According to 24/7 sports he is the 2nd best recruit in Valpo history... 24/7 doesn't track our recruits too well or recruits pre star rankings.
He’s THAT good? Excuse me, but at 6’, I could see second best guard ever, but not best overall. Assuming Bryce #1, he’s better than Rowdy, AP, Lubos and on and on…..
Whatever…….. welcome aboard Rajan. Valpo’s a special place. You can thrive here both as a basketball player, a student and a person.
He’s THAT good? Excuse me, but at 6’, I could see second best guard ever, but not best overall. Assuming Bryce #1, he’s better than Rowdy, AP, Lubos and on and on…..
Whatever…….. welcome aboard Rajan. Valpo’s a special place. You can thrive here both as a basketball player, a student and a person.
Which is why I said that 24/7 doesnt track recruits too well. The star system itself can be disingenuous as it is calculated based on your offers. Sometimes they will actually take away stars depending on where you commit. (Happened with Drake's 2026 commit who dropped 50 spots after committing).
It also doesn't track pre Star recruits like Bryce.
The top recruit is listed as Kenneth Harris who was a 4 star in 2003. This is around when the star system first started being utelized
Rajan Roberts. 6' PG attending AZ Compass Prep, originally from Joliet West - same as Powell and McNair. Chooses Valpo over 9 other D1 offers, including Loyola, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, and Cal. 3 star. Incredible pickup.
Not to be a downer, because this sounds like a great signing, but.....
....will a young man who had offers from Loyola, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, and Cal stay at VU for four years and help to lead us back to the NCAA? Or, will he have a great year or two at Valpo and then leave us for the likes of...Loyola, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, or Cal?
@david81 that's simply how the world works now with college athletes. Especially at the mid major level. No one is going to stay at the same school for all 4 years of eligibility. Or at least a very, and I mean very, like <5% of athletes, will.
You could be the biggest Valpo guy in the world, but if someone comes and offers you life changing money to play somewhere else that can get you more exposure than Valpo can, you simply cant pass it up.
We can't expect kids to stay 4 years anymore. For teams like valpo, and by extension other. MVC schools and mid major schools, you need to catch lightning in a bottle. And even once you catch that lightening, it'll escape the bottle come portal season. For Christ sake we even had a damn manager making headlines for transferring after his former school made the NCAA tournament
According to Father Harry, this kid is ranked by Verbal Commits as a 4 star and by 24/7 as a 3 star. Sounds like this kid is going to be a solit piece next year
@david81 that's simply how the world works now with college athletes. Especially at the mid major level. No one is going to stay at the same school for all 4 years of eligibility. Or at least a very, and I mean very, like <5% of athletes, will.
You could be the biggest Valpo guy in the world, but if someone comes and offers you life changing money to play somewhere else that can get you more exposure than Valpo can, you simply cant pass it up.
We can't expect kids to stay 4 years anymore. For teams like valpo, and by extension other. MVC schools and mid major schools, you need to catch lightning in a bottle. And even once you catch that lightening, it'll escape the bottle come portal season. For Christ sake we even had a damn manager making headlines for transferring after his former school made the NCAA tournament
It's probably the best reason to become less attached to D1 college hoops. It's pro sports with complete free agency.
And for mid-major programs, it's like a form of a continuing basketball fantasy league, except that instead of holding onto your three best players from season-to-season, you get to keep your lowest performers.
The widespread practice of having head coaches make more than university presidents already sent one bad message. And now, the practice of giving college players not only full-ride scholarships, but also NIL cash, pretty much completes the corruption of the enterprise. Something is wrong when you have young men on .500 or worse teams, with the smallest smidgen of a chance of ever playing in the NBA, compensated better than a good chunk of a school's full-time faculty.
Given the financial challenges facing U.S. higher education, this whole system may fall apart on itself. If a handful of academically respectable mid-majors announce they are going to D3, we could see an avalanche in that direction.
