This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Okay, Darren, it is transfer portal chaos. So we had to jump on just to give a little bit of update what's going on in the Southern Conference. And to be honest with you, Darren, I don't even know if we know what the hell's going on right now. But because we've got eligibility rules that might be changed this summer and how that's going to impact the transfer portal. But of course, we've got a lot of guys leaving the Southern Conference now that the portal has officially closed. And this part of this situation where as we're getting ready for the NFL draft, it almost feels like the season of hope when the portal closes and who you might be getting back on your team, so to speak, just like in the NFL draft. But I would have to say just from the Southern Conference perspective, 78 players have entered the portal from the Southern Conference. And of course, we know the stats talking about the first, second, third, also con teams, every single player that made one of those three teams, 12 of them that still had eligibility, they all transferred. And that is something that of course, from the Southern Conference perspective, you can look at it two ways is that they can't compete with some of these other programs because of the money situation. But you can also view it from a perspective as far as look what these coaches are doing. They're bringing high level talented players into the league, developing them and then having that ability to then move to a bigger opportunity. So there is a positive from it. But of course, I wish all these players could stay in the league because we had some great players in this league. We did and we talked about it all year how good the freshman class was by itself. I'm the eternal optimist, so I'm going to always try to look at the positive of it. But it is the reality, but it is unfortunate. I'm happy for these guys that are truly getting an opportunity to go maximize their financial abilities and potentially have a chance to play at the highest level if that's what they so choose to do. But it is it's it's really sad and it's frustrating for the league because you want to see some of this talent stick around. And I think a lot of these coaches know today that they may only have these guys for one year. Yeah. But it's a little bit maybe not demoralizing, but it's it's certainly a little frustrating when you have to go out and rebuild your roster every year. And not only that, but almost be pseudo player development for a Power 4 program when this kid comes in, has a good year and leaves. And so, you know, like I said, there's some positives from it. Like, you know, I agree with you completely. But I would love to be able to see some of these guys grow and blossom in the Southern Conference so that we can consistently know that we're going to have high level basketball at the mid major level in this league. Yeah. And so the question would be also as you talked about the development side, you know, what's the long term effect for the league itself if you're just viewed as go there for one year develop and then move on out. That doesn't sound like a recipe for long term success for the conference. No, it doesn't. And I think that's one thing that these mid major conferences and frankly the NCAA as we move forward is going to have to figure out and the powers that be you're going to have to figure out because we've talked about it before on the show. The gap between some of the high major programs and the Power 4 conferences has shrunk a little bit because of the money that's involved now. So the playing field is theoretically closer. But what has been a massive consequence here is that the gap between the mid major programs and these Power 4 programs has grown so significantly that generally speaking in the current landscape, there's no way that anybody in the Southern Conference is going to be able to keep a guy who's a first or second team all-league kid. It just unfortunately, even if you go to the mid major plus level, there's enough programs at the mid major plus level that can offer a significant amount more money. And we're just seeing guys taking advantage of those opportunities. And part of me says, hey, grass ain't always greener. Go be the dude or stay the dude where you're at. But it is hard to it's hard to tell somebody, yeah, you should stay. We we we can't pay you the two hundred and fifty to three hundred thousand dollars extra that you might be getting. In some cases, that's that's a small amount more. You can't justify the look of kid in the eyes and say, yeah, you know, you should do that. It's really hard to to to to to tell a kid that that makes sense to stay. That's right. Yeah. And also, we have no idea what type of advice these players are getting from so many different points of contact in their life from player agents to parents to family members to other players, whatever it might be. So that has a major influence on it. And part of me just wants to be able to talk to some of these players and say, hey, I've lived on earth longer than you. So I've experienced more than you have. I'm not talking down to you, but maybe you want to re-evaluate some of these situations in a prime example. I look at Barack O'Coach a transferring out of Mercer and going back to George Mason, where he started. Now, we saw, of course, he transferred from George Mason to Memphis and then to Mercer. And part of me is thinking, you're just first team and you probably got a lot of votes for player of the year here in the Southern Conference this past season. And I think there's something going on there in making that Ryan Ritter's doing an absolutely fantastic job. So could you have that opportunity of being that foundational piece for Mercer next year? And there's no question if Barack O'Coach is in the mix, Mercer is going to be one of the top teams