2026 Transfer Portal

[TallTitan34]

Someone is dropping $2-3 million on a player that I've just been told wasn't even a top 50 recruit and won't be good for another 2-3 years?
That feels like cope.

What if someone is dropping an amount higher than proven players on our roster? 

[jfp61]

Someone is dropping $2-3 million on a player that I've just been told wasn't even a top 50 recruit and won't be good for another 2-3 years?
That feels like cope.

Someone is stupid

[warriors141]

Imagine dropping a huge bag on a redshirt freshman who hasn't played a game. I mean if he was a phenom you think he would have played last year? Teams are spending money like a teenage girl with a credit card, wonder how long this lasts

[Uncle Rico]

Someone is stupid

That's the modern landscape.  K-State went all in on the model overpaying and went bust.  Michigan went all in and went boom. 

[Badgerhater]

There are a lot of folks here speaking definitively with what happened. So what happened?

One does not use facts and accurate information on a message board.

[Shooter McGavin]

What if someone is dropping an amount higher than proven players on our roster? 

This is where talent evaluation comes in.  An unproven player can still be worth it.  If he was eating people alive in practice ala Wade in 2001 then you pay the man.  Every player on the team would understand. 

This was likely not the case or Shaka would have been stupid not to pull the red shirt last year.  He likely was not dominating in practice and 2-3 mil was not worth it.  Hopefully Shaka and staff are right on this one. 

[Uncle Rico]

Imagine dropping a huge bag on a redshirt freshman who hasn't played a game. I mean if he was a phenom you think he would have played last year? Teams are spending money like a teenage girl with a credit card, wonder how long this lasts

I'd say not long but teams have been spending stupid money for years on talent (yes, even before NIL) and coming up bust.

Ultimately, the NCAA and its member institutions are to blame for not having a plan in place despite decades of knowing this was coming and continuing to bury their heads in the sand waiting for the federal government to fix things.  Rudderless leadership.

[Billy Hoyle]

Or, Sheek is getting a number that exceeds what everyone else on the roster is getting.

I have a suspicion it might be Sheek's hometown school, which has a massive NIL budget and will have him start day one.

That said, I want MU to expose the parties involved. The NCAA does take tampering seriously (they just hit Iowa football, UCLA Cross Country got hit, SMU swimming, etc) but it's up to the schools to report it. Any contact with anyone involved with a player (parent, family, former coach, AGENT) is impermissible contact. MU can't sit back and

[Pakuni]

It's not that black and white. They had an agreement in place. Likely someone came in and offered a bunch more - an offer that Marquette wasn't willing to match, not because they don't have the money, but because it would screw up their whole compensation structure. So they said "good luck."

I've read here for the past six months how there really is no compensation structure and that the best and most important players would get paid the most, regardless of class or anything else. And that players who have underperformed would even face pay cuts or be asked to take no pay at all.

Now I'm being told there is a compensation structure that requires such slavish devotion that the staff apparently has to face the prospect of running back Hamilton and/or Clark as key rotational players, even if the resources are readily to prevent that.

[Uncle Rico]

I have a suspicion it might be Sheek's hometown school, which has a massive NIL budget and will have him start day one.

That said, I want MU to expose the parties involved. The NCAA does take tampering seriously (they just hit Iowa football, UCLA Cross Country got hit, SMU swimming, etc) but it's up to the schools to report it. Any contact with anyone involved with a player (parent, family, former coach, AGENT) is impermissible contact. MU can't sit back and

I'm willing to bet Marquette tampered with Minessale. 

[Uncle Rico]

I've read here for the past six months how there really is no compensation structure and that the best and most important players would get paid the most, regardless of class or anything else. And that players who have underperformed would even face pay cuts or be asked to take no pay at all.

Now I'm being told there is a compensation structure that requires such slavish devotion that the staff apparently has to face the prospect of running back Hamilton and/or Clark as key rotational players, even if the resources are readily to prevent that.

Check your DMs

[#UnleashThePortal]

There are a lot of folks here speaking definitively with what happened. So what happened?

Scoop already doing a coping mechanism? What's the "story" this time?

[#UnleashThePortal]

Check your DMs

No no, feed the drama

[Scoop Snoop]

There are a lot of folks here speaking definitively with what happened. So what happened?

Exactly! Nobody knows. We are speculating. My favorite is that he is going to SLU, but that's of course a guess. To me, the ones involving Hamilton and Clark are ummm..... interesting. 

[Uncle Rico]

Scoop already doing a coping mechanism? What's the "story" this time?

