I heard we lead for the transfer portal in May 2023
September Recruiting
- Thread starter Fzacsattac
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I heard we lead for the transfer portal in May 2023
Technically we don't have any scholarships available for 2022-23 but as Lloyde notes that can (and almost certainly will) change. We could have as many as four and that doesn't include possible transfers or early draft entries.
We currently have 14 players. Two of those -- Aiken and Cale -- are "super seniors" and will be done after this season. We have one commitment in the younger Harris to presently leave us at 13 for 2022-23.
We have four seniors -- Harris, Obiagu, Rhoden and Yetna. Any and all who opt to return for 2022-23 count towards our 13 scholarship limit (which is why I say we technically don't have any available). I don't expect all four of them back but I would be surprised if none of them return for their extra year.
JD Tsasa. He has quite the story. Graduated high school at 16 and is a classically trained pianist. No clue if he’s actually any good at basketball, but he was prepping for the 2022 draft. https://usatodayhss.com/2019/j-d-tsasa-piano-basketball-chameleon-bx
That’s not stopping us from making offers or change the fact we’re not landing kids
It's not like we're not recruiting because we "don't" have any available scholarships. The additional year for players from last year is an another complication.
As for not landing kids, that's been an ongoing problem and concern.
I don’t mind.
Coming in 2nd or 3rd isn’t as bad anymore with the ease of transferring going forward.
As long as we get on a handful of top players final lists each year, we will be in good shape when they jump ship.
I think this is a bit of an oversimplification but I do think the staff feels confident that they will be able to use the transfer market to fill holes as needed.
Looks like over Auburn, Nebraska and us based on what I just saw on rivals. I get names mixed up all the time, but I thought this was the kid who is teammates with Saunders that we thought we were well positioned to land. That's a great get for Pitino.
| Looks like over Auburn, Nebraska and us based on what I just saw on rivals. I get names mixed up all the time, but I thought this was the kid who is teammates with Saunders that we thought we were well positioned to land. That's a great get for Pitino. |
I said it when Pitino landed there that give him a few years and he'll have Iona as a fixture in the sweet 16
Wouldn't surprise me. There are few more accomplished college coaches. Getting to the league from a smaller non-power conference isn't as hard as it used to be. And Pitino has the international experience and connections to sell too for kids whose ultimate horizon might be across-the-pond somewhere. The Iona's of the world still don't get the exposure that we or other power 5 schools get, but everyone is on TV and covered now to varying degrees, and Pitino himself draws coverage. I don't know how the NIL stuff plays into it for a school like Iona and what that might mean for prospective recruits, but if the message is to go play for a guy who knows how to get kids to the next level, there are only a handful of guys who have as much or more credibility than Pitino does. And we know he is a great coach, even if certain parents or advisors may have some character concerns with letting their kids play for him.
Let them win a game first. It's been 40 years since their only tournament victory.
Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams they've been higher than a 13 seed once and in recent years they've been a 15 or 16. Unless the MAAC improves as a conference, the league champ is going to have a top three seed waiting in the first round for the foreseeable future.
Only time Cluess really came close, as I recall, was when he had his best team (the Machado/Glover group), they were almost good enough to be ranked during the year, got upset in the conference tourney, but earned an at-large where they matched up with BYU. I believe they had a huge lead in that game only to give it up and lose (Cluess' teams always got shredded defensively by high majors).
Cluess had high major talent on that team -- Machado and Glover for sure, and I think even Armand could have played on BE rosters at some point (don't think he had MoMo yet). You are right that because the MAAC is "weak" the winner of that league is likely to face top seeds, diminishing the likelihood of winning a game or two. But I think the sentiment is that Pitino is going to land talented depth that even Cluess couldn't match.
Yes they were an at-large that year. Amazingly that BYU game was for the 14th seed. Typically the last at-large seed is either 11 or 12.
And, yes, your recall is spot on. They had a big lead and tossed it away in the second half. I remember watching that game at Bunny's as we had played an NIT game at Walsh that night.
Blew a 25 point lead. The largest in NCAA tournament history.
Had scored 55 points through the first 15 1/2 minutes of play and then scored only 17 the rest of the game. Ouch!!!
He's only been there 1 season. If he schedules a strong out of conference and dominates the MAAC they'll get a better seed. I see plenty of schools who get high national ranking which leads to high seed despite weak conferences.
I agree with everything you said except the character aspect. Most of these kids who are aiming at the next level could care less if they believe he can get them there.
The inevitable comparison is Gonzaga who plays in a far stronger league than the MAAC. According to the NET for 2020 the WCC was No. 9 and the MAAC No. 24
They made three straight Sweet 16s from 1998-99 to 2000-01 under Dan Monson for one year and then Mark Few the next two years. They then made two Sweet 16s from that point through 2013-14 despite almost always being seeded top eight in the tournament and often top four and they've never been lower than an 11 going back to 1999.
It isn't until recent years they have been a fixture, as you put it, in the Sweet 16.
Pitino will probably struggle to schedule because there's more risk than reward in scheduling a low major that might beat you. This year their non-conference games are Appalachian State, Harvard and Hofstra at home, neutral site games in Orlando against Liberty and North Alabama, a three-game tournament in Orlando with games against Alabama, either Belmont or Drake and then one of Dayton, Kansas, Miami and North Texas. They also play neutral site games with Yale at Barclays Center, SHU at MSG and Delaware at the new USB Arena.
I think Pitino will have success at Iona but at 69, I don't think he will be around long enough to build a power.
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