How former UMass players have fared after entering the portal

[inthescoop]

Check out the season Lewis Walker is having at NC A&T, teammate with Amadou Doumbia

Walker is killing it, I'd like to know the story there. Kind of head scratching that with as shitty as the UMass team was last year Frank didn't play him a single minute?

All we knew from the second that he committed to UMass was that he expected to redshirt his freshman year. Why? Those reasons were never released

[Carl Spackler]

Another very efficient, productive night for Abdelgowad....18 minutes, 17 pts on 5-7 shooting against high level competition...lost at Texas 95-69. Averaging 10 pts and 8 boards a night in only 17 mpg...shooting over 60%.
Others have said he didn't seem to fit at UMass...I say bullshit. Him and Leo would make a dynamite MAC big guy rotation.
From my point of view it seemed like Frank hammered him mercilessly. Now Frank is desperately trying to find a reliable big to spell Leo. Guys transfer every year but unless Malek was a discipline/attitude issue he should have been a guy we tried to retain and he should have been more productive last season.

[NilesGold]

Malek was terrible here… seems like he got some stats Im a blowout loss which doesn’t change my opinion.

[Carl Spackler]

Malek was terrible here… seems like he got some stats Im a blowout loss which doesn’t change my opinion.

Disagree. He’s played well all season. He played timid and scared last season. John Calipari said coaching is learning who you have to put your arms around and who you have to kick in the ass. Malek needed an arm, he got a foot.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Disagree. He’s played well all season. He played timid and scared last season. John Calipari said coaching is learning who you have to put your arms around and who you have to kick in the ass. Malek needed an arm, he got a foot.

I concur, he seems to be playing well this year when looking at the per game stats. I'm happy he is doing well, but it clearly wasn't a good fit here.



Some players leave and get better, some leave and get worse. It happens.

[Carl Spackler]

Honestly I don’t want to belabor this topic but for a program that has been squarely mediocre for years we seem to have a number of guys that have transferred and flourished. The country is full of impact transfers but how does an underperforming program like UMass have 6 or 7 guys making huge contributions around the country?
Garcia - still playing somehow but was Conference POTY last season
Thompson crushing it at 7-2 Stephen F Austin
Worthy playing great at UC Riverside
Davis (not a fan of his game personally) was preseason conference POTY
Walker out of nowhere looks like a first team CAA player
Curry is arguably the most important player on 9-0 Oklahoma State
Rivera continues to do what he does at UAB
Abdelgowad playing very solid, much better than he was at UMass
Luis was BE POTY, absolute stud at SJU
Cross continued what he was doing at UM his year at SMU
And I’m probably missing 1 or 2 others. Just boggles the mind how many guys have left and have become high impact players
Transfers happen to every program but the coaches work hard to convince these guys to come then let them walk and blossom elsewhere.

[inthescoop]

I think Carl makes some fair points. Although Malek was not the best example,

Why is it that these players are always underachieving at UMass but do well at other places? It's a question and story you have to consider.

[minutefanjsf]

I think Carl makes some fair points. Although Malek was not the best example,

Why is it that these players are always underachieving at UMass but do well at other places? It's a question and story you have to consider.

They all pretty much found their spot. Those who are doing better at lower levels were over their heads. Those who moved on were very good/great at UMass and moved up and did the same. They also are a year older. Cross, Betiol, Banks, Cohen, etc. all examples of doing well with UMass as transfers. It cuts both ways.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

^

And Cohen is an example of someone that left that didn't do better.

[minutefanjsf]

^

And Cohen is an example of someone that left that didn't do better.

In the preportal era we had many transfers shown out in Amherst…..Chaz, Dante Milligan, Gary Forbes, to name a few. This list is pretty long. DHS is somewhat of a weird but accurate current example, too.

[Carl Spackler]

^

And Cohen is an example of someone that left that didn't do better.

In the preportal era we had many transfers shown out in Amherst…..Chaz, Dante Milligan, Gary Forbes, to name a few. This list is pretty long. DHS is somewhat of a weird but accurate current example, too.

Will Herndon was a transfer. Etienne Brower, Tony Gaffney, Gurley, Jesse Morgan...many others as well

[minutefanjsf]

^

And Cohen is an example of someone that left that didn't do better.

In the preportal era we had many transfers shown out in Amherst…..Chaz, Dante Milligan, Gary Forbes, to name a few. This list is pretty long. DHS is somewhat of a weird but accurate current example, too.

Will Herndon was a transfer. Etienne Brower, Tony Gaffney, Gurley, Jesse Morgan...many others as well

Yes. We have benefitted from transfers in even in this era. No ill will to kids who leave. Wish them well.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Soooooooooooo what is the argument again?

[MikeUMA]

And Cohen is an example of someone that left that didn't do better.

There's always examples of that.

