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Dji entering the portal

I want to clarify my forgiveness of Dji a little. My latest responses seem to give full remission to Dji. I want to be clear that is not the case. His loyalty / Spider pride definitely still takes a big hit. If he really loved the Spiders, he would stay and help make them more successful. I only wanted to state that the point that he graduated is a valid one; it, however, doesn't put him in the clear as far as having an unblemished pride rating with the Spiders especially when he is still pursuing college basketball.
Wow...just wow. When one thinks enough is enough, at the end of the line, and there's really not much more that can be said. Then there's more piling on.
 
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Any update on Dji? Been quiet on Twitter. Hoping that UR can scrap some more NIL money for him and he decides to come back and lead a team with guaranteed minutes
 
Any update on Dji? Been quiet on Twitter. Hoping that UR can scrap some more NIL money for him and he decides to come back and lead a team with guaranteed minutes
For fear of getting attacked on here, I will say I don't understand this comment. So, Dji would have had some NIL money had he stayed since we are pretty much paying all our players something now. He decided to enter the portal, which is his choice and I have no issues with that. He maybe doesn't get the fit or money or interest or whatever it is he is looking for in the portal, so not only should we take him back, but we should now give him more money than he would have gotten before entering the portal? I think we should be a lot more focused on guys who have visited or are coming in for a visit than guys who entered the portal.
 
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guys do withdraw from the portal. sometimes it's because the collective finds more money. it's not impossible.

it's also not common so I'm not expecting it. hopefully we were already properly rewarding a really good 4 year guy with a better NIL than a potential 1 year guy.
 
I hear you Sman.....I guess I am just more focused on finding much needed 3 point shooting in the portal. Dji would not solve that issue.
 
Any update on Dji? Been quiet on Twitter. Hoping that UR can scrap some more NIL money for him and he decides to come back and lead a team with guaranteed minutes
The portal is wild…kids still getting in late so they can collect their last NIL check. It’s not about the money for Dji as I’ve said multiple times. The money is a good by product. We have great people helping us, UR is still an option so if that upsets some on here, I ain’t got nothing for you…and I hate this process but the thing about the portal recruiting is we’ve been through this process before in HS but now it’s accelerated but we can see through some of the mess from coaches(not UR coaches). We have a lot going on with family that is adding to my stress and ready for this to be over. Also in regards to NIL a lot on here are have been wrong on just about every thing in that regards.
 
The portal is wild…kids still getting in late so they can collect their last NIL check. It’s not about the money for Dji as I’ve said multiple times. The money is a good by product. We have great people helping us, UR is still an option so if that upsets some on here, I ain’t got nothing for you…and I hate this process but the thing about the portal recruiting is we’ve been through this process before in HS but now it’s accelerated but we can see through some of the mess from coaches(not UR coaches). We have a lot going on with family that is adding to my stress and ready for this to be over. Also in regards to NIL a lot on here are have been wrong on just about every thing in that regards.
I hope your family situation all works out.

PS

You do not owe anyone on here an explanation.

Do what is best. I am sure you will.
 
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I hope you family situation all works out.

PS

You do not owe anyone on here an explanation.

Do what is best. I am sure you will.
Appreciate it...My moms Alzheimers has taken a bad turn and my dad's cancer is back BUT God is still good and we believe we will get though it. Would love prayers from Spider nation from those that do. 🙏🕷️🏀
 
I have mentioned this in the past, but I think there is better than 50/50 he comes back, because U of R offers the best opportunity for him. The coaching staff like him a lot and he has built a good reputation in the A10. We all know he is a great player, but other programs wont appreciate his skill set, because they quickly need to make decisions on players, and his small number of 3s and poor free percentage will hurt him. My guess is he will leave his options open until we only have one spot less.

Bottom line, he is a great kid, great player and I would LOVE to seem him back next year.
 
Appreciate it...My moms Alzheimers has taken a bad turn and my dad's cancer is back BUT God is still good and we believe we will get though it. Would love prayers from Spider nation from those that do. 🙏🕷️🏀
Very sorry to hear that. Those are difficult things to deal with. Let us know if there is ever anything the local Richmond people can do to help support your son (without violating NCAA rules).
 
Appreciate it...My moms Alzheimers has taken a bad turn and my dad's cancer is back BUT God is still good and we believe we will get though it. Would love prayers from Spider nation from those that do. 🙏🕷️🏀
So sorry to hear this. No matter our differences on here, I am praying for you big time. And, don't let Dji in the portal add to your stress.....make it a fun time for you and Dji, who is a good enough player to do what very very few (less than 1% or whatever of high school players?) athletes do.
 
Djii is going to have real interesting decision in my opinion. He is going to have Power 6 options and those will come with real NIL $$ differences from UR and probably real differences between individual schools. But I think they will also come with questions about playing time and role. Obviously no one is going to be offering big $$ and saying he is going o struggle to get off the bench, but reality is that his minutes and role will be far more uncertain almost anywhere else and even more so the higher up he goes. The current landscape in CBB is totally the wild, wild west. Look at Kentucky - - they basically have three players. Their incoming class has all reopened their recruiting and all their other guys (save those 3) are either out of eligibility, have declared for NBA draft or are in the portal. They need a whole team basically. So any transfers choosing them now, literally have no idea who they might be competing with for time etc. The NIL era certainly giveth to players (in a $ sense), but also makes life hard. Dji's dad has said money isn't the driver here, so that complicates things further in my view because the $$ is the easiest thing to assess and compare. I will take Dad at his word and then speculate that the driver then is a chance to prove himself at a higher level - - something I guess he feels like simply isn't possible at UR.

