Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

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rsox1221
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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by rsox1221 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:08 pm

69MG wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:51 am
MJatUM wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:49 am So was Carl the one that had a passport issue? I thought I heard somewhere MM said a player was having an issue with that.
Correct. I didn't want to give the name until it was obvious and also to clarify that he wasn't left behind due to injury.
I'm a touch confused. This is the US Virgin Islands. You don't need a passport to travel to the US Virgin Islands if you are a US citizen. I don't think that Pierre would have been the one with a "passport issue" as it relates to travel to the USVI. In fact, unless at some point in this trip they plan to go to the British Virgin Islands, no one who is a US citizen should have had any document-related issues for travel. The only player that appears to be a concern for would be Baptiste as a native of Haiti, and he has been in the US for several years.

It looks as though UMass traveled from Bradley to Puerto Rico then St Thomas. There is no need for documentation on that path as a US citizen.
Last edited by rsox1221 on Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by uz2b-len » Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:11 pm

I've been around McCall a few times and found him aloof. Quite different from DK in that respect.
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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by 69MG » Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:33 pm

^^ I don't know the details. I was told it was a "travel document" issue that they couldn't get resolved in time. If anyone knows the full story we would all like to hear it unless it is something that should not be made public.

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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by Jackson96 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:38 pm

This whole scene is a little weird-o-rama. I don’t particularly care very much, though. I just want things to get better on the court.
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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by rsox1221 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:45 pm

69MG wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:33 pm ^^ I don't know the details. I was told it was a "travel document" issue that they couldn't get resolved in time. If anyone knows the full story we would all like to hear it unless it is something that should not be made public.
Quite odd.

A US citizen traveling from the US through PR to the USVI would only need a government-issued ID like a driver's license to make that trip. It would seem the only player that might have been an issue for is Baptiste, but he has to have been on a student visa in the US for several years, and a valid F-1 visa would also allow for that trip unencumbered.

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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by Floyd » Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:21 pm

Plus, this trip has been in the works for a while I would think. Plenty of time to work that stuff out, no?

So whats the schedule going forward for games?
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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by NilesGold » Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:04 pm

eldonabe wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:06 am
LS71 wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:40 am
78 wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 11:04 pm It's amazing how differently the women are treating their trip than the men. I don't get it. Women have had video highlights of both games they played, have had videos of the fun they are having and things they are doing in Portugal, and have had numerous pictures all over social media. I'm not 100 percent sold on Verdi as a coach yet, but he runs circles around McCall in terms of marketing his program, relating to fans and players, etc.
Seems odd that Bamford wouldn’t ensure consistency as to how these trips were handed media wise.

I highly doubt RB made that decision in a vacuum. Clearly, they want to keep things under wraps for now - for whatever reason. I believe they call that "controlling the narrative".

There are no rules that say they HAVE TO share any of this and they are choosing not to, so at the very least controlling the narrative of what they want shared.


You can take this two ways I suppose... but if it were me (in MM's shoes), I think I would really like to see what is going on against other competition besides scrimmages among my own players. These kids all live on the social media and I am sure they read all of the stuff here as well as other places, so you DO NOT need a bunch of "message board coaches" spewing shit that may affect your players negatively.

There will be plenty of other opportunities before Game 1 to see these boys in action and get scouting reports. I am beyond curious about what is going to happen this season, but I can wait another month for info.
I think I'm in agreement with Eldon here, shocking I know. I don't quite understand the outrage/frustration that some people seem to have over the lack of media coverage of this trip. The team has 7 freshmen, only 8 guys are playing on the trip (6 of them freshmen), and is totally revamping their defense... maybe they don't want to risk showing that the team is a major work in progress, or maybe they don't want to show anything that opponents can use to scout against them. It's not like the team has been in a communications blackout all summer, McCall and UMass BB has been very visible on social media. I've never been to the The Court Club event before this year, but McCall didn't seem to have too much of an issue communicating there.

