Some offseason nuggets

[Skippy]

Some tidbits to fill the off-season vacuum:

—The NCAA has adopted a new rule giving student athletes more freedom in the transfer process. Starting Oct.15 an institution can no longer limit what schools its players can transfer to. (The rule does give conferences the power to pass their own rules limiting intraconference transfers). The NCAA did NOT go as far as some athlete advocates wanted in eliminating the requirement that transfers have to sit out a season.
—Speaking of transfers, North Dakota’s Geno Crandall, one of the top guards in the Big Sky, has announced he’s leaving as a graduate transfer this year. Crandall, who scored 28 points against Gonzaga last year, immediately drew interest from a gaggle of Power 5 programs. UND left the Big Sky after last season, so the Bengals had already seen the last of Crandall in all likelihood.
—Another transfer story — Tony Miller, a 6-7 G/F from Division II Seattle Pacific, has announced he’s transferring to Montana. Miller averaged over 19 ppg as a freshmen, then 18 in the first 12 games of last season before going down with a shoulder injury. He’ll have to sit out this season, then will have at least two years to play for the Griz, with the possibility of a third through an injury waiver.
—Another Montana recruiting note, this one for old guys like me: Fred Brown III, grandson of the great “Downtown Freddie Brown,” will be attending Montana on an academic scholarship. But Brown The Third is no run of the mill walk-on — he averaged 28 ppg in high school in Seattle. For you young-ins out there, You Tube Brown’s grandpa — he could fill it up from long distance.

 

[PBP]

Here's another one and I don't think this is good:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcedelman/2018/06/11/ncaa-harmfully-takes-away-student-athletes-guaranteed-weekly-day-off/#900c3a2c34f8

PBP

 

[bengal37]

That seems like a bad rule. Very misguided. Wonder what both coaches...bill and seton. ( assuming it extends to women as well which it does not always) think about this? Bill has come across as a student first guy but he is on last year of contract so that may change,tho I don’t see it, but people do crazy things trying to save jobs. On a different note hearing pat Jensen is leaving as well. He had the same convaluted title as new hire Taylor. “Special assistant to hc or director of player personnel” or some such nonsense I can’t follow and don’t understand (don’t get me started with college fb titles for asts) Is this as big of a deal as the other asts leaving? Or was Jensen’s role not as big? And then next obvious question who takes this role if it is true?

 

[PBP]

Pat was a G.A. I believe and those aren't positions that last a long time. Usually they end when the person gets their Master's. Not sure if there was anything else going on. Pat was a nice guy and seemed to do his job well.

He may have just gotten another opportunity somewhere.

PBP

 

[sasquatch]

Pat was a G.A. for 2 years, and was named Director of Player Development last season. He took care of a lot of administrative functions. He was hired as an assistant at Montana Western in Dillon. He played in that league, so it might be a good fit for him. Often these administrative roles are an entry level way to get into coaching. Nothing wrong with that.

Is Bill planning on hiring another coach, or will he go this season with just 2 assistants?

 

[SLCBengal]

Speaking of administrative positions, Montana won't have a director of basketball operations for the second straight season in order to save some money...

The Montana men’s basketball team will forgo having a director of basketball operations on its staff for the second consecutive season, head coach Travis DeCuire told 406mtsports.com.

The Griz will instead have graduate student managers pitch in with some of the duties performed by the director of operations, in addition to their managerial roles.

“It’s a little more bang for our buck,” DeCuire said. “Less on the expense end. Probably less in terms of experience. But more hands on deck and more help on and off the floor as opposed to only off the floor. It’s just way more versatility with those two positions. I think we can get a lot more done that way.”

The men’s basketball team lost $290,230 during the 2016 fiscal year, the most recent available data from the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act. That figure was the highest among the 12 Big Sky Conference men’s basketball teams, and it was a greater loss than the other 11 teams combined. Southern Utah made $69,992, Montana State lost $133,786, Idaho State lost $40,633, and the other eight teams finished with $0 in profit.

Read more: 406MTSports: Griz to forgo director of basketball operations position for 2nd straight year

 

[Skippy]

Speaking of administrative positions, Montana won't have a director of basketball operations for the second straight season in order to save some money...

The Montana men’s basketball team will forgo having a director of basketball operations on its staff for the second consecutive season, head coach Travis DeCuire told 406mtsports.com.

The Griz will instead have graduate student managers pitch in with some of the duties performed by the director of operations, in addition to their managerial roles.

“It’s a little more bang for our buck,” DeCuire said. “Less on the expense end. Probably less in terms of experience. But more hands on deck and more help on and off the floor as opposed to only off the floor. It’s just way more versatility with those two positions. I think we can get a lot more done that way.”

The men’s basketball team lost $290,230 during the 2016 fiscal year, the most recent available data from the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act. That figure was the highest among the 12 Big Sky Conference men’s basketball teams, and it was a greater loss than the other 11 teams combined. Southern Utah made $69,992, Montana State lost $133,786, Idaho State lost $40,633, and the other eight teams finished with $0 in profit.

Read more: 406MTSports: Griz to forgo director of basketball operations position for 2nd straight year

Interesting that UCLA screwed Montana out of the $85 K guarantee when their game in Westwood was cancelled because of wild fires. I hope Montana at least got its travel costs reimbursed.

 

[bengal37]

I thought these teams had contracts they couldn’t get out of? Was it just bc of the fire? Really seems unfair towards Montana...altho I won’t cry too much for them.

 

[Skippy]

I thought these teams had contracts they couldn’t get out of? Was it just bc of the fire? Really seems unfair towards Montana...altho I won’t cry too much for them.

“Act of God” clause.

