College Basketball in 2026

[orangepassion]

Michigan just won the title ... so why doesn't it feel like it? Why portal pressures spoil the shining moments

So much for the afterglow: Dusty May opens up to CBS Sports on what it's like to win it all in the hyper-transfer era

www.cbssports.com

 

[85SUAlum]

My feeling about college sports these days, especially football and basketball, is basically 'meh'.
Just can't seem to get as excited about it as I used to.
I'll continue to be a fan and root for 'Cuse to win, but beyond that, I just really have no interest anymore.
The way the Portal and NIL work these days has really killed what I liked about college sports - watching players come in and develop within the program over the years. Now you basically have to learn and become familiar with an almost completely new roster every year and my aging brain just can't remember who all the new guys are sometimes.
Sorry, grumpy old man rant over.

 

[PeteCalvin]

My feeling about college sports these days, especially football and basketball, is basically 'meh'.
Just can't seem to get as excited about it as I used to.
I'll continue to be a fan and root for 'Cuse to win, but beyond that, I just really have no interest anymore.
The way the Portal and NIL work these days has really killed what I liked about college sports - watching players come in and develop within the program over the years. Now you basically have to learn and become familiar with and almost completely new roster every year and my aging brain just can't remember who all the new guys are sometimes.
Sorry, grumpy old man rant over.

My favorite pastime in the 80’s and 90’s was getting the latest Street and Smith’s magazine in August and pouring over rosters. I’d look at every roster in the BE. Knew every player before the season even started. I also knew the HS recruits and beamed with joy when I saw names at the top of the list tagged as Syracuse commits.

As the season progressed, I would look at the magazine and formulate what our roster would look like the following year and what other team’s rosters would look like. I cursed teams like UNC, UK and KU with all the MCDAA commits. But it was fun! Being able to look ahead and project who was going to develop, who may not, and the excitement of what possibilities the new HS guys would bring in next season. All of that is gone, and it sucks. I used to know every SU player by sight. And most other BE players. Now I’m lucky if I even remember the names on our current roster.

 

[Newhouser]

Michigan just won the title ... so why doesn't it feel like it? Why portal pressures spoil the shining moments

So much for the afterglow: Dusty May opens up to CBS Sports on what it's like to win it all in the hyper-transfer era

www.cbssports.com

Cry me a river Dusty May - the new system and the advantages that Michigan has in it just made you wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. It's part of the job now - you signed up for it to the tune of 20 million dollars.

 

[Cuseregular]

My feeling about college sports these days, especially football and basketball, is basically 'meh'.
Just can't seem to get as excited about it as I used to.
I'll continue to be a fan and root for 'Cuse to win, but beyond that, I just really have no interest anymore.
The way the Portal and NIL work these days has really killed what I liked about college sports - watching players come in and develop within the program over the years. Now you basically have to learn and become familiar with an almost completely new roster every year and my aging brain just can't remember who all the new guys are sometimes.
Sorry, grumpy old man rant over.

amen brother to all that. Whenever I refer to it now, I always do it in quotes cuz it really isn't "college" sports anymore. Lets see if gerry kind of like fran (and the rest of SU nation via NIL) can at least temper this whole crappy situation a little or at all to create a little more stability and loyalty. Won't be holding my breathe.

 

[letsgorange]

My favorite pastime in the 80’s and 90’s was getting the latest Street and Smith’s magazine in August and pouring over rosters. I’d look at every roster in the BE. Knew every player before the season even started. I also knew the HS recruits and beamed with joy when I saw names at the top of the list tagged as Syracuse commits.

As the season progressed, I would look at the magazine and formulate what our roster would look like the following year and what other team’s rosters would look like. I cursed teams like UNC, UK and KU with all the MCDAA commits. But it was fun! Being able to look ahead and project who was going to develop, who may not, and the excitement of what possibilities the new HS guys would bring in next season. All of that is gone, and it sucks. I used to know every SU player by sight. And most other BE players. Now I’m lucky if I even remember the names on our current roster.

Feel like you're describing my childhood! I think I remember the rosters from those era's better than last years

 

[orangepassion]

Blue Ribbon. The best. And I think still around.

 

[grepal]

Feel like you're describing my childhood! I think I remember the rosters from those era's better than last years

This era may do a lot of harm to the game. I can seed schools saying screw it let the big boys fight it out we will take an Ivy League approach. no one gets NIL, if youi want it go elsewhere. Form a different league and still play.

 

[M2MPrinciples]

Michigan just won the title ... so why doesn't it feel like it? Why portal pressures spoil the shining moments

So much for the afterglow: Dusty May opens up to CBS Sports on what it's like to win it all in the hyper-transfer era

www.cbssports.com

 

[M2MPrinciples]

As an aside, Norlander is a solid reporter and writer, but I don’t think there’s a national CBB media personality who enjoys the smell of his own farts more than him.

 

[85SUAlum]

This era may do a lot of harm to the game. I can seed schools saying screw it let the big boys fight it out we will take an Ivy League approach. no one gets NIL, if youi want it go elsewhere. Form a different league and still play.

I can definitely see that happening. I could see a number of teams getting tired of being doormats for the schools with nearly unlimited funds going off to form a new association of schools separate from the NCAA where there are more rules so that the schools compete on a more equal footing. Or maybe more schools could end up leaving the NCAA and join the NAIA?

 

[Dick_in_MI]

amen brother to all that. Whenever I refer to it now, I always do it in quotes cuz it really isn't "college" sports anymore. Lets see if gerry kind of like fran (and the rest of SU nation via NIL) can at least temper this whole crappy situation a little or at all to create a little more stability and loyalty. Won't be holding my breathe.

Nope, it isn’t remotely college sports anymore. Do players even have to go to class anymore? When is the last time that someone was declared academically ineligible? It seems like it isn’t even possible these days.

College sports are merely the developmental league for the NFL and the NBA and in both cases, someone else foots the bill. Sure, they always were but the whole system has changed at the speed of light.

In CNY you have the Syracuse ChiefMets. Or is the MetChiefs? Anyway, the parent club pays for the rosters. At SU, it is the boosters. There is no ROI for the boosters and the whole thing is merely the entertainment business of a major academic institution. “Student” athletes move from town to town annually and it is virtually impossible to develop any kind of emotional connection to them. Pop quiz: who was the starting small forward for SU hoops in 2023?

See?

Oh well, no use worrying about things I can’t change. 75 years ago today, it snowed in Syracuse on April 17th. That was the day I was born.

 

[orangepassion]

As an aside, Norlander is a solid reporter and writer, but I don’t think there’s a national CBB media personality who enjoys the smell of his own farts more than him.

Is that confirmed?