that we would look at come preseason. And you would have to even look at maybe a coj's going to garner preseason player of the year. Yeah, I mean, there's still a lot of roster spots to fill in the league. But, you know, as of today, April 23rd, if he were coming back, I he would have my vote for preseason player of the year. You know, and you, you know, you can obviously build around he and Brady Shoulders, like you said, they're going to, you know, they're going to be competitive. Look, I don't know what the NIL situation is in Mercer. So I don't want to speculate on that. Yes. But my gut tells me is that, you know, school in the A-10, you know, a upper echelon school in the A-10, you know, probably had a probably, again, I don't know, but probably had a significant amount more money. And look, I'll be the first one to to tell. And I've told it to some of these guys that I've consulted with, like, you can't always just go take the money because there are more important things in life than than just going to chase the money. But when you are in a scenario where there's potentially a significant difference, it does make it a harder decision. But I am excited to see that some of the guys that I've talked to at different schools throughout the country about kind of helping walk them through some of this process, some of them have ultimately made the decision to stay and it's been for less money. But I think they understand the legacy piece, you know, being part of a significant alumni base and some of these other things, the academic piece, not losing credits or, hey, you know, you're at a really strong academic institution and maybe where you would be transferring to the money is great, but it's just not as good of a school. So I haven't been encouraged. Does that even matter, though, anymore? It should. I mean, 100 percent should. Are we still saying these are student athletes? I mean, I think I think that's a serious question. I don't know if we really are. Look, you and I have talked about it. I think at some point, whatever the cutoff is, whether it's just the power of four schools, you know, whether you include, you know, you just I would assume you'd include the Big East and basketball. I think football and basketball are going to have to break off. No doubt. At some point in the near future. And they're going to have to go be basically deemed employees. And we're going to have to get to a point where we can collectively bargain. And that's not an easy task. But that's where you then can separate maybe some of these guys that really still should be considered student athletes versus look, yeah, to your point, especially at the high level, power four programs like, no, I mean, you're still there to get an education. Right. But you're certainly you are certainly there for more than just getting an education to the point in which we can't just look at you as, hey, yeah, you're just a student and you play basketball and and that's great. Like, no, we are. And maybe that could be a component of whatever could be collective bargained that there is some type of academic requirement. Of course, I know there's academic requirements that have been in place for years and you have to remain eligible from an academic standpoint. But again, when guys are playing one year, do they really have to worry about academic eligibility? Because they just want to make sure credits transfer. And if they don't, well, they don't. They'll try to make it up some other way. And, you know, summer school, online classes, whatever it is. And it's obviously a slippery slope where we're going. But the impact right now that we're hearing from the NCAA, Charlie Baker, the president is coming out saying that they were looking at a five year eligibility rule starting high school or age 19, whichever comes first. And there's no red shirts. There's no waivers, nothing of that nature. And they're wanting to have this voted on in May and potentially going into effect in June. And so we don't know what that would mean if all of a sudden there's five year eligibility available for these players starting in June. Is this past class going to be grandfathered in? And if that's the case, then right now the portal, I mean, we know it's closed, but you don't have to make a commitment or sign right now. You're still weighing all of your options. So now what does the coaching staff do? What do players do? Because now there could be a large number of players who we do know that did enter into the portal, even though they didn't have eligibility and rightfully. So why wouldn't you at this point? Go ahead and throw your name in there because you don't know what's going to happen either from NCAA legislation or maybe a lawsuit situation. Yeah, I think two things come to mind for for me right away on that. I think one, I don't know why we need to change the rule from four to five years. That I really don't get four years, frankly, prior to COVID really worked fine. And then we had the COVID year and that dragged out all the way until last year. And I know that there's been some guys that have more than a handful that have gotten additional years of eligibility, but I don't quite understand why we need to lengthen this out for five years and then take away waivers and take away registered years, et cetera. I'm not saying that there's not a good explanation. I can't think of anything that that screams to me we should do that. Yeah, and I do think, yeah, from your perspective, talking about COVID, I think that was just such a knee jerk reaction in terms of, oh, here's another year of eligibility because, you know, the impact of the season and how that affected everybody. And unfortunately, I know this is going to sound harsh, but sometimes life is unfair. And I agree with you in terms of for your eligibility, it seemed to work for quite a while. And again, once you threw that monkey wrench