2025 Transfer Portal

[The Sultan]

Come on now Tower.  Those are the 2 examples you want to use?  All they cared about was the money.  Two of the most selfish collegiate players in the game.  You can throw in Hawkins in your example as well and I am sure quite a few more.

How about LJ Cryer and JT Toppin as examples.  Both look like great investments.  I think both would have made us significantly better.

Do transfers guarantee success?  No but with Shaka's hard stance on the matter, he is either going to look like a genius or a stubborn coach that game has passed by. 

I like his philosophy as a fan.  I prefer players who are around 3-4 years instead of having a huge roster turnover every year.  But to completely ignore the portal when you have an opportunity to make your team better could a foolish decision on his part.  Next year will be very telling.

I guess when transfers are bad, they are considered "selfish," but when they are good it is a "great investment."

[tower912]

Big Papi, as you say, nearly every other team has been active in the portal.  Has it worked out well for all of them?  I don't think it can be argued that it has.   
  MU is a unicorn.  That has gone 79-26 the last 3 seasons.  Who does Shaka need to apologize to?

[Viper]

Big Papi, as you say, nearly every other team has been active in the portal.  Has it worked out well for all of them?  I don't think it can be argued that it has.   
  MU is a unicorn.  That has gone 79-26 the last 3 seasons.  Who does Shaka need to apologize to?

79-26 is great. BE and BE tourney champions. Two consecutive 2-seeds in the ncaa. But so-so success, imo, in the ncaa, which is what folks primarily care about. If Marquette avoids the portal, makes the ncaa every year but is pretty much out on the first weekend, are you ok with that? Or, take on some transfers and more often than not play second weekends? No wrong answer, just curious of your take. (I know you know mine)

[Newsdreams]

Again Shaka isn't ignoring the portal, he will use if necessary, but won't go for a player whose main request is $$$$

[cheebs09]

79-26 is great. BE and BE tourney champions. Two consecutive 2-seeds in the ncaa. But so-so success, imo, in the ncaa, which is what folks primarily care about. If Marquette avoids the portal, makes the ncaa every year but is pretty much out on the first weekend, are you ok with that? Or, take on some transfers and more often than not play second weekends? No wrong answer, just curious of your take. (I know you know mine)

Is the portal going to help us make open shots? I'm not so sure. Our Achilles heel the last two tournaments has seemed to be good shooters going ice cold.

To say that the tournament shows our non-transfer strategy is not working kind of feels like grasping at straws. We have another topic here showing how Shaka is one of 3 MU coaches to make the tourney 4 years in a row.

[The Sultan]

79-26 is great. BE and BE tourney champions. Two consecutive 2-seeds in the ncaa. But so-so success, imo, in the ncaa, which is what folks primarily care about. If Marquette avoids the portal, makes the ncaa every year but is pretty much out on the first weekend, are you ok with that? Or, take on some transfers and more often than not play second weekends? No wrong answer, just curious of your take. (I know you know mine)

The bolded is quite the assumption.

[tower912]

79-26 is great. BE and BE tourney champions. Two consecutive 2-seeds in the ncaa. But so-so success, imo, in the ncaa, which is what folks primarily care about. If Marquette avoids the portal, makes the ncaa every year but is pretty much out on the first weekend, are you ok with that? Or, take on some transfers and more often than not play second weekends? No wrong answer, just curious of your take. (I know you know mine)

4 years, 4 tourneys.  Over the first 3 seasons, winning one more game than the previous season. It would be fun if it continued.

Other than Buzz's three year run, when in the last 45 years has MU ever been about more than getting in and seeing what happens?  Crean caught lightning in a bottle with Wade. 
Never to be repeated.  Most teams, most programs are like that.  How many Big 10 teams have won a title this millennium?  How many titles has Gonzaga won? 

If MU keeps averaging 25 wins a season with Shaka doing it his way, I will be over the moon.   

[Hards Alumni]

Is the portal going to help us make open shots? I'm not so sure. Our Achilles heel the last two tournaments has seemed to be good shooters going ice cold.

