Recruiting 25-26/Roster for 26-27

[falafel]

Word is Staton is hitting the portal.

Potential Returning Players:
Ahmed
Mboup
Kozlowski
Diomande
Kostic
Baker
Pickens
Wright
Perry

Confirmed Incoming Recruits
Branch
Reukert
Bahr

Potential Incoming Recruit
Burgess

That leaves room for 2 new recruits/portal additions without any other of the returning players going into the portal.

Yes, he posted on his IG that he's portal-bound.

That potential group of returners, outside of RW3, does not inspire confidence. If Baker comes back and is the same shooter, that is a nice addition to the bench. Also Diomande seemed to take some big strides at the end of the year. So did Davis - is he gone?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Word is Staton is hitting the portal.

Potential Returning Players:
Ahmed
Mboup
Kozlowski
Diomande
Kostic
Baker
Pickens
Wright
Perry

Confirmed Incoming Recruits
Branch
Reukert
Bahr

Potential Incoming Recruit
Burgess

That leaves room for 2 new recruits/portal additions without any other of the returning players going into the portal.

Spoiler alert: a lot more players will be hitting the portal.

[Omaha 680]

Spoiler alert: a lot more players will be hitting the portal.

Good. This year's roster was a disaster even allowing for the injury setbacks.

[Goatnapper'96]

Yes, he posted on his IG that he's portal-bound.

That potential group of returners, outside of RW3, does not inspire confidence. If Baker comes back and is the same shooter, that is a nice addition to the bench. Also Diomande seemed to take some big strides at the end of the year. So did Davis - is he gone?

I have no clue what Davis is thinking or even what or how BYU thinks of him. I tend to be an optimist and think he can be significantly better for BYU than what he showed this season. I would like Wright to return because he is the best returning player-but I think many of the others can be contributors. It would be nice to see some of these guys come back and get better. Continuity is important as is proper talent evaluation. I want to believe KY & staff can do those things.

[Goatnapper'96]

Spoiler alert: a lot more players will be hitting the portal.

I expect that. You got guys like Baker and Pickens that the program was not planning to have beyond this year who still have eligibility due to injury. You got a kid like KJ Perry who came to replace Pickens next season. You got a guy like Wright who can probably command a great deal of NIL $. You got guys like Diomande and Ahmed who might not be what the staff thought they were. I just would like to see some continuity for no other reason than a warm fuzzy that KY and staff can evaluate talent and hopefully develop players.

[Goatnapper'96]

Word is Staton is hitting the portal.

Potential Returning Players:
Ahmed
Mboup
Kozlowski
Diomande
Kostic
Baker
Pickens
Wright
Perry

Confirmed Incoming Recruits
Branch
Reukert
Bahr

Potential Incoming Recruit
Burgess

That leaves room for 2 new recruits/portal additions without any other of the returning players going into the portal.

I just realized I left Tyler Mrus off the list.

[BigPiney]

I just realized I left Tyler Mrus off the list.

with good reason.

[Omaha 680]

I have no clue what Davis is thinking or even what or how BYU thinks of him. I tend to be an optimist and think he can be significantly better for BYU than what he showed this season. I would like Wright to return because he is the best returning player-but I think many of the others can be contributors. It would be nice to see some of these guys come back and get better. Continuity is important as is proper talent evaluation. I want to believe KY & staff can do those things.

If they keep Davis it better be for a significant pay cut.

[Goatnapper'96]

If they keep Davis it better be for a significant pay cut.

It is very entertaining to me how fans treat NIL. The rumors, the leaks, the broken hearts within the fanbase when they feel cheated when the results are not satisfactory when compared to the rumored amount.

I honestly and truly have no friggin' idea how much Kennard Davis was paid. If I did know-I would have no idea how to conclude if it was a good or bad deal- other than Kennard struggled this season.

I just know at some point some team will make the Sweet 16 with a roster of guys who had played well at a lower level division. In that same year BYU will lose in the first round of the NCAA tourney and there will be many message board smart guys who, after recommending the games BYU can watch to learn how to not turn the ball over, will point out that the model that some shitty P4 hoop team like Utah had followed in putting together a team of studs from Centenary, Cal State Northridge, Northern Arizona and Chicago State is what BYU should follow. Not playing crappy guys like Kennard Davis JR!

Edit add: Not really intended directly towards Omaha-just musing how I watch fans talk about NIL. It is such a strange phenomenon.

[falafel]

with good reason.

Yeah thanks but no thanks.

[Clark Addison]

Spoiler alert: a lot more players will be hitting the portal.

Honestly, while I would be happy to keep several of the returning players, there isn't a single one that I would be to upset about leaving, including Wright. I thought he forced the action way too much and our overall offensive movement was pretty bad. I think he's a huge talent, so it's fixable, but left enough bad taste in my mouth that I wouldn't be all that upset.

[Omaha 680]

It is very entertaining to me how fans treat NIL. The rumors, the leaks, the broken hearts within the fanbase when they feel cheated when the results are not satisfactory when compared to the rumored amount.

I honestly and truly have no friggin' idea how much Kennard Davis was paid. If I did know-I would have no idea how to conclude if it was a good or bad deal- other than Kennard struggled this season.

I just know at some point some team will make the Sweet 16 with a roster of guys who had played well at a lower level division. In that same year BYU will lose in the first round of the NCAA tourney and there will be many message board smart guys who, after recommending the games BYU can watch to learn how to not turn the ball over, will point out that the model that some shitty P4 hoop team like Utah had followed in putting together a team of studs from Centenary, Cal State Northridge, Northern Arizona and Chicago State is what BYU should follow. Not playing crappy guys like Kennard Davis JR!

Edit add: Not really intended directly towards Omaha-just musing how I watch fans talk about NIL. It is such a strange phenomenon.

Why is it strange? This is professional sports now with one-year (usually) contracts (kind of). It's not unreasonable to expect the next "contract" to reflect the player's performance during the previous one. I say this as someone who always has been and will continue to be in the NIL era very forgiving of BYU athletes' performances. I want them to succeed and am usually very slow to criticize. I'm not even saying it was a bad move to bring Davis in. He was very good at So. Illinois and a coveted portal prospect. But he did not deliver unfortunately.

[Goatnapper'96]

Why is it strange? This is professional sports now with one-year (usually) contracts (kind of). It's not unreasonable to expect the next "contract" to reflect the player's performance during the previous one. I say this as someone who always has been and will continue to be the NIL era very forgiving of BYU athletes' performances. I want them to succeed and am usually very slow to criticize. I'm not even saying it was a bad move to bring Davis in. He was very good at So. Illinois and a coveted portal prospect. But he did not deliver unfortunately.

Not so much you-but often I read folks with really strong opinions and your comment just brought that to the forefront. Primarily, I don't think fans have any idea how much folks are making in NIL and the feeling of ownership over that makes me chuckle. Whereas in pro sports we know how much folks make and we know what others of similar ability also make. Sometimes there are even caps on total salary-that all leads to informed folks enjoying rational observations from which they can have opinions. NIL has us all in the dark.

[LiveCoug]

Bummer but not unexpected. RWIII in the portal.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Bummer but not unexpected. RWIII in the portal.

Boo!