• Welcome to BradleyFans.com! Visitors are welcome, but we encourage you to sign up and register as a member. It's free and takes only a few seconds. Just click on the link to Register at the top right of the page, and follow instructions. If you have any problems or questions, click on the link at the bottom right of the page to Contact Us.

Zek enters the portal

BW hit the nail on the head in the PJStar article on Zek:

"My concern, though, is the NCAA basketball landscape is changing from relational to transactional."

Mark Emmert ruined the NCAA. Hopefully Charlie Baker can bring it back.
 
Dave Eminian article about Zek transferring-
https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports...ansfer-portal-bradley-basketball/70057637007/

Some interesting quotes from Coach Wardle -

"I hope Zek finds what he is looking for in his next school"

"Our program is going to be fine because we have that foundation to recruit to, and there are a lot of good players in the portal that are excited about Bradley."

"My concern, though, is the (NCAA basketball) landscape is changing from relational to transactional."
 
Da Coach said:
Dave Eminian article about Zek transferring-
https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports...ansfer-portal-bradley-basketball/70057637007/

Some interesting quotes from Coach Wardle -

"I hope Zek finds what he is looking for in his next school"

"Our program is going to be fine because we have that foundation to recruit to, and there are a lot of good players in the portal that are excited about Bradley."

"My concern, though, is the (NCAA basketball) landscape is changing from relational to transactional."
Click to expand...

Very astute. I am also not that concerned. This may be the strongest position Wardle has been in since he has come to BU as far as recruiting goes. He can point to the 2 NCAA bids and now a MVC Championship. Attendance on the rise, NLI support etc. There shouldn't really be any reason Wardle can't recruit very well right now compared to the other MVC schools IMO. I am expecting some pretty good landings from the portal, hopefully at least 2 players that can come in and contribute in a large way right away. Wardle has already demonstrated he can do this through the portal or from JNCAA schools.
 
bigjimmy said:
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 needs another year to get better as a player and an athlete and he’d have been one of the main focuses at BU. I just don’t think he’s a starter at a Power 5 school next season. Hopefully he finds what he’s looking for. Just have to trust Wardle and the coaching staff have been ready for all of the possibilities and that we’ll have a team that contends for another championship.
Click to expand...

We are all upset but imagine how upset the Bradley coaches are. They work hard to a build a team then to see it come apart by things out of their control
 
BradleyBiz said:
BW hit the nail on the head in the PJStar article on Zek:

"My concern, though, is the NCAA basketball landscape is changing from relational to transactional."

Mark Emmert ruined the NCAA. Hopefully Charlie Baker can bring it back.
Click to expand...

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
 
bradleyfan124 said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
tomahawk chop said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
yoda said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
tomahawk chop said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
yoda said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
tomahawk chop said:
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.
Click to expand...

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 said:
5 open scholarships actually
Click to expand...

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

Scholarship-grid-3-28-23.png

key.png
 
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.
 
Complete disappointment that 20 some year old kids are making life decisions on the all mighty dollar.
Click to expand...

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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top