To say that the tournament shows our non-transfer strategy is not working kind of feels like grasping at straws. We have another topic here showing how Shaka is one of 3 MU coaches to make the tourney 4 years in a row.

QFT

[Big Papi]

I guess when transfers are bad, they are considered "selfish," but when they are good it is a "great investment."

AJ Storr is a hired gun.  3 years, 3 different programs.  Had success last year at Wisconsin and bailed for more money.  Yes very selfish.  Hunter is a tool and always was.  I wouldn't want him at MU if he gave us $2 million.

[The Sultan]

AJ Storr is a hired gun.  3 years, 3 different programs.  Had success last year at Wisconsin and bailed for more money.  Yes very selfish.  Hunter is a tool and always was.  I wouldn't want him at MU if he gave us $2 million.

As I said...

[Big Papi]

Big Papi, as you say, nearly every other team has been active in the portal.  Has it worked out well for all of them?  I don't think it can be argued that it has.   
  MU is a unicorn.  That has gone 79-26 the last 3 seasons.  Who does Shaka need to apologize to?

Who is asking for an apology?

Why does everything have to be extremes?

Nothing is 100%.

We used the portal, we got better.  We stopped using portal and now things seem to maybe be trending the wrong way in my eyes.

I applaud Shaka for sticking to what he believes.  He is definitely staking his coaching reputation on it.  I really hope it works out. 

And that's great that we have gone 79-26 the last 3 years.  Great 3 years but the past doesn't mean the future will be the same or better.  Could our record have been better if we brought in 1 transfer player for this year?  Maybe, maybe not.  We did have an obvious weaknesses heading into this year and some question marks.  Coach decided to remain status quo and not address it.  Maybe it was the right move, maybe not.  It is ok to question it.

I'm going to enjoy the rest of this season and hope it doesn't end tonight. 

It's not easy.  I get it.  I hope coach gets it right.

[Pakuni]

But going forward, whenever I read someone say MU has to spend huge on an aircraft carrier, I will think of Ballo at IU and Dickinson at Kansas and how they made the team and program better.

Are you the under the mistaken impression that KU would have been better without Dickinson or IU would have been better without Ballo?

[Hards Alumni]

Are you the under the mistaken impression that KU would have been better without Dickinson or IU would have been better without Ballo?

Oh no, don't look up how much better KU performed last night with Dickinson on the bench.

[Pakuni]

Oh no, don't look up how much better KU performed last night with Dickinson on the bench.

Ah, one game. Good point.

[Hards Alumni]

Ah, one game. Good point.

Yes, it was a joke.

[1SE]

Who is asking for an apology?

Why does everything have to be extremes?

Nothing is 100%.

We used the portal, we got better.  We stopped using portal and now things seem to maybe be trending the wrong way in my eyes.

I applaud Shaka for sticking to what he believes.  He is definitely staking his coaching reputation on it.  I really hope it works out. 

And that's great that we have gone 79-26 the last 3 years.  Great 3 years but the past doesn't mean the future will be the same or better.  Could our record have been better if we brought in 1 transfer player for this year?  Maybe, maybe not.  We did have an obvious weaknesses heading into this year and some question marks.  Coach decided to remain status quo and not address it.  Maybe it was the right move, maybe not.  It is ok to question it.

I'm going to enjoy the rest of this season and hope it doesn't end tonight. 

It's not easy.  I get it.  I hope coach gets it right.

The Cult of Shaka (CoS) abides no nuance. You either think that Shaka is the greatest thing that has ever happened to any basketball program, anywhere, ever, or you are an "eeyore" who can't enjoy basketball and fandom and lives a miserable existence.

[The Sultan]

Are you the under the mistaken impression that KU would have been better without Dickinson or IU would have been better without Ballo?

Regarding Dickinson...maybe? Not because Dickinson performed poorly by any means, although he certainly didn't take much of a leap from his days at Michigan, but bringing in a "big transfer" could have altered the offense or defense that Self usually runs, or caused locker room issues or something similar.

