Game 2: Richmond

[kochrab]

One thing I can count on with this forum is a bunch of doomsday talk. I thought we played well. The shots just weren’t falling. I definitely believe in this team and know those will be dropping far more often during most of our games.

I really think there's a lot of football runoff into the basketball world... This is a whole new realm. There's so much to be hopeful for with this team. We're a really, really young team and there are many bright spots.

[BCPanther]

You can be an apologist all you want, but not bringing in portal talent in 2022 is crazy for a mid major program. Zero reason we couldn't attract a guard that could give us 20-25 minutes a night to help take some of the scoring ease off of Bowen. Adapt or get left in the dust. This team will be lucky to finish in the top half of the Valley (and tonight doesn't change that, I've believed that before tonight)

I agree. I think we should be more like Missouri State and Illinois State with all the awesome success they've had. Look at all the former 3 and 4 star recruits they've had.

Two of the last 3 titles with teams full of guys we recruited out of high school. Time to completely blow it up and start letting Rivals and 247 do all of our recruiting for us. I wish Jake was as good as Dana and Dan Muller.

[PantherAlum09]

Man. The first half was so good. This team is good on defense. Truly. They are better than last year. We just could not make a shot at all. Brutal around the rim and from outside.

I will say, the post is going to be an issue with bigger teams. We just don’t have the size to compete down low. Even if Henry was healthy, we still don’t have it. Think back to when we had Koch and Dahl. That is what we are missing. This team is young and most of the guys have barely played, so there will be growing pains. However, I still absolutely love the potential of this team. Campbell is quickly becoming one of my favorites if he takes it easy on those long jumpers. He plays much older than he is and he is great on defense.

Also, Bowen is a warrior. I love that kid. Go Cats

[pnthr53]

When we get to the dance….one thing we have always had with those teams is bigs. We generally have good guards but our great panthers teams have had good big men. Haven’t had consistent bigs since Tuttle. I’d like to see us go get some post players. Maybe we are trying but it isn’t there yet.

[Mill1634]

I agree. I think we should be more like Missouri State and Illinois State with all the awesome success they've had. Look at all the former 3 and 4 star recruits they've had.

Two of the last 3 titles with teams full of guys we recruited out of high school. Time to completely blow it up and start letting Rivals and 247 do all of our recruiting for us. I wish Jake was as good as Dana and Dan Muller.

Again, I never once said UNI needs to build through the portal. I said they easily could've/should've brought in a guard with college experience that could help take the burden off of Bowen, especially when it was likely that Phyfe was going to miss some time and we knew we weren't full on scholarships. But I know your thing is trying to **** on anyone who says anything less than Ben Jacobson is the greatest coach to ever walk this planet.

[Mill1634]

When we get to the dance….one thing we have always had with those teams is bigs. We generally have good guards but our great panthers teams have had good big men. Haven’t had consistent bigs since Tuttle. I’d like to see us go get some post players. Maybe we are trying but it isn’t there yet.

Sadly we have an all-league one on the roster but it seems unlikely that he's ever going to get back to playing, much less playing enough to truly impact the game. Really sad cause Austin is a great player but even a better person.

[pnthr53]

Hope he gets healthy for himself and his family.

[MVCBeat]

Team is going to be up and down. Got very little contribution from anyone other than the 3 that played much last year and that will need to change to have success. Freshman will hopefully improve as the season continues.

RE: Transfers. Jake has had success building his teams a certain way. Although our most recent NCAA team had two key guys who were transfers (Washpun, Jesperson). And we've usually had a transfer or two on our most successful teams (Farokhmanesh, Eric Crawford).

If Ben can keep his guys, I think there is no reason to change how he does things. But things have changed around him dramatically in the last couple years. Immediate eligibility, the portal and NIL has shifted things strongly and it remains to be seen if a good culture will be enough to keep guys. If we get a guy for a couple years and he becomes a stud, it will be tough to look the other way if six-figures are being thrown his way. Conversely, there is more talent in the portal than ever before. You can make fun of MSU and IlSU and all that, but things are different now. The biggest programs in the nation are going to have transfers. We may need to play the transfer game to be successful. Rebuilding years are fine, but seasons like this cannot become a pattern. We can't be running out a team full of freshmen and sophomores every year. Time will tell.

[BrockLesnar]

It will take the 2023 class time to find their footing. It's a big jump from high school to D1. We'll get back into contention next season, but we're at least two seasons out from a trophy.

[BCPanther]

Every 'successful' transfer we've ever taken is somebody that we recruited hard out of high school. We just flat haven't had success with guys that we've tried to bring in out of nowhere and I totally get why Jake gets real hesitant.

We kicked the tires on a few this summer and just didn't find a fit. It's not as though we're ignoring the portal altogether, we're just more selective.

[Username]

All will be forgiven when we shock the world on Monday

That being said, as much encouragement as I see, I’m still concerned about Henry, I don’t expect much to change from now to Monday, and playing Betz 27 minutes is not ideal

[orangetennis]

In addition to the players mentioned earlier in the thread, Berhow was a transfer as well as Marr (who didn't pan out). UNI remains active, yet selective, in the portal. Just nothing panned out for this season.

[BCPanther]

In addition to the players mentioned earlier in the thread, Berhow was a transfer as well as Marr (who didn't pan out). UNI remains active, yet selective, in the portal. Just nothing panned out for this season.

Two more guys we recruited heavily out of high school.

[Khan4Cats]

Every 'successful' transfer we've ever taken is somebody that we recruited hard out of high school. We just flat haven't had success with guys that we've tried to bring in out of nowhere and I totally get why Jake gets real hesitant.

We kicked the tires on a few this summer and just didn't find a fit. It's not as though we're ignoring the portal altogether, we're just more selective.

Biggie Goldman, Tray Croft, Adam McDermott, Rafael de Souza, Aarius Austin, Taylor Olson, Nate Buchheit, Kasey Semler, Chris Olivier more than a few times Jake has rolled the dice on transfers and come up empty.

[orangetennis]

Biggie Goldman, Tray Croft, Adam McDermott, Rafael de Souza, Aarius Austin, Taylor Olson, Nate Buchheit, Kasey Semler, Chris Olivier more than a few times Jake has rolled the dice on transfers and come up empty.

Ya, our track record isn't great with transfers. Sure we've had some really good ones (and those are the ones everyone remembers) but the truth is there's been a lot more who didnt work out. If there's a relationship there and some comfortability from the HS recruitment process, we go for it. But the portal these days feels like impulse shopping and Jake doesn't like that, and quite frankly isn't very good at it.