I need a boom identifier or I'm going to start thinking mean things about someone.
I need a boom identifier or I'm going to start thinking mean things about someone.
As Paul mentioned, 2 commits happened and the “booms” will be identified probably as soon as this week. Then We will have one more roster spot to work with if we chose to fill it. As you may be aware, the scholarship limit went up to 15 this year but I believe the program has chosen to remain at 13 or less as 15 scholarships is expensive (for Valpo).
Even though the scholarship limit went up to 15, the roster limit is also 15. So, Vick and Lombardi would have to be dropped from the team. The 2 additional scholarships in basketball is minor compared to the cost impact of increased scholarships in other college sports, let alone our ability to compete against State schools and larger universities with deeper pockets.
Am I missing someone or do we essentially have 12 at least committed at the moment, leaving potentially 3 spots?
Returning
1. Justus McNair So-Guard
2. Joe Vick Sr-Forward
3. Nick Lombardi So-Guard
4. Jayden Watson So-Forward
Committed
5. Carter Hopoi Fr-Forward
Signed
6. Mark Brown So-Point
7. Isaiah Barnes Jr-Guard
8. Shon Tupuola Jr-Forward
9. Owen Dease Sr-Forward
10. JT Pettigrew Fr-Forward
11. Rakim Chaney Fr-Guard
12. Kobe Walker Fr-Forward
Am I missing someone or do we essentially have 12 at least committed at the moment, leaving potentially 3 spots?
Returning
1. Justus McNair So-Guard
2. Joe Vick Sr-Forward
3. Nick Lombardi So-Guard
4. Jayden Watson So-ForwardCommitted
5. Carter Hopoi Fr-Forward
Signed
6. Mark Brown So-Point
7. Isaiah Barnes Jr-Guard
8. Shon Tupuola Jr-Forward
9. Owen Dease Sr-Forward
10. JT Pettigrew Fr-Forward
11. Rakim Chaney Fr-Guard
12. Kobe Walker Fr-Forward
This is correct. Only addition would be the 2 unnamed recruits still left on the table. With them there is 1 spot open and I assume the school is trying to court the older brother of incoming freshman JT Pettigrew for it.
Not a rant, just a sad observation.
The kid across the street is the senior starting QB this Fall at Two Rivers HS here in WI. Talked to his dad this afternoon. The team just had a parent orientation meeting this past week. On the agenda was …….. NIL. The WIAA just acknowledged NIL for HS athletes. Yes, the greedy tentacles of NIL are infiltrating HS athletics. So now I assume HS districts will have to create collectives to pay 15 year olds to not transfer to the next town over that is a bit more affluent and can pay a kid $100 more to play. This is real.
Now my rant: This is freakin CRAZY! Can’t wait till NIL seeps down to Little League and peewee hockey. 🙄
My understanding is that very young basketball prodigies already have signed with agents. The cat isn’t getting back into the bag.
In the realm of IHSAA, there has been a rule change to allow for a one use only athletic transfer to a school that is listed as "open enrollment". HS kids arent allowed "agents" per se. However there is nothing stopping an "athletic advisor" to facilitate in guidance for an athletic student. I know of a few recent grads from around NWI who had such "athletic advisors". Once you go to the next level is typically when you can actually "sign" with an agent as opposed to just relegating agents to a faux form of freelance work.
How I see HS NIL playing out is the usual mom and pop shop that provides for basic school athletic packages are going to go away. Blythe's cannot afford to pay for an athlete's NIL ventures. The creme of the crop nationally rankled athletes will probably go to the AAU circuit and stay where they are at. AAU circuit gets more exposure and access to deals.
We (the US of A) is truly unique (IMO, in a bad way). We are the only major country in the world (yes, Canadian HSs and unis sponsor teams but not to same degree or intensity) that uses its colleges and universities to groom athletes for olympic and professional sports careers by spending multi-millions annually and building 1000,000 seat stadia to glorify the effort
Throughout the rest of the world, academic institutions are separate from sports clubs. They have this crazy notion that universities are places to learn stuff. Period.
