2023 Offseason

Meadows enters the transfer portal.

Michael Meadows from Portland tells me he is entering the transfer portal

He averaged 11.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, with 46.4/37.7/77.8 shooting splits

He had a 39 point game vs. Santa Clara (2/18) & was first player in program history to record a triple-double

https://twitter.com/tobias_bass/status/1632892549378584576

Understandable, but a great loss for the Pilots.

Sound Voltex wrote:Meadows enters the transfer portal.

I am told Mike, from Hollywood, has already heard from at least 15 D1 schools, including LMU.

DoubleDipper wrote:

Sound Voltex wrote:Meadows enters the transfer portal.

I am told Mike, from Hollywood, has already heard from at least 15 D1 schools, including LMU.

Arkansas
Boise St.
Loyola Chicago
Southern Utah
UC Riverside
Cal Baptist
Loyola Marymount
North Dakota
UMBC
Weber St.
Indiana St.
Utah Valley
+more

Abilene Christian, Elon, Alabama State, Georgia State, Nichols State, Liberty, Montana and Murray State have also contacted him.

https://twitter.com/247HSHoops/status/1633139721911107588
https://twitter.com/247HSHoops/status/1633139975288938498

Sound Voltex wrote:Boise St.

Sounds about right, the last guard we sent BSU is about to graduate.

@ThePortalReport wrote:Gardner-Webb transfer Anthony Selden (@AnthonySelden) tells TPR that he has received interest from over 15 programs including:

Richmond
FGCU
La Salle
Portland
Vermont

Averaged 11.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this season.

https://twitter.com/ThePortalReport/status/1633876964699410433

Memphis, Iowa, FAU, Chattanooga, and Portland have made contact with Wofford transfer BJ Mack.

https://twitter.com/TiptonEdits/status/1633996917662261248

St. Francis Brooklyn transfer Tedrick Wilcox Jr. tells TPR that he has received interest from over 20 schools including:

Clemson
Kansas State
Missouri
Wake Forest
Georgia
URI
Providence

Wilcox averaged 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last season!

Others:

Georgia St
St Bonnie’s
Chattanooga
Towson
Portland
Northern Illinois
Portland St
Radford
Delaware
Niagara
Buffalo
Seton Hall
Tarleton St
Richmond

https://twitter.com/ThePortalReport/status/1634200651348541446

Louisville’s Kamari Lands has officially entered the portal and has already heard from Dayton, Arkansas, St. John’s, Oregon State, LSU, and Portland, a source told @Stockrisers.

Had four 10+ point games after Feb. 1st. Former Top-30 recruit, will draw instant suitors, clearly.

https://twitter.com/jakeweingarten/status/1635300193246789638

Sound Voltex wrote:

Louisville’s Kamari Lands has officially entered the portal and has already heard from Dayton, Arkansas, St. John’s, Oregon State, LSU, and Portland, a source told @Stockrisers.

Had four 10+ point games after Feb. 1st. Former Top-30 recruit, will draw instant suitors, clearly.

In general, the biggest difference in this year's portal over those of the past is the amount of NIL money that is being thrown about and promised to kids for transferring.

A tough landscape for many mid-majors, including Portland, to operate in.

It's really difficult to compete against a school offering a young man to go to school and play basketball for 50-100k, plus a stipend. Most schools without NIL funds will probably languish in mediocrity, because once a player gains respectability in the conference he/she will be courted by the programs with deep pockets. I realize I'm stating the obvious, but it pains me to see college sports go in this direction. There must be a better and more equitable solution.

badcoverage wrote:It's really difficult to compete against a school offering a young man to go to school and play basketball for 50-100k, plus a stipend.

There's really no way to check the facts of this story, but I've been told that Texas Tech promised 6-11/245 Fardaws Aimaq $150,000 to transfer to Lubbock...and he did.

Now he's in the portal again.

DoubleDipper wrote:

badcoverage wrote:It's really difficult to compete against a school offering a young man to go to school and play basketball for 50-100k, plus a stipend.

There's really no way to check the facts of this story, but I've been told that Texas Tech promised 6-11/245 Fardaws Aimaq $150,000 to transfer to Lubbock...and he did.

Now he's in the portal again.

Wow. If that's true, this may go full blown pay-for-play. Today Texas, tomorrow California, and the next year...Kentucky. I would never fault a young person for taking advantage of an opportunity, but what does this say about the lack of foresight on behalf of the NCAA?

Finally, another really good WCC player in the portal besides UP's Mike Meadows...it's PU's starting point guard, sophomore Mike Mitchell, Jr.

Mitchell joins highly touted but rarely used sophomore PU guard, Majok Deng, in the portal.  Deng played only 32 minutes the entire season.

DoubleDipper wrote:There's really no way to check the facts of this story, but I've been told that Texas Tech promised 6-11/245 Fardaws Aimaq $150,000 to transfer to Lubbock...and he did.

I dug a little deeper into this with a couple of usually reliable sources, and was told that Aimaq did NOT play the first 16 games of the season at Texas Tech because he had not yet been paid the $150,000 he had been promised.

Once he was paid, he started every game after that...although it was not a good season by Red Raider standards (16-16).

Welcome to the future of college athletics. Every team can expect to lose at least 40-60 percent of their team each year. Building a traditional program, young men growing and achieving together has become an anomaly.

badcoverage wrote:Welcome to the future of college athletics. Every team can expect to lose at least 40-60 percent of their team each year. Building a traditional program, young men growing and achieving together has become an anomaly.

Had a very brief chat with the staff about guys in the portal they might be pursuing, and was told, "they are all looking for money."

Here's a question.  If a team is out of scholarships, it doesn't matter, correct?  If a player is given $$$, he can just use some of it to pay his own tuition as a walk-on, especially at a state school, right?

badcoverage wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:

badcoverage wrote:It's really difficult to compete against a school offering a young man to go to school and play basketball for 50-100k, plus a stipend.

There's really no way to check the facts of this story, but I've been told that Texas Tech promised 6-11/245 Fardaws Aimaq $150,000 to transfer to Lubbock...and he did.

Now he's in the portal again.

Wow. If that's true, this may go full blown pay-for-play. Today Texas, tomorrow California, and the next year...Kentucky. I would never fault a young person for taking advantage of an opportunity, but what does this say about the lack of foresight on behalf of the NCAA?    

Well, you can’t really blame the NCAA. They fought NIL in the courts and lost.

Ok, maybe you can. It really goes back to the early 1950’s when the NCAA came up with the phrase “student-athlete” to position themselves that players weren’t employees to avoid paying Workmen’s comp awards, then grated them as exactly that for 65+ years. They hardened that so much over years the courts took a second look.

Pepperdine's Carson Basham is in the portal.  

The 6-10/240 sophomore from AZ Compass Prep scored 18 and grabbed 9 rebounds in the infamous game against UP in Malibu in February.

Jalin Anderson, just a sophomore, and LMU's (usual) starting point guard is in the portal.

Jalin joins his LMU teammate, junior guard Kwane Marble, in the portal.

DoubleDipper wrote:Pepperdine's Carson Basham is in the portal.  

The 6-10/240 sophomore from AZ Compass Prep scored 18 and grabbed 9 rebounds in the infamous game against UP in Malibu in February.

Any chance Coach Pope could keep the Compass Prep pipeline flowing?

DoubleDipper wrote:Jalin Anderson, just a sophomore, and LMU's (usual) starting point guard is in the portal.

Jalin joins his LMU teammate, junior guard Kwane Marble, in the portal.

However,



Keli, from Melbourne, Australia, is a bit of a fan favorite in the WCC because of his tenacity and that great mullet hairstyle.