I'm not sure I see coping.  I see an acknowledgement this sucks and speculation.

[The Sultan]

I have a suspicion it might be Sheek's hometown school, which has a massive NIL budget and will have him start day one.

That said, I want MU to expose the parties involved. The NCAA does take tampering seriously (they just hit Iowa football, UCLA Cross Country got hit, SMU swimming, etc) but it's up to the schools to report it. Any contact with anyone involved with a player (parent, family, former coach, AGENT) is impermissible contact. MU can't sit back and

Oh this is so adorable.

I'm willing to bet Marquette tampered with Minessale.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind this is the case.

[Galway Eagle]

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind this is the case.

Does it count if Shaka asked his cousin to reach out to him?

[The Sultan]

I've read here for the past six months how there really is no compensation structure and that the best and most important players would get paid the most, regardless of class or anything else. And that players who have underperformed would even face pay cuts or be asked to take no pay at all.

Now I'm being told there is a compensation structure that requires such slavish devotion that the staff apparently has to face the prospect of running back Hamilton and/or Clark as key rotational players, even if the resources are readily to prevent that.

This isn't really that hard.

A-level employee Fran makes $250,000
B-level employee Stan makes $200,000

Stan goes out and gets an offer for $300,000 and says he will stay if I match. I could match. I have the money despite the fact I have a couple of administrative assistants making $75,000. But then I know that I would have to deal with an "unfair" compensation arrangement...or increase Fran to $350,000. And frankly Stan isn't worth that anyway. I can use that money to find a replacement and increase Fran in the process.

So I say good luck to Stan.

[Billy Hoyle]

Oh this is so adorable.


There is absolutely no doubt in my mind this is the case.

Did Minnessale have a no-contact designation on his portal entry?

[The Sultan]

Did Minnessale have a no-contact designation on his portal entry?

If you think the first time anyone from Marquette talked to anyone associated with NM was after he was in the portal, I have a very nice bridge to sell you.

[MUBurrow]

I've read here for the past six months how there really is no compensation structure and that the best and most important players would get paid the most, regardless of class or anything else. And that players who have underperformed would even face pay cuts or be asked to take no pay at all.

Now I'm being told there is a compensation structure that requires such slavish devotion that the staff apparently has to face the prospect of running back Hamilton and/or Clark as key rotational players, even if the resources are readily to prevent that.

I don't know anything about anything, but the first paragraph would make no sense to me except for schools that plan to turn over more than 50% of their roster each year. Shaka is clearly changing his approach to the portal, but I still wouldn't expect MU to to be more active than a couple losses/adds each year. He's also a bit beam sea after recruiting on RGV, so I would guess that his adapted RGV messaging involves an established compensation structure - even if he reserves the right to deviate for obvious upgrades. If he didn't think Sheek warranted a deviation from that, I wouldn't call it slavish.

[Billy Hoyle]

If you think the first time anyone from Marquette talked to anyone associated with NM was after he was in the portal, I have a very nice bridge to sell you.

then St. Thomas can ask the NCAA to report MU.

But why didn't he have a no contact designation when Sheek does?

[The Sultan]

then St. Thomas can ask the NCAA to report MU.

But why didn't he have a no contact designation when Sheek does?

I never said there was an agreement in place between Marquette and NM prior to him being in the portal.

And Sheek has that designation because he likely has such an agreement in place.

[jfp61]

That's the modern landscape.  K-State went all in on the model overpaying and went bust.  Michigan went all in and went boom. 

Michigan didn't pay freshman who didn't play last year.

Michigan payed very good players who had played limited minutes and performed well on the court.

[Pakuni]

This isn't really that hard.

A-level employee Fran makes $250,000
B-level employee Stan makes $200,000

Stan goes out and gets an offer for $300,000 and says he will stay if I match. I could match. I have the money despite the fact I have a couple of administrative assistants making $75,000. But then I know that I would have to deal with an "unfair" compensation arrangement...or increase Fran to $350,000. And frankly Stan isn't worth that anyway. I can use that money to find a replacement and increase Fran in the process.

So I say good luck to Stan.

This happens all the time in professional sports (and that's obviously what this is now).

Aaron Judge isn't the highest-paid Yankee. Jalen Brunson isn't the highest-paid Knick (neither is KAT or Bridges). Connor McDavid isn't the highest-paid Oiler.
Timing and market forces matter.

If you want to make the case that Sheek isn't worth whatever it is you think he's getting, to the point that you're good without him, I'm listening. But if the claim is that they didn't match because they had to abide by an arbitrary "structure," then that's a silly way to operate.