How former UMass players have fared after entering the portal

[Floyd]

Loved Keon here, should have kept him around

[Marty Peretz]

Keon drove me nuts at times but this team could have used his toughness. They don't lose that game to EMU the other night if Keon as a senior is on the floor.

[MikeUMA]

Loved Keon here, should have kept him around

These are the times when I wish we knew the full story of why guys left. Keon rarely had a smile on his face, although maybe he's just that kind of dude. Did he want to leave or was he encouraged to seek other opportunities?

I can't remember if Keon was getting NIL from The Collective. If he was, I'd be surprised if his deal was better from Stephen F Austin, although I don't know if they have a big supporter down there. Texas does things big.

[MakeMullinsGreatAgain]

Loved Keon here, should have kept him around

These are the times when I wish we knew the full story of why guys left. Keon rarely had a smile on his face, although maybe he's just that kind of dude. Did he want to leave or was he encouraged to seek other opportunities?

I can't remember if Keon was getting NIL from The Collective. If he was, I'd be surprised if his deal was better from Stephen F Austin, although I don't know if they have a big supporter down there. Texas does things big.

I just think there is only so much yelling one can take. The reason he never smiled was he was constantly being yelled at by Frank. I thought maybe since he went to a Military Academy he might be different and was used to it - but when you are playing basketball, you are supposed to be having fun - not constantly being berated. If you watch the games like I do, and I'm sure if you are on this board you do, you can just see the body language of some of these kids when they get yelled out and they are like - WTF? why is he yelling at me???

I am really worried about Jayden bolting next year. Frank is on him non stop and the first couple years I would never see Jayden respond - this year is different. On many occasions I have seen him stare Frank down and at an earlier game this year Rashool was sitting courtside and Frank was all over Jayden and he looked at Sool - clearly pointed at Frank and they both just laughed.

[69MG]

Loved Keon here, should have kept him around

In hindsight, keeping Keon would have been a win. My guess is that when we signed Curry, he either was told his minutes would go down or he figured it out on his own. He started all 30 games the year before Curry got here. As for the yelling, it's hard to know if that alone would have caused him to leave.

Prety much the same situation as when Sean East left. Noah Fernandez announced his transfer to UMass and East was as good as gone.

EDIT: I forgot that Curry came off the bench as a freshman, playing behind Keon. Keon left after that season.

[MikeUMA]

I just think there is only so much yelling one can take. The reason he never smiled was he was constantly being yelled at by Frank. I thought maybe since he went to a Military Academy he might be different and was used to it - but when you are playing basketball, you are supposed to be having fun - not constantly being berated. If you watch the games like I do, and I'm sure if you are on this board you do, you can just see the body language of some of these kids when they get yelled out and they are like - WTF? why is he yelling at me???

I am really worried about Jayden bolting next year. Frank is on him non stop and the first couple years I would never see Jayden respond - this year is different. On many occasions I have seen him stare Frank down and at an earlier game this year Rashool was sitting courtside and Frank was all over Jayden and he looked at Sool - clearly pointed at Frank and they both just laughed.

You could be right, but you could also be wrong. Your entire narrative is based on the theory that the guys can't handle Frank's way of doing things. These guys know what they're signing up for. It's no secret. We all see it.

Frank's style is not for everyone, but some guys want the tough love.

Jayden could have gone elsewhere, twice now, and he came back. He gets his share of Frank's ire at times, but Frank also gives him praise. Keon got the same, both ways.

I agree more with 69MG's theory, that Keon was likely to lose his minutes to Curry.

[Juice Stand]

I wouldn't put any stock into Keon's on-court demeanor. I met him at an open practice and he's just one of those guys that doesn't show emotion easily. I've also watched a few of his SFA games and he has a similar demeanor. That's just his personality.

[Floyd]

My take was he didnt really want to leave, but might have been told Curry was going to be the starter. If they were gonna just hand things over to Curry, without letting them battling it out, that was a mistake. Keon seemed like a fighter so I doubt he would have just gave in and left. Seems like he may have been nudged to leave

[MikeUMA]

Lewis Walker update...

He continues to impress. He leads his team and is 5th in the CAA in scoring average, at 19.1 ppg. He just set NC A&T's freshman scoring record:
https://ncataggies.com/news/2026/2/7/me ... stone.aspx
https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/sport ... 25043.html

Aggies are having a hard year at 9-14 / 2-10, but scoring is scoring and it'll be interesting to see if he moves back up a notch in conferences in the future.

Another instance of how I'd really love to know more on why he didn't work out here.

[Juice Stand]

Not to beat the Keon horse, but he's probably the departing player I wanted to keep the most. He's having a great season with 17.9 pts, 5.3 reb, 4.3 ast, and what was a weakness here at UMass, shooting percentages, have gone up: 53.8% from 2, respectable from 3, 32.8%, and 71.4% at the line. His SFA team is 21-3, first in the Southland, and 76 NET. Great individual season on a very good team.

From Basket Under Review: "Can Stephen F. Austin Be the Magic the NCAA Tournament Needs?"
https://www.basketunderreview.com/steph ... inderella/

[LS71]

^ Me too.

[Carl Spackler]

Lewis Walker update...

He continues to impress. He leads his team and is 5th in the CAA in scoring average, at 19.1 ppg. He just set NC A&T's freshman scoring record:
https://ncataggies.com/news/2026/2/7/me ... stone.aspx
https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/sport ... 25043.html

Aggies are having a hard year at 9-14 / 2-10, but scoring is scoring and it'll be interesting to see if he moves back up a notch in conferences in the future.

Another instance of how I'd really love to know more on why he didn't work out here.

Also shooting 50.6% from field and an impressive 86.7% on a ton of attempted FTs.

[Juice Stand]

Why couldn't Walker play for a 12-20 team last year that looked absolutely dreadful from day 1? Good for him.

[tdmass]

^ As usual, we Never get the true scoop on players, whether it's injuries, homesickness or any other logical reasons. To me, since he left very early, he realized he made a mistake and decided to make the move as quick as possible!

[Floyd]

Great nickname too, Big Jelly