(04-03-2020 04:45 PM)emu79 Wrote: Chris Barnes is transferring out
That one is going to leave a mark! As a freshman, I thought he showed more potential than McAdoo our last promising four year guard recruit.
The NCAA and MAC are not same as when we went to EMU. The best recruiting schools Duke, Kansas and Kentucky last won a championship five years ago. Despite getting the best players, the one and done stars don't get you the trophy. Michael Jordan does not spend four years in school anymore.
Four of the best players in the MAC are in the transfer portal. Turner from BG, El-Amin from BSU as well as Flowers and Johnson in Kzoo. A great MAC player like Jaaron Simmons from Ohio will leave for Michigan and be a bench player for the chance to play in front of 10K fans and the possibility of becoming a Big Ten starter.
I used to pound on Murphy for his penchant to recruit JUCO guys. I was WRONG. His two prized HS recruits, Thompson and Lee had too much baggage for the larger programs, and the transfer portal was non-existent or they would have transferred as well.
I've learned two lessons here. First, DO NOT ever red-shirt a player in MAC BB. Why pay the four years of scholarship of a guy who can grad transfer in his final year. Second, pursue a good JUCO guy over a potentially talented HS kid, a Grant Long will realize who he is and be gone after a year or two. The JUCO guy will require little development and while he does not have the upside of a Grant Long, he has a more defined period of contribution.
I don't like it at all, but it is what it is. I will still enjoy EMU basketball but it is obvious that the MAC will no longer be relevant on the national stage.