Portal Season 2025

[IUPbigINDIANS]

So what do you think is going on there? It’s not like they weren’t winning, and doing it without a couple of their best players available. The ceiling was high before this. Seems to me the issues are deeper than what’s happening on the court.

Some of those guys had been there since 2019 or 2020. That's an awful long time to stay in that town. Who knows. It could be as simple as once one of them left, well, the band was breaking up. We've also seen a lot of guys recently go up and have some success. The definition of success varies, of course.

From what I understand, most players like Danny. I've said on here several times his 'court' persona (looking like a crazed lunatic) and his 'off-court' persona are night and day different. He's actually a pretty chill, very soft-spoken guy away from the gym. However, most of the time the players spend with him is in said gym. That one-step-away-from-exploding stigma would get pretty old. Players today are babied compared to even 10 years ago. They don't like getting yelled at anymore.

I just question some of these Cal guys trying to go up right now. Palek is 'listed' at 6'9". He is extremely thin. He also missed essentially this whole season (and has battled injuries his whole career). He has a deep shot, which will interest some. However, they are all big at that level and most will have 40 pounds on him. He's not going to win many 40-yard dashes, either.

Bryson Lucas is a prototype D2 Small Forward. I'd personally pay him some NIL to come to IUP next year. LOL, but, not joking. Will his game translate? He's also very thin and also missed most of this season. He's about 6'6" or so, which will make him undersized for D1. Will his phone ring from up above?

You think of guys like Philip Alston (Cal to Loyola) Josh Omojofo (Gannon to Robert Morris) ... Cam Kearny (Clarion) ... they had/have the build for that level. Tomiwa had it. Even Armoni Foster was pretty jacked up when he left IUP. They all are built like that at the D1 level.

Donald Whitehead would probably be an All-American at Cal next year at PG. I'd guess he'll get a shot at a Cleveland State or similar. But, my guess is he'll go from playing 38 mpg to less than 18. West Liberty had a very promising freshman PG years ago. He'd have been a superstar in D2. He ended up being a bit player at Cleveland State.

Keep in mind Palek is the only one who has said he's looking for D1 opportunities. Maybe the others just want to get out of California ... or away from Danny, or, whatever.

What's kind of ironic is the one player from Cal who might be the most attractive to a low-level D1 is Cam Polak (who hasn't entered the Portal yet). He could definitely find a home as an off-the-bench sharp shooter.

A year ago Danny lost Atlantic Region POY KJ McClurg to a low-level D1. He had some good moments and some so-so moments this year.

Danny is a good recruiter. He'll eventually replace these guys.

[Scrub]

Donald Whitehead would probably be an All-American at Cal next year at PG. I'd guess he'll get a shot at a Cleveland State or similar. But, my guess is he'll go from playing 38 mpg to less than 18. West Liberty had a very promising freshman PG years ago. He'd have been a superstar in D2. He ended up being a bit player at Cleveland State.

Funny that you bring up Yahel Hill. I was just recalling him randomly the other day when thinking about the MEC tourney. I recall Hill having a really strong MEC tourney during his one and only year on the hilltop. He was also a fairly "slight" guy--prototypical D2 PG. Good for him that he was able to go play D1 if that's what he wanted, but you're right that he could have been a star here at the D2 level.

[Fightingscot82]

Kollin Tolbert / Concord

Lleyton Fried / Mansfield

Bakir Cleveland / Lincoln

[Scrub]

Kollin Tolbert / Concord

Lleyton Fried / Mansfield

Bakir Cleveland / Lincoln

Had a feeling Tolbert might hit the portal. Tolbert was the MEC POY this season. And recent history seems to indicate that in the "Portal Era," guys who see some success at Concord typically leave soon after. Obviously, JJ Harper left Concord for his final year (and the WLU faithful are pretty happy about how that turned out). Seems like Todd May does well to get guys to Concord and to play well for him, but he has struggled recently to keep them. Location of the school might have something to do with it (not that West Liberty can really say much about that either).

[Scrub]

MEC Freshman of the Year, Ja'Corey Lipkins is in the portal. Leaving Charleston.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

MEC Freshman of the Year, Ja'Corey Lipkins is in the portal. Leaving Charleston.

That new coach seems really popular. Good Lord.

[Scrub]

That new coach seems really popular. Good Lord.

