Things You Didn't See Coming

[WstateU]

Is this a Thing You Didn't See Coming because of the ranking or because they guy in the picture plays D1 basketball?

Both

[ShockTalk]

He is one of their young success stories so far. Robbie Avila is 6'10", 240 sophomore that plays 30 mpg, 16.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.0 assists with only 1.7 TOs.

Their starting 5 play between 30-34 mpg, score 73.5 ppg of their 85.6 average and they can all come back next year.

[WuDrWu]

Avila reminds me of so many Valley post men over the years....his game is just odd enough that he causes problems for most everyone one way or the other.

That's a good team....not sure they're top 20, but they can beat a LOT of teams with their A game.

[SubGod22]

Dartmouth fights back?

ESPN - Dartmouth says it won't bargain with basketball players' union

Dartmouth will not enter into collective bargaining with the union its men's basketball players voted to join earlier this month, the school said Monday in a move that could send the case to federal court.

In a statement announcing its refusal to bargain a labor deal with the athletes, the school was adamant that it believes "athletes in the Ivy League are not employees."

A regional director of the National Labor Relations Board ruled last month that Dartmouth basketball players were employees, clearing the way for them to vote to join the union.

The players then voted 13-2 to join the Service Employees International Union Local 560.

"Given Dartmouth's decades-long commitment to athletics as an extension of our academic mission, we believe the regional director has made an extraordinary mistake in finding these students are employees," the school said in its statement, which called the players "students whose educational program includes athletics."

Dartmouth is asking for a review of the regional director's decision by the full board.

[SubGod22]

ESPN - Long Beach State AD says he fired Dan Monson to inspire team

Long Beach State's athletic director said the timing of his decision to fire coach Dan Monson was done with the hope it might trigger the exact run that led the team on its unexpected trip to the NCAA tournament.

"My belief and hope is that by doing what I did and the timing of it, they would play inspired, and that's what they did," Bobby Smitheran told The Associated Press on Thursday, a few hours before the Beach tipped off against Arizona. "I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, but it worked." Editor's Picks

Monson's job status has been one of the most intriguing stories leading into the first round of the NCAA tournament. He was fired last Monday, on the heels of a five-game losing streak, but is continuing to coach for the rest of the season, and the team responded last weekend by winning the Big West tournament to earn an unexpected trip to March Madness.

[shockerfan]

I didn't see THIS coming....

[SubGod22]

WOW

[WstateU]

I didn't see THIS coming....

Jeff ******* can go +_)(*&^%$#@!...

[ShockTalk]

I didn't see THIS coming....

Apparently, they want a coach that wears "big boy pants" with the move to the AAC. What a b*tchslap to Lanier.

[SubGod22]

ESPN - Adrian Wojnarowski retires from ESPN, joins St. Bonaventure

ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski has agreed to become the general manager of the men's basketball program at St. Bonaventure, he told ESPN.

Wojnarowski is a St. Bonaventure alumnus and has a strong relationship with the program, including as a fundraiser for the school's collective in recent years. He is a 1991 graduate of the western New York school and a distinguished alumnus from the Jandoli School of Communication.

"It is a thrill of a lifetime to be able to return to a university and community that I love in a role of service to our student-athletes, coaches and institution," Wojnarowski told ESPN. "I am hopeful that I can bring value in a lot of areas to our basketball program and open doors for our young men's futures in ways both professionally and personally."

Wojnarowski, 55, has worked at ESPN since 2017. He previously worked at Yahoo Sports and The Record of Bergen County (New Jersey), among other stops.

"I am retiring from a dream job at ESPN and am so incredibly grateful for my time and experiences with the Worldwide Leader," he said.

The GM role has become more common in college basketball in recent years, as the transfer portal has made wholesale roster turnover an inherent part of the sport. The role includes name, image and likeness allocation, recruiting and supporting successful Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt.

"Woj is the perfect person to fill this new role, combining his intimate knowledge of St. Bonaventure and our Franciscan values with a deep network of relationships he has built across the worlds of professional and intercollegiate basketball," St. Bonaventure athletic director Bob Beretta said. "The fact that the preeminent journalist in his field is willing to walk away from a lucrative media career to serve his alma mater in a support role is a testament to his love and passion for Bona's."

[SubGod22]

Who had this one?

ESPN - Virginia's Tony Bennett retiring ahead of basketball season

Virginia men's basketball coach Tony Bennett will announce his immediate retirement Friday, the school announced.

Bennett, 55, was set to begin his 16th season with the Cavaliers in less than three weeks, with the program's first game against Campbell on Nov. 6

Sources told ESPN that Bennett's decision to retire was not health-related.

As of Thursday night, the school had not named an interim replacement. The most likely option is associate head coach Ron Sanchez, who spent five seasons as the head coach at Charlotte before returning to Charlottesville ahead of last season. Associate head coach Jason Williford also has been by Bennett's side during his tenure at Virginia.

Bennett is a two-time national coach of the year who led Virginia to a national championship in 2019. He won six ACC regular-season titles and two ACC tournament titles.

Sounds like this may be another case of the direction of college athletics chasing coaches away as they don't want to deal with this pay to play bullshit. He's not the first coach to leave and won't be the last. We've seen it in both football and basketball and maybe elsewhere too.