UW Hoops off season-----Recruiting & Transfer Portal

[Jim French Stepstool]

@OldSchoolSnapper---it's in my blood and I can't imagine not being a Badger hoops fan. That said, I agree with your points & don't blame anyone who wants to pull the plug. NIL & the portal go against the very essence that made many prefer the college game to the pros, and while some reform was probably needed what happened is akin to not just changing lanes, but crashing through the guardrail & flying right off the bridge. And as bad as this is I can't even fathom what it's like to be a fan of a mid-major program.

I hate the thought of the feds having to get involved, but if it's necessary for reform I won't complain.

[Samurai Bucky]

9 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I hate the thought of the feds having to get involved, but if it's necessary for reform I won't complain.

... but it is Deloitte.  Oof.  EY, maybe, but Deloitte?  😉

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, Samurai Bucky said:

... but it is Deloitte.  Oof.  EY, maybe, but Deloitte?  😉

Smart folks, from what I've heard. Whoever can crack this nut I'm all for it.

[CheezWizHed]

On 4/18/2026 at 1:32 PM, RedStickBrew said:

 

Does this mean we won the offseason?  We've claimed the only Victory to be had!

[RedStickBrew]

1 hour ago, CheezWizHed said:

Does this mean we won the offseason?  We've claimed the only Victory to be had!

I’ll take a Victory any time we can get one!

[nate82]

The NIL has been bad because the schools have made it bad.  It is like the ones making the decisions about the NIL money have never managed anything before and are just theoretical thinkers.  This is not rocket science here this shouldn’t be all that difficult to figure out.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

14 hours ago, nate82 said:

The NIL has been bad because the schools have made it bad.  It is like the ones making the decisions about the NIL money have never managed anything before and are just theoretical thinkers.  This is not rocket science here this shouldn’t be all that difficult to figure out.

I may be misunderstanding this but not sure what a money manager is supposed to do when a kid can sign with Duke knowing Gatorade will offer him something much more lucrative than the school, that is simply not happening if he signs with Central Michigan. 

Wisconsin is a bit lucky in bball. The rosters are small enough that there's plenty of talent left to trickle down to them as 2nd or 3rd tier team, and still be competitive. You can't really say they're worse than before, outside of a few great runs.

I just hate the turnover year to year. It's not fun.

 

[CheezWizHed]

2 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I just hate the turnover year to year. It's not fun.

I only have one ask to change NIL: 2 year contracts. If you commit to a team, you are there for 2 years unless the coach leaves. A hybrid between the previous and current systems. 

[nate82]

3 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I may be misunderstanding this but not sure what a money manager is supposed to do when a kid can sign with Duke knowing Gatorade will offer him something much more lucrative than the school, that is simply not happening if he signs with Central Michigan. 

They can make the contract for more than one year.  

[CheezWizHed]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

They can make the contract for more than one year.  

I meant required 2-year contracts.  They had a very high bar (sitting out one year) to transfer and now it is wide open (even switching in the same year after giving a commitment). Just balancing between the two for a bit more stability. 

[nate82]

1 hour ago, CheezWizHed said:

I meant required 2-year contracts.  They had a very high bar (sitting out one year) to transfer and now it is wide open (even switching in the same year after giving a commitment). Just balancing between the two for a bit more stability. 

Yeah I’m not sure why the contracts are not at a minimum 2-years and require a 2-year commitment.

[LouisEly]

2 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

I meant required 2-year contracts.  They had a very high bar (sitting out one year) to transfer and now it is wide open (even switching in the same year after giving a commitment). Just balancing between the two for a bit more stability. 

The problem - and what invites lawsuits against the NCAA - is a one-size-fits-all approach with only one way of doing things.  One of the best ways to avoid lawsuits is to give people choices.

For example:

• Scholarship are a 3-year contract.  Player can't leave before 3 years without having to sit out a year (except if head coach leaves or they graduate).  Contract is mutual - university can't revoke it either (except for misconduct - no "Creaning").  
• If a player wants the freedom to move in less than 3 years without sitting out, they can't take a scholarship and can only take school revenue sharing and whatever "NIL" they find for themselves (but not through the university).

That way players have the freedom of choice to move if they want it, but provides incentive to stick around for multiple years.

[Jim French Stepstool]

14 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

 whatever "NIL" they find for themselves (but not through the university.)

A big part of the problem IMO. Student athletes should be allowed to market themselves to the hilt, but market THEMSELVES. No direct NIL payments from the school, and no reference to the school in any ads, be it verbally, wearing the school uniform, logos, nuthin'.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Here's a scenario:

HS athlete is a once in a generation QB, 6'9" do-it-all forward, whatever. Clearly the top prep player in the nation in his sport. CEO of a nationally known insurance company (or auto maker, restaurant chain or widget manufacturer) believes it would be beneficial to lock this kid up in an ad campaign. Being a brand known coast-to-coast, this CEO also feels he'd get that much more bang for his buck if said athlete also wore a Duke (or UCLA, or Kentucky) uniform in the ads. The firm (or through accountant mumbo-jumbo, the CEO) donates $4 million to Dukes' NIL fund. By sheer coincidence, Duke proceeds to outbid the next highest offer by, oh, say 3.5 million & the kid signs.

I don't see anything that prevents this.

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

8 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I may be misunderstanding this but not sure what a money manager is supposed to do when a kid can sign with Duke knowing Gatorade will offer him something much more lucrative than the school, that is simply not happening if he signs with Central Michigan. 

Wisconsin is a bit lucky in bball. The rosters are small enough that there's plenty of talent left to trickle down to them as 2nd or 3rd tier team, and still be competitive. You can't really say they're worse than before, outside of a few great runs.

I just hate the turnover year to year. It's not fun.

 

The rule of sitting out a year was beautiful in that it sort-of created a buffer against the competitive disadvantages of the low-to-mid majors. You MIGHT leave for a bigger school (funny you mentioned CMU as JJ Watt was there originally), but you need go through a full year of not playing & simply being a (GASP!!) college student. Many found that distasteful & stayed put. Now the smaller schools are farm teams. As I said earlier I have no idea how disheartening it must be to be a fan/alum of a school in that situation.

Yes, UW is fortunate in being able to stay competitive due to the limited roster spots in BB combined with the sheer volume of kids available. But they've also proven in this new era to simply be damn good at personnel evaluation & putting together connected rosters year-to-year, on the fly. But I hate it too, as do I'm sure most coaches.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Nothing official, but there's a lot of smoke suggesting that John Blackwell is going to sign soon with Duke.

[Samurai Bucky]

Confirmed:

 

[LouisEly]

I think I would have rather seen him go to Iowa.  Or Michigan.  Or even Minnesota.

I need to go take a shower after typing that.

[CheezWizHed]

3 hours ago, Samurai Bucky said:

Confirmed:

 

[zurch1818]

He's out of the Big 10 and now gives me another reason to root against Duke. I consider this a win.

The only thing that would be better is if he somehow decided to come back to WI.