kinda OT: Kyle Wiltjer is transferring to 'Zaga

[Upstate]

nm

 

[Shermthegeneral]

Who's that?

 

[AlaskaSU]

Why would he want to do that and sit out a year? Zags will need a big but this still makes no sense.

 

[RF2044]

Why would he want to do that and sit out a year? Zags will need a big but this still makes no sense.

It makes a lot of sense. KW isn't a good fit for Kentucky's system, he's been recruited over, and he's a northern west coast guy. He can either accept a diminished role at UK, or have an opportunity to be a major focal point at Gonzaga, playing close to home.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Simply a cap move for Cal.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Why would he want to do that and sit out a year? Zags will need a big but this still makes no sense.

Makes complete sense, actually.

See RF's post above, he beat me to it. No way he gets PT over the talent they have coming in.

 

[Hoov50]

Simply a cap move for Cal.

Is this under the amnesty clause?

 

[cuseinseattle]

I was going to say the same thing as the person above. He is from the pacific northwest and I thought he would go to Oregon or Gonzaga and I believe I wrote that when it first was talked about but can't remember. This gives him an opportunity to sit out improve, get stronger and come back and have two good years. Dan Dickau did this at Gonzaga, he went to University of Washington for 2 years and didn't play as much as he should and then he transfered to Zaga improved and came back and was a McDonald's All American his senior year. He even bounced around the NBA for 2 or 3 years I think.

 

[Ozcuse]

Imagine if NBA players had to sit out a year if they asked to be traded. It's BS.

 

[Hoov50]

I think we are getting closer and closer to the conferences forming their own new governing body and saying the heck with the NCAA.

 

[Moontan]

I think we are getting closer and closer to the conferences forming their own new governing body and saying the heck with the NCAA.

You do realize that the schools and conferences "are the NCAA", right?

The Power Five members may make some noise, but they need the other schools for sports other than football, basketball and baseball. Even then, do you really think that a basketball tournament consisting of only Power Five schools would be better than the current set up?

It's more likely that we'll see a new division (D-1+ ?) instead of a split. The new division would allow full Cost of Attendance scholarships. Sitting out a year when transferring is a good thing (in most cases). Imagine if Florida or USC needing a running back this year and just snagged Jerome without him having to sit out a year. It would be chaos. If there is a split from the NCAA then I would expect a similar rule to be in place.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Imagine if Florida or USC needing a running back this year and just snagged Jerome without him having to sit out a year. It would be chaos. If there is a split from the NCAA then I would expect a similar rule to be in place.

Then maybe teams could give scholarships with more than a one year commitment. If coaches can up and leave without even finishing out a contract, or schools can leave athletic programs willy-nilly, why are players the ones getting screwed? No one is stopping any hotshot chemical engineer from transferring out of SU to MIT after their sophomore year. Top 10 Law school students can transfer to Yale or Harvard or NYU.

Would Smith or any other player leave in such a situation? Maybe, maybe not. He knows he can get drafted just as high in an SU uniform as he could anywhere else. And at USC, he'd still have to compete for time with someone else. By the time a player would be getting offers from big time D1 football schools, he'll have already attracted NFL attention, so what would be the point? The only time the majority of the kids transfer now is because they're not getting (and won't get) playing time (e.g., Wiltjer, Harrow, Riley), they have friction with the coaches (see Rosario, Mike), or they're in some kind of trouble (academic, legal, etc.).

As for the OP, who didn't see this coming? Cal had too many kids and now the excess are transferring.