I certainly hope DJII stays, but respect that he can and should do whatever he feels like is best for himself. But I'd think long and hard about some of our better players recently - - Burton, Gilyard, Golden. Staying surely worked for later two and leaving surely didn't work for Burton (unless cash in fact WAS the big motivator). Tough stuff for sure and I wish DJII well no matter which direction he goes!
 
I think Dji is a good litmus test for our NIL capabilities. It was speculated, or maybe flat out written, that Burton got a big NIL package the season before Villanova swooped in. It has seemed to be indicated that Richmond's NIL game was/would be to concentrate more on retention. Dji would seem to be a case for using this $ for retention, though I don't have any idea what kind of numbers an LSU or SEC team could offer, though guessing pretty substantial.

I know SDSU seems to have a decent base monthly stipend - but is not competitive vs P5, lost Keshad Johnson, starter on F4 team last season, and now Lamont Butler this year, and a pretty average player in Micah Parrish to Michigan for reportedly $400,000. Ironically, the player guarding Butler (from FAU) on his F4 buzzer beater is essentially taking his spot on the roster.

Weird NIL world we live in now. I think Dji is a guy we would try to retain. I know he does not shoot big numbers from 3, but we did see how valuable having guys that were athletic and could play D were this last season - and we lost one of these guys in Bigelow - so would think between all of Dji's experience in the system and everything else he does well he would be very valuable to our team this season.
 
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LSU would not be my pick of schools for Dji, just saying. Not a basketball school, shady recent past, lots of premier top level conference schools above you.
 
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??? they made the tournament in 2019, 2021 and 2022!
What in my statement was not true? I didn't say they suck at basketball but that it is not a basketball school. LSU is a football school, heck I think the women's team is probably more popular.
 
What in my statement was not true? I didn't say they suck at basketball but that it is not a basketball school. LSU is a football school, heck I think the women's team is probably more popular.
Basketball seemed popular in the early nineties.

Now Women’s gymnastics seems popular.

Can’t explain either of those… ;)
 
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What in my statement was not true? I didn't say they suck at basketball but that it is not a basketball school. LSU is a football school, heck I think the women's team is probably more popular.
ok. they're a football school, they have good basketball teams in their conference, and the women's team is a power.

point is they're making the tourament almost every year and drawing 9,000 per night. it's a pretty good place to play. I don't think that's a bad choice for Dji at all.
 
ok. they're a football school, they have good basketball teams in their conference, and the women's team is a power.

point is they're making the tourament almost every year and drawing 9,000 per night. it's a pretty good place to play. I don't think that's a bad choice for Dji at all.

every team minus Kentucky is a football school in the SEC.

what 97 said is true but I agree with u that doesn't really matter. Because still high level ball with visibility and crowds as big sec school, decent history, lot of $ & resources, and just a much different experience from UR that Dji might enjoy if he goes there. And probably be in the mix for NCAA tho that's biggest ? mark. & much harder to see games in person for his fam.
 
every team minus Kentucky is a football school in the SEC.

what 97 said is true but I agree with u that doesn't really matter. Because still high level ball with visibility and crowds as big sec school, decent history, lot of $ & resources, and just a much different experience from UR that Dji might enjoy if he goes there. And probably be in the mix for NCAA tho that's biggest ? mark. & much harder to see games in person for his fam.
Wonder how many minutes he will get? Is their roster complete now, or could they keep adding? Some risk involved if he goes there, but time will tell if it works out.
 
yes, definitely a down year. not the norm. it was a total rebuild with a new coach.
97's statement was that LSU would not be his pick of schools for Dji. fair enough. what would be ... besides Richmond?
 
yes, definitely a down year. not the norm. it was a total rebuild with a new coach.
97's statement was that LSU would not be his pick of schools for Dji. fair enough. what would be ... besides Richmond?
Tough to answer because according to SDad, money isn't the issue. And, no way would he leave for more playing time when he averaged 31 mpg last year. SDad insisted he loved it here, so it can't be any issues on our end. If it's LSU, I would say below 50% they make the dance, so it can't be that. Prove he can play at that level? Well, maybe, but then the problem is what if he doesn't play much at that level, then what? When Tyler picked Nova, they needed him and it was near certain he would start. Not sure Dji's situation at LSU would be the same. This is why I didn't see him transferring, so I have to agree with 97 and wonder about the choice, but do we know if he had any other options at that level? So, if he transferred just to play for a power conference school, maybe this was either the only or best option? Who knows? Time will tell.
 
NIL might not be the #1 factor ... but it's always a factor.
throwing out baseless numbers, say UR offererd $100k and LSU offered $400k?
that would be a factor for me and I'm not a college kid.
 
If this happens, Dji will become the 4th scholarship Spider in the last 10 years to transfer up to the P6 level:

Alonso Nelson Ododa - Pitt
Khwan Fore - Louisville
Tyler Burton - Villanova
Dji Bailey - LSU
 
If this happens, Dji will become the 4th scholarship Spider in the last 10 years to transfer up to the P6 level:

Alonso Nelson Ododa - Pitt
Khwan Fore - Louisville
Tyler Burton - Villanova
Dji Bailey - LSU
I think everyone saw a diminished role on their new team, but both Fore and Burton were key pieces of their new teams.
 
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