I watched a Duke/UNC game a week or so ago and didn't realize I was watching a replay till the names started registering...Hansbrough, wait a minute he's graduated, then I noticed some other guys like Carlos Boozer on the Duke bench and went WTF this is a replay, dam good game though!
With the decision by D J Carton to leave the Buckeyes via the transfer portal, we received some good news yesterday. Seth Towns from Columbus and a current student at Harvard, has agreed to join Ohio State via the transfer portal. At 6'7'' he will provide some addition rebounding and scoring from the power forward spot, with two years of legibility due to injuries. He will graduate with his degree in June from Harvard.
Irish need to add a couple of players (grad transfers) through the portal as well Don. Right now none of our players have entered the portal, we are so thin on numbers that it would be a big setback if they did. With all the talk of the 1 time transfer exception, it the NCAA invokes it and makes it effective immediately I think we'll see unprecedented movement of basketball players. It will be some what disrupting for the coaches trying to plan their rosters to say the least.
On Seth Towns....looks like while he has a lot of talent from what I read and was the #1 player in the Transfer game. He's not with out risks, from the ESPN article on him. Top grad transfer Towns picks OSU over Duke Towns has missed the past two seasons with knee injuries, but he was the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2017-18 after averaging 16.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He shot 44.1% from 3-point range that season. Because Towns hasn't played in two seasons and underwent another surgery earlier this season, there is some concern that he won't return to the player he was at Harvard -- and might not be able to return to the court without getting hurt. "There are concerns, which are normal," he said. "There are concerns about me getting back to full health by the time the games start and all these different things. But with my work ethic, the state of my knee now and the confidence in my medical team that's handled my knee up to this point, [I'll be ready]."
Terry, no doubt there are some risks involved here with Towns, but he can still help us and provide one more body who can score points as well with the rebounding.
Shaka Smart given the thumbs up by Texas AD Chris Del Conte to return next year. I think Texas fans were resigned to this outcome. He does have potentially a very good team coming back and if he can add 5 star Chris Brown (a NBA 1 and done) to the mix and avoid the injury issues that plagued him last year he might actually turn it around. Plus firing him now would be expensive at a time when revenues are down due to the virus.
Also Texas asst Luke Yaklich who was on staff only for last season, and previously had been with John Beilein at Michigan has taken the Univ of Illinois Chicago head job. Good luck to him.
Remember how hot Greg Marshall and Wichita State were a few years ago? Well they pretty much had the whole team enter the transfer portal after the season was shutdown. https://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/article241257976.html
Interesting article on the impact of the virus on college athletics and some talk about the likely passing of NCAA legislation allowing 1 time transfer and immediate eligibility. Coronavirus fallout: The biggest questions, concerns facing college basketball and athletic departments
Well in a shocking series of events, Texas AD Chris Del Conte announced he was letting Women's Basketball coach Karen Aston contract expire. Aston who had been some what successful at Texas for 8 years, but a big time failure against Baylor and Kim Mulkey. I was surprised he let Aston go, she was much more successful than Shaka Smart on the men's side who will be back next year. When he let her go I thought wow it's going to be rough getting a new coach right now, with all the restrictions on travel and everything limiting the opportunities for interviews other than video. He must have been working the back channels though before he announced that Aston would not be returning and gotten indication that Vic Schaefer would be interested if offered, so Aston out and in less than a week a deal was struck with Schaefer who had built Miss State into a SEC and National Power, 2 Final Fours. He's got lots of ties to Texas and Texas High School women's basketball is loaded with talent. He should also be able to recruit the SEC footprint for the Longhorns given his 8 years at MSU. I'd call this a Home Run Hire.
Totally agree. Schaefer created a great program at MSU and will have a lot more resources to use in Austin. Great work from your AD.
Probably going to see a bit more of this type of decision going forward. #1 rated player for 2020 has decided not to go to college. Sources: Top recruit going G League over college
Well Texas Basketball and Shaka Smart got some good news yesterday when Top 10 player Greg Brown III chose the Longhorns over Michigan and the G-League. His dad played football at Texas and he lives in Austin, so he's staying close to home. Big win for the Longhorns. Smart is still likely on a very warm seat, but he has a better team for 2020-2021 to help him cool it down.
Danny Manning out at Wake Forrest. No big surprise here, he had an overall losing record in his 6 years at Wake Forrest, and a losing record in the ACC. Great player at KU, won the NC though.
Looks like KU basketball is in a heap of trouble, it's not out of the blue as it goes back to the FBI investigation. Who knows what the out come will be but the charges are very serious and could lead to Bill Self being fired under a show cause and KU basketball having serious penalties in general. NCAA calls Kansas' violations 'egregious, severe'