Rienk Mast

[Stryker]

Rienk Mast update- now free to read (you might need to create an account, but it's free)
https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/...l/70030181007/

Mast said that by 5 p.m. Monday, just a few hours after entering the portal, he had been contacted by 10 schools from Power 5 conferences. It's the nature of the college game now in the NIL era, which has essentially put players in a position to declare themselves free agents. Mid-major teams lose players in that trickle-up calculation. It's a hard reality.

"It's a lot. I'm looking for a Power 5 school. I've heard from 10 so far."

MVC player of the year...he is going to get some big offers most likely.

[ManMythLegend]

MVC player of the year...he is going to get some big offers most likely.

But....he wasn't MVC Player of the Year...but yes will likely get some big offers that HOTB can't compete with.

[egib52]

Good luck to him, but as I have said before, his skill set does not work at P5. I really hope he doesn't transfer and just end up riding the bench by mid year.

[Stryker]

But....he wasn't MVC Player of the Year...but yes will likely get some big offers that HOTB can't compete with.

To me he was...haha, ok all-conference.

[Bradley8792]

Good luck to him, but as I have said before, his skill set does not work at P5. I really hope he doesn't transfer and just end up riding the bench by mid year.

Watching the NCAA tournament I noticed most of the big name schools only play 7 players. Not sure that bode well for him.

[Canton BU fan]

Well of course he'll get interest. May get some good money. However, that guarantees nothing when it comes to playing time. The short term money may come at the cost of long term money as a pro.

[yoda]

Isn't this exactly what the "NIL collective" was supposed to prevent?

[PhiAlphaBoy]

Isn't this exactly what the "NIL collective" was supposed to prevent?

While we may have the best NIL program in the Valley, we can't compete with the money offered by P5 schools.

[bradleyfan124]

While we may have the best NIL program in the Valley, we can't compete with the money offered by P5 schools.

Alot of those are State schools vs. a private school like Bradley... not a level playing field

[ManMythLegend]

Isn't this exactly what the "NIL collective" was supposed to prevent?

Not trying to throw shade here...but can anyone answer why HOTB is not accepting new members at this point? Or one time gifts? Seems like it's an elites or good ol boys club.

Let's just say that there's someone that wants to give $1k...then there's probably someone who wants to give $500 and $2k and $300 and $5k...and before you know it those dollars are adding up. I can't figure out why it's such a closed group but maybe there is a good reason out there.

[Old Coach]

Not trying to throw shade here...but can anyone answer why HOTB is not accepting new members at this point? Or one time gifts? Seems like it's an elites or good ol boys club.

Let's just say that there's someone that wants to give $1k...then there's probably someone who wants to give $500 and $2k and $300 and $5k...and before you know it those dollars are adding up. I can't figure out why it's such a closed group but maybe there is a good reason out there.

You can give gifts now that are connected to pledges based on number of rebounds and 3 pointers made. So in theory, knowing how many rebounds and 3 pointers they had on the season, you could give any of the gifts you've mentioned above.


The Pledge Per Rebound Campaign allows donors the opportunity to be invested in all the action as we follow Men’s Basketball throughout the remainder of the season. Your pledge is multiplied by the number of rebounds made throughout the rest of the season. For reference on how much you want to pledge, Bradley Men's Basketball is currently averaging 35 rebounds a game.


The Pledge Per Three-Pointer Campaign allows donors the opportunity to be invested in all the action as we follow Men’s Basketball throughout the remainder of the season. Your pledge is multiplied by the number of Three-Pointers made throughout the rest of the season. For reference on how much you want to donate, Bradley Men's Basketball is currently averaging 8.3 three-pointers a game.

[Stryker]

Alot of those are State schools vs. a private school like Bradley... not a level playing field

Its a big difference when BU is graduating 1,200 per year and a large P5 school is graduating 12,000 per year. Alumni base is on an entirely different level, and that impacts fund raising, budgets, support, all kinds of things. Plus if you are like me, I am not giving money to the university that charged me over $550 a credit hour 15 years ago...I'm giving money to missionaries and local charities. Takes a lot of disposable income to decide to give money to a university.

[BradleyBiz]

I wish Rienk the best and thank him for everything he has done for this program. A top player in Bradley basketball history.

[basketball nut]

I wish Rienk the best and thank him for everything he has done for this program. A top player in Bradley basketball history.

I can't agree more. Am I disappointed? Of course but he already has graduated with a very tough degree. I say best of luck.
One thing about how he will be used in a bigger program is not as a 5 but as a power 4 or even a small 4. Remember he can shoot from outside as well as he will work on his driving to the basket.

[Tommy]

There's 8 billion people in the world, certainly there's enough talent to re-fill our coffers.

Granted, it sucks having to rebuild every year, but this is what we have to deal with now, so the job is to learn how to best do that. We picked up a 7'1"guy mid-season and he seems to be pretty darn athletic, so there's that. There will be other highly touted players on Power 5 teams that didn't get the playing time they were hoping for or ended up in the doghouse and had their schools pull their scholarships or their NIL money dissipate, so that's another source. Wardle has always been good at finding good talent from smaller schools and JUCO, so we just need to keep pulling from there, as well.

Point is, the Power 5 have always had a leg up on us and they always will, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost. This new NIL system has already shown to be creating some new problems for the big boys and will certainly continue to create new ones. Egos, jealousy, and most certainly poor decisions will affect this whole system as teams try to navigate it, and in time the smaller schools like BU will learn to adjust their recruiting in kind.

Not being able to keep your core group together will certainly require more from a good coaching perspective, but in the end I believe we'll end up trying to recruit upper classmen (the days of helping a kid grow in your system may be over) that play with a ton of effort and heart and in the end, I believe we'll find we can still compete.

Our first goal has been and always will be dominating the Missouri Valley. If we can learn to do that, we'll get our shot come tournament time. For now, I hope these kids get filthy rich off the Power 5 and I hope a lot of them get lazy once they get all this money so that the hungrier kids at the mid-majors will just outwork them!