2024 Offseason

[BCPanther]

This probably isn't going to be totally coherent but here goes...

The bottom line is Jake has to get uncomfortable.

The world knows he likes to recruit high character kids from stable families with great GPAs typically from wealthy suburbs. The problem is that that greatly reduces your ceiling anyway and then when you aren't going to have them for 4 years it kills any chance you have to have a big year.

It's time to start taking some chances, it's time to widen the footprint and it's time to get old and stay old. Gone are the days where you are stuck with a kid that doesn't pan out for 4 years. If a kid doesn't work out now you basically release them and send them to the portal. These kids wanted to be pro athletes so they get the consequences of being pro athletes.

It's very concerning to me that we're not connected to anybody. Kids and AAU handlers run as fast as they can to socials the minute a coach even looks in their direction and we aren't in the conversation. The kid we did get, who is a very good player, is the exact kid that we've recruited over and over hoping that somehow it's going to change the fact that we're a middle of the pack program which is ridiculous with the resources we're putting into basketball.

I never pull the 'he makes $1M' card because I fully believe he's earned that with what he's done but part of making that salary in mid-major basketball is having the results that match it. He hasn't for too long. Since the A&M debacle, he's played in 2 NIT games. That's it for postseason and those don't happen without the fortune of getting AJ which had nothing to do with what our program is/was. Being a guy that's that well thought of means that you have to keep up and adapt to the world you're in, he hasn't and it's going to get real ugly if he doesn't soon.

We don't have a single guy on the roster, and haven't for years other than AJ, that could get his own. Again (broken record) this just kills your ceiling when you have to run perfect offense to get an open look and then hope you knock it down. We're recruiting an awesome collection of role players while ignoring every alpha. You can't win that way. There's a reason that our best teams were our best teams, Kwadzo, Deon Mitchell and Wes could get their own which makes the game so much easier for everyone else.

[krusej23]

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.

This is exactly it. We have a bunch of guys leave this year, some that played and some that barely played and suddenly the sky is falling. The 2 main contributors that are transferring are leaving after playing 4 years and Heise is moving up to the big 12. That's a good thing that we have developed a guy into a big 12 level player and who knows where Born is going. If this was 2015 and Born, Heise, Daniel and Henry who have all been here for 4 years left as grad transfers, nobody would have been mad. We would have been sad to see them go and would have thought they had a good career and definitely better if Phyfe would have been able to play. Now because everyone thinks the transfer portal is the end of the world, they think UNI basketball and Coach Jake are falling apart.

Just relax and let the coaching staff work on getting their transfers in and see if some of our younger guys have developed and are ready to step up and play.

[UNIpanther99]

In the past, as a fan of a program like UNI, you could deal with the struggles - because you could see the program was building toward something even better the next year. Now there is no next year, and struggles will just be struggles. Frustration has always led to apathy, but now - it seems like we will be starting from a point of apathy.

I want to hear our head coach tell our fanbase what getting back to the NCAA tournament looks like for UNI. How is it accomplished? I understand part of that equation is money, but the same old wells they have been using are getting a little dry. They won't open back up unless they see a strategy that makes sense.

[clenz]

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.

If we are so ****ed that tuition between undergrad and grad degrees are causing us issues - or Ege being out of state - then we need to give up on everything and be D3 with Wartburg and get boatraced by them by them yearly in the conference all sports standings

Resident undergrad tuition at UNI is $19,376 and $21,282 for the business school for junior and senior years.

Non-resident tuition (Ege) was 30,920 and that is replaced by Hornseth.

Resident grad level tuition is $21,010 and $22,918 for the business school.

If $1,634 (1,636 for business) per athlete on the basketball roster is breaking our budget, thus a max of $8,180 for one year, we truly need to just give up on an AD search and shut everything down. If that amount is being micromanaged to a program from above them that program shouldn’t exist. The department shouldn’t exist. The school is likely so screwed they should be joining the schools shutting down completely across the nation.

[clenz]

This is exactly it. We have a bunch of guys leave this year, some that played and some that barely played and suddenly the sky is falling. The 2 main contributors that are transferring are leaving after playing 4 years and Heise is moving up to the big 12. That's a good thing that we have developed a guy into a big 12 level player and who knows where Born is going. If this was 2015 and Born, Heise, Daniel and Henry who have all been here for 4 years left as grad transfers, nobody would have been mad. We would have been sad to see them go and would have thought they had a good career and definitely better if Phyfe would have been able to play. Now because everyone thinks the transfer portal is the end of the world, they think UNI basketball and Coach Jake are falling apart.

