KAEO: Ronnie DeGray III

[jj]

Anybody else nervous this is going to get bad?

It's already beyond bad. As fans, we hope for the best, however, this program has sucked for quite a long time.

[inthescoop]

Ronnie commits to Missouri. SEC basketball.

[69MG]

Sorry to see him go and I wish him well. I must say that I understand Tre leaving more than Ronnie. Most players leave because of playing time or a coaching change. Ronnie was guaranteed to start and get plenty of minutes. I guess the SEC was the draw.

[inthescoop]

Missouri is a very junkyard dog mentality type team. I think he’s a very solid fit there. Sad to see him go no doubt!

[uz2b-len]

I don't think Ronnie really wanted to be here. He turned down our first offer and stayed at Woodstock for another year, hoping to do better. Now he's done better. Tre didn't want to be here either, he did it for his family. I respect both these young men, and IMHO it's best that they moved on.

[Floyd]

Yeah, liked Ronnie, wish him well. I really think this pandemic year hurt UMass and its first year players playing limited games in front of no fans. Absolutely no atmosphere and connection to the school. Going anywhere would probably seem better than this pandemic year at UMass. Need to get fans in the seats this season, even if it means lowering season tix costs

[Jackson96]

Will be interesting to see how he does in that conference. I like him as a player — just not sure how much better he is going to get.

[TheInsider]

I think the A10 was a good level for him to grow.. not sure he can guard guys in the SEC

[MikeUMA]

^ He'll get a taste of the NBA when Mizzou plays Kentucky

One Mizzou take about landing DeGray:
https://www.rockmnation.com/mizzou-bask ... nzo-martin

[Upstate10]

Happy for Ronnie

Think he could have been an elite A10 player by his junior and senior years

[Juice Stand]

Definitely disappointed to see him go, but it's pretty clear that UMass was a temporary spot for him as Len said. He's going to be a little closer to home and playing in the SEC. I hope he does well.

To Floyd's point, I can't imagine the atmosphere at UMass this year was very enticing (pandemic shut downs, empty campus, lousy winter weather), but we've only had two transfers up to this point (not counting Carl). I take that as a positive sign overall that folks are buying in. You see the excitement around the hockey team and the reception when they returned home. I imagine the basketball players would love to create that kind of buzz.

[Floyd]

Juice, thats why I'm very happy that Preston is coming back. Besides being a pretty productive player, he brings a lot of positive energy. Really need to have lots of fans this season to give these guys a boost.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Good luck Ronnie! This sucks, but I wish him the best.

[MikeUMA]

DeGray is back in the Portal after his junior season, and second with the Tigers.

His role was greatly reduced this season, minutes down more than 60%. How much the coaching change played into that, I don't know, but seems like it was a factor.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk ... r-AA19idmQ

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... iii-1.html

[DoctorJ]

I'd be open to him coming back.