2024 Offseason

[kochrab]

Do or die time for Jacobson. This season will determine a lot going forward I feel like.

[QCPanther05]

Then he needs to move on, or the new AD helps him move on. Why build with HS kids, only to see them leave after a year or two. Do you want to coach a competitive team that can make a tournament run? Or do you want to coach a team that won’t go anywhere, and eventually the only fans that will show up are their parents / families. I mean, he is already heading that direction with the number of CF players he gets. If they (as a team) weren’t good enough to win state championships yearly, why do you think they would be good to win at the college level? Maybe more empty seats will help someone make a decision.

All this. All of it.

[Irocon]

This is a new erra, and its sad that its come to this. Days of 4 year seniors that started here as freshman are done. I don't blame the players they deserve to get paid, and we will never have the money to pay them what they are worth. It's just heartbreaking that you can't think that a year from now you will have the same team even if none were supposed to graduate.

[SteinPizza]

Both Heise and Born played here four years, had some all conference recognition, etc. That longevity will be a rarity going forward. Neither of them owe UNI anything, and you can’t blame either for taking advantage of the current environment. Like others have said, Jake needs to adapt to this, not play by rules as he wishes they existed.

[06panther10]

Both Heise and Born played here four years, had some all conference recognition, etc. That longevity will be a rarity going forward. Neither of them owe UNI anything, and you can’t blame either for taking advantage of the current environment. Like others have said, Jake needs to adapt to this, not play by rules as he wishes they existed.

They owe UNI nothing? What does that even mean? Why do any of this then?

Seems to me that they owe UNI ton for what this place and this program has done for them, as players, and as people. For scouting them and offering them a scholarship. For developing relationships, becoming family, and ultimately training and developing them…

What a bleak timeline we are in. Really gross way to describe this school and program…

['70 Grad]

Did he decide that he was unlikely to make any money playing ball in Europe later, and is going to try to make some in the states now?

Pretty known for a while. What changed?

[sivert]

Well, going forward, we have, before hitting the portal:

Starting:
RJ
Trey
Tytan
Rubin
Hutson

Pock (might belong in the starters, but not sure over who)
Hornseth
Weisbrod

Courbat

Redek (If he comes. Not that I have heard anything, but he didn't have a scholarship, right? So he could walk on anywhere.)

That leaves 4 scholarships to fill, right?

[Blue42]

Did he decide that he was unlikely to make any money playing ball in Europe later, and is going to try to make some in the states now?

Pretty known for a while. What changed?

It does seem like the players most vulnerable to the portal/NIL are the guys who are good enough to draw a $100k+ annual NIL offer but not likely good enough to make it in the major U.S. professional leagues.

They see they have a year or two to put money in the bank and may have to get a regular job after college sports...or grind it out in a lower or overseas league. So better cash some checks now.

[krusej23]

It's time for Jake to either realize he's coaching in 2024 or get out of the way so that we can play the game the way it has to be played. Deciding you're going to develop 18 year olds for 2 or 3 years for them to leave anyway isn't going to get it done.

Both Heise and Born played 4 years at UNI, not 2 or 3 like you said so they fulfilled their commitment to UNI.

I'm guessing this means Born had some other opportunities jump at him but also our coaches met with him and they decided it was best for him to go somewhere else. This could mean we have some decent talent they are expecting to come from the transfer portal.

Coach Jake and the rest of the staff will figure everything out while you and some others think the sky is falling.

[06panther10]

Both Heise and Born played 4 years at UNI, not 2 or 3 like you said so they fulfilled their commitment to UNI.

I'm guessing this means Born had some other opportunities jump at him but also our coaches met with him and they decided it was best for him to go somewhere else. This could mean we have some decent talent they are expecting to come from the transfer portal.

Coach Jake and the rest of the staff will figure everything out while you and some others think the sky is falling.

Coach Jake and the rest of the staff mustered up a 5th place finish last year with a loaded veteran roster that they put together. Its been 8 years since they have made the NCAA tournament, and they just lost their 2 best players to the transfer portal and thus far have only brought in a D2 guard to replace them.

These are facts. This is reality. If that makes you optimistic, good for you. The coaches need to do their jobs and fix this program. Tired of preaching patience when we are almost a decade out from our last NCAA tournament game.

[krusej23]

06panther10 Who in the MVC do you think we should mimic or try to be like?

[achrist70]

Both Heise and Born played 4 years at UNI, not 2 or 3 like you said so they fulfilled their commitment to UNI.

I'm guessing this means Born had some other opportunities jump at him but also our coaches met with him and they decided it was best for him to go somewhere else. This could mean we have some decent talent they are expecting to come from the transfer portal.

Coach Jake and the rest of the staff will figure everything out while you and some others think the sky is falling.

I don't want to speak for BC, but I don't think he was referring to Bowen or Nate with the 2-3 year comment, I think he meant in general going forward we will see that more and more, and we have to be active in the portal, and essentially look at it as having 6 or more spots to fill year in and year out.

[1994grad]

My take is that Coach Jacobson has excellent rapport with these young men and support them going after their goals. Last year, we did not lose anyone to the portal and this year, we have lost Heise and Born after they have put in their time. It is sad to see them go, but supporting their goals helps the other players feel supported. I am very hopeful we can bring in a couple players from the portal who can compete right away.

[Born-a-Panther]

From a fan's perspective how much does it really matter? If you have to build an entirely new roster from the ground up every year who cares? At our level everyone is just basically trying to catch lightning in a bottle every year. It is impossible to build anything sustainable in this environment.

I used this exact phrase in talking with some others last night. Every year we'll be hoping to catch lightning in a bottle like Indiana State did this year. I'll continue to care -- continue to cheer for the name on the jersey - but the days of building strong connections with the student athletes is over. Which is sad. That's always what's made UNI so special to myself, this community and our family. We're big enough to play with the big boys on the court but small enough that we're able to really develop personal relationships and watch these guys develop up close. It's been fun to watch our young kids grow up feeling connected to these guys/gals and that's just not going to happen anymore.

My love for watching and cheering for the NFL has grown recently, and I only see it growing even more moving forward. College sports will never be the same.

[Khan4Cats]

Everyone is focusing on the NIL $ aspect of this all but I think you have to look at the university budget aspect as well. Many of the players that are leaving: Henry, Heise, Born, Wolf, Duax (maybe), would all be grad students which hits the scholarship budget differently than undergrad students. Peksari is out of state tuition. Maybe this is just an adjustment having to be made for other financial considerations that we have to deal with just as much as NIL.