Just relax and let the coaching staff work on getting their transfers in and see if some of our younger guys have developed and are ready to step up and play.

The difference between now and "the past" and how we deal with down periods

In the past, we knew the down period was going to be swung back up as Jake's program aged and became upperclassmen. He's never had balanced recruiting classes so we knew we'd get 2, maybe 3, meh years and then 2, maybe 3 years, of domination. Then it started back over but we knew the other side was worth the struggle.

That doesn't, and can't, exist in the modern game. Free agency - sorry, the portal - means that building a program that way doesn't work anymore. No more transfers having to sit out a year, no more once you get a transfer in they aren't going anywhere. There is no building for 2 or 3 years from now. The staff needs to figure out how to build for 1 year out MAX. At this point you need to build for the next season only and assume you keep no one, and anyone you do retain is a bonus, like finding a $20 bill in a jacket pocket you haven't worn in 6 months.

With who we have left on the roster I'd be shocked if most of the kids who were freshman/sophomore this year - and incoming freshmen - graduate from UNI. I'd love to keep them until then and have the develop and prove me wrong. However, the reality is, if they grow and excel they aren't sticking around because they'll have so many things thrown at them that will be impossible to pass on. And we can't blame a 20-year-old for doing those things. I'd leave my job yesterday if someone offered me what these kids are offered, and I love what I do. I love where I work. I love my teammates I work with every single day. You offer me what a good MM-level player is getting offered to be a rotation piece at a "power school" and I have my office cleared out so fast it would be cartoon-like with pencils and cups spinning on my desk. That kind of environment isn't entirely healthy in the "real-world" and it's even less healthy in college athletics, but it's the reality. Either adapt or die.

It's been 8 years since our last appearance. Jake's system was starting to break before the portal. It's been napalmed with the portal becoming a thing.

I've been one of the biggest backers of Jake even with all the criticism that's been thrown at him the last handful of years by some. I've been 100% in the "He'll figure it out". Well, it's time he figures it out. Like BC, I hate pulling the "he's paid a million dollars to figure it out", but he's paid a million dollars to figure it out. He's earned his paycheck. He's the best we've ever had. He's the best we will ever have in terms of total resume. I get that. I'm not saying he needs to go or any of that ****. I am saying what he is comfortable with and proven in doing doesn't work anymore. If he is going to continue to "justify" his pay moving forward, justify the reputation that he's earned thus far, etc. he needs to figure it out quickly.



BC alluded to this, and he and I talked about it last night, but the fact we aren't connected to anyone right now is insanely worrisome. Yes, there is "time" in the portal, but we aren't even connected. In 2024 it is impossible to be connected to kids and have there be zero "proof" of it anywhere. Kids, agents, parents, AAU coaches, handlers, etc. all run to On3, Rivals, 247, VC, to get their names and offers out there. Simply having your name out there with a list of schools builds your reputation as much as tape at this point. It sounds dumb, and it is, but those lists come out and other coaches go "****, schools X Y Z are there what are we missing?" and they go snooping around. The fact we aren't out there with anyone isn't great right now.

[06panther10]

In the past, as a fan of a program like UNI, you could deal with the struggles - because you could see the program was building toward something even better the next year. Now there is no next year, and struggles will just be struggles. Frustration has always led to apathy, but now - it seems like we will be starting from a point of apathy.

I want to hear our head coach tell our fanbase what getting back to the NCAA tournament looks like for UNI. How is it accomplished? I understand part of that equation is money, but the same old wells they have been using are getting a little dry. They won't open back up unless they see a strategy that makes sense.

I agree, some sort of state of the union speech would be helpful. Where are we? What are we doing? What is our strategy to get back to the top? Are currently set up to win a high level?

Feels like we are lost right now, and being left behind.

[kochrab]

I agree, some sort of state of the union speech would be helpful. Where are we? What are we doing? What is our strategy to get back to the top? Are currently set up to win a high level?

Feels like we are lost right now, and being left behind.