into it, then it seemed like the floodgates opened and now we're trying to almost revert back in how we can somewhat fix what happened during COVID. Well, it opened Pandora's box, certainly. But I do think I actually am a full proponent for, look, I agree that, you know, sometimes life isn't fair. But I think the circumstances surrounding COVID were so extreme. I am is was am 100 percent for those guys getting an additional year of eligibility with everything that was going on with with COVID and how guys lost a year. That said, COVID is vastly different than trying to say, well, hey, I wasn't a Division 1 athlete, and now I transferred up. So I should get those years back or, hey, I played junior college and so I wasn't on the national stage. So I should get those years back. Those are those are three completely separate lanes. And COVID is the is the one that stands out significantly as the anomaly there. And I am 100 percent think that that was the right move to do. But then to address your second point of of where the cutoff is and do guys get grandfathered in, I think from a legal perspective, the NCAA is going to is going to say going forward. I don't think that they're going to grandfather anyone in. I think if they were to allow guys that graduated this year to come back for another year, you're just looking at complete chaos, guys losing roster spots. What is that impact on on incoming freshmen? What does that do for future recruiting classes? Things that nature. So I think that it will be prospective only. And that's one area where I would say, you know, if a kid says, well, hey, I just graduated this year, why can't I get my extra year back? That's where I would go with you just as well. Guess what, man? Sometimes life isn't fair. You know what? That's right. There are a lot of guys that were early on in this NIL era when the money wasn't crazy, they would be making seven figures right now and they got 50 grand. Yes. Yes. And so it's just the way things happen sometimes, the way things fall. Yeah, that's the reality of it. And I agree with you is that if you're going to pass this five year eligibility rule, then it has to be moving forward. And that's it because it will create way too much chaos. And yeah, back to your point. Like life is unfair at times and you could have a situation where a car dealership is having a sale and it's only until this date you come in four weeks later, well, I saw this, I want to get that deal. Well, sorry, you missed the window. And yeah, there's got to be a starting point and an ending point, so to speak, as far as, you know, being eligible. And so I'm all for actually the five years. I think it's a good thing because also I'm not a big fan of all of the waivers and the red shirts and all of that. And again, I know there's unique circumstances and it's unfortunate. Injuries happen. Guy misses an entire season. Again, that's just the reality of it. Because in high school, we don't give guys an extra year of high school eligibility just because they get injured to an ACL and they miss an entire season. They just keep going. And I think that's what you're going to have to do with the NCAA because then you just get two muddied waters from that side of things. And that's why I'm just let's if we're going to pass it, pass it. And it's only moving forward for players coming into college athletics right now. Yeah. And to your point from a simplicity perspective, maybe that is the the main reason is look, there are, you know, X number of different waivers and you can register to a guy for this and you can register to guy for that. Or, hey, you know what? I played just a game or two over in order to not be able to register, et cetera. So maybe maybe that is the thing here is look, we're going to give you an extra year and we're going to just simplify the rule and there's just not going to be a whole lot of gray area in it. And if that's the case, I'm all ears. And I'm not saying that if we did, if we were to keep it the same, that I love all the gray area in which you are able to work around the system. But maybe like you said, maybe this is an opportunity to just say, look, you got five years, don't go looking at the bylaws for this caveat or that caveat. Like this is it. And and we're going from there. And so here's the question. I get on board for that. Yeah, here's the question. Could it stand up legally, though? Could there be guys that are going to fight it? And say, hey, I should say, hey, more than five years. Yes, exactly. You say, why are you arbitrarily coming up with this five year number? I don't know the answer to that. And yeah, I think there's, you know, a lot of innuendos that go into it and a lot of factors. And so but based on how litigious we know society is right now, and especially in the world of college athletics, it would only seem that somebody might try to decide because, you know, quote unquote, hasn't been collectively bargained. And I think ultimately that's where we're going to have to get to. But I want to get back to the transfer portal because we could go down this illegal road and I don't know enough about the legal side of it. You're much more well versed on it. But even right now it's ever changing. So it's hard to even keep up with everything that's viewed as precedent or not precedent and all of those things. But just going back to the Southern Conference and the players that have transferred out, I mean, there were some big moves in terms of the guys that have transferred out. And again, one of those is second team also con player and the tournament most outstanding player, Alex Wilkins, heading to Kentucky. And I felt coming into the transfer portal that Alex Wilkins, once he put his name in there, I felt he was the number one transfer portal coming out of the Southern Conference. And I felt he was a top 30 transfer portal type of player just based on his skill