Zek enters the portal

[Da Coach]

Have to say I’m a little surprised to see Zek go elsewhere after his 2nd year, (unless there are circumstances we just don’t know about).

He is seeking something he feels he can't get at Bradley.

[tomahawk chop]

I am thinking ( and hoping ) Charlie Baker will make some positive changes. From what I have read so far I think he is wanting to do that

Not sure what Baker will be able to do because the NIL thing came from the politicians in congress. The one thing he can do is get rid of the portal and go back to where you have to sit out one season if you transfer. I would be ok if players are allowed to do it if their coach moves on to another job. Most schools NIL money will not be spent on players that cannot play for a year. I think this would help a lot and bring things back as close as they can to normal.

[Stryker]

Not sure what Baker will be able to do because the NIL thing came from the politicians in congress. The one thing he can do is get rid of the portal and go back to where you have to sit out one season if you transfer. I would be ok if players are allowed to do it if their coach moves on to another job. Most schools NIL money will not be spent on players that cannot play for a year. I think this would help a lot and bring things back as close as they can to normal.

I agree, the instant transfer rule is what is making the most impact right now, as it is so easy to just jump ship and be enticed by whatever is out there.

For instance a junior may think twice about transferring and having to sit a year as a senior just to keep playing as a 23 yr old etc. Despite the NIL money and want to play basketball, they lose a lot of time that could be spent post college playing on some type of pro team or earning a salary etc.

[yoda]

It is a different world now. You saw all those guys from the 2006 team and from the 1996 team when they came back to Peoria.
They still are and always will be celebrated here as heroes, asked for their autographs & interviews. Fans absolutely love them- Cellus,
POB, Tony Bennett, AP, Deon, Funches, Bayo, etc. Kids like Terry Roberts & other portal players may never experience that-
lifetime friendships amongst those teammates, even with Les willing to fly 2000 miles back to be with them. You could see it in their
eyes and their smiles how ecstatic they were to be part of those teams and win championships together. So it gives a little perspective
on how much the lure of money and the slightly bigger spotlight tempts them.

[Stryker]

It is a different world now. You saw all those guys from the 2006 team and from the 1996 team when they came back to Peoria.
They still are and always will be celebrated here as heroes, asked for their autographs & interviews. Fans absolutely love them- Cellus,
POB, Tony Bennett, AP, Deon, Funches, Bayo, etc. Kids like Terry Roberts & other portal players may never experience that-
lifetime friendships amongst those teammates, even with Les willing to fly 2000 miles back to be with them. You could see it in their
eyes and their smiles how ecstatic they were to be part of those teams and win championships together. So it gives a little perspective
on how much the lure of money and the slightly bigger spotlight tempts them.

Yeah it really is kind of sad to see. Looking at guys like Crouch, Ruffin, Adams, Sommerville, etc. they were all about my age and I saw them play and succeed professionally after school. Getting an extra $50,000-$100,000 for a year of basketball riding a bench for a power team or playing on a sub-.500 team would not have made a difference in their lives now at all. But those guys have a friendship, bond, and relationships here in Peoria that are extremely valuable.

The players truly benefiting from the NIL didn't really need it, guys like Zion Williamson etc were getting paid before and after the NIL. Almost everyone else, the money won't be a life changing event or worth the loss of status & networking that they could have had if they stayed at one school and built a true legacy there.

[Bball31]

Not sure what Baker will be able to do because the NIL thing came from the politicians in congress. The one thing he can do is get rid of the portal and go back to where you have to sit out one season if you transfer. I would be ok if players are allowed to do it if their coach moves on to another job. Most schools NIL money will not be spent on players that cannot play for a year. I think this would help a lot and bring things back as close as they can to normal.

The NIL is not a result of politicians in Congress. It is a result of lawsuits and more potential lawsuits the NCAA was certain to lose. The NCAA may be able to tweak the transfer portal rules, but will never get rid of it for legal purposes.

