Transfer Portal 2023

[BCPanther]

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.

This is what I don't get. Zek is a really nice MVC player. He has a nice jumper and plays good defense. Any MVC team would be happy to have him. He was a starter for the team that won the MVC and had an opportunity to be the focal point of the offense next year. Every P6 roster has 3 or 4 guys just like him who can do what he does with more control and consistency. I don't say that to disparage his game, but it feels like he is a solid mid-major guy and at the correct level. How are we ever going to compete as a conference if we can't keep guys like this.

[BCPanther]

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.

This is what I don't get. Zek is a really nice MVC player. He has a nice jumper and plays good defense. Any MVC team would be happy to have him. He was a starter for the team that won the MVC and had an opportunity to be the focal point of the offense next year. Every P6 roster has 3 or 4 guys just like him who can do what he does with more control and consistency. I don't say that to disparage his game, but it feels like he is a solid mid-major guy and at the correct level. How are we ever going to compete as a conference if we can't keep guys like this.

We aren't and it's only going to get worse.

[tribecalledquest]

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.

This is what I don't get. Zek is a really nice MVC player. He has a nice jumper and plays good defense. Any MVC team would be happy to have him. He was a starter for the team that won the MVC and had an opportunity to be the focal point of the offense next year. Every P6 roster has 3 or 4 guys just like him who can do what he does with more control and consistency. I don't say that to disparage his game, but it feels like he is a solid mid-major guy and at the correct level. How are we ever going to compete as a conference if we can't keep guys like this.

You get one of those 3 or 4 guys per P6 team to transfer to you. There are a lot of players in the portal. Go get one.

[Bulldog4life24]

You start playing the portal right. There’s a ton of players leaving, and there’s a ton of good players to build around and/or fill in holes.

You also build your program so guys who are contributors want to stay. There’s other MM leagues/teams doing this.

[bradley_townie]

You start playing the portal right. There’s a ton of players leaving, and there’s a ton of good players to build around and/or fill in holes.

You also build your program so guys who are contributors want to stay. There’s other MM leagues/teams doing this.

Sure, but all the shuffling around means more time for coaches to figure out rosters and rotations. Not ideal when you are trying to build an at-large resume in November and December. P5 schools have all year to figure it out and will get plenty of Q1 and Q2 opportunities along the way. There is a real advantage for mid-majors in having an experienced group where guys know their role and each other early on in the season.

[tribecalledquest]

You start playing the portal right. There’s a ton of players leaving, and there’s a ton of good players to build around and/or fill in holes.

You also build your program so guys who are contributors want to stay. There’s other MM leagues/teams doing this.

Right.

Bradley loses one player people thought would be back and it’s the end of the Earth. And when backup PG Pop Weathers entered the portal everyone was happy because that was a scholarship to use.

There are so many good players out there. Win in the portal more than you lose. God Forbid things be competitive for coaches.

[FunchessonPopcorn]

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.

With 24 hours of hindsight, it’s obvious to me that’s exactly what this was. Wardle knew where things were trending with Zek, and decided to say in public what he was saying in private, to make sure the message was clear. And Zek made his decision.

[FunchessonPopcorn]

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.

Zek is a loss. To distill the situation to basic terms, failure for Zek in the portal would amount to him landing somewhere in conference. Jayson Kent’s best case scenario, who was moved out for Zek, was him landing somewhere in conference.

Zek is a pretty good example of how fans viewpoints can diverge when there is the most likely scenario, and there is a the best case scenario, and the 2 are pretty far apart. For Zek, in my view, the best case scenario might be extremely unlikely, but it is tantalizing. I don’t pretend to know the full background in reality, but the narrative spun in media is that he truly fell through the cracks in recruiting, Bradley saw him as a great piece to add as a late scholly, because the best case scenario was worth it. And it was.

He was raw, and completely unreliable defensively as a freshman. He showed up huge in a win vs Loyola, and gained a little more and more responsibility as the year went along. As a sophomore, he progressed from utterly unreliable on defense to uneven. He made plays with athleticism on defense a little more often. He made plays defensively late in tight games more often too. Getting to that level defensively let him play more often, and then he showed up and delivered a huge win in a desperation game vs Indiana St. He shot 3’s over 40%, and he has some athleticism too.

So, that’s a real nice progression for a player that was fringy recruit 2 years ago. Zek had a reliable role, and a system that was delivering development with that opportunity he was getting. He was going to get a little more responsibility next year. I’m pretty sure, but not absolutely, that he is going to get that offer that makes this look worth it. I’m not sure at all that offer he gets will give him the same opportunity and responsibility he’ll have had at Bradley. The most likely scenario is that he falls a little short of being able to continue that progression, and doesn’t grow beyond that 3rd option that sometimes wins you games you shouldn’t win and sometimes loses you games you shouldn’t lose.

However, that best case scenario is tantalizing. Which is why I think he’ll get that offer. He might be surprised at the short leash he will get, but if he hits the ground running he’d be fine. The cliche “betting on yourself” could mean taking the offer, and all that implies, now and trusting you’ll step up and be better for it. Or it could mean foregoing that now, and staying with the program that was there initially and making your mark there. It’s a matter of perspective.

I think there will be a snapback on this trend. I’d rather Wardle not bemoan the landscape to the press. I am more concerned about Wardle’s comments to Zek leaving, than Zek leaving in itself. The situation is what it is. You have to make really good talent evaluation decisions in the portal. If Zek takes the highest offer, and gets bounced in that rotation, he’s pretty much boned at that stage. That’s Zek’s deal now. Wardle can’t waste a second on that. He needs to find the replacement.

[tribecalledquest]

Great stuff Funchess.

Complaining about it publicly serves absolutely zero purpose.

[BruinGrad]

Freshman Braxton Stacker has entered the portal from Murray State.