set, his ability, and then also his eligibility. That's a big one, Darren. This is freshman year. So you can't tell me that's not part of the equation. And again, yeah, you can look at some of these other players in terms of, I'm talking from a national perspective that might be better than Alex Wilkins, you know, from a combo guard or point guard perspective, but they've only got one year of eligibility. And with Alex Wilkins having three years of eligibility, at least that's what we think right now. Again, we don't know. But you can't tell me that's not a big reason why Mark Pope was like, okay, yes, I can take on Alex Wilkins here. Because could we continue to develop him into an even better shooter? And I'm a huge fan of the combination with him and Zoom Diallo there at Kentucky. I think this thing can really work. Yeah, I think the eligibility piece certainly matters, right? Because you're, you know, you may only have a kid for a year. I mean, we've all seen that even at the high major level. There's a lot of these powerful schools that are having to build their entire rosters, but there's something different when you're recruiting a guy that has multiple years of eligibility because of the opportunity to potentially keep him. Right. Like if Alex Wilkins goes there and does what I think we think he is capable of doing, Kentucky's going to be in a situation to be able to, you know, retain his, his services for multiple years. Yeah. And so that certainly matters. You know, we see it all the time of guys that are kind of one year guys and the leash sometimes isn't as long. Sometimes coaches are a little bit more hesitant, depending on the age of their roster, because we have seen that age and experience ultimately does really win in March. Now you certainly having some very talented youth, 100% matters and is going to make you that much better. But you have to have some older guys on your roster here in 2026 to be able to, I think, make a deep run. But no, I think him coming out when he decided that he was going to leave, he was certainly one of the top prospects in the transfer portal. He has tremendous upside and he can, as we've talked about, he could score, you know, he could score all three levels. He finished strong for his size. Obviously, you know, I know we'll continue to work on the three point shooting, but look, when he gets high, he gets high. And he shot 33% capable. Yeah. Yeah, he's very capable. And to your point, I do like him being able to slide over off the ball a little bit more and maybe not have to handle it the entire time. No question. He's illustrated that he certainly can. But just because you're not on the ball doesn't mean that you that you're not going to be an adverse advantageous opportunities to be able to create create for yourself and create for others. You know, the point guard position has changed so drastically over the last 10, 15 years, you know, we're kind of whereby the true point guard is really not necessarily a thing anymore. You've got guys that a lot of a lot of programs basically just have a, hey, we got a guy to semi get the ball up the floor and get us into our offense. And they're playing maybe through four or five. Is there is there is one of their biggest creators. And so him being able to slide off the ball. I, I, I too am intrigued because he has legitimate size at six, four, six, five. And he's still going to have a ton of opportunities to create for himself and others, but he won't necessarily have to be relied on to run the point guard spot for, you know, 30 plus minutes. Yeah, I think he's an excellent secondary creator. And I think he'll play well with Diallo, of course. It remains to be seen. But the other player coming out of firm and that transferred to the SCC and that's Cooper Bowser. And I think this is a good fit just in terms of Arkansas and what Calipari wants to do in terms of getting up and down the court. And he loves rim runners. And there's no doubt that Cooper Bowser can be that guy. Of course, he's got the height. Can he put on some bulk? That's going to be the question for him to be able to make that next step to the SCC, but that's a big time move for Cooper Bowser going to Arkansas. Yeah, I mean, here's the thing, right? We talked about how talented top to bottom Furman was this year and putting it together and them coming together late and obviously going and winning the conference tournament. I mean, you have two guys on your roster that are going to play in the SCC next year. So that tells you the level of recruiting that that program is able to do. And look, the player development, Cooper Bowser spent three years at Furman to credit to him for how hard he's worked and his ability to be coachable. But it also says a lot about Furman's ability to to invest significantly in player development because look, Cooper played as a freshman and he did some great things as a freshman. But if you look at his progression every year, he's gotten better every year and he's improved an aspect of his game every year. And yes, that goes to him. But that also goes to the investment in the player development that the Furman Paldons and Coach Bob Ritchie and his staff were able to afford Cooper. Yeah, no. And I do like he's been able to at least establish a little bit of a low post at game. But I don't know if he's necessarily going to need that at Arkansas in terms of, Hey, I've got to put my back to the basket and back somebody down. That's really not his game necessarily. But against East Tennessee State in that championship game. Oh, he did that quite a bit. A little short righty hook. I mean, he was on fire in that tournament championship game. All right. Some of the other big moves in terms of the SoCon transfer portal, one of my favorite players, Justin Neely, and just recently announced he's going to Colorado. That is a big time move for Justin Neely. And again, we