[BUBraves2006]

It is a different world now. You saw all those guys from the 2006 team and from the 1996 team when they came back to Peoria.
They still are and always will be celebrated here as heroes, asked for their autographs & interviews. Fans absolutely love them- Cellus,
POB, Tony Bennett, AP, Deon, Funches, Bayo, etc. Kids like Terry Roberts & other portal players may never experience that-
lifetime friendships amongst those teammates, even with Les willing to fly 2000 miles back to be with them. You could see it in their
eyes and their smiles how ecstatic they were to be part of those teams and win championships together. So it gives a little perspective
on how much the lure of money and the slightly bigger spotlight tempts them.

This is a lot of the sentiment I have for anyone who leaves that isn't really doing it for some significant life change (family, coaching change, etc.). If it's about money or even just "playing at a bigger school", it's just a thing that I just can't connect to, really. I would always choose being a legend, even if its to a smaller group of people than just "another name" to a bigger group. I think why many of us don't want to support these guys after leaving is because it feels like you're turning your back on your family. It's not moving away for a dream job, it's often a lateral move, at best with a slight pay bump. Most of us don't change jobs for things like that, so it's hard to really get why others would seemingly do that.

I can't say what guys motives are, that's up to them. But, it feels like Coach Wardle has built a culture that when you come here, you care about the name on the front, not the name on the back (especially if we don't put names on the back). It has to be a bit of a gut punch to him, regardless of him being smart and knowing "how things work these days" to accept that guys choose the name on the back.

[Tommy]

My wish at this point is to pick up some good transfers to fill our holes, win the Valley (both conference and tourney) and play both the teams that Rienk and Zek end up on and whoop em both.

[bradleyfan124]

Not sure what Baker will be able to do because the NIL thing came from the politicians in congress. The one thing he can do is get rid of the portal and go back to where you have to sit out one season if you transfer. I would be ok if players are allowed to do it if their coach moves on to another job. Most schools NIL money will not be spent on players that cannot play for a year. I think this would help a lot and bring things back as close as they can to normal.

I agree.. And good point.. I believe Congress in their infinite wisdom just said they have to pay them. They did not say how much. That may be a way for the NCAA to control all the high dollars being thrown around

[Oldskool]

There are 4 open scholarships. The roster will have additions before long.

5 open scholarships actually

[Oldskool]

I wonder why there weren’t a lot of upset people when Jayson Kent, Terry Nolan, Kevin McAdoo and Antonio Davis transferred.

....or Pop Weathers

[Da Coach]

5 open scholarships actually

Yes, but one of those is already committed to 2023 recruit Demarion Burch. I think that is why the poster said 4 open.

Updated scholarship grid-
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...holarship-grid

[NashvilleBU]

I’m sad. I think Zek has very high upside and was consistently growing but money talks.

[bigjimmy]

Can't worry about what we don't have anymore. All we can do is look forward to see how we will be. The hope is certainly that Christian Davis and Ahmet Jonovich' are ready to contribute major minutes. What transfers come in and are ready to go from the get go. Can we get Burch and any other freshman to sign on the dotted line. Hannah showed glimpses of being someone we can count on but can he be more consistent with the results. I think Duke's role should be as the microwave off the bench so can we find that true point guard. If Hickman can get more consistent with his outside shot I think he could be in the running for 1st team all MVC, And Leons? He has the talent and ability to be POY. The question is can he be more selfish and be aggrerssive on offense. Hopefully we'll be getting the answer to some of these questions soon. The others? Time will tell.

[algotrader]

Complete disappointment that 20 some year old kids are making life decisions on the all mighty dollar.

No. That's capitalism. If a kid is leaving because they can get more money elsewhere, I don't think anyone can complain. Your issue isn't with the kid. Your issue is with capitalism.

But that is how capitalism works. You don't get to pick and choose the good parts. You don't get to switch jobs for more money and then complain that a kid is switching teams for more money.