Wichita State: vs South Florida (03/05/23)

[pinstripers]

South Florida ain't very friggin good.

[rjl]

Like others… I assume the program doesn’t return to yearly tournament runs unless major changes are made.

With that stated, I would have put a lot of money on the table that this team would finish the season without as much as a whimper (based on the first two months of the season).

The turnaround in “actual play” gives me pause and makes me wonder if Coach IB is figuring “Head Coaching”
out as I wasn’t impressed by the team that won the American, or last year’s version, and the first half of the season was some of the worst played basketball I can remember seeing. So much of what this team does well doesn’t come close to happening without high level coaching.

Overall… my eye test and metrics pretty much point to a really good top four (Craig, JW, JR, and CP) with a confidence problem when it came to closing out teams at home. IMO, the team is short one starter caliber guard (the combo of JPJ, Bell, MF, SS were likely to kill the team on any given night) - maybe that guy was NCAA-forced to sit all year. Also, Coach IB often misses coaching opportunities in late game situations (like not realizing we have lots of fouls to give that could be utilized to turn up defensive pressure or foul trying). Maybe things go significantly different if WSU has a full roster and gets a little more fortune early in the season (confidence goes a long ways).


Now the important part - Craig deserved better. He was insanely good this year. He will go down as one of my all time favorite shockers. I just can’t remember a player who made so many aspects of basketball look easy. I am glad I got to attend his senior day (it was nice to see all seniors have good moments today).l!

These are exactly my sentiments.

Playing devils' advocate, IB started this year with a whole ton of new guys who took some time to gel and find their rhythm. I'm not sure whose fault it was that we lost so many players last offseason. Our failure to orchestrate a NIL program (which was purportedly a big reason for those players' departure) was apparently the impetus to show Boatright the door. If those players left for money reasons, then IB does not (and should not) shoulder that blame.

Who knows how this team would have worked out with at least one or two of those players staying.

[SubGod22]

I really don't think NIL played much of a role in those guys leaving.

I think the way IB "ran" the team last year is the main reason those guys left.

[ShockerExpress]

I really don't think NIL played much of a role in those guys leaving.

I think the way IB "ran" the team last year is the main reason those guys left.

Depends on who we're talking about. I think Mo and Dex likely left because of what you mentioned.

I think Ricky was full on staying until he had six figures in front of him.

[Atxshoxfan]

Retaining Walton, Pohto, Myles, and Rogers and not losing more than 1 of Pierre, Abidde, and Bell is a must if we are to keep HCIB (assuming finances are not the driving issue). With that group, a quality PG or 2 should be attainable. Otherwise, it's probably time to cut bait.

Pierre is a must keep. He has more potential than anyone else on the team.

[rjl]

I really don't think NIL played much of a role in those guys leaving.

Their comments in the Eagle article indicate otherwise. Not saying it was the sole reason, but it was clearly a big reason.

[TrackSuitAndTie]

Pierre is a must keep. He has more potential than anyone else on the team.

Pierre has already talked about "next year" so I think he's staying if IB is the HC. It's remarkable how much better he became as the season went progressed. I went from "never let that guy off the bench" to "what an unselfish pass by JPJ" over the course of a few months.

If Rogers and Walton stay I wonder if we see Walton play more at the 4 with JPJ at the 3 and Rogers at the 2.

[BostonWu]

Depends on who we're talking about. I think Mo and Dex likely left because of what you mentioned.

I think Ricky was full on staying until he had six figures in front of him.

6 figures?

[SHOCKvalue]

I really don't think NIL played much of a role in those guys leaving.

Surely you jest.

[SubGod22]

Surely you jest.

I do not. I never expected Ricky to return regardless of NIL. IB had no control or organization over that team and you could tell it irritated certain players and the play in general was horrible because of it. Ricky was going to be much better off with a new coach who could actually push him. Ricky knew that and knew that he was never going to achieve his ceiling under IB.

And some of the quotes we've seen from others over the course of the season seem to indicate there wasn't much faith in IB to better them or give them a shot at the NCAA tournament. Of course, none of those are direct quotes, but you can see by what was said that there were quite a few issues within the program.

Does NIL help some make a decision? Maybe on where to land, but I don't think it had a great deal of impact on why they were leaving. Most NIL deals are fairly minimal. I don't know what Ricky is really making, I've only seen numbers thrown around with no links to validate any of it. He is the one player that left that could make more in NIL due to his talent. The others, weren't going to get a major cash grab here or anywhere else really. Unless there's a group that's just willing to pay x amount for any player on the roster. But that says more about those teams than the actual level of NIL someone could earn.

[TrackSuitAndTie]

I do not. I never expected Ricky to return regardless of NIL. IB had no control or organization over that team and you could tell it irritated certain players and the play in general was horrible because of it. Ricky was going to be much better off with a new coach who could actually push him. Ricky knew that and knew that he was never going to achieve his ceiling under IB.

And some of the quotes we've seen from others over the course of the season seem to indicate there wasn't much faith in IB to better them or give them a shot at the NCAA tournament. Of course, none of those are direct quotes, but you can see by what was said that there were quite a few issues within the program.

Does NIL help some make a decision? Maybe on where to land, but I don't think it had a great deal of impact on why they were leaving. Most NIL deals are fairly minimal. I don't know what Ricky is really making, I've only seen numbers thrown around with no links to validate any of it. He is the one player that left that could make more in NIL due to his talent. The others, weren't going to get a major cash grab here or anywhere else really. Unless there's a group that's just willing to pay x amount for any player on the roster. But that says more about those teams than the actual level of NIL someone could earn.

To his credit, I think IB had a lot more confidence managing the roster of 'his guys' this season as opposed to players he inherited. Results aside, the group seemed to gel (and get along) a lot better than last season.

[MadDog]

Mike Kennedy said on the radio Ricky got $250,000. I have no idea if that number is right, it’s just what he said.

[ABC]

Mike Kennedy said on the radio Ricky got $250,000. I have no idea if that number is right, it’s just what he said.

Just curious if anyone is tracking how these dollars are being used. Is RCIV on a car dealership ad? Is Arkansas selling his jersey?

[MadDog]

I think that’s a great question about Ricky, but I don’t really understand what any of the athletes do for the money. I was pretty sure I heard last year that our NIL came up with something for CP3 (maybe a car?), but what did he do in return? That’s where it all gets confusing to me.

[Dan]

Pierre has already talked about "next year" so I think he's staying if IB is the HC. It's remarkable how much better he became as the season went progressed. I went from "never let that guy off the bench" to "what an unselfish pass by JPJ" over the course of a few months.

If Rogers and Walton stay I wonder if we see Walton play more at the 4 with JPJ at the 3 and Rogers at the 2.

I think Walton could play 4. He has the size and athleticism to be a really good stretch 4.