Guarantee a starting spot or a better salary? What kind of a signing bonus would a player like him command?

I don't disagree with your points about JC providing fans some strategy for how he intends to keep teams together better.  If we start getting some better talent coming in we need to do a better job of retaining them in order to compete in the A-10.


To your 4th point, I don't understand how it only reflects on JC and the state of the program and not also on Nima? I'm pretty sure he has agency in this thing as well.  Would it have been better for appearances if he was allowed to stay on the staff even though JC wanted him gone? It could be as simple as if Nima hadn't done what he did he wouldn't have been fired.

Frankly I don't remember hearing coaches talk publicly about the reasons why they fired assistant coaches.  I would assume the school's in-house counsel advises not to discuss the details either as a matter of policy. 

Last edited by GW0509 (3/25/2021 1:12 pm)

Gwmayhem wrote:

GWRising wrote:

Again, I thought nobody transfers except GW kids hahaha

Just to set the record straight GWRising:

1) There is nobody here who is not aware of the fact that college basketball players are deciding to transfer schools at the highest rate ever.  

2) There are several reasons why this is, including your belief that players are less inclined today to stick things out and try to improve their own situation by competing.  Also of great influence are the relaxed rules on transferring for the first time without needing to sit out a year, the decision to grant everyone a free year of eligibility due to Covid, and the NCAA becoming much more flexible on granting waivers to players having to sit out a year.

3) Continuing to repeat things does not make them any more correct.  Despite your view, what has happened within JC's program over the past two years, namely an entire program turning over with the exception of one player who remained injured throughout this past season, is NOT happening all over the place, at programs everywhere.  Naming one or a few programs does not cut it.  These are the exceptions, not the rule.  An average program today simply is not turning over an entire roster in which the vast majority of players are not seniors or grad students in under two years.  This no longer applies to players who were not JC's original recruits but also includes guys like Shawn Walker, Jr., Jameer Nelson, Jr., Sloan Seymour, and Lincoln Ball, all players who were specifically recruited by JC.  Am not even putting Ace Stallings in with this group.

4) Finally, it is extremely rare to find an assistant coach lose his job just before the start of a season.  Please don't try to counter with "it's more common than you think."  It isn't.  Now, maybe the details are simply nobody's business and that's fine if true.  However, here's the downside to keeping everything private as this program has shown a historical tendency to do...when you don't come forward with the truth, this in turn fuels speculation.  Be open and then there's nothing to speculate about.  

1. If that's the case, then why is it that very few look at what is happening at GW in context?
2. Agree
3. Perhaps you should look at every program that has had coaching turnover. Then let's talk about whether what happened at GW is outside the norm. I can cite many programs where the roster completely or almost completely turned over in 2 years after a coaching reset. Let's look at some rosters for coaches hired the same year as JC. Compare to 2018-19 to 2020-21. I'll give you a few to look at off the top of my head ... St. John's, Nebraska, Arkansas, St. Joseph's, Cleveland State. Yes, JC made a few recruiting mistakes of his own but can you name a coach that hasn't especially here at GW?.
4. Who said it wasn't rare? I'll tell you what is much rarer though. A private university publicly discussing personnel decisions.

Last edited by GWRising (3/25/2021 3:01 pm)

Thomas wrote:

I had to start a thread about this one because I can't think of a reason why he would transfer.

Really?  I think fans forget these players are real people who exist outside of the two hours of each game we see. 

There are a million reasons why a player could transfer that don’t fit with the usual fan narratives (fans seem to assume that the only reason kids transfer are playing time, role, or chance to move up a level/compete for ncaa tourney berths). 

But there could be a million other reasons.  Maybe he has a girlfriend or boyfriend somewhere else,, maybe he doesn’t like the weather, maybe doesn’t like his classes or can’t keep up or wants a different academic environment, maybe he wants to be closer to family, maybe he was miserable during covid protocols and just wants to get away from the place he was stuck the last year,   I could list a million other reasons that don’t have to do with what we might see on TV during games.

Gwmayhem wrote:

GW0509, am not suggesting that the matter concerning Nima should have been publicly discussed.  There's no way to conclude this without knowing what the issue(s) was/were.  Am simply stating that fans on a message board should not be condemned for speculating when they are not being told the truth.