Have talent in tennis — join a tennis club after classes at the uni or even earlier in elementary school . Have soccer (football) skills — develop them further at a soccer club (after school). Run fast, jump high, shoot a great three — affiliate with the appropriate club, etc. etc. And the rest of the world seems to be talented enough without collegiate-sponsored athletic departments that they are able to be competitive at the olympic and professional levels.
And they do it without the worries of NIL, athletic scholarships, and the transfer portal. We, in the US, are merely reaping what has been sown over the last 150 years and, unfortunately, there’s no going back. It is what it is.
We (the US of A) is truly unique (IMO, in a bad way). We are the only major country in the world (yes, Canadian HSs and unis sponsor teams but not to same degree or intensity) that uses its colleges and universities to groom athletes for olympic and professional sports careers by spending multi-millions annually and building 1000,000 seat stadia to glorify the effort
Throughout the rest of the world, academic institutions are separate from sports clubs. They have this crazy notion that universities are places to learn stuff. Period.
Have talent in tennis — join a tennis club after classes at the uni or even earlier in elementary school . Have soccer (football) skills — develop them further at a soccer club (after school). Run fast, jump high, shoot a great three — affiliate with the appropriate club, etc. etc. And the rest of the world seems to be talented enough without collegiate-sponsored athletic departments that they are able to be competitive at the olympic and professional levels.
And they do it without the worries of NIL, athletic scholarships, and the transfer portal. We, in the US, are merely reaping what has been sown over the last 150 years and, unfortunately, there’s no going back. It is what it is.
The better athletes in professional sports are paid as professionals even at a young age in those countries. It's NIL without calling it so.
The better athletes in professional sports are paid as professionals even at a young age in those countries. It's NIL without calling it so.
I'd argue its even worse over there. A team can easily be bought and controlled by stupidly rich donors. There have been various issues in the premier league relating to oil barons coming in and destroying the culture of a team by throwing money at the system.
As I have previously stated, blame Emmert and the NCAA academic pinheads for having their heads in the sand and not taking action before hand until the Supreme Court made their 9-0 decision. In the current state of affairs the NCAA needs to be dissolved.
As I have previously stated, blame Emmert and the NCAA academic pinheads for having their heads in the sand and not taking action before hand until the Supreme Court made their 9-0 decision. In the current state of affairs the NCAA needs to be dissolved.
I still think dissolution of the NCAA would ultimately be worse. Having the power conferences run the show would spell disaster for mid majors. If you think it's hard to get multiple bids for the tournament now you can kiss any dream of that goodbye. Heck. If the power schools were in charge they would probably get rid of auto bids entirely.
The better athletes in professional sports are paid as professionals even at a young age in those countries. It's NIL without calling it so.
I'd argue its even worse over there. A team can easily be bought and controlled by stupidly rich donors. There have been various issues in the premier league relating to oil barons coming in and destroying the culture of a team by throwing money at the system.
@jd24 @rezynezy You are both correct, and I agree with you. But you missed my point. Over there (and almost everywhere else) educational institutions have not succumbed to the US Model — and I tried to cite that as a good thing. You aren’t attracted to Oxford because they have a good rowing team that for one race a year people even hear about. But you follow Aston Villa in football from the time you could walk. And if you are good enough, you rise through that organization — not through your school team (which there really isn’t any). This model puts both education and sport in respective perspective — something that I believe we have lost here in the US.
And @usc4valpo, the cluster we have now in intercollegiate sports could be seen coming a long, long while ago. When FBS schools pay their BB and FB coaches $5 million+ while distinguished professors might make low six figures at best, you know there’s an imbalance. The NCAA didn’t create this mess. The NCAA was originally created to try to control what everyone knew would certainly happen sooner or later. In my opinion, it was in a no-win situation from day one. No one person or organization could stem that tide. And so, it is what it is 😰
The way the haves and have nots are separating and mid major conferences becoming G Leagues, I wonder if we need to scrap the 68 team field and have 2 different divisions. The tournament this year sucked except for the later round games.
I respectfully disagree with you @rezynezy. I feel there needs to be better leadership and legislation which should not be run by academic clowns. They elevated this mess.
