In the portal era, have there been any big impact transfers that came in May or later or are fans resigned to rooting for a bubble team if their program is still looking to add significant pieces this late in the cycle? Is this year different? Are you seeing the potential withdrawals from the NBA Draft influence a delay on roster finalization? More specifically, I’m talking about Thomas Sorber at Georgetown.
Eamonn - thanks as always for the mailbag! Initial takes on the DeVries era at your alma mater? Overly optimistic to think they can be at or near the top of the Big Ten standings in Year 1?
Among analysts, the consensus appeared that Chad Baker-Mazara had a nonzero chance at earning a waiver to play another season of college basketball due to his age. Now I see he received a waiver and is playing at USC next season?! Even with the COVID eligibility coming to an end, will we continue to see older players get waivers from the NCAA? Also why did he go to USC and not try to run it back with Auburn?
Curious as to your thoughts on the pending changes to the Mountain West and Pac-8 (9? 10?) after next season. What are you excited about? What concerns are there? Where do you think each league will settle in the landscape compared to other leagues?
Are the new rules coming in next year with the schools paying the players directly having downstream economic impacts on fans? I ask because UVA just informed season ticket holders that prices are going way up for the '26-'27 season. I thought it was very odd timing considering they just had their worst season in recent memory and wondered if it's related to the new rules. Are you aware if that is also happening at other schools?
How do you think about being a fan in the portal era? On my buddies' text thread (we're all Georgetown fans for context), we've done a lot of portal banter and I think we've landed on four things that seem to be true: 1) the game has never been healthier or fun to watch at a macro level, 2) it's never been easier to turn a program around with the right investment, 3) that still hasn't happened at Georgetown, and 4) we had a great deal of fun (and March pain) when Georgetown developed rosters over the course of a couple of years and we got to watch guys like Jason Clark go from a major question mark to an all Big East performer as a senior. Now, the roster turns over yearly (mostly necessarily it seems), we still don't really win (this year was significantly better than the previous 5), and we don't really get to see growth from guys who showed flashes but weren't consistent enough (Curtis Williams Jr., Jordan Burks, Drew Fielder). A lot of this is specific to Georgetown, but how do you think about this balance as a fan of the game, but also of a school that is in the tier of schools who really haven't quite cracked the nut on winning yet?
And to piggyback on this, would the rumored move from 20 to 18 conference games have any sort of impact in your estimation (my first guess would be “lol, no”)?
What do you think the likelihood is of rules regarding transfer limitations/player mobility being passed, and if so, what does that timeframe for those rules getting passed look like? I've been reading a lot about how these are "easy fixes", but I didn't know how easy they actually were for the NCAA to implement. Hopefully one step is moving the portal dates to coincide with the end of the NCAA tournament, instead of going on during the action. Thanks!
In the portal era, have there been any big impact transfers that came in May or later or are fans resigned to rooting for a bubble team if their program is still looking to add significant pieces this late in the cycle? Is this year different? Are you seeing the potential withdrawals from the NBA Draft influence a delay on roster finalization? More specifically, I’m talking about Thomas Sorber at Georgetown.
Eamonn - thanks as always for the mailbag! Initial takes on the DeVries era at your alma mater? Overly optimistic to think they can be at or near the top of the Big Ten standings in Year 1?
Based on what has happened so far, when you write this piece, I'd love to know your top few NC contender teams.
Among analysts, the consensus appeared that Chad Baker-Mazara had a nonzero chance at earning a waiver to play another season of college basketball due to his age. Now I see he received a waiver and is playing at USC next season?! Even with the COVID eligibility coming to an end, will we continue to see older players get waivers from the NCAA? Also why did he go to USC and not try to run it back with Auburn?
Thanks!
Curious as to your thoughts on the pending changes to the Mountain West and Pac-8 (9? 10?) after next season. What are you excited about? What concerns are there? Where do you think each league will settle in the landscape compared to other leagues?
Are the new rules coming in next year with the schools paying the players directly having downstream economic impacts on fans? I ask because UVA just informed season ticket holders that prices are going way up for the '26-'27 season. I thought it was very odd timing considering they just had their worst season in recent memory and wondered if it's related to the new rules. Are you aware if that is also happening at other schools?
How do you think about being a fan in the portal era? On my buddies' text thread (we're all Georgetown fans for context), we've done a lot of portal banter and I think we've landed on four things that seem to be true: 1) the game has never been healthier or fun to watch at a macro level, 2) it's never been easier to turn a program around with the right investment, 3) that still hasn't happened at Georgetown, and 4) we had a great deal of fun (and March pain) when Georgetown developed rosters over the course of a couple of years and we got to watch guys like Jason Clark go from a major question mark to an all Big East performer as a senior. Now, the roster turns over yearly (mostly necessarily it seems), we still don't really win (this year was significantly better than the previous 5), and we don't really get to see growth from guys who showed flashes but weren't consistent enough (Curtis Williams Jr., Jordan Burks, Drew Fielder). A lot of this is specific to Georgetown, but how do you think about this balance as a fan of the game, but also of a school that is in the tier of schools who really haven't quite cracked the nut on winning yet?
Is there any news on the conference realignment front?
Which of the major coaching hires this off-season do you have the most questions/concerns about?
It's hard to imagine the ACC getting much worse than last season. How much improvement should we expect next season and will it be sustainable?
And to piggyback on this, would the rumored move from 20 to 18 conference games have any sort of impact in your estimation (my first guess would be “lol, no”)?
What is your favorite Final Four city?
What do you think the likelihood is of rules regarding transfer limitations/player mobility being passed, and if so, what does that timeframe for those rules getting passed look like? I've been reading a lot about how these are "easy fixes", but I didn't know how easy they actually were for the NCAA to implement. Hopefully one step is moving the portal dates to coincide with the end of the NCAA tournament, instead of going on during the action. Thanks!