2025 Portal Season

[FlPatriot]

I am curious about the portal and its impact on coaching in general. Does a coach recruit for their ‘system’ or do they evaluate talent available and design a system that best fits the available talent.

I think maybe in the old days coaches would develop a system, recruit to that system and develop players to fit the system. Today seems maybe flexibility and adaptability are the keys to success in college basketball.

Do you all think CTS reloads for his system or fits his system to the available talent?

 

[gmujim92]

I am curious about the portal and its impact on coaching in general. Does a coach recruit for their ‘system’ or do they evaluate talent available and design a system that best fits the available talent.

I think maybe in the old days coaches would develop a system, recruit to that system and develop players to fit the system. Today seems maybe flexibility and adaptability are the keys to success in college basketball.

Do you all think CTS reloads for his system or fits his system to the available talent?

Not sure Tony really has a system per se, as he’s said you have to be able to guard and then there is a lot of freedom to be creative on the offensive end.

He did a great job of putting a group of guys together last year that had great chemistry, shared the ball and wanted to play for each other. Hopefully we’ll be able to say the same about this team.

 

[mbush]

I am curious about the portal and its impact on coaching in general. Does a coach recruit for their ‘system’ or do they evaluate talent available and design a system that best fits the available talent.

I think maybe in the old days coaches would develop a system, recruit to that system and develop players to fit the system. Today seems maybe flexibility and adaptability are the keys to success in college basketball.

Do you all think CTS reloads for his system or fits his system to the available talent?

Though it was a different time, I asked Coach L about this once.

He basically said something like "we run the same system, but place a different emphasis on which shots we want to get. When Jesse Young moved into the starting lineup, we placed more emphasis on getting shots for him down low than we had for Rob Anderson, who was leaving, but was better shooting from the outside."

 

[hoopsjunkie75]

Yaak Yaak!

I know nothing about him other than he went from being a Freshman Aggie to a Div-II school last year.

Just his name makes me want him on the team though.

 

[NewPatriot]

Really?

Darius — absolutely
KD — yep
Woody — not really, but I’ll give you that one

Everyone else was a HS commit or transfer up.

Pretty sure the difference this offseason is the market for even sparingly used P4 players has gone off the chain, so the staff had to pivot and find the best value where they could.

I’m comforted by the fact that Drake won 30-plus games, won the MVC and reached the Round of 32 with a bunch of guys who transferred up from Division II.

There are good players all over the place, hopefully Tony can coach up this group of guys into a winning team.

Haynes was virginia tech...transfered down to ETSU.

 

[FreeGunston12]

Of these, Arrinten Page would be my preference by a wide, wide margin, although I’d love Salane as a developmental prospect.

I can see why. If Skinn can land Page, go ahead and give that man another raise.

 

[gmujim92]

Haynes was virginia tech...transfered down to ETSU.

He barely got off the bench at Tech, he counts as a transfer up

 

[illayin]

Atlantic 10 Rosters 2025-26

docs.google.com

the "key losses" section is our entire rotation sans BOC really puts it into perspective seeing it like that

 

[GMU79]

Ratings mentioned are for the first week of the NCAA Tourney and presumably the whole NCAA Tourney. As mentioned above that is significantly driven by gamblers and bracketeers. What is more important is the attendance effects on all programs except the top 25 and the Blue Bloods, as 300+ programs will not be in the NCAA Tourney.

Consider GMU with 2 returning players and a mix of 1 year graduating seniors and grad students and others who many of which will be expected to leave for another program at the end of the season. What type of attendance does that roster generate?

How many STH renew? and how many new STH and partial STH come with that roster?

That's one of the things I miss...following the players over 3-4 years. Nowadays I can't even keep up with each year's roster, much less remember who played when.

 

[psyclone]

the "key losses" section is our entire rotation sans BOC really puts it into perspective seeing it like that

And in Tony's first year as Mason coach, Polite and Henry (the latter who had been playing mostly less than 15 minutes) were our only returnees and our main rotation involved transfers Hall, Kelley, Maddux, Billups, Newton, and Okojie.

So "returning rotation players" are now typically strongly outnumbered by transfers who will be in our regular rotation. What else is new?

 

[Pablo]

Thought the same thing, and then I saw that he played 3 years at Syracuse and 1 at UCF. Nothing close to a possible medical redshirt either.

