Adrian Wojnarowski retiring from ESPN to become the GM of Bona basketball, his alma mater.
sorry. that all sounds good, but I don't see it. there will be little to no 5th year guys going forward. so no known transfers. he's just going to randomly watch a Siena game, and that'll somehow give them a leg up on Richmond if the Siena star decides to transfer???But it can also help with transfer portal a lot I think. While the current coaches have to focus on the current team and games, Woj can be in the back room - watching other games, other teams and making a list of players that fit their system - so they are prepared when and if they hit the portal, or in the dark underworld of college hoops, they can be targeted for transfer before even hitting the portal.
He may have been at the top of his game, but that job has to be demanding. Being attached to your phone 24 hours a day and trying to be first with the scoop. He made some money while at ESPN, so he can sit back and be passionate about his alma mater for a while.Good for St. Bonaventure, can only help them. Little surprising because Woj was still at top of his game at ESPN. But their article spells it all out and Woj clearly has a love for his alma mater.
No - my point is that in reality, we all know schools are targeting players, and it is likely to increase with these GM roles - players that maybe were not thinking of transferring or they get to them early, before their season even ends.sorry. that all sounds good, but I don't see it. there will be little to no 5th year guys going forward. so no known transfers. he's just going to randomly watch a Siena game, and that'll somehow give them a leg up on Richmond if the Siena star decides to transfer???
I don't think the dark underworld is nearly as dark as you think.As opposed to UR and other schools, who may be looking for kids to hit the portal, when at that point - it might be too late.
I am not saying a kid turns his phone off, but just like when recruiting kids out of HS, it pays to be early. Especially when you know - you might be the underdog. Get a kid early in HS - and start recruiting him, form the relationship - maybe he gives you a shot when the bigger schools start coming in towards the end. This is part of the reason it might be even more important now for schools like UR to over-recruit and make contact with more players, even guys we know we likely won't get. Cause chances are - a good number of them will be in the portal at some point. And maybe having a GM allows you that opportunity - someone to make those phone calls, send those letters, speak to parents and build the relationship. So when the kid goes to a P5 school that loses, of he doesn't play much - your there to call and already know everyone. Its like NBA free agency with no contracts - each year, technically - every kid is available on every team.I don't think the dark underworld is nearly as dark as you think.
no kid hitting the portal is going to turn his phone off because he got an early offer. and certainly not for a "dream school" SBU offer even if it's from Woj. would you? say you're lighting it up at Siena and SBU risks everything to illegally contact you early and offer you a $50k NIL deal. do you consider yourself off the market? you're not answering Richmond's call?
I think it's incredibly rare, if ever, to be too late when a kid hits the portal. unless that kid thinks an SBU offer is the best he'll ever get, in which case ... not a huge loss.
agreed - but also remember - not every kid that transfers somewhere ends up playing, especially kids that transfer up in big jumps like that. Big schools have 13 and think soon to be 15 scholarships to give out. So it doesn't hurt them to have a strong core of 4-5 kids and then take a few flyers on kids from lower schools moving up. Something that I think gets lost in the shuffle of the portal. Not every kid that transfers ends up playing at their new school Wish someone would do some stats on that. How many kids transfer, and then have a significant drop in playing time or stats at their new school.Canisius had players from its 2023-24 team transfer to Minnesota, Duquesne, Hofstra, Cleveland State, among others. Big Ten and A-10 talent. The kid transferring to Minnesota averaged almost 12 rebounds a game. We'd kill for a guy who averaged 2/3 of that.
Maybe he should spend some time watching games like that.
Horrible coaching, which thankfully was resolved after the season.with B10 and A10 talent, you'd think they'd do better than 14-18 last year. maybe there were injuries.