Beasley in Portal

[GrizBall]

Breaking News: We just signed a HS guard. Next year he will be one of the Top 20 players in the Big Sky and finish in the Top 9 in both 3Pt% and FT% and average almost 12ppg.
Egriz: "Meh -That's not a big deal. We can always get guys like that. What other recruits do we have coming in?"

 

[Mousegriz]

Breaking News: We just signed a HS guard. Next year he will be one of the Top 20 players in the Big Sky and finish in the Top 9 in both 3Pt% and FT% and average almost 12ppg.
Egriz: "Meh -That's not a big deal. We can always get guys like that. What other recruits do we have coming in?"

....except late in games when you really need them!

 

[AZGrizFan]

Beasley in the portal now makes a roster that needed reliable big men, to a roster that needs help at every position. The point/wings were our strength, now with Parker and Beasley gone i can no longer say that. Those that say this is not a big deal are in another universe, this is terrible!

To say let's start over after this team has been building for three years now with little success, is just not acceptable. Now do we start over again? Will it be another 3 years before we are a conference contender? Quite frankly myself and my circle of friends/fans are steadily losing interest in this program

If we’ve been building “with little success”, what, exactly have we been building?

A mediocre middle of the pack BSC program? Is that what we’re settling for?

I’m going to wait and withhold my alarm and see what pieces he brings in. The chemistry on this squad certainly can’t get WORSE.

 

[go96griz]

This is an over reaction!

Really? What is left? It looks worse than the Schweyen defections.

Not quite, almost the entire team was planning to transfer out if she stayed.

 

[rgrizfan]

Beasley in the portal now makes a roster that needed reliable big men, to a roster that needs help at every position. The point/wings were our strength, now with Parker and Beasley gone i can no longer say that. Those that say this is not a big deal are in another universe, this is terrible!

To say let's start over after this team has been building for three years now with little success, is just not acceptable. Now do we start over again? Will it be another 3 years before we are a conference contender? Quite frankly myself and my circle of friends/fans are steadily losing interest in this program

If we’ve been building “with little success”, what, exactly have we been building?

A mediocre middle of the pack BSC program? Is that what we’re settling for?

I’m going to wait and withhold my alarm and see what pieces he brings in. The chemistry on this squad certainly can’t get WORSE.

Sounds like a coaching/recruiting problem.

 

[wyomingriz]

Beasley in the portal now makes a roster that needed reliable big men, to a roster that needs help at every position. The point/wings were our strength, now with Parker and Beasley gone i can no longer say that. Those that say this is not a big deal are in another universe, this is terrible!

To say let's start over after this team has been building for three years now with little success, is just not acceptable. Now do we start over again? Will it be another 3 years before we are a conference contender? Quite frankly myself and my circle of friends/fans are steadily losing interest in this program

If we’ve been building “with little success”, what, exactly have we been building?

A mediocre middle of the pack BSC program? Is that what we’re settling for?



I’m going to wait and withhold my alarm and see what pieces he brings in. The chemistry on this squad certainly can’t get WORSE.

I think it’s been obvious to most that Travis has had a young team attempting to build for something. My whole point is 3 years and its been a bust, now we start over. Is it gonna be another building process, i don’t have the patience or interest . Not to mention his style is far from entertaining to watch

 

[ilovethecats]

I think it depends on how far apart they are on the money and if more can be made with incentives. I agree that if the closest we can get is 300K apart he's likely gone. As I would be in a second.

The thing with Holloway is that the money appeared closer between the two schools, and he left to go back to his alma mater which I think is a big factor for these coaches getting hired.

I know how much Sprinkle loves MSU and Bozeman. And I think if we can even get in the same ballpark monetarily we could hang on to him for a bit. But I only say this because I don't know if he'd get offered as much as 500k there, and I don't think we'd stay as low as 200k here. Yes, I know the guy they just fired was making near that much. The only SD employees making more was their chancellor and their president. I can't imagine they want to continue that trend, but I have no idea. If they're going to give him 500k, I'll drive to Danny's house myself and help pack his bags!

As someone who went to USD, I can 100% assure you that they have absolutely ZERO qualms about paying a coach 500K or even more. USD has an embarrassment of mega wealthy donors and an endowment that would blow your mind, so $500K a year is barely a consideration for them. It's probably one of the Top 5 most gorgeous campuses in the nation, with first class facilities at every turn. The amount of $$$ and exotic cars on campus at any given time is actually disgusting.