Cohen did well to get an NIL bag from a Power school, considering where he started: just 2 offers from low-tier D-I schools, and a D-II offer.

[MikeUMA]

Checking in with the latest numbers from dudes in my tracker
https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id ... rs_tracker

Malek Abdelgowad
Southern (SWAC), 4-9
Their leading rebounder (6.9) and second leading scorer (11.6). Shooting an impressive .663 from 2 and has also hit on 4 of 5 from three.

John Brigham (walk-on)
SW IL (JuCo), 6-7
4.2 ppg and 2.2 rpg

Jaylen Curry
Oklahoma State (Big 12), 12-1. They're not currently ranked with a mid-SOS.
Leading assist man at 5.5 (7th in Big 12). Also putting up 12.4 ppg and 3.8 rpg. Shooting .538 from 2 but just .250 from deep.
Started their first 2, and most-recent 2. Averaging 26.7 minutes overall.

Robert Davis Jr.
Old Dominion (Sun Belt), 4-10 and a mid-SOS
Scoring average is way down so far: 8.7 ppg versus the 15.6 he did last year. Minutes down a bit (29.1 from 35.6).
3pt shooting has dipped to .291
A virtual lock from the line at .923

Two dudes at NC A&T (CAA), 7-5 but SOS is near the bottom (360 of 365)
Amadou Doumbia: Averaging 3.5 pts and 4.3 boards. Has started 10 games, but only averaging 14.5 minutes.
Lewis Walker (redshirt last season): Has blossomed there. Leading scorer with 18.8 (and 3rd in CAA), and pulling down 5.5 rpg. Played in all but one game and started in 8. Put up 16 points at South Carolina.

Tarique Foster
Albany (AEC), 4-10
Has only appeared in 4 games, 15.0 minutes per. Season totals of 16 pts and 3 boards. Had started their first two games but missed their next seven, I think with an injury but not sure. Played just 10 total minutes in their games 10 and 11, and sat completely in their last three.
Against us in game 2: 20 minutes, 3 points, 2 boards.

Tafara Gapare
Villanova (Big East), 10-2
Played in 9 games, all off the bench, 16.3 mpg. Averaging 2.9 in both points and boards. Shooting a terrible .308 from 2 and .214 from 3.

Javohn Garcia
McNeese State (Southland), 10-3 on a respectable (78th) SOS
Will Wade is gone but Garcia stuck around for his 6th college season.
Garcia has started in all games and is averaging 12.2 pts in 27.8 minutes. Shooting .400 from 3 and an effective FG% of .558 (his career best).

Nate Guerengomba
Quinnipiac (MAAC), 10-4 overall and 3-0 in early league play
Has appeared in all but 1 game, got 4 starts overall (and in all of last 3). Put up a season high 13 pts a couple weeks ago at Monmouth.
Season averages: 3.8 points and 2.6 boards.

Mathok Majok
New Orleans (Southland), 4-8 overall but on a tough SOS (27th)
Appeared in 6 games, averaging 7.2 minutes, 3.5 points, 2.3 boards

Tyler Mason
Alabama State (SWAC), 3-10 overall on a top-100 SOS
Appeared in every game, all off the bench. 12.0 minutes, 4.1 points, 2.3 boards

Sawyer Mayhugh
Indian Hills (JuCo), 14-2
Averaging 10.7 points and 5.6 boards

Shahid Muhammad
Florida State (ACC), 7-6 on a meh schedule, rebuilding after losing longtime coach Leonard Hamilton.
Appeared in 11 games, all off the bench. Getting just 6.8 minutes per game, with 2.4 points and 1.2 boards.
Against us a couple weeks ago: 15 minutes, 4 points, 3 boards

Daniel Rivera
UAB (American), 9-4 on a weak SOS
Started all 13 games. Averaging 27.8 minutes, 10.6 points (5th on team) and 7.2 boards (3rd). Has improved his 2pt and 3pt shooting but is a liability from the line (career low .457).

Keon Thompson
Stephen F Austin (Southland), 10-2 on a trash SOS (323)
Started all 12 games. Averaging 29.3 minutes, 17.4 points, 5.8 boards, 4.8 assists, and an effective FG% of .522. Leads team in points and assists, second in boards. Second in Southland in ppg and fourth in apg.

Akil Watson
St. Peter's (MAAC), 6-5
Is on the roster but has yet to appear. Missed the last few weeks of our 24-25 season with a knee injury. Not sure if that's still plaguing him. A Google search found a blog post that mentioned SPC coach Bashir Mason hasn't revealed what's going on with Watson.

Marqui Worthy
UC Riverside (Big West), 6-8
Change of scenery / getting close to home has served him well. Has started all games and logged big minutes (33.5). Averaging 14.0 pts (tied 2nd on team), 4.4 boards, 3.1 assists (team leader). Also putting up career bests in shooting: .550 from 2, .333 from 3, .740 from the line.