😁

When the NBA stopped taking players directly from high school and the one and done philosophy became a part of the game, I started to lose interest. One positive thing that seemed to happen was that it seemed to level the playing field and smaller schools with an experienced team that played together for a couple of years could successfully challenge the blue bloods. The transfer portal and NIL may end the capability of a fielding a team that plays together for a couple of years.

He said he no longer coached a program. He tried to build a team every year now. To your point. You used to be able to start looking at the future. Hate to say it. But anyone with a bright future won’t be playing here in the coming years.

They just displayed the quote on the Myrtle Beach Bowl

The Price: What It Takes to Win in College Football's Era of Chaos, by Armen Keteyian, published in 2024. I'm three chapters in. The first few chapters cover the reaction of Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh -- the coaches in the 2023 season CFP championship game -- to the advent of NIL, which was legalized in July 2021. Their reactions were not positive. 😁 Saban hated the lack of control he had over the development of his players and his team (comparing it to the NFL, where he had no control and no ability to motivate his players), and Harbaugh bemoaned the loss of developing boys into young men and the loss of the challenge of building a team over years. As a result, both Alabama and Michigan had poor NIL operations from the start. Bama basically didn't have one, while Michigan had six NIL collectives that were all over the place. Of course, both recovered and built strong NIL operations. Saban and Harbaugh hated the changes so much that Saban retired and Harbaugh returned to the NFL (though to be fair, Harbaugh was embroiled in scandal that was driving him out of the college game anyway). It gets back to what Kelly Woolwine said on that podcast we did a week ago .... everyone hates this system. Everyone. Hang in there, Hokie fans. I think, in the next five years, some structure will be brought to the system, with collective bargaining, contracts, transfer guardrails, etc. Everyone is crying for it. (Everyone except ESPN.) The P2 schools are currently using the system to crush the non-P2 schools and take all of their players, but even the P2 schools eventually want structure ... just give them a little time first, to choke the life out of the other 100 FBS teams. ** Edited by Will Stewart at 12/23/2024, 12:15:33 PM

i'm sure being a free agent every semester is taxing and then if you don't leave you might miss out on 100 -200k in cash is not an easy decision to live with.

Do you accept the benefits of the services taxes bring? Does that mean you like paying taxes?

We all have our opinions, which everyone has their right too. Enjoy this Special Day, Celebrating the Birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

They haven’t all been sharing in the big money.

of the fun out it for me to no longer try to project the future. I can easily see why some fans will feel like giving up on it. Overall I would say that it stinks for many fans. Doesn’t seem like the same game anymore for fans who like to play the “all year” game of recruiting and building teams longer term. That part is gone.

for the same reason. It was fun when you could hate Greg Paulus and Grayson Allen for 3-4 years because they were the typical Duke guy. You could appreciate the intensity of the UNC/Duke rivalry because the same guys went head to head. Once K moved over to renting NBA bound kids, it changed it all. You could barely recognize anyone from the previous year. It's the exact same reason I don't watch much professional basketball. I never watched NASCAR but the same thing happened there with driver turnover. That's now happening with our favorite team. Why is anyone surprised?

and done. And, the Bluebloods never seemed be quite as strong after that because of the lack of experience. They became more beatable, especially early season, for teams that were heavy with 3rd and 4th year players. Even Wofford could go beat UNC. I don’t recall that happening much before one and done.

cuz its VT. I've been in the Johnson, Stokes and Frankie Allen disasters. Stayed with Frank in the bad years and suffered through Fuente and now Pry. Still a Hokie. So are you just a supporter of winners? Look at your fan history... ** Edited by UTPr0sim at 12/22/2024, 10:19:45 AM

What has changed is that there is no longer any roster continuity from one season to the next, which has caused a lot of folks like the OP and myself to lose interest. I won't speak for anyone else, but I know that one of the main reasons I fell in love with college sports in the first place was that I felt a sort of connection to the players that you don't often find in modern professional sports - I felt like they had an allegiance to the university I loved, and in that way, we shared something in common. I enjoyed watching players come in as freshmen, develop over their career, and often contribute significantly as upperclassmen. It was fun to watch the same guys play for 3 or 4 seasons...in a way, it often felt like you got to "know" them over the course of their college careers. Those days are over, and it has killed the fun of being a fan for people like me. That doesn't mean I'm a fairweather fan...it means I'm just not a fan at all anymore. VT could win a national championship and I wouldn't care. Heck, I didn't watch a single basketball game the season that VT won the ACC tournament. And beyond the sports aspect, I believe the constant jumping from school to school does the players a disservice in the long run. I think there is great value in the patience and hard work to be learned by working up the depth chart and waiting for an opportunity to play. Those are lessons that will serve players well long after their sports careers conclude, which is sooner rather than later for most college athletes. Sadly, the transfer portal and lure of larger NIL payments has all but killed all of that, to the detriment of (in my opinion) not only the fan experience but also of the personal development of the players. They may cash in on NIL deals in the short term, and the elite players will likely have future paydays in pro leagues, but for the average college player, there is no future as a professional athlete, and most NIL deals are not going to be significant enough to make anyone "set for life." The vast majority of college athletes will have to earn a living in some other way, so they would benefit from learning the patience and determination that come from developing within a program over 4-5 years. Unfortunately, the transfer portal provides the allure of bypassing that patience for instant gratification, robbing many kids of valuable life lessons that would pay dividends for years to come.