I'm just saying, if you're hoping you'll be able to keep Sprinkle because USD is going to be frugal, keep dreaming. USD has aspirations to rise to the level of Gonzaga and they will spend whatever it takes to get the person they want.

Oh no doubt about the school. It’s incredible. My brother and sister in law both went there and now reside in Carlsbad which I also love.

I don’t know if I’m hoping that they’ll be “frugal” by suggesting they might not be offering 500k a year. It would be the most they’ve ever paid a college basketball coach to my knowledge, though only a little more than the last coach. I’ve assumed they’ve always had this kind of money and haven’t routinely been paying that much.

But as I said, if Sprinks gets offered 500k a season I’d be ecstatic for him. He’s a friend and that would be an incredible opportunity.

 

[Alaska Griz]

Or conversely you essentially had a “Freshman” with 3 more years of eligibility that was one of the best 16-19 players in the conference coupled with another “Freshman” that was one of the best 10 players in the conference. It’s not hard to envision them becoming 1st team all-league. What does UM look like with 2 of the best 5 players in the conference?

It wouldn’t matter if the Big Sky was the worst conference in America. UM has only one objective and that is to be the best team in the Big Sky. Losing a Freshman that was HM All-League is a big deal. The assumption is you just hop in portal and replace that involves a lot of risk. Granted it is easier to replace a guard than get a big man.

Not great, but absolutely not a big deal. There's not a single person on the team (coaches included), outside of Bannan, that's not replaceable in my opinion. An above average player on a mediocre to below average roster in one of the worst conferences in the country is not exactly my standard for being upset over.

I agree with this post. Bannan is maybe the best player in the conference next year. Until he or Whitney leaves, I'm interested in seeing the metamorphosis. It's a different game now. I'm not a huge fan of the portal era, but it it keeps you from thinking too far ahead! Will be curious to see where the Griz basketball team is ten months from now.

 

[Hoops watcher]

Cherry, Jamar, Akoh, Rorie, Morehead, Oguine &Pridgett, to name a few, had no ties to Montana and love being Griz and are great ambassadors for the program. Not sure where you come from matters, it’s how you embrace your circumstances, teammates etc

I never said that out of state guys couldn't love being Griz and the community. I do think region of origin matters tho, and it's important to emphasize signing guys who have familiarity with the program. Think of the LA guys. Maybe they weren't huge UCLA or USC fans, but they knew the players, scores, history of the programs just because they are hoopers and because it's what is available to them. Their parents, friends, teachers, close ones, probably have a more vested interest in local schools and their success as compared to a school across the country.

I do believe we're going to see, due to the ease of transferring with no penalty, a constantly revolving door in college programs. IMO its going to make less and less sense to sign a kid with no pre-existing knowledge or familiarity to the program. Many times they are using the opportunity as a launch pad to bigger opportunities, preferably closer to home (their comfort zone). Montana is an extreme example of this. It's an ethnically homogenous, cold, small market environment.

At a minimum, emphasizing a more regional recruiting base allows players to accurately portray the importance of what it means to be a Griz to out-of-state players. Who on the team had heard of Cat-Griz before moving to Montana? Who had access to Root Sports growing up and was able to watch/learn about the historical success of the Griz football team? Who had heard of Robin Selvig and the Lady Griz past success before coming to campus? Building a passion for the Griz, Missoula, and its history often comes from hearing stories and experiences about how special this place is.

I will always believe that you can't build a D1 roster of only MT kids, but when your ENTIRE roster besides Mack and Freddy (because of Delvon) have no pre-existing ties to UM, it's going to be that much easier for them to bounce to greener pastures.

Who knows I could be wrong, idk what athletes today are thinking lol

I think you both have valid points and like Steve pointed out Jamar, Cherry, Sayeed et al had Cali roots. You have to get guys who buy into a team first mindset whether from Seattle or Shelby. Even with the Coach K story and monster talent Duke was up and down all year, lacking team cohesion in stretches So if a legend who got NBA stars to mesh in international play had a hard time every other coach is going to given the new free agency players have.

 

[Hoops watcher]

Here’s something that no one has considered about Beasley. He’s got a girlfriend that lives in Texas, and anyone who follows the kid on Instagram would know that they are struggling with a long distance relationship. Did it ever occur to anyone here that maybe he’s transferring for personal reasons? I get kinda tired of people making random assumptions as to why he’s leaving. No one will ever know the story for sure.

Times have changed, stuff like that used to not be other people's business. It certainly could be a factor, really not high on my concern list though. Hope it all works out in his basketball and life pursuits.