The team had its two worst seasons under Self the two seasons he was on the team. I don't know if any of us can state that this was causation or mere correlation.

[willie warrior]

79-26 is great. BE and BE tourney champions. Two consecutive 2-seeds in the ncaa. But so-so success, imo, in the ncaa, which is what folks primarily care about. If Marquette avoids the portal, makes the ncaa every year but is pretty much out on the first weekend, are you ok with that? Or, take on some transfers and more often than not play second weekends? No wrong answer, just curious of your take. (I know you know mine)

Fill the roster from varied sources
Must get bangers and consistent 3 point shooters

[Not all scoop users are created equal apparently]

Big Papi, as you say, nearly every other team has been active in the portal.  Has it worked out well for all of them?  I don't think it can be argued that it has.   
  MU is a unicorn.  That has gone 79-26 the last 3 seasons.  Who does Shaka need to apologize to?

Marquette's lack of naval air superiority

[Markusquette]

I don't see any problem with bringing on even just one transfer each year to fill in gaps and improve the team. There has been plenty of discussion throughout conference play surrounding MU's collapse and other teams (integrating transfers) starting to fire on all cylinders. It will be interesting to see if Shaka sticks to his plan or adds some more talent in the transfer market. Tonight's game may play a part in that too.

[MU82]

The Cult of Shaka (CoS) abides no nuance. You either think that Shaka is the greatest thing that has ever happened to any basketball program, anywhere, ever, or you are an "eeyore" who can't enjoy basketball and fandom and lives a miserable existence.

Good thing there's no Cult of Shaka on Scoop. There are those of us who trust what Shaka is doing re building his program because so far it has been successful; and most of us say that if it proves to be unsuccessful, Shaka will need to change his stance on transfers.

But nice try, Eeyore!

Is the portal going to help us make open shots? I'm not so sure.

I mean, I guess if Shaka brought in some transfers who are proven great 3-point shooters, it very well might.

Then again, Kam Jones was a proven great 3-point shooter before this season, and David Joplin was a proven good one.

[Pakuni]

Regarding Dickinson...maybe? Not because Dickinson performed poorly by any means, although he certainly didn't take much of a leap from his days at Michigan, but bringing in a "big transfer" could have altered the offense or defense that Self usually runs, or caused locker room issues or something similar.

The team had its two worst seasons under Self the two seasons he was on the team. I don't know if any of us can state that this was causation or mere correlation.

If you're saying Dickinson is part of a poorly constructed roster, I agree with that. If you're saying that the same roster would fare better with some replacement-level guy in there instead, that's got "Are the Cowboys better without Dak?" vibes.

Kansas' issues, IMO, seem to revolve around a large number of recruiting misses and a group of players that don't play well together.

[tower912]

Are you the under the mistaken impression that KU would have been better without Dickinson or IU would have been better without Ballo?

I disagree with your premise.  I watched 20ish IU games this season.  IU was at their worst when Woodson played Ballo and Reneau together.  Both operated the best in the same space.  And neither could guard in the perimeter.  Think a combination of Theo/Garcia and Otule/Gardner.  IU was at their best with one on the bench playing 4 out. Since ultimately IU missed the tourney and Woodson is out, I am comfortable saying Ballo did not make IU better.

[The Sultan]

If you're saying Dickinson is part of a poorly constructed roster, I agree with that. If you're saying that the same roster would fare better with some replacement-level guy in there instead, that's got "Are the Cowboys better without Dak?" vibes.

Kansas' issues, IMO, seem to revolve around a large number of recruiting misses and a group of players that don't play well together.

So you don't think a team with a poorly constructed roster might be better with someone else on that roster?

And basketball isn't football. Very different comparison with Dak.

[MU82]

Obviously, Ejiofor is nowhere near the same player he was at Kansas, where he was largely a garbage-time-only freshman. But I'm guessing Self would take today's Ejiofor over today's Dickinson if he magically could have made it happen.

Caveat: These speculation discussions are filled with impossible-to-prove stuff, including what I just said in that paragraph.