Fatts Russell is in the transfer portal

https://twitter.com/jeffborzello/status/1372359606995972100

I believe there are now 7 South Florida players in the portal now, amid reports that assistant coach Bill Herrion (former Charleston head coach) used “racially charged” language  and head coach Brian Gregory (former Dayton/Georgia Tech) didn’t do anything.

GW0509, I meant to respond to a question you raised earlier on this thread.  Yes, I would agree that GWRising's point appears to be that today's players have changed from as recently as 5-10 years ago, and that they will not respond to being asked to stay patient while waiting for their chance to play big minutes.  And, I would also agree that this is an easier "ask" when joining a winning program than a losing one.

However, there are all types of players out there....mature ones,  immature ones, patient ones, impatient ones, modest ones and cocky ones.  We can't be expected to believe that all players these days would react the same way.  

I had commented last off-season about how impressed I was over how JC went about his recruiting.  He talked about his desire to recruits play in close games, in blowouts, in rivalry games, in playoff games, in relatively meaningless games, etc.  Specifically, he looks to see how a player handles pressure, over-excitement, and even whether he loses focus during less exciting situations.  A coach who is willing to dig this deep into a recruit's on court performance, well beyond wins, losses and stats, is certainly going to get to know a player's character and temperament as well.  

Combine all of this with JC's penchant for wearing his heart on his sleeve and I'd like to believe that we have a coach who is going to tell a recruit how things really are and not solely what the recruit wants to hear.  There is a big difference between leading ALL of your recruits to believe that playing time is available for them as opposed to only telling SOME of your recruits this while telling others that realistically, they are not likely to play as much as they'd like during their freshman year, maybe even their sophomore year too, but if they progress along the lines that the coaching staff thinks is possible, they should be playing far more as an upperclassman.  Despite GWRising's comments about "today's kids", I refuse to believe that there aren't some players out there who would respond well to this level of honesty.

Gwmayhem wrote:

GW0509, I meant to respond to a question you raised earlier on this thread.  Yes, I would agree that GWRising's point appears to be that today's players have changed from as recently as 5-10 years ago, and that they will not respond to being asked to stay patient while waiting for their chance to play big minutes.  And, I would also agree that this is an easier "ask" when joining a winning program than a losing one.

However, there are all types of players out there....mature ones,  immature ones, patient ones, impatient ones, modest ones and cocky ones.  We can't be expected to believe that all players these days would react the same way.  

I had commented last off-season about how impressed I was over how JC went about his recruiting.  He talked about his desire to recruits play in close games, in blowouts, in rivalry games, in playoff games, in relatively meaningless games, etc.  Specifically, he looks to see how a player handles pressure, over-excitement, and even whether he loses focus during less exciting situations.  A coach who is willing to dig this deep into a recruit's on court performance, well beyond wins, losses and stats, is certainly going to get to know a player's character and temperament as well.  

Combine all of this with JC's penchant for wearing his heart on his sleeve and I'd like to believe that we have a coach who is going to tell a recruit how things really are and not solely what the recruit wants to hear.  There is a big difference between leading ALL of your recruits to believe that playing time is available for them as opposed to only telling SOME of your recruits this while telling others that realistically, they are not likely to play as much as they'd like during their freshman year, maybe even their sophomore year too, but if they progress along the lines that the coaching staff thinks is possible, they should be playing far more as an upperclassman.  Despite GWRising's comments about "today's kids", I refuse to believe that there aren't some players out there who would respond well to this level of honesty.

Yes, Gwmayhem there are a few kids. You are welcome to spend your time looking for needles in haystack.

Florida Colonial wrote:

Verbal Commits[/url] [url=https://twitter.com/VerbalCommits]@VerbalCommits[/url]·5m George Washington G Lincoln Ball (FR) has entered the transfer portal. [url=https://t.co/1LgMqBl1rU?amp=1]https://verbalcommits.com/players/lincoln-ball

Kind of surprised at this one because Lincoln seemed like the type of kid that, in the words of GWMayhem, would understand staying patient and working towards earning minutes.  I wouldn't say Lincoln projected to be all-conference but he could be an ok backup?

