AH1971

Not every kid that plays college basketball is entering the portal demanding to be paid “fair market value” each and every season. I’m sure guys like Braden Smith and TKR (who have never entered the portal) are playing at significant discounts compared to their “fair market value” had they chose to enter the portal. When you’re literally building a roster from scratch, you’re going to have to overspend. It’s not that complicated.

Our NIL is fine...we had to overspend to assemble a brand new roster from scratch

In a paywalled article yesterday, Joe Tipton at On3 pretty much said IU was the team to beat here.

It’s July. The hype right now is for the start of football season…where it should be this time of year.

This current landscape just produced a National Champion that was projected to finish 7th in their conference featuring a bunch of mid-major transfers at guard and 2-3* recruits in the front court. Talk about unheralded.

I’m not sure what leads you to believe that? Roster retention is still an absolute necessity in today’s game and roster retention starts with…recruiting freshman. Recruit your core roster and then supplement your needs in the portal.

So it was a money/NIL issue, not a negligent, unprepared from day one issue? In a perfect world, Moibuko and Murphy accept on the spot, but that’s life and the way this industry works. Rod Clark is a better recruiter than Moibuko and pushing the same tier as Murphy.

Barnett took a HC job elsewhere and there wasn’t a chance in hell Chester Frazier was coming here. That leaves you with Tom Ostrom as the remaining guy who sat on his bench last year…yeah that Tom Ostrom. We didn’t lose a year because DeVries didn’t panic. Pure nonsense.

Yeah don't understand the issue. I would have held out till August if it meant hiring Rod Clark. To most, this is marathon, not a sprint. Getting the right staff in place no matter the timeline is much more paramount to long term success although I understand you can't please everyone.

We know

Wonder if Rod Clark's connections to Sunrise Christian helps or hurts here?

Can we get an offer out to his teammate Qayden Samuels?

We're too good for a top 75 wing from a really good program who plays in an even tougher conference?

Absolutely. Load up and develop the lines on both sides of the ball and you can always dip into the portal for skill position guys when needed. Play in the trenches is crucial to taking the next step forward.

Believe was previously committed to Penn State at one point. Canceled his Tennessee visit that was scheduled for this weekend. Steve Wiltfong over at On3 seemed very confident about a month ago that he was ours to lose. Ole Miss appears to be a new player in this race. Hope we land him.