No idea where he's going to get eligibility from.

Two Gophers basketball players seeking transfer despite zero eligibility

Mike Mitchell Jr. and Trey Edmonds entered the transfer portal on Monday.

www.si.com

"Gophers men's basketball veterans Mike Mitchell Jr. and Trey Edmonds were the latest to enter the transfer portal on Monday, but they have no eligibility remaining. If you thought players jumping from school to school was chaotic now, it could be getting even crazier.

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a significant case against the NCAA in December, which essentially ruled that years spent at the junior college level will not count against a player's NCAA eligibility beginning in 2025-26. Former Gopher Brennan Rigsby has already taken advantage of this rule as he will transfer to Radford for his fifth college season.

Pavia's ruling has resulted in athletes following suit, requesting Division I eligibility after spending time at the JUCO, NAIA, or even Division II and Division III levels. Many people believe it's heading down the road of all players being granted five years of eligibility or more.

Mitchell and Edmonds have both played four entire seasons of Division I college basketball. Under the current NCAA rules, they are out of eligibility, and they would need a waiver to play a fifth. They're not the first players to do that this offseason, as NC State's Ben Middlebrooks and Wake Forest's Efton Reid are among a growing list of players to enter without remaining eligibility.

There is nothing to prevent players without any eligibility remaining entering the transfer portal, but under the current rules, Mitchell, Edmonds, Middlebrooks, Reid and any player who has played four seasons of Division I basketball are no longer eligible.

The ongoing changes to name, image and likeness (NIL) laws and the upcoming revenue-share ruling have given the NCAA very little to stand on when it comes to cases against eligibility. The most likely scenario is that Mitchell and Edmonds are just being cautious, and they're not playing Division I college basketball next season. There's also a real possibility that things will continue to change after the revenue-sharing settlement later this month."

 

[FlPatriot]

Maybe CTS should contact LeBron…think he’s got his full eligibility remaining.

 

[PDGL Hoops]

Difficult to maintain consistency due to the all mighty dollar grab (can't say I blame them). Most of these kids will not be going pro so getting a good degree for post playing days should also count but not sure it does. That should be a major selling point for us and the area.

 

[DRK331]

Here are the transfers Tony Skinn has brought in so far (no particular order):

1. 6'8 Dola Adebayo
2. 6'4 Masai Troutman
3. 6'2 Kory Mincy
4. 6'5 Jermahri Hill
5. 6'5 Jahari Long
6. 6'7 Nick Ellington

Who are you looking forward to seeing play next season?

 

[jessej]

Difficult to maintain consistency due to the all mighty dollar grab (can't say I blame them). Most of these kids will not be going pro so getting a good degree for post playing days should also count but not sure it does. That should be a major selling point for us and the area.

today's youth are not like us
and the rules of the game have changed

top stars can walk away with $2M+ (before taxes over a 4-year career)
with proper financial advice I am unsure if they actually need a college degree - or a regular college degreed job

invest your college NIL funds, go play in a foreign country, come back to the USA when done and do nothing or develop your own basketball related job

what are the college basketball player graduation rates
1) before and after free agency?
2) before and after the introduction of NIL?

 

[Mason2006Patriot]

Im looking forward to seeing Dola play! He looks really athletic

 

[Verdad]

Here are the transfers Tony Skinn has brought in so far (no particular order):

1. 6'8 Dola Adebayo
2. 6'4 Masai Troutman
3. 6'2 Kory Mincy
4. 6'5 Jermahri Hill
5. 6'5 Jahari Long
6. 6'7 Nick Ellington

Who are you looking forward to seeing play next season?

Honestly all of them - I know part of it is green/gold colored glasses that makes them appear better then they are once they commit, but I genuinely like each of their athleticism and skillsets.

Especially after seeing how CTS put the team together, got them in their roles and the product he was able to put on the court at the end of the year.

He got the most out of Newton, Haynes, Billups and KD compared to any other year of their careers.

 

[NewPatriot]

I am venturing an some what educated guess that either

YAAK YAAK or Bol Dengdit will be one of the last 3 additions

https://x.com/workinithoops/status/1905683732058833290?t=Kdlq6taYEvpfLQ7J7Cde6g&s=19

 

[illayin]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9yHNf9GvwE

 

[Junkees9]

I hope it is Dengdit.