(04-02-2021 10:22 AM)NorthCoast Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 06:27 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 06:17 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 04:59 PM)NorthCoast Wrote:  

(04-01-2021 03:41 PM)Big Red Wrote:  Alright...since the question was posed earlier and I included Cochran in my starting 5...I guess I have to make an adjustment since that comment didn't age well AT ALL.

So, I just have to put in Beane.

G - Trendon Hankerson
G - Keshawn Williams
G - Darius Beane
F - Zool Kueth
F/C - Adong Makuoi/Kingsley Okanu

I'm really not looking forward to the day when I am forced to put Crump in to the starting lineup...

Needless to say, with two guys already committed (an incoming freshman and sophomore) and 5 more spots to fill, this is going to become Coach Burno's team a lot faster than it initially appeared. As it stands, NIU will be returning 7 players (8 if you count Kamron Battle). So, if we're going with an 8 count, 3 of those players are walk-ons (Battle, Hankerson, Beane).

The roster is getting real thin. On one hand, that's exciting. On the other..it's also frightening. Granted, I highly doubt Crump, Makuoi, or Okanu are going anywhere. Kueth is probably not being courted by anyone either.

Hankerson and Beane can do whatever they want as walk-ons and with the coaching staff still up in the air, I'd say Beane is about 50/50 in whether or not he stays. Hankerson will probably just stick around to finish his degree.

Actually, maybe Hankerson and/or Beane get scholarships at this point. I could see one of them getting one at the very least. I mean, I'd probably rather have Hankerson on the team than some transfer and, considering we're still NIU, I can't assume I'll be as excited about all of the recruits this year like I was Kon.

Anyway...like I keep saying, things are going to be interesting for the next couple of weeks.

Are you sure Beane isn’t on scholarship already? Verbal Commits has him listed as a scholarship player.

Yeah, I know. But I'm 99.9% confident he's not on scholarship. The math doesn't work if he's not.

Not sure Beane requires a scholarship as long as his dad remains on the coaching staff. As I recall, at one time, the children of university employees attended tuition free and, obviously, he would have the option to live at home. Not sure if that is still true. Does anyone know?

Edit. Found some information on the internet. It looks like his Dad’s time at SIU was transferable and he would qualify for a 50% tuition waiver. I wouldn’t think they would burn a scholarship for the remaining 50%, so I would think he is NOT on scholarship by design.

Cost savings. On the books as a full scholarship ride but Athletics (or Athletics’ budget) is just paying half the cost while this “University Employee’s children” fund picks up the the other half.

Not that it really matters. It’s smart actually, considering Beane is a legit D-I player.

I understand the cost savings, however, you are burning a valuable scholarship slot for very limited additional financial benefit to the player. I would think it would make more sense to use it for another player. I suppose it depends on which side of the table you sit.