I had this same thought last night. It would be helpful to hear from the MBB staff. Speculation isn't anyone's friend right now because you're going to assume that, in this case, no news means there's nothing worth sharing which means we have no prospects to replace the important team pieces we just lost. I want to assume that no news is good news, but with only having a D2 level transfer at this point... from the outside things don't look super promising.

[sivert]

One point that is amplifying the Portal issues is the COVID 6th year. I didn't realize that Wolfe was a grad student next year.

Grad school is something that legitimately makes someone want a particular institution, purely for academic reasons.

I predicted a couple years ago that the COVID year would cause a surge of good Mid-Majors this year and next because it would hurt the one-and-done schools (relatively). But I didn't account for guys who are looking at grad school and want an institutional change, which just adds a factor to promote Portaling.

[kochrab]

What Panther MBB needs right now is more Tuttle Spongebob tweets. That would be helpful and calm everyone down

[Born-a-Panther]

One point that is amplifying the Portal issues is the COVID 6th year. I didn't realize that Wolfe was a grad student next year.

Grad school is something that legitimately makes someone want a particular institution, purely for academic reasons.

I predicted a couple years ago that the COVID year would cause a surge of good Mid-Majors this year and next because it would hurt the one-and-done schools (relatively). But I didn't account for guys who are looking at grad school and want an institutional change, which just adds a factor to promote Portaling.

Yes. Exactly. Been thinking through this a lot over the last 24 hours as well. This is a good point.

I'm really ready for the Covid domino effect to just be over with. I want everything associated with it to be well in the rearview mirror.

[BCPanther]

The other issue is the waiver process and kids getting extra year after extra year. Eligibility means nothing and the kids that aren't going to play at the next level (they're already professionals) are going to do everything in their power to keep playing college ball and keep getting that bag.

Marcus Domask is suing the NCAA for an extra year because of the partial year he lost to injury. The threshold has always been 30%, he played over 30% of games his sophomore year at SIU yet he's still suing to get that year back and he'll probably win.

Decades of the NCAA and the member schools burying their heads in the sand has led to this. It's not sustainable and it's going to lead to the Big Ten and SEC being the only college sports left.

[Khan4Cats]

If we are so ****ed that tuition between undergrad and grad degrees are causing us issues - or Ege being out of state - then we need to give up on everything and be D3 with Wartburg and get boatraced by them by them yearly in the conference all sports standings

Resident undergrad tuition at UNI is $19,376 and $21,282 for the business school for junior and senior years.

Non-resident tuition (Ege) was 30,920 and that is replaced by Hornseth.

Resident grad level tuition is $21,010 and $22,918 for the business school.

If $1,634 (1,636 for business) per athlete on the basketball roster is breaking our budget, thus a max of $8,180 for one year, we truly need to just give up on an AD search and shut everything down. If that amount is being micromanaged to a program from above them that program shouldn’t exist. The department shouldn’t exist. The school is likely so screwed they should be joining the schools shutting down completely across the nation.

Considering we have had years where we have left a scholarship unfilled for budget purposes and we routinely have football scholarships (where we can even give partials) unfilled, how far off base am I?

[DownGoesKansas]

One thing. (Sorta positive)

Last year Born doesn't help us. We all all assuming we were going to get good born. But who knows if that was the case.

But we absolutely need to be hitting the portal hard. And we are not so that's concerning

[ronfitch]

I agree, some sort of state of the union speech would be helpful. Where are we? What are we doing? What is our strategy to get back to the top? Are currently set up to win a high level?

Feels like we are lost right now, and being left behind.

And I think that will be coming. But that is really for the new AD - she or he gets to decide the course and anything now (by Jake or Bowlsby) would be inappropriate and incorrect.

With the coaches UNI has in place - Jake, Farley, Warren, Petersen, Schwab, etc. - and Bowlsby as interim, I am confident about the future. We just don't know yet what that future is.

College sports is changing - NIL, extra year for Covid, transfer rules changing, etc.

And I think there will be more changes before it settles into whatever it will be.

Year after year, the academic performance is noteworthy for this department. The graduation rate of the student-athletes at UNI is fantastic. That a UNI athlete graduates and takes that extra Covid year to go to grad school and play another year is something to celebrate.

[sivert]

...Marcus Domask is suing the NCAA for an extra year because of the partial year he lost to injury...

Am I the only one who delays the "k" when I pronounce Dumask?