 

[HelenaHandBasket]

I know that some will freak over this comment, but as of today, the Griz men are arguably no further from being a BSC Championship/NCAA tourney team than they were 10 days ago.

 

[GrizPony]

Beasley said it "hurt" to leave. I don't think it was done easily. We had two very talented bigs in this week. Hopefully Josh stays.

 

[rgrizfan]

I know that some will freak over this comment, but as of today, the Griz men are arguably no further from being a BSC Championship/NCAA tourney team than they were 10 days ago.

APRIL FOOLS! :lol: :lol:

 

[citygriz]

Beasley said it "hurt" to leave. I don't think it was done easily. We had two very talented bigs in this week. Hopefully Josh stays.

Hurts me too. Through all the turmoil, I had set my hopes on that core sophomore class of Beasley, Bannan anhd Whitney. Not only were they talented, and not only did they all have three more years, they were all high school recruits, the channel that I most prefer for incoming players. Yeah, the portal can be a salvation, as it has been for many teams. But ya take your chances with it. There's a reason someone is in the portal.

Seems there's more excitement on the distaff side these days. At least for me.

 

[Mousegriz]

Beasley said it "hurt" to leave. I don't think it was done easily. We had two very talented bigs in this week. Hopefully Josh stays.

Bannan or Vazquez? I want both.

 

[Zirg]

Another spoiled kid from Dublin,CA (see Timmy Falls) that thinks he is better than he is, and can't handle adjusting his game and goes the easy "transfer" route instead of working on themselves. He showed glimpses of brilliance, but was not consistent. If he's not making 3's, he'll keep shooting anyways, and not a real team-guy and did alot of pouting as others mentioned. I didn't want him to leave, but I'd rather have "half-assed" guys leave instead of continuing to expect the world to revolve around them.

 

[GrizWhiz]

Another spoiled kid from Dublin,CA (see Timmy Falls) that thinks he is better than he is, and can't handle adjusting his game and goes the easy "transfer" route instead of working on themselves. He showed glimpses of brilliance, but was not consistent. If he's not making 3's, he'll keep shooting anyways, and not a real team-guy and did alot of pouting as others mentioned. I didn't want him to leave, but I'd rather have "half-assed" guys leave instead of continuing to expect the world to revolve around them.

It's that simple, huh? NIce! :roll:

 

[Zirg]

Another spoiled kid from Dublin,CA (see Timmy Falls) that thinks he is better than he is, and can't handle adjusting his game and goes the easy "transfer" route instead of working on themselves. He showed glimpses of brilliance, but was not consistent. If he's not making 3's, he'll keep shooting anyways, and not a real team-guy and did alot of pouting as others mentioned. I didn't want him to leave, but I'd rather have "half-assed" guys leave instead of continuing to expect the world to revolve around them.

It's that simple, huh? NIce! :roll:

Just my opinion. I just saw that Beasley transferred away from Dublin HS after 3 years to play his sr year in hs elsewhere too. It's a national trend, not just with the Griz, but YEAH, I think too-many kids today find the easy answer is transferring instead of making the best of the situation, but the NCAA is also to blame for making that too easy now,IMO.

 

[Mousegriz]

Another spoiled kid from Dublin,CA (see Timmy Falls) that thinks he is better than he is, and can't handle adjusting his game and goes the easy "transfer" route instead of working on themselves. He showed glimpses of brilliance, but was not consistent. If he's not making 3's, he'll keep shooting anyways, and not a real team-guy and did alot of pouting as others mentioned. I didn't want him to leave, but I'd rather have "half-assed" guys leave instead of continuing to expect the world to revolve around them.

I really kinda don't disagree with a word you said! :thumb:

But he did have the retro short shorts that most cocky sophs would deservedly ask for and have the coach allow......because he was so much "cooler". Why be just like anyone else on the team when it's obvious that you're much more!

 

[Zirg]

I know that some will freak over this comment, but as of today, the Griz men are arguably no further from being a BSC Championship/NCAA tourney team than they were 10 days ago.

I agree. The Griz still return more valuable under-classmen pieces than the other top 5 BSC teams do and I am sure we'll bring in a couple "portal" guys to replace our "portal" loses. It's never been easier to turn your fortunes around quicker than today. I think D1-Portal recruiting is now just as important as hs recruiting, especially for lower-tier NCAA teams that can't come close to recruiting blue chip high-schoolers,but might get those same guys a couple years later, when they don't get the PT they hoped for.