Fair weather? Maybe.

...is questioning being a hokie. People want better than being the worst with plenty of excuses along the way.

there is certainly a core of permanent passionate fans - but nothing like a Louisville, Syracuse, even UVa that can sustain you during down periods.

It's easy to be Looserville or Syracuse fans during a down period since most of their history they have been near the top with Nattys in their pocket. For the Hokies, there have been many more down years than up years. ** Edited by Atlee Hokie at 12/23/2024, 12:26:42 PM

have good bball years and will support the program. If you build it... But if you suck you are on your own. IIWII. At least we arent UNC football where no one comes even if they are good.

And our fanbase for basketball is very much a bandwagon one. Even our better teams only draw biggest crowds when we have a Duke, UNC, uva, Cuse or Louisville in town.

need the money, and he's probably fed up with NIL crappola!!

I think he’s probably looking for the exit door as soon as feasible. He didn’t sign up for this.

Maybe after this year or 1 or 2 more. We will all just have to wait and see. It might depend what VT would owe him if he doesn’t leave on his own. However, I believe CMY would make his decision to leave on his own. It’s been really tough on him so far this season.

Though obviously it wouldn't be enjoyable.

never see it improving much as we are severely limited compared to SEC/BIG10 as far as being able to pay players millions in NIL. Its never been a level playing field but its way more unlevel than ever now. Sure we might have a good year here and there but when we do the big money will come in and swoop best players up and it will be one and done .It's hard to get excited about different kids every year knowing that if they have a good year they will be gone. I have very little motivation or interest to support any such system as that. ** Edited by uber hokie at 12/23/2024, 5:46:27 PM

hard to keep caring. I never thought I'd say something like that...have been along for all the rides (good bad and ugly) so far...but part of it with MBB is that it's pretty clear that the fans are whatever comes after an afterthought at this point. It's a shame.

And many other programs

We are ranked 310 in offense . Just not attractive to watch boring basketball. The Style of play is gone by the wayside . Yawn.

and I've been going to games since the Cassell opened in 1961. I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. This year's team and poor coaching can be lumped together; the bad and the ugly. Unfortunately I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel.

They are severely lacking in basketball talent. We have a couple great athletes who aren’t great basketball players. We have a couple good to great shooters who aren’t good enough athletes to be good all around basketball players. Ben Burnham is probably our best all around guy but he’s a high IQ piece who should fit into a group a valuable role player not a lead scoring stud We’ve got no “go to” guy

to the rim but none could finish. Those guys need to show a pull up jumper or teardrop instead of getting stuffed and ending up on their butts.

The roster he put together this year is dramatically different (in talent level, experience, and skillsets) than what he has recruited in the past. Despite that, he is running the exact same system, even though many of this year's players are square pegs in that system. And it is maddening that this far into his tenure, he still has refused to make any adjustments in how he handles basics like breaking a press. Every MY team, skilled, unskilled, green, experienced, whatever, does NOTHING to make opponents back off a press. That is poor coaching.

unfortunately we don't have Miller or a similar caliber PG

The team would have been pretty good had not 4 of 5 starters left for bigger NIL pay days elsewhere. And then his best transfer coming in isn't on the team 2 weeks before the season started because of his trouble at his previous school. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong and, in no way, do I believe it is on the coach. Either pony up with some real NIL money for basketball or they will never be competitive no matter who the coach happens to be.

In order to run a system for transfers, especially one that incorporates players mostly new to the program like what we have; I would think you have to have talented players who are great athletes and just cut them loose and let them play on instinct. We don't have those players in the program.

with a PER of 21.9, the rating system would qualify that Burnham arrived at VT as a “borderline all star”. The fact is he has played well below his previous PER (at Charleston) since being at VT, which might suggest that he is struggling adjusting to a different system under Mike Young. (That, of course, doesn’t mean that Young is a poor coach either.) At any rate, I agree we presently have no “go to” guys. But, my guess, if any will emerge during this season it is most likely to be Burnham, if he can find his old groove again.

he's improving every game and is actually one of the few bright spots. He gives max effort and plays his tail off. Its hard to ask for anything more out of a guy than that.

But, he has also played well before against high major teams as well so I’m guessing it is more about adjusting to coming here. He is playimg better. IMO he should be starting and playing 30+ minutes a game. Love his effort.