https://twitter.com/hoozgotnext/status/1657107687325290512?s=46&t=uWWx_Dkz2XN_W22Ad1tnww
Narrative evolving, we’re actually winners! I think Jamie is probably more in the weeds of the guys we gained than the athletic writers
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This is correct. There is no evidence to support the fact that different decisions might have led to different outcomes because different decisions were not made, so this is inherently correct. (But did anyone argue to the contrary?)
Also, you can’t prove that I wouldn’t have been hungover in college even if I didn’t drink to excess. No proof exists.
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Let me try this without the snark: there is no one way in the current no-sit out / NIL era to make sure that players stick around (assuming you want them to).
But one good way to try to keep the guys around who you want to stick around is to play them. If you don’t play them, they are more likely to transfer than if you didn’t (and you can use that general statement to apply to more specific situations, e.g., a guy who starts and then gets some DNPs, may be peeved. Etc.)
Giving a guy steady, consistent play doesn’t guarantee anything, but all in all, my experience paying attention to this stuff suggests that guys who get steady, consistent PT are less likely to transfer than guys who don’t. Doesn’t seem controversial, but I typed it, so who knows. Obviously I’m not a good judge.
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My first year at UVa, I had a friend from New York who never adjusted to being in the South. After one year, he transferred to Princeton, graduated with something close to a 4.0, and went on to earn a master’s and a Ph.D.
So the obvious conclusion: Virginia is a lousy academic institution that chases away good students.
Seriously, athletes transfer all the time for a variety of reasons, and trying to draw any conclusion from one anecdote (or even two!) is asinine. Sometimes, a player and a team are just not a good match. No one bats 1.000 in recruiting. I think our percentage is still pretty good.
If people want to keep kicking this dead horse, have at it. Personally, I’d rather talk about the six talented newcomers joining the team, not the guys who left.
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I mean, I put up something from a major sports media outlet, written by a guy who has more or less been a UVa beat writer for 4-5 years (Eamonn). I thought people might be interested… (and I think I was right).
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How about Buck for Buchanan? They call his dad that. Nicknames are the urgent matter before they mess it up.
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I think, in hindsight, that he definitely made a mistake with Vander Plas, considering how it turned out with Kadin and possibly Traudt. But, there was a time early in the season when most everyone was excited about the potential of the team and with BVP’s part in that scenario.
I believe much of the slide down for him was due to the bad back. Had that not happened I believe much better stuff would have happened for us.
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No snark - so how to explain the huge numbers in the portal, almost all of whom were getting regular PT?
I do agree in the age of NIL/free transfer that redshirting has to be considered only in fewer cases than CTB likes - for example Leon Bond didn’t play, didn’t get homesick, and he didn’t portal. As an intermediate case, Taine played rarely and didn’t portal. At the other end, Shedrick played regularly and did portal.
I think guys who are happy with their role in a basketball program, are somewhat serious about academics, and have a good college experience are much less likely to transfer.
If your basketball career is the most important thing, then I think there is a high likelihood you will look for greener grass.
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Yeah, strongly agree. I think the first is the most important, but the latter two can help when the first isn’t present.
I’ll otherwise leave it alone for now. Looking forward to watching some janky streams with you guys this weekend.
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No, but I agree it’s too important to be left to anyone other than LRA or this may occur.
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Tweet from Before Rohde hit that midseason wall (before ending on a higher note from 3).
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I just hope he picks the uniform number 15 (Buchanan = 15th President).
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Just to add to this, pretty much every player we’ve had who redshirted either outright said or heavily implied that it sucked and wasn’t very much fun. I’m pretty sure Devon and De’Andre have both said they thought about transferring. Others have noted how lonely it can be. Many may appreciate it in hindsight and realize it helped them to varying degrees, but I don’t recall anybody saying it was enjoyable who wasn’t being interviewed for UVA’s version of Pravda mid-season (but correct me if I’m wrong).
All that’s to say, yeah, we have no idea if Traudt might have stayed if he played. But based on available evidence, he probably would have had a more enjoyable year playing. Maybe that would have been enough, maybe it wouldn’t have been, but generally dudes being happier is going to reduce the odds of transfer. (Now I’m just repeating @haney).
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The coaches are going to nickname him ‘Spud’ or ‘Potato’ and then I’ll just go ahead and start looking at what 2025 bigs we can replace him with after he transfers.
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I’m thinking his nickname will be Traudt …wait, I mean trout, as in cutthroat trout, the official fish of Idaho. So he becomes Cutthroat. Sufficient dawgitude.
Incidentally, the official fish of Nebraska is the channel catfish, a whiskered bottom feeder, also known as a transfer Fish.
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You guys have tons of great takes as always.
To me, considering our attrition I am overjoyed with the current roster construction, apart from a lingering Harris injury. We have potential to be defensively better everywhere except for Reece. Potential shooters at the 2, 3, 4. Who knows what performance we get but I like the mix.
The only real question I have is how much has the staff learned from this season. If they take these lessons, mostly roster management tropes we have beaten to death and can some of Venom’s analysis, and the like, make it thru to CTB? Probably not, but CTB is no dummy and we’ll continue to ride the best wave of our fandom. Go Hoos!
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Just to add to this a bit, even if he hadn’t redshirted, how much would Traudt have actually played? The front line had more than a little depth. With Caffaro, Shedrick, Gardner, & Vander Plas on the roster, how many minutes would a true frosh, albeit a talented true frosh, have played? At the start of November, I don’t imagine anyone thought that Shedrick’s role would shrink as it did. Would Traudt’s decision have been any different if he played 5 mpg? I’m a bit skeptical he would have earned more based on the learning curve of the defense.
It’s two parts- He wouldn’t have transferred if he had played AND the detriment of having to sit out AGAIN when he transferred, may have caused him to rethink that strategy and suck it up.
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Yeah- Ben was good for the first half of the season and then maybe got injured. The issue I’m having is that if a player isn’t capable due to injury yet you still play him over your regular starter OR you don’t play the redshirt even though *history says that our team (maybe most teams) will have injury issues, and we don’t adjust- we try to ride through it, just seemed a little short sighted…
Most are missing the point. Hoo cares whether he transferred after the season. The BIG miss was not playing him in Game 1 and taking the redshirt option off the table.
Then Traudt plays and we get to the Sweet 16 (at least) - Likely Final 4 - and we have the 2 Isaacs bombing from all over the floor and opponents don’t know what hit them and we have a ball watching an offensive juggernaut all year!!! And then you don’t need BVP to play more than 10-15 minutes and Shedrick plays starter minutes all year because he fits with Traudt perfectly on the floor together. Traudt with Dunn also fits perfectly. And by March 1, 2023 we are a finely tuned machine crushing foes everywhere!
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