his playing time that way. I think with the step down, Kithiers talent should be on par with the competition and if he maintains the work ethic and team play mentality he exhibited at MSU he could be special for us. He should help open up Krikke a lot too.

[vu84v2]

If I drink too much, my pronunciation of "Kithier" might sound a lot like "Kiser". The two players may be that similar!

[usc4valpo]

In a job situation, at a public level a mature person leaving is cordial, wishes everyone the best and moves on with their life. At the bar, that may differ, but when moving on , be nice and move on. No need to burn bridges - who knows, you may need their assistance inthe future.

In general, sounds like what a 19-20 year old would do. Sometimes you go to a place that is a square peg in a round hole.

[valpotx]

Interesting.  I see that Micah Bradford is in the transfer portal.  I had thought he finished after last year at Southern.  It looks like he got injured this season, and gets to keep his last year.

[valpotx]

Former SIU and current Gonzaga player, Aaron Cook, is now in the portal.  Interesting.  Taking advantage of a 6th year, since he didn't get the PT he thought he would in transferring up:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/stats/_/id/4067063/aaron-cook

[justducky]

Former SIU and current Gonzaga player, Aaron Cook, is now in the portal.  Interesting.  Taking advantage of a 6th year, since he didn't get the PT he thought he would in transferring up:

Is it safe for us to assume he will be transferring down? 

[VUGrad1314]

Former SIU and current Gonzaga player, Aaron Cook, is now in the portal.  Interesting.  Taking advantage of a 6th year, since he didn't get the PT he thought he would in transferring up:

Is it safe for us to assume he will be transferring down? 

Interesting decision to transfer. With Suggs leaving you'd think that would have opened up more playing time for Cook.

[JD24]

Hunter Sallis is a higher rated recruit to Gonzaga than Suggs was. I'm sure the Zags are expecting Sallis to get the Suggs time.

[wh]

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/1385380704146628612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1385380704146628612%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-2130060169321337924.ampproject.net%2F2104170104001%2Fframe.html