Transfer Portal 2023

[tribecalledquest]

Wardle said on a recent radio interview that once a Bradley guy enters the portal, they are done at BU and would not allow them to "weigh their options" and later return. He even went as far as comparing his relationship to his players as a kind of marriage where if they enter the portal, it is similar to cheating on your spouse and then asking to come back.

I can see that line of thinking where you don't want guys to enter the portal to just see how much NIL money they could get and have that gray area of whether you need to fill a scholarship or not.

How are other MVC coaches handling this?

LOL.... I hope Rienk Mast calls Wardle next week and says "Coach, I want to have one more run at Bradley."

Yeah. I didn’t understand that comment at all. If Mast called to come back he would be welcomed back with open arms.

[BuBrave2006]

Wardle said on a recent radio interview that once a Bradley guy enters the portal, they are done at BU and would not allow them to "weigh their options" and later return. He even went as far as comparing his relationship to his players as a kind of marriage where if they enter the portal, it is similar to cheating on your spouse and then asking to come back.

I can see that line of thinking where you don't want guys to enter the portal to just see how much NIL money they could get and have that gray area of whether you need to fill a scholarship or not.

How are other MVC coaches handling this?

LOL.... I hope Rienk Mast calls Wardle next week and says "Coach, I want to have one more run at Bradley."

Yeah. I didn’t understand that comment at all. If Mast called to come back he would be welcomed back with open arms.

I mean Mast sure, obviously Bradley would take him back. I think this comment is aimed more towards players that are more mid tier. If someone like Christian Davis or Darius Hannah entered the portal "just to see what interest" they had, then if I was Wardle I would immediately take that as the mindset of that they are no longer part of the team. Are they good players that I would want back? Sure. But I am not going to reserve a spot for them when they are out searching for better opportunities that may or may not be there just because they feel like they can.

Granted, most situations where players enter the portal aren't going to involve players returning to the school so it doesn't really matter and Bradley sees both sides of it this year. Rienk Mast is leaving and will receive a better opportunity and won't come back because he is going to get one. Pop Weathers is leaving to seek more playing time and won't come back because he won't get the playing time he wants at Bradley.

[BEARZ77]

The problem I have with guys entering the portal is some of the reasoning around why it's good . Not arguing against it, just feel like some of the justifications are bs; I'm more of a call what it is , don't sugar coat it, and get going on acceptance of a new reality.

Two of the things I hate hearing is " the coaches do it" , and " you gotta do what's best for you" as if that decision is made in a vacuum that doesn't impact others. The manner in which many coaches leave a program, deceive recruits & fan bases, and generally conduct their movements around making a move is despicable ; emulating that is hardly an admiral quality for athletes. I've yet to grasp how some of them preach the team aspects they do and then casually dismiss those values latter when it suits . The same for players; yes it is an individual decision and I'll always support the right to make it, but just because we have freedoms doesn't make them "right". I've watched whole teams that were built over 2-3 years, destroyed in a day on the portal, and the other 8-10 players who made their decisions based on what the team looked like the day before, are left wafting in the wind. Team sports have now become individual workouts within a group setting for many athletes. So many traditional values of sport , now just tired cliches.

Again, not saying players shouldn't be able to transfer ; just saying the justifications are often the very antithesis of what team sports are supposed to be about. And saying coaches do it, just further clarifies what has gone wrong.

[bradley_townie]

I mean Mast sure, obviously Bradley would take him back. I think this comment is aimed more towards players that are more mid tier. If someone like Christian Davis or Darius Hannah entered the portal "just to see what interest" they had, then if I was Wardle I would immediately take that as the mindset of that they are no longer part of the team. Are they good players that I would want back? Sure. But I am not going to reserve a spot for them when they are out searching for better opportunities that may or may not be there just because they feel like they can.

Granted, most situations where players enter the portal aren't going to involve players returning to the school so it doesn't really matter and Bradley sees both sides of it this year. Rienk Mast is leaving and will receive a better opportunity and won't come back because he is going to get one. Pop Weathers is leaving to seek more playing time and won't come back because he won't get the playing time he wants at Bradley.

It's an easy thing for Wardle to say because there is 0 chance Mast is coming back, and same thing with Terry last year. Rienk said himself that he wanted to play P6 competition more than 5-6 times a year and can't get that at Bradley. And the fact that he's going to get a bag doesn't hurt.

[So iLL 24]

Zek Montgomery gone for Bradley

[BuBrave2006]

Zek Montgomery gone for Bradley

Zek is honestly the perfect example Wardle might have been talking about. We love him, we want him to stay, but as soon as you go to the portal, you're on your own. I love Zek but he's not good enough right now that I would take him back after he decided to go and look for better options.

[tribecalledquest]

Zek Montgomery gone for Bradley

Zek is honestly the perfect example Wardle might have been talking about. We love him, we want him to stay, but as soon as you go to the portal, you're on your own. I love Zek but he's not good enough right now that I would take him back after he decided to go and look for better options.

There is the Zek many Bradley fans think he is - and the Zek that is the reality.

He’s a nice player. He’s fine. He’s also the type of original recruit that I didn’t like in the first place (played all over in HS. Prep schools, etc). The general track record of those guys in the MVC level isn’t good.

I never bought into the Zek hype - but he was a nice piece to the team. 100 of him out there in the portal.

[BCPanther]

These kids do realize that there are only 1040 P6 scholarships out there, right?

I mean, I like Montgomery as a guy that can be a borderline All Valley player in the future but where does he go that greatly improves his stock?

If Leons ends up moving on, Bradley goes from a team that was going to be in the mix to a rebuild again. This can't keep happening to our league.

[MissouriValleyUnite]

Winning doesn’t seem to be a huge deterrant to key players transferring. Win the MVC title, have a raucous 10.4k+ sellout on national television, and key players transfer anyway.

[So iLL 24]

Zek Montgomery gone for Bradley

Zek is honestly the perfect example Wardle might have been talking about. We love him, we want him to stay, but as soon as you go to the portal, you're on your own. I love Zek but he's not good enough right now that I would take him back after he decided to go and look for better options.

Wild take IMO.....