KAEO Tafara Gapare

[Upstate10]

Glad you and your kid had fun, Frank.

[Juice Stand]

^ Spot fucking on. Sad to see him go, he could develop into something really special.

[Jeff90]

So much for “Frank’s guys” not leaving. I can’t do this anymore. They have removed all the fun in following a college program.

[UMassTom'91]

The first three men's players (Noah, Dyondre, and now Tafara) to sign with the Mass. Collective are all now in the transfer portal.

Steve Miller Band comes to mind...

[NilesGold]

The first three men's players (Noah, Dyondre, and now Tafara) to sign with the Mass. Collective are all now in the transfer portal.

Steve Miller Band comes to mind...

They didn't sign for next season.

[Jackson96]

Bit of a bummer as like everyone else think he has some untapped potential. certainly showed flashes of things you can’t teach but also showed flashes of things that he needs to be taught and a need to get stronger. Was hoping that would be here but not going to work out that way.

No idea what caused his decision. Could have been his minutes last year. Could have been promises from somewhere else. Could have been not meshing with Frank. Could have been anything really. I am not going to jump to conclusions in any direction, especially given the fact that we are talking about a kid who did commit to two previous schools before being a late add with us.

I just hope he does find some stability at some point soon.

[umasscollective]

The first three men's players (Noah, Dyondre, and now Tafara) to sign with the Mass. Collective are all now in the transfer portal.

Steve Miller Band comes to mind...

Disappointed to see them transfer, but none were under contract with The Mass Co when they entered the portal.

We have been active behind the scenes and are happy with the opportunities we have coming up.

[LS71]

I wish him well. I hate to see him go, a promise unfulfilled.

My bet is if DD had stayed he would have too.

[69MG]

I loved the potential, but so far that's all there was. Was he misused? Probably, but he still needed to polish his game quite a bit. This will hurt more in 2 years than it does now if he goes somewhere else and develops into a 4 star player.

A lot of chat on twitter about the program imploding. I don't buy it. We knew TJ was leaving and probably Noah since they were both honored on senior day. So that leaves DD and Gapare. The other senior honored was Wildens. Let's see how long it takes for him to announce. Noah is the only guy that will be hard to replace based solely on production.

[Calmass9]

Glad you and your kid had fun, Frank.

Everyone involved with this program should be embarrassed. Everyone on this board who defended Frank for playing his son 20mpg or tried to play it off like it wasn't a big deal should be embarrassed. The rest of us tried to tell you there were major consequences looming from that decision. And now they're here.

Frank playing Gapare at the 3 and reserving as many minutes as he did for Brandon at the 4 is and will always be the worst coaching decision I've ever seen on any level of competitive basketball. Gapare's best attributes at this stage were around the basket and in transition but for some reason our $1.7m coach stuck him on the perimeter on both ends of the court all season long. He set him up to fail time and time again while simultaneously starting his son, a 5th year senior with no discernible above average D1 skill, IN EVERY GAME POSSIBLE at the position our blue chip Freshman should have been playing.

What a fucking joke.

[DoctorJ]

TG was more flawed than BM. He couldn't defend the 3 or 4. He sometimes played the 2 as we were short on guards.

Get over the BM stuff please. That was the price of admission in getting an established coach. Let's not run him out of town.

[kdogg8173]

Wonder where he’s going to go or thinks he’s going to go. He has to make huge strides to move up in competition and get PT

[Calmass9]

TG was more flawed than BM. He couldn't defend the 3 or 4. He sometimes played the 2 as we were short on guards.

Get over the BM stuff please. That was the price of admission in getting an established coach. Let's not run him out of town.

No, I'm not going to get over it. Gapare played less than 50 mins all season as the 4 on this team. When he did, UMass outscored teams in every lineup combination (Gapare + Wildens, BM, DD or Kante).

His perimeter defense was by far his biggest flaw and Frank continued to put him in a position to have to defend smaller and quicker guys all year instead of allowing him to develop as an interior presence who could protect the rim. The longterm outlook for Gapare, both in college and at the next level, is as a Power Forward. The fact that Frank either A) could not recognize this or B) Refused to recognize it because he had to play his son 20mpg at the 4 is not the price of admission of getting an established coach. It is complete incompetence.

[DoctorJ]

Or it's fatherhood.

[natwam2547]

So much for “Frank’s guys” not leaving. I can’t do this anymore. They have removed all the fun in following a college program.

I'm not fully there yet, but am getting there. This is the first one that stings a bit as it was "Frank's guy" as you say. As much as I liked Noah, TJ and DD, they weren't his guys and the sooner we turn the page from McCall era to Martin era, the sooner we'll see what Frank is all about. If his guys continue to transfer and he's not able to get the job done, so be it. But as far as the major roster turnover in this today's college basketball, I'm headed in the same direction you are.