There has to be contracts with teams or none of this will get fixed. Pay them directly instead of this behind the back stuff. Also, we have to take advantage of this by getting more talent from lower levels too and play the game. Maybe get some immediate impact high school guys that are being passed over now (even if only for a year). The good news is that while we don't have the resources of the big boys, we can reload every year if we scout good enough as well. We also lose guys to our benefit each year, like Pop, who wasn't going to play here anyway. Is it the best system? Clearly not. But I don't think we have to be complete victims either. We are not at the bottom of the chain fortunately, we are in the middle. The big school are gaining and losing guys every year too, and we saw that can hurt those teams as well, despite having big names, when they don't develop chemistry.
When I think about it, Rienk probably leaves as a grad transfer in the old system anyway. Pop didn't play much. So basically Zek is the first big hit we have taken. And really he was an average player with some potential, but a long way to go. I think we can get just as good of a player in the portal if we play it right and strike at the right time. The staff just has to be good at scouting and projections. I think they should hire like a full time scout or two, baseball style, to watch potential portal targets every year. Where it hurts is not being able to develop team chemistry, and I think even major team fans hate the way this is going. We all love sports because we get to know players/teams and watch them grow. No one gets to do that now. I have to imagine, after the 5th year stuff is done, the NCAA is going to have to do something to stop the madness, because no one is happy.
When I think about it, Rienk probably leaves as a grad transfer in the old system anyway. Pop didn't play much. So basically Zek is the first big hit we have taken. And really he was an average player with some potential, but a long way to go. I think we can get just as good of a player in the portal if we play it right and strike at the right time. The staff just has to be good at scouting and projections. I think they should hire like a full time scout or two, baseball style, to watch potential portal targets every year. Where it hurts is not being able to develop team chemistry, and I think even major team fans hate the way this is going. We all love sports because we get to know players/teams and watch them grow. No one gets to do that now. I have to imagine, after the 5th year stuff is done, the NCAA is going to have to do something to stop the madness, because no one is happy.