It wouldn't surprise me if McCall isn't the most outgoing or personable guy, but it's not like he's a recluse. I could give two shits about coverage of this trip if he has this team playing well for the games that count.

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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by 78 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:31 pm

MJatUM wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 3:11 pm The fan-interaction-via-Twitter skill is ranked about 978427892384682347th on my list of what I'm looking for in a coach.
It's called marketing the program to generate fan interest. And when the program sucks, that's a key part of the job. I didn't mention Twitter in my post, but whatever. It's just amazing how piss poor men's basketball is marketed versus the other sports I mentioned.
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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by 78 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:32 pm

TheOFFSeason wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 6:05 pm
78 wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 3:08 pm ^^^

What he said. Again, someone explain to me the huge difference between how the women’s program is treating its trip, or how much visibility Bell has brought to the football program (which is in worse shape than men’s hoops), or how active Carvel is promoting the hockey program year round, and has been since the beginning. To me it comes down to McCall...now if he starts to win and proves he can coach, I’ll care a lot less. But, given the status of the program you would think he would want to do everything possible to generate fan interest.

McCall is the problem
He cannot communicate at all...he didn’t with his top 2 assistants last year, he didn’t with some mangers last year...certainly with some players and also with some boosters/fans.
When he was forced to bring in a new staff this year I was hoping that he was going to change his approach too but this nonsense of not wanting any media except photos of the beach etc is just more of the same.
Bamford going along with this and putting some bs out on Twitter is concerning also...his responses were idiotic.
The fan base has dwindled to the Gerlufsen level and they aren’t reaching out...that baffles me. The argument that they don’t want these kids to be judged is nonsense...is it going to be better when they hear/read things once the games start?
The only people paying attention would be the diehard fans, most of whom that live locally have already renewed their tickets, and they want to hear what’s happening...no other program that I know of would do this.
Thank you for confirming my belief...
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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by UMassfan_19 » Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:39 pm

rsox1221 wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:45 pm
69MG wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:33 pm ^^ I don't know the details. I was told it was a "travel document" issue that they couldn't get resolved in time. If anyone knows the full story we would all like to hear it unless it is something that should not be made public.
Quite odd.

A US citizen traveling from the US through PR to the USVI would only need a government-issued ID like a driver's license to make that trip. It would seem the only player that might have been an issue for is Baptiste, but he has to have been on a student visa in the US for several years, and a valid F-1 visa would also allow for that trip unencumbered.
I think djery is due to a concussion so it's better he rest instead of flying etc

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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by NilesGold » Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:03 am

78 wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 10:31 pm
MJatUM wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 3:11 pm The fan-interaction-via-Twitter skill is ranked about 978427892384682347th on my list of what I'm looking for in a coach.
It's called marketing the program to generate fan interest. And when the program sucks, that's a key part of the job. I didn't mention Twitter in my post, but whatever. It's just amazing how piss poor men's basketball is marketed versus the other sports I mentioned.
FWIW, McCall and UMass MBB in total has been much more active on social media than his predecessor were. They've done a lot of marketing this Summer alone.

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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by Floyd » Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:46 am

I'm not sure people are outraged, people are eager to see the new team, staff, and how they look. It is what it is, but its better to have interest than not.
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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by Jackson96 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:22 am

When I say things are weird I am mainly talking about Carl not travelling. Bamford’s statement was a bit odd too. None of it really means much to me. And while I am happy to be getting coverage from the local paper down there, I am happier that football will have real games soon enough.
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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by Roadtrip » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:24 am

That Jackson is a happy dude. Be like Jackson. :D

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Re: Virgin Islands, August 2019, exhibition trip

Post by eldonabe » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:44 am

uz2b-len wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:11 pm I've been around McCall a few times and found him aloof. Quite different from DK in that respect.
Yes - McCall was aloof

.... and Kellogg was agoof

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