Donovan Dent allegedly got $3 mil or somewhere around that from UCLA. I like IMac but I can tell you right now even with his shooting heās not worth as much as Dent is.
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If Iāve learned anything so far, itās that a lot of fans are not ready for the NIL/Portal era. Iām not necessarily putting that blame on the fans entirely. With everything so pie in the sky (we have $7M (and maybe more!) and all these roster spots to fill, whereās my all star team!?) it creates crazy expectations.
Itās like pro sports free agency on steroids, but thereās so much information we donāt have. Player preferences, family situations, staff preferences, financial considerations. Throw in the fact that we really donāt always know what guys are getting, how much a school has to spend etcā¦itās a recipe for what you are seeing on this board.
Odom and staff appear to be very organized and know how to play the game. If you are upset because they havenāt signed 3 studs already, I donāt think this new world of college hoops is for you.
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For comparative purposes, and granted we had a lot less holes to fill last year, we didnāt get our first transfer commit until May. Obviously not the path we want to follow this year, and I think chances of that are extremely slim, but the game has barely started.
The right fits will come along as they have, and weāre seeing that with being in Davidsonās final 3, and weāll just have to capitalize.
I donāt have any. A first year coach building from scratch, without any sort of star players to bring along from his previous stopā¦just being in the picture for an NCAA bid next year is ambitious. That would be a good first year for sure.
My UVA fandom doesnāt care so much about thatā¦more interested in the long term building, whether we have a chance to be nationally relevant in 3-4 years. But itās a lot easier to keep people interested along the way if theyāre winning, thatās for sure.
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Uh oh
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Sweet place in Westwood costs a lot more than a sweet place in Cville. 
I donāt understand why it matters how good is he relative to others. If we have the money to spend and IMac, or really anyone else, is gettable, why not keep offering more until he says yes. Then go get more money. Maybe thatās what weāre doing and maybe I donāt understand how it works but it feels like weāre more scared to spend money than some other programs despite having as much or more than them to work with.
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Because itās not 100% about money?
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The admissions department has shown some flexibility. But did everyone expect them to hand out 5+ golden tickets for an all star UVA mbb 25/26 team? No offense but this is not Baylor University. Google their Football teamās recent history
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I find it hard to believe that a guy with UVA in his final group would not pick UVA if we offered 500k+ more than the other finalists.
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If your beef is specifically with iMacās situation, HGN has repeatedly stated his recruitment is not solely about money. Every team heās considering has more or less the same financial offer. Itās about what team will have the best chance to make a March run. Also, iMac came here to play 4 years for TB. He got 2, then grew to like Sanchez and now heās gone. Iād really like iMac back, but can you fault him for wanting to spend his last year of college ball in a new environment, given how things have gone here? Again, Iād really like to have him back, but Iām not going to spend every day worrying about it and faulting the current staff if he leaves.
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Need to change Freshās tag to āpot stirrerā
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That also presents a potential problem in the future though. As weāve seen to some degree already, if money is the main reason a kid goes to a school, theyāre at high risk of being right back in the portal again next year, like an AJ Storr portal mercenary. If the primary reason is the school and the coach and the team, and then theyāre also being fairly compensated financially in addition to all the other things, thatās where you get better retention. Money is a factor but shouldnāt be THE factor, at least not in my opinion. And I would apply that same logic to just about any job.
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What usually happens when you play this game, it goes one of two ways. 1) Often doesnāt change the outcome, only results in the school he wanted to go to anyway having to pay more. 2) Following the increased bids from other teams, and your now further increased bid, you do get the player at a final price way above āmarket valueā. And now youāve set the precedent with your current team and future recruits that youāre willing to do that. Hello, Kansas State.
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Weāre going to build a team, itās going to be pretty good, and itās going to be set up as a foundational group that can propel the program forward. Relax.
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The long term is a series of short terms.
Example: Louisville. Put together a solid effort in year 1 with one year rentals and now carrying momentum into year 2 including possibly taking our best player from us.
Oh they have bags of cash, you say? But I thought it wasnāt all about money?
Oh they have a better basketball situation, you say? Well, how did they get there?
Oh they have āthe brandā you say? Weāll, why didnāt that help them not suck before?
Oh, they have looser academic requirements, you say? Well, shit.
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Yeah I get it but Iād say the staff and program need to bet on themselves in the case. Charlottesville is a nice place, UVA is a nice place, our facilities are good, our coaching staff is presumably good or should view themselves as being good. Iād rather try to lure guys with money and win now than pocket it. I think weād put together a successful team in year one, guys would like UVA and want to stay, and donors would be excited about year one and pay whatās needed to retain talent.
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You seem to think UVA is the only school with big donors? If anything, a lot of these other schools have donors who are already comfortable paying whatever it takes for sports success. And now they can do it legally!
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As Trilly would say, the B in BYU stands for Billions
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