It marks the SEVENTH member of the All-MEC squads to enter the portal . . . so far. They honor 20 guys (between first team, second team, and honorable mention), and already 7 of them are heading out of town. And if you take out the 5-6 guys who are graduating seniors, that's about 50% of the All-MEC team gone.

Well, allegedly heading out of town. As we know, far more guys enter the portal than there are quality spots on desirable rosters to occupy.

[Fightingscot82]

Somuah / Seton Hill

[bballfan03]

Some of those guys had been there since 2019 or 2020. That's an awful long time to stay in that town. Who knows. It could be as simple as once one of them left, well, the band was breaking up. We've also seen a lot of guys recently go up and have some success. The definition of success varies, of course.

From what I understand, most players like Danny. I've said on here several times his 'court' persona (looking like a crazed lunatic) and his 'off-court' persona are night and day different. He's actually a pretty chill, very soft-spoken guy away from the gym. However, most of the time the players spend with him is in said gym. That one-step-away-from-exploding stigma would get pretty old. Players today are babied compared to even 10 years ago. They don't like getting yelled at anymore.

I just question some of these Cal guys trying to go up right now. Palek is 'listed' at 6'9". He is extremely thin. He also missed essentially this whole season (and has battled injuries his whole career). He has a deep shot, which will interest some. However, they are all big at that level and most will have 40 pounds on him. He's not going to win many 40-yard dashes, either.

Bryson Lucas is a prototype D2 Small Forward. I'd personally pay him some NIL to come to IUP next year. LOL, but, not joking. Will his game translate? He's also very thin and also missed most of this season. He's about 6'6" or so, which will make him undersized for D1. Will his phone ring from up above?

You think of guys like Philip Alston (Cal to Loyola) Josh Omojofo (Gannon to Robert Morris) ... Cam Kearny (Clarion) ... they had/have the build for that level. Tomiwa had it. Even Armoni Foster was pretty jacked up when he left IUP. They all are built like that at the D1 level.

Donald Whitehead would probably be an All-American at Cal next year at PG. I'd guess he'll get a shot at a Cleveland State or similar. But, my guess is he'll go from playing 38 mpg to less than 18. West Liberty had a very promising freshman PG years ago. He'd have been a superstar in D2. He ended up being a bit player at Cleveland State.

Keep in mind Palek is the only one who has said he's looking for D1 opportunities. Maybe the others just want to get out of California ... or away from Danny, or, whatever.

What's kind of ironic is the one player from Cal who might be the most attractive to a low-level D1 is Cam Polak (who hasn't entered the Portal yet). He could definitely find a home as an off-the-bench sharp shooter.

A year ago Danny lost Atlantic Region POY KJ McClurg to a low-level D1. He had some good moments and some so-so moments this year.

Danny is a good recruiter. He'll eventually replace these guys.

Very possible it's just that one entered the portal and the others figured why not?

[jrshooter]

.

[jrshooter]

Well, I guess McFarland got his campus tour. He was a medical RS and didn't play a minute at Ship this season.

He will now be chillin' in Frostburg.

[TheBigCat2192]

MEC Freshman of the Year, Ja'Corey Lipkins is in the portal. Leaving Charleston.

He’d make a nice addition for a team that already has a bigger lead guard (or guards for those that run a three guard lineup). Really lit it up from deep in terms of both taking and making but had a slightly negative AST:TO and shot ~35% inside the arc.

[bballfan03]

Seems its safe to say Mike Montano from GU will be on this list in time. Rumors awhile ago were that he was in the doghouse for "conduct detrimental to team morale" (which would explain how he went from a started to not even a bench scrub (since he's been a healthy scratch for the past 45 days). Montano was Fee's recruit and apparently him and Coach Bazzoli have had it out a few times this year.

But he didn't even make the trip to WLU with Gannon. Sekasi played for the first time since his knee injury... so I'm wondering if coach told him they weren't taking him or if Montano just chose to not go.

Either way, I believe he may be the first GU transfer.

[Fightingscot82]

Mansfield's roster must have made a transfer pact

[Scrub]

Four more decent names from the MEC:

Corey Boston of Concord (who picked up a lot of slack after POY Tolbert's late-season injury)

Miguel Martinez of WV State

Devin Collins of Glenville (originally out of Marshall)

Samier Kinsler of Glenville (looking for, perhaps, his 4th school if I'm remembering correctly--too lazy to look it up. He appears to be on the Whippen plan).