@david81 I am certainly trying to get used to this new era of college basketball myself. I do not disagree with your statement in general but also think that at some point this levels out a bit as far as NIL and transfers. the last few years has been the wild wild west. I truly think that some rules will be established that will bring this all down a bit. In the next few years, we could possibly see established NIL caps, possible multiyear contract scenarios, possible changes to transfer rules that may limit say 1 or 2 transfers per eligibility cycle type of thing. I am just spit balling here, but I'm not convinced the avalanche of doom is on our doorstep just yet. This is my hope and even if certain changes are made it wouldn't fully change the challenges programs like Valpo experience at this time. Like the rest of us I have no idea what the future is going to hold, but I would like to see something.
I dont think there will be a mass exodus out of D1. D1 is simply too much of a moneymaker for some of these programs. What I do think will happen is what is currently being advocated for. Contractual obligations with required buyouts for transferring. With direct Pay for Play being allowed, it makes sense that these athletes will soon be tied down by contracts that require buyouts from suitor institutions to even get a portal player on their roster. We have already seen a handful of institutions begin drafting their player contracts. One of the core arguments for NIL and pay for play/ the portal was the fact that a coach could leave anytime they wanted and players would be left in the dust. Requiring players to sign binding contracts with buyout penalties effectively nullifies this argument altogether as athletes would be held to the same standards as their coaches
If contracts become disallowed through litigation, then i believe we can begin to have the conversation of a mass exodus from D1 for small schools
I agree fully with your points, David. The first preseason game is less than one week away, and unfortunately there is almost an absence of enthusiasm among those longtime fans with whom I have spoken. Even though I have been an avid season ticket holder since the ARC opened forty years ago, I must admit that I also have little optimism or eagerness for the start of the season. I will watch with interest, but it is difficult to get excited when nearly all the players are unknown and most appear likely only to be passing through Valpo like mercenaries playing for a better future deal rather than as student athletes dedicated to the school. Sadly, I also agree with Rez: "that's simply how the world works now with college athletes."
Being quite Frank, what has hurt Valpo the most in this transition to pay for play is what Oren and others have described quite vehemently.
Valpo fans simply couldn't wrap their heads around exactly what NIL was and why it was happening. Its no coincidence that Hosmer has gone on multiple shows and even made a webinar crash course on NIL and pay for play. IMOP, one of the core reasons for opting into the house settlement in the first place was that while a Valpo fan couldn't wrap their heads around NIL, they could wrap their heads around making a donation to their athletic department, or having friends and family attend games. Such has been happening for decades. If we want Valpo to get some semblance of stability, simply getting more people to attended events is a solid start
The average Valpo fan was used to players who made a commitment to the school and stuck it out all 4 years, grabbing coffee and a conversation with the athletes, and being able to view high quality College tournaments right in their own backyard. Now the tournament is nearly 5 hours and players need some "incentives" to keep playing for your program, and there is most certainly not enough time to form deep connections with athletes that the long time fans are craving
Just when you think things couldn't get any worse in undercutting even the pretense of a student-athlete status in college basketball, it appears the time has come to finally give up. Louisville announces it signed a player who bypassed college and has played three years in the G-League (22-23, 23-24, 24-25), but hasn't been successful yet. Apparently, the NCAA will give him two years of eligibility to renew his value for an NBA contract while taking the spot on a college roster that could have gone to a true university freshman.
Check out AZ Compass' basketball website. They have placed a lot of D1 talent plus some in the NBA. I hope to check out a game but they travel all over the USA.
@valpopal I understand your sentiment, if it's hard to get excited about supporting the players who very well may transfer, get excited for what Roger brings to the table in his efforts. You don't need my pep talk but fan support of our players could be the determining factor for some in stay or leaving IDK. As fans of the sport, MVC, and the institution we still have to support and love these guys. This is the way I am approaching it at least.... Just my opinion. As far as that G-league guy getting eligibility... that doesn't seem right to me either.
