Guess we are going to see how good some of these freshmen are.

BluffHunter wrote:

What is going on? This is horrible.

I just heard the announcer on the UMASS game state, that in this covid year, everyone gets another year of eligibility.  That might explain Carry stepping away. Maybe. 
 

I'm reposting my post from the game thread since it fits more here.

I'm really curious to know what is up with Carry and Austin. If Austin was going to leave at anytime it would seem it would have been last year after his family tragedy. His play declined afterwards, but sticking with the team seemed to be a sign of a deep connection. I've been worried about Sincere all year long and wondered if he was still feeling the effects of Covid. Of course he wouldn't play if he still had it, but the body doesn't bounce right back after an illness like that especially without being able to practice. I never was worried about him leaving though. He was the leader of the team from day one, and with his brother being there this year I figured that only strengthened the bond. Bekelja hadn't played since getting major minutes against Greensboro over a month ago. So I thought maybe that had something to do with it, but he did play today. Perhaps the departures are medical or discipline related and they just don't want to say too much until they work out exactly what to say. Perhaps they'll be back soon and all will be forgiven. If they are personal decisions and they don't come back it will be a big surprise and have a huge effect on the team though.

I don't think the bonus eligibility has anything to do with it, because the bonus eligibility is allowed no matter how much you play this year. If he wanted extra time with the team he wouldn't walk away from the team. As for the press conference, I'm sure everyone is being very careful about what they say regardless of the circumstances. Dambrot has been very accessible to the media, so I'm sure it's just a matter of time before he addresses the situation. He's got to be sure of how he phrases everything though. I would have liked to hear this thoughts about the game as well. So it's disappointing to have no presser. There's no way the personnel wouldn't have come up though, so it's not a big surprise.

Zachary Weiss

Dambrot on Austin: "Mace's situation is probably a bit different because he's not quit, he's taking some personal time. He's not going to transfer as far as I know unless something has changed in the last 24 hours."

Dambrot on Carry possibly returning: "I hope he would, but I don't know. Obviously he wasn't happy but neither was I. It's hard to be happy when you don't win and don't play great."

Dambrot on the situation as a whole: "These kids have a right to be unhappy, have a right to go somewhere else and have a right make their own decisions. The NCAA has made it really easy on them quite frankly."   

There are no curses or jinxes. We were bad for 40 years simply because we were bad! We are not bad anymore. We have an outstanding coach who will figure out how to get the most out of the talent at his disposal. I look for the 3 seniors to really step up their game and the youngsters to follow their example. This team will win more games than many of us think right now. Wanted to mention Amari who I believe will be integral as the season moves along. Looks like a different player than what we saw as a freshman. I too think that Ryan Murphy is much better than he has appeared to be early in the season. Glad to have him on board.

The strange and unpredictable world of college sports in 2021.  There is no stability even from game -to-game.  It makes it very difficult to invest any time, money or interest in something that is so unstable.  The system has evolved into something that is very convenient for the players; but not functional for the fans, coaches and institutions.  It will be interesting to see how this unchecked player movement damages the interest and money invested and generated by college basketball.

Why is Jett Roesing seeing no playing time on a team that shoots so horribly? Is his defense that bad?

duq81 wrote:

Why is Jett Roesing seeing no playing time on a team that shoots so horribly? Is his defense that bad?

I believe it is a combination of there being a finite amount of minutes to go around & because there is no clarity on what actions would disqualify a player from receiving the "automatic" extra year of eligibility.  I have read a couple of articles about coaches treating players as traditional redshirt candidates out of an abundance of caution just in case later clarifications/specifications for the extra eligibility rule turn out to be more restrictive than anticipated.

The NABC raised quite a stink over knowing just what that one-year exception will actually mean. However, I haven't been able to follow any fresh info after early November.

Anybody else with more recent info or a better understanding?