That's fair. I tend to err on the side of Occam's razor so I assume that if someone is no longer employed there's a pretty explainable reason why.  I guess I still have a little PTSD over how the last employment decision went down and all the conspiracy theories attached.

But I will also second that JC should do more of his town halls over the summer to get some of these questions we all have answered or at least get a sense of what JC's plans are for the next season.  From what I've heard he's been pretty good all in all with outreach to season ticket holders but more is always better.

Gwmayhem wrote:

GWRising, yes, you named 5 programs which I'll take your word on.  That feeds into my point.  You keep saying that this is happening everywhere but the fact is that this is not happening everywhere to the extent that this has been happening at GW.  Sure, maybe a handful of schools.  Nobody is suggesting that this is only happening at GW and no place else.  Nevertheless, a small percentage of schools (and again, we're talking about say approximately 14 of 15 leaving a program prematurely over a two year period) does not constitute "all over".

The point was these days virtually every time there is a coaching change over there is huge roster turnover. Look at this year's transfer portal and examine the schools who have recently (this year or last) changed coaches. It's dozens of schools not the 5 or 6 that I pointed out. It is a very high percentage of schools that change coaches.

GWRising wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

GW0509, am not suggesting that the matter concerning Nima should have been publicly discussed.  There's no way to conclude this without knowing what the issue(s) was/were.  Am simply stating that fans on a message board should not be condemned for speculating when they are not being told the truth.  I'd also add, again not specific to Nima but in general, that a private school should not necessarily always choose to keep its constituents in the dark just because it has the legal right to do so.  The same things that a public school must convey should also be conveyed by private schools as long as conveying the information is the correct, moral thing to do.  By contrast, as an example, breaking a HIPPA law would be wrong for any institution to do. 

I think I have now learned the fundamental difference between you and me, Mayhem. You think it's ok to speculate on things drawing whatever inference you want in the absence of information. I say in the absence of information people should keep their mouths and keyboards quiet until they actually have some information to discuss. Without knowing how or why Nima departed you can't possibly have an opinion as to what extent, if any, that reflects on JC. Just because no one wants to provide you with that information does not make it okay to then draw your own inferences as to why or how he departed. As a fan, alumni, donor, you do not have the right to such information even if you would like to have it. Sometimes you just have to accept some of the great mysteries of life unless someone chooses to speak on it. But the constant need to draw inferences without a scintilla of evidence here is what usually causes problems. Another example is divining why players chose to transfer (e.g. Bishop was the cause). Read FQ's response above - it is spot on. So why should people here infer that Battle or anyone else automatically left because of Bishop, JC or anyone else?

You have a very active imagination Rising.  Where have I inferred anything?  Where did I stipulate or even speculate that Nima's departure was JC's fault?  What I said was that parting ways with an assistant coach just before the start of a season is extremely rare.  I have also said that if the details behind the incident are such that they are best served to stay private, then this should be respected.  What you are seemingly objecting to is that in the absence of truth, people on message boards are going to speculate about all sorts of things.  

Visit virtually any sports message board and you're going to find people speculating over something.  To a certain extent, speculation is what helps fuel message boards to begin with.  Yet you seem to have a problem the moment anyone speculates about anything on this board.  You seem to perceive speculation as the equivalent of lying which it most certainly is not.  Last I checked, this board had two monitors plus a board founder and you are not any of these individuals.  If any of these three individuals have a problem with speculation, I am sure they would let me or anyone else know.  So, you may relax knowing that's there's no need for you to take on this role.

The irony of course is that in this instance (Nima's departure), I really haven't speculated about anything.  Just have been wondering why it happened since it's a very rare circumstance.
 

Wasn't brought up for any other reason than to suggest that it was not a good look for JC's program, especially in light of all of the player movement.  Doesn't make the issue JC's fault; there's no way to know this without knowing what happened.

Here's more speculation if you can handle this....I wonder how many players, if any, were perturbed about Nima's dismissal and felt that was a reason (not THE reason, but perhaps one of several) to leave the program.  I don't know the answer to this...just speculating.