Starters want to step up to a power 5 and bench guys want to find a situation where they start/play more. Its going to take a special kid to stick around for 4 years these days. I will add that I think COVID made it a very tough year for kids. Everyone thinks that kids at other schools must have had more fun. Grass isnt always greener (Kevin Marfo etc.)

Last edited by Florida Colonial (3/19/2021 2:49 pm)

Gwmayhem wrote:

This was another Shawn Walker Jr.  Another example of a player JC was recruiting prior to arriving at GW (both MSM and Siena offered) who followed JC to GW despite the fact that his abilities may not have been commensurate with the A10 level.  This is the single biggest beef I have with JC to be candid.  He seems to think he can take players who were realistically going to play for him at MSM or Siena and coach them to the point where they will be natural fits in the A10.  Lincoln struck me as a sound player who appeared overwhelmed going up against A10 defenses.  I suspect this decision had more to do with recognizing that he would be happier being a bigger fish in a smaller pond than it does dissatisfaction over his role this past season.

I do have to say this is a very interesting statement here Gwmayhem. You want guys who are willing to be sold on being deep bench guys on A-10 team but then your biggest beef is with JC recruiting a few guys who were below the A-10 level who could possibly fill and be content in those roles. I think even you are suddenly realizing that the reality of situation is far from what you think it should be. There is no way JC can recruit 13 A-10 level players (and players which will help us have a successful season)  and keep all or most of them all happy. 

Last edited by GWRising (3/19/2021 3:07 pm)

GWRising wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

This was another Shawn Walker Jr.  Another example of a player JC was recruiting prior to arriving at GW (both MSM and Siena offered) who followed JC to GW despite the fact that his abilities may not have been commensurate with the A10 level.  This is the single biggest beef I have with JC to be candid.  He seems to think he can take players who were realistically going to play for him at MSM or Siena and coach them to the point where they will be natural fits in the A10.  Lincoln struck me as a sound player who appeared overwhelmed going up against A10 defenses.  I suspect this decision had more to do with recognizing that he would be happier being a bigger fish in a smaller pond than it does dissatisfaction over his role this past season.

I do have to say this is a very interesting statement here Gwmayhem. You want guys who are willing to be sold on being deep bench guys on A-10 team but then your biggest beef is with JC recruiting a few guys who were below the A-10 level who could possibly fill and be content in those roles. I think even you are suddenly realizing that the reality of situation is far from what you think it should be. There is no way JC can recruit 13 A-10 level players (and players which will help us have a successful season)  and keep all or most of them all happy. 

Really all depends on what the coaches who are recruiting these kids are telling them.  Do you think they should be saying the exact same things to a MSM or Siena recruit than they should to a GW recruit?  Or, might it be better to more realistically manage expectations?

I obviously can't know for a fact (and I suspect you can't either) but my guess is that guys like Walker and Ball are told something like, "we are moving to GW.  We wanted you to play for us at Siena, and now we'd like you to play for us at GW."  The player is thrilled because he's just moved up to a more competitive basketball conference and figures that if the coaches want him, that means he'll have a similar role than what he would have had.  But, the problem is that they are not (likely) being advised that it will be tougher for them to earn minutes at GW because it is a higher level program.  

Please apply some level of nuance here.  I am not expecting the coaches to say that a player is not going to play here.  However, it should be pointed out that while they will have the opportunity to compete for minutes, there is a likelihood that they will not be playing as much as they'd like early on because GW is a more competitive environment than MSM or Siena.  Maybe the risk is that guys like Walker or Ball ultimately decide not to attend GW but is that much different than having them play sparingly for a year and then transferring?  It would actually be preferable.

Every year different roster.No cohesion1 or 2 and done.I realize this may be the new normal here-but 
Ive got to say-how joyless. No esprit.Coach out for himself-kids out for themselves.I NEVER thought I’d 
say this-but when it comes to basketball-Make America Great Again!!

Tennessee Colonial wrote:

If they are not all seniors maybe the whole Oral Roberts team can transfer to GW next year. What a mess.

Well you know what they say: Washington, DC is the Tulsa of the Mid-Atlantic.