 

[bengal37]

Saw legardy signed with Csi does that mean we still have one left? Is this the official end of our pursuit of legardy? Any word on who would be the replacement? I really think we are thin at pt which is the most important position on the court (meaning imo we’re one injury at that spot from being in scary waters, Love Boyd and think Sam will be a capable back up)

 

[Skippy]

Saw legardy signed with Csi does that mean we still have one left? Is this the official end of our pursuit of legardy? Any word on who would be the replacement? I really think we are thin at pt which is the most important position on the court (meaning imo we’re one injury at that spot from being in scary waters, Love Boyd and think Sam will be a capable back up)

Here's the announcement of Legardy signing with CSI. Too bad, I think he's going to be a good player.

https://athletics.csi.edu/news/2018/7/2/csi-mens-basketball-adds-point-guard.aspx

I was told a month or so ago that ISU had a back-up plan if Legardy didn't get eligible. We'll see how that unfolds.

 

[SLCBengal]

—Speaking of transfers, North Dakota’s Geno Crandall, one of the top guards in the Big Sky, has announced he’s leaving as a graduate transfer this year. Crandall, who scored 28 points against Gonzaga last year, immediately drew interest from a gaggle of Power 5 programs. UND left the Big Sky after last season, so the Bengals had already seen the last of Crandall in all likelihood.

Crandall announced he's transferring to Gonzaga. Maybe it was an audition...

 

[Hank42]

Is that a problem that we will face along with all the other BIG SKY Schools playing these higher level programs, losing players because they show well against them in non-conference games. As a head coach how do you protect your program and continue to schedule non-conference games against teams from higher level programs, seems like your asking for problems.

 

[Skippy]

Is that a problem that we will face along with all the other BIG SKY Schools playing these higher level programs, losing players because they show well against them in non-conference games. As a head coach how do you protect your program and continue to schedule non-conference games against teams from higher level programs, seems like your asking for problems.

Yes it is and there really is no obvious answer to that problem, especially now with the grad transfer option available. The life of a lower level D-1 coach ain’t easy, that’s for sure.

 

[bengal37]

I agree with that. Losing players is tough. I would say take a page out of suu and grizz book etc and lure the guys at the higher level that aren’t getting enough tick or shots etc to come down. It has worked for them! That imo is the trade off. Feel like staffs now need to adapt to the new recruiting landscape or be left behind. Also I hear pretty soon you won’t need to be a grad transfer to leave and not sit out. Any truth to that? If so it’ll be the Wild West in NCAA basketball for sure.

 

[PBP]

There have been some proposals floated (and tabled by the NCAA for now) concerning changes to the transfer policy. One suggestion for immediate transfer without sitting out a year was based on grade point average. That met with opposition because some felt it was discriminatory towards minority student-athletes or those from small schools that didn't have the resources (tutors etc) to help.

Another was based on immediate transfer eligibility if the head coach left or was fired.

Given the FBI probe into college basketball (with Maryland being subpoenaed today) the NCAA felt it was best to not try to tackle these issues for now. But I suspect some modification of the transfer rules will be coming eventually. It's hard to make the case where coaches can leave anytime they want, "regular" students can leave anytime they want but not athletes.

PBP

 

[sasquatch]

I agree with that. Losing players is tough. I would say take a page out of suu and grizz book etc and lure the guys at the higher level that aren’t getting enough tick or shots etc to come down. It has worked for them! That imo is the trade off. Feel like staffs now need to adapt to the new recruiting landscape or be left behind. Also I hear pretty soon you won’t need to be a grad transfer to leave and not sit out. Any truth to that? If so it’ll be the Wild West in NCAA basketball for sure.

I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea to get a somebody from a higher level if it's a good fit. However, too many doesn't provide a lot of stability at the lower levels in my opinion. Look at Ken Bone when he was at Portland State. Most of his roster consisted of D-I transfers, but when he moved on, PSU crashed and burned. Bone also crashed and burned at Washington State, since he couldn't build a program with D-I drops. Most of UVU's roster consists of D-I transfers, from the likes of BYU, Utah, Xavier and so on. Pope's signing class this past spring includes transfers from Boise State, Oklahoma State, and Fordham. It will be interesting to see if he ever moves on, because I don't see his recruiting strategy of bringing in transfer after transfer working at a higher level. :twocents:

 

[PBP]

Here's another one just out this afternoon:

"There’s a new proposal under consideration that would fix at least some of the problems in the sport. According to Jeff Goodman, the proposal would allow undrafted underclassmen to return to college and set up developmental camps to identify which high schoolers should be allowed to have an agent before their senior year of high school.

That makes total sense. Write it up right now.

As for the developmental camps…well, that’s a little trickier. The proposal would overhaul the July recruiting period, creating regional NCAA-sponsored youth development camps which will be developed and organized in collaboration with USA Basketball, the NBA, and the NBA Players Association.

From there, USA Basketball would identify the “elite senior prospects” and allow them to have an agent — presumably to decide whether or not to go pro straight from high school — while the rest of the prospects would have to wait until after their freshman year of college. On the surface that may sound like a good idea, but having a third party determine who’s “elite” enough to work with agents just opens the door for corruption. In April, John Calipari advocated for the NBA Players Association to host a combine for high school juniors to evaluate talent."

PBP

 

[bengal37]

Sasquatch. I agree it may not be a sustainable recruiting strategy at a higher level or even when the hc moves on. But the guys you named bone and pope...bone won the big sky (granted then they crashed but helk is take a bs title!) and pope seems to be positioning Uvu to have a nice year. Also they have beat us every time we have played them. Altho that streak has been as long as Bill has been here or longer if I remember correctly. I personally would love a transfer who is eligible this year to help out our talented guards. Who I really believe are at least the second best group of guards in the league. (I’ll give you Montana as better)