Game 12, 2025-26: Kent State (12/20)

[devildawg3010]

NIL - Nobody Is Loyal.

[minutefanjsf]

i'll go back to my lament that we have done a poor job retaining talented players to the portal. Lewis Walker is averaging over 18 a night, nearly 6 boards while shooting over 51%....he never dressed last season, this is his first year of college basketball. I assume he practiced and based on this year's results Frank should have recognized that this kid can really play. He's 75-83 from the FT line...at 6'6 230 with a soft touch and great scoring instincts. How do we let him transfer to NC A&T?
Did Frank do everything in his power to bring him back? Was it money? Was he homesick?
Look at the development of Gillespie at Kent...this is his 4th season their and he's a monster...i'm sure he had opportunities to go elsewhere but he stayed at Kent.
DHS and Ndjigue have stayed for 3 seasons and there are others like Diggins that stuck around but we've lost far too many talented players. If Oklahoma State comes calling (Curry) i get it. St. John's (Luis) i get it. But Stephen F. Austin and NC A&T simply can't poach our best players.

Kids transfer for a lot of reasons. No idea why Walker redshirted. That is rare these days. It was announced at the start of the season/school last year he would redshirt. The school he is at now is very close to his hometown, too. I don't think we want any coach begging players to stay. Assuming Frank didn't recognize his talent, as a reason he left is a big leap. Doumbia also left. UMass as a school is not an easy academic ride, either. Most of these guys are not going pro in hoops, even overseas. Academics matter as well as family.

Who said beg? And I mentioned homesick as a possible reason for leaving. My question is, did the staff recognize his talent and do everything in their power to retain him? Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. We'll probably never know. Freshman averaging 18 and 6 at a high shooting percentage don't grow on trees.

Redshirt freshman are unicorns as well. Asking if Frank did everything in his power to make him stay, implied to me that begging would be an option. I was pointing out that even though he could have begged, I don't want that. What is "everything within their power"? Unless they helped push him out the door, offering a scholarship and NIL money, that I assume is more at UMass than NCAT, what else is within their power? UMass is not an HBCU. NCAT is the largest HBCU, I think, in the country. UMass could not offer that experience. You're right who knows what was done. Frank publicly states he wants to develop players, so I think it is disingenuous to posit he doesn't do what he can to retain players. He has lots of faults, for sure, this doesn't seem to be one of them. Player loyalty is big for him.

[MikeUMA]

DHS taking 4 threes per game is not the formula for winning. He made one, yes, and sometimes you take what the defense gives you, but still, he's .236 from deep in his career and .176 this season. It's almost a guaranteed turnover.

I like the guy and he's done really well in some games this season, but the shot selection still has room for improvement.

[Uminuteman]

Don't we have some guy named Brown who can shoot it? Wonder whatever happened to him?

[minutefanjsf]

Don't we have some guy named Brown who can shoot it? Wonder whatever happened to him?

He's been lost on the bench behind Banks, Carabuccia, Placide, Parker, and to a degree Ndjingue (when we go big).

[Steve81]

I'll be at the game, leaving shortly.

Talked with the wife about buying a season ticket next year. Flexing the Tuesday games and bring the wife or others.

They don't allow you to flex tickets anymore. You can thank our dear leader, Ryan Bamford for that. Eliminating that option is just a clear money grab by the department. I have two season tickets, and I usually bring family or friends with me for the second seat. I always loved being able to flex it out if people were unavailable, but I've had to eat the cost twice already this year. It's just money out of my wallet and in to Bamford's piggy bank for absolutely nothing.

Thanks for the information Juice Stand. Perhaps will buy a value season ticket as will waste a lot of the week day games and a few weekend games.

[Steve81]

NIL - Nobody Is Loyal.

Nice, but would not go as far as nobody. We'd loss out to Power Conferences, which I include the Big East.

That said, believe there will be more money available for NIL, but we all have to our part in a manner that we are comfortable.
The current MAC media contract expires soon that current sits at 10.1M. Posted this on the football forum since they thread moves to scheduling groups and will show those for reference as prefer as many others with Schedule Group C, but schedule group A pairs Illinois State (Net 71) with Western Kentucky instead of C with Delaware. ( Will say BeatWestern posted the thread and has an ear with the MAC decision makers.)

