I think the transfer portal is the difference between a bubble team and a final four contender this year, yes.
Add Shedrick, Papi, and Traudt for Groves and Minor. Blake getting developmental minutes intead of being asked to play week in, week out against upperclassmen bigs.
Add a competent post rotation to the guards and wings we have with the mix of comfort with the system and high ceiling youth, we are a pretty imposing team this year.
Ya. It was Louisville, then all of a sudden he is the difference maker for UVA basketball.
But, thatās not what you said. You said Kadin was the difference as to whether the program is a final-four contender. Alone he is/was not. If you want to talk about overall portal issues that is different. He isnāt good enough on his own to have been the difference maker.
Sure. My point is bigger, but Kadin is still the biggest loss.
We had a 5 year ādark periodā of recruiting where we whiffed on targets and missed evals on those we got (outside of Beekman, everyone decent transferred or didnāt pan out). We papered over the cracks with mid-major transfers in the transfer portal era, where we canāt compete as well as we did before the free transfer/NIL era. We have to build through high school recruiting.
This was the year where the dark period was supposed to have ended as High School recruiting has seen an upswing, and weāve stacked a couple good classes. But instead we got a max exodus of our front court talent (who at least in part got upset sitting behind previously mentioned mid-major transfers) that made 2023-2024 another āwait till next yearā year.
Shedrick was the biggest loss, for sure. He was statistically our 2nd or 3rd best player last year despite the inconsistent playing time. But when combined with the losses of Papi and Traudt, his departure is crippling (e.g. historically bad rebounding and post defending against the 2 power conference teams weāve faced so far).
Hopefully the team can grow enough over the year to get to a decent place. But this was the year many of us were hoping was the return to the Tony Bennett National Contender quality we saw for many years leading up to and through the 2019 team.
Traudt never played a minute at Virginia and has been underwhelming thus far at Creighton; Papi wasnāt skilled and rarely played, so by default you are saying Kadin was the difference maker. There is no world in which that is objectively true. Shedrick is a notoriously poor rebounder for a big man and would have made very little ā if any ā difference in that regard. He is inconsistent and not trusted by Tony. Not the difference maker and better off at Texas for him and us. I am happy to watch BB develop into what I believe WILL be a legitimate difference maker.
I believe all of that is true, but if you add the trash he talked about Tony and the program when he left I am very content with him wearing a different uniform.
We just disagreeā¦no big deal. But I think you are scapegoating the team suggesting that he somehow would have been the difference maker for a team that has yet to fully develop. I mean, we had him for four years and he was never the difference maker. Of course, he will take every opportunity to suggest that he was and just wasnāt used properly by a hall of fame coach who apparently has a terrible ability to gauge talent.
Yep. We disagree, and thatās fine.
He was a difference maker (our best or 2nd best player) early in the season in Vegas. He was benched for BVP and the middle triangle after a couple rough games where his softness showed. He reacted poorly (I donāt dispute that and canāt quantify the cultural issues, other than to say he got run after BVP got hurt anyway. But, fair enough). He was pretty objectively our best or 2nd best player in the post season after BVP got hurt and finally got a chance at extended minutes.
And heād be a year older this year and seasoned in the system. Heād hopefully be in a āflowā system where Beekman would have been the primary pg running pick & roll with him where both are elite.
But yes, we can agree to disagree.
Sometimes ādifference makerā is as much because of team need as anything else. Kadin wasnāt the difference maker on last yearās team because we didnāt need him as badly, but on this yearās team, given its current needsā¦ his presence would be huge. (Also, heās good.)
The Shedrick discussion is a hard one and is one I found out a lot over the offseason for my own edification since I write so many opinion pieces and it was such a strange/fascinating/frustrating thing. I just spent some time trying to compose some thoughts and realized it said too much - then started to edit and realized, I need to get back to writing! Maybe some other time - HGN can guest-host me in VIP or something 
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Itās a really interesting topic but also tends to be an emotionally charged one with fans which I think is primarily because it was probably avoidable and because deep-down we know itād be really helpful to have him this year.
This would be good, as long as itās sourced from multiple perspectives.
Papi could have really helped this year in spots.
I donāt think people are understanding what I reacted to nor what my point was. I am not suggesting that Shedrick is not good. I am also not saying it wouldnāt be nice to have him ā I guess, considering his horrible attitude. What I am saying is there is no world in which his impact would be so significant that we would be a final-four contender. I donāt see it. Heās good, he is not great.
I can get behind this point. I like Shedrick but I also think at the top of the mountain this season, UVA would need more weapons to break through to Final Four.
Unlike last year where it was anyoneās year most of the time, this season feels like the rich got richer and likely isnāt our year unless the bracket plays out favorably. The best team does not always win the title.
Thereās not enough hand wringing about Papi here.
Heās exactly what we need. Big body in the post, bone crunching screens and rebounding. A face mauler rather than a face mauled.
The āhorrible attitudeā take is the thing Iād contest.
Keep in mind that CTB pressed to keep him before he entered the portal, and that heās very well-liked by his ex-teammates. If his attitude was horrible neither of those things would likely be true, certainly not the former.
Really? Thatās interesting because I clearly remember him dragging Tony and the program while leaving, and he continues to do it whenever he gets the opportunity. Is that an attitude that is a positive force for the team? His attitude was/is horrible. If his attitude was not poor as you suggest then why would he behave in such a manner? You can pine away for someone who clearly hates UVA, but I was happy to see him bounce to any other team.
I agree. I would take Caffaro in a second. Maybe over Sheds. Exactly the physical presence we need.
I think Shedrick is being brought up because of our difficulties in the post, so naturally we have to look to the past to find an excuse. Itās over. He is gone. Move forward rather than can coddling someone who obviously didnāt want to be here and hates TB.
Oh man. Iām sure things evolve and change over time.
Sheds talent and skill would be nice. Not sure his continuous effort ever met expectations.
I think our conversation over Shedrick is always a proxy for Tonyās expectations re: continuous effort rather than about Shedrick or anything else. Maybe also about feedback loops between staff and players. Those are worthwhile convos to have.
This is the transfers thread and Kadin is a transfer. For once weāre actually on topic!