As I have said previously and most of you are aware, the current MAC MMR with ESPN is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2027. IF the MAC is going to expand, it will most definitely be tied to a new and improved MMR deal, effective July 1, 2027. Moving to 14 with "additive" schools not only helps improve the MMR, it makes scheduling easier for the conference and could also strengthen the MBB NET.

Below are three groupings (A, B and C) of a 4-3-4-3 football scheduling arrangement. All three would work well, IMHO. Do you have a preference among the three, or perhaps one slightly different among the three? Potential new members are listed in bold.

C
Buffalo
UMass
Delaware

A
Buffalo
UMass
Akron
Kent State

[Floyd]

i'll go back to my lament that we have done a poor job retaining talented players to the portal. Lewis Walker is averaging over 18 a night, nearly 6 boards while shooting over 51%....he never dressed last season, this is his first year of college basketball. I assume he practiced and based on this year's results Frank should have recognized that this kid can really play. He's 75-83 from the FT line...at 6'6 230 with a soft touch and great scoring instincts. How do we let him transfer to NC A&T?
Did Frank do everything in his power to bring him back? Was it money? Was he homesick?
Look at the development of Gillespie at Kent...this is his 4th season their and he's a monster...i'm sure he had opportunities to go elsewhere but he stayed at Kent.
DHS and Ndjigue have stayed for 3 seasons and there are others like Diggins that stuck around but we've lost far too many talented players. If Oklahoma State comes calling (Curry) i get it. St. John's (Luis) i get it. But Stephen F. Austin and NC A&T simply can't poach our best players.

Kids transfer for a lot of reasons. No idea why Walker redshirted. That is rare these days. It was announced at the start of the season/school last year he would redshirt.

My guess would be they thought with Rivera & Jayden at the SF spot it would be a good idea to let Big Jelly sit a year & develop & save a year. Maybe sitting out he saw all the defections & decided he didn't want to play here. Frank isn't for everybody.
I'm glad he's doing well down there, but he might have fit in nicely here this year

[InnervisionsUMASS]

i'll go back to my lament that we have done a poor job retaining talented players to the portal. Lewis Walker is averaging over 18 a night, nearly 6 boards while shooting over 51%....he never dressed last season, this is his first year of college basketball. I assume he practiced and based on this year's results Frank should have recognized that this kid can really play. He's 75-83 from the FT line...at 6'6 230 with a soft touch and great scoring instincts. How do we let him transfer to NC A&T?
Did Frank do everything in his power to bring him back? Was it money? Was he homesick?
Look at the development of Gillespie at Kent...this is his 4th season their and he's a monster...i'm sure he had opportunities to go elsewhere but he stayed at Kent.
DHS and Ndjigue have stayed for 3 seasons and there are others like Diggins that stuck around but we've lost far too many talented players. If Oklahoma State comes calling (Curry) i get it. St. John's (Luis) i get it. But Stephen F. Austin and NC A&T simply can't poach our best players.

Ok, since you brought it up again, I'll bite. What is the issue? Is it Frank? Is it the Collective? Is it a department/institutional issue? Please tell us what you think the issue is.

[Berkman]

$ $ $

[Steve81]

Idk, we beat 2 ACC, power conference teams. Money is a big part, but not the only thing that can make a difference

People; players, coaches, administration, will all make a difference as well. Chemistry and will!

[69MG]

Guys, get over this deal about losing players. The average turnover in D1 last year was 9 players. As a mid-major, we are going to lose good players to programs that have $$ to pay them. We'll lose players who can't adjust to Frank's style of coaching, and we'll lose players who want more playing time at maybe a lower-level school. I'm sure I haven't covered all of the reasons, but I don't care why we lose players. It's going to happen, and you need to plan your recruiting with that in mind.

OK, I'm done.

[bobolink]

There is something of an experiment in developing strictly from within--recruiting Freshmen and developing them, i.e., don't use the portal. It's on-going under Coach Shaka Smart at Marquette. They're currently a distant last in their conference. Of course it's hard to compare programs, but it's hard to see how that can succeed.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Thanks folks... Carl Spackler brought it up here again and has been called out. Lets give him the opportunity here, or if he wants to create his own thread, to answer his own questions and/or solve his issues.

[eldonabe]

Very disappointing... that's all I got.