saw what he was able to do in the Southern Conference first team. And I would imagine too, he got a lot of votes for player of the year or at least a number of votes for player of the year, because I mean, he was a double double machine and a rebounding dominant type of guy who could also step out and knock down the three point shot. So again, this is an opportunity to showcase that SoCon had some talented players in the league last year. So him going to Colorado is definitely a big move. It is. And I was kind of waiting with Bated breath to see where he would go, because a couple of their bigger names, they jumped earlier and made their decisions earlier. And I actually had a coach reach out to me the other day asking if I'd heard anything about where Justin Neely was going. And I really hadn't. So congratulations to him. I mean, that'll be obviously a significant jump from the Southern Conference to the Big 12. But, you know, we talked to him. We had the opportunity to interact with him. Really, really sharp guy. You know, he's going to put the effort in. He saw how hard he played. Yes. And you mentioned it, I think at some point in the past, putting his size aside, because I mean, he is a little bit undersized, I think at the power four level. High body. He's undersized. Yeah. His body size. No, for rebounding. No, he's a physically strong individual. Yeah. But he has a knack for rebounding. I mean, I'm not comparing him to Dennis Rodman, but I mean, Dennis Rodman was also not a monster either. You know, but yeah, you have to. That's a rebound. You know, under the effort. Absolutely. Effort was a big part. And we actually talked about it on the show or breaking down a little bit of the film and watching him go close out on a three point shot and then immediately get back to the rim to grab the rebound. I mean, that's the type of effort. And then also understand the angles, all of that. And, you know, that was a big part of what Justin Neely, why he was so effective because he did understand that the angles, just like a Dennis Rodman, like you're talking about in some of the great rebounders, they just have this knack to your point that somehow they find the ball. I don't know how they find it, but they just do. They're a little bit, you know, somewhat of a magnet, so to speak. All right. Some of the other guys and I had a list of my top guys that in the portal, now Alex Wilkins, I'd mentioned number one, I had Justin Neely there at number two, and then I had Brock Kojie at number three. Now he's going to George Mason and had Armani Mighty at number four in terms of the guys coming out of the Southern Conference. And we know he's going back to the ACC at Pittsburgh and. Okay. We know he's a high major size, high major talent. And now this is opportunity to almost reprove yourself, so to speak. Yeah. You know, originally played at Boston College. And so this could be a situation where, OK, Armani Mighty, you got to go out there and you got to be mighty. Yeah. No, look, 100 percent is another opportunity to prove yourself at that level. And with his size and that body, look, if he can, if he can do anything close to what he was, what he did last year at Mercer, we're going to be hearing a lot about Armani Mighty on, you know, the ACC network next year. I mean, you know, if he can, if he can rebound and score and scored as efficiently as he did, he will certainly wreak havoc in that league. So look, for him, you got to be excited if you, you know, if you're him because you've got now you now have the opportunity to go prove yourself again and say, look, first time around, it didn't work. But guess what? I am able to compete at a high level and I am able to make a contribution, a significant contribution, significant at the power four level. Yeah, no, agreed. All right. Number five, Kamari Holmes, you know, he's going to DePaul. That's a big time pickup for DePaul. Telling it huge again, a strong finisher. He was elite at getting to the rim and finishing. That's why, again, I put him, Barack O'Coach and Alex Wilkins all in the same type of category. He just did it in a different way than Wilkins did in terms of Wilkins just had that glide. He's slippery. He could find a little gap. He could find a little space where Holmes, he got downhill. He was just going at you, right at you. And O'Coach was kind of the same way. That's why they went to the free throw line so much. And of course, O'Coach was the number one free throw attempts in the country. Yeah, I think, I think Holmes will do well in the big east. I agree. I think that's a really good get for DePaul. He's got the size. He has the athleticism. He's got good length. He's he's he is a very good defender. And so I think his game will translate to the next level. Now, the big east is a physical league. Yes, it is. But he's physical. He is. But obviously the physicality of the Southern Conference and the size of the Southern Conference is is significantly different than that of the big east. But like I said, all that to say, I do think it's a very good pickup for DePaul. And I think he will be a significant contributor there because I think he just he has that sort of game that's going to be able to translate up. And and he already has the the natural strength and size where, you know, they'll get him with some additional weight and they'll they'll get him to a point probably where he's, you know, bigger, stronger and maintains the same amount of athleticism, if not, gets more athletic. And so I love that get for DePaul, too. I was a big fan. I'll wait a minute. I mean, I was a big fan of Kamari Holmes's game. Oh, no doubt. Yeah, I love that back court. Dave Wofford. Exactly. And that was tough to see him have that injury. And then, of course, in the Socon tournament, struggle from the free throw line. And so I'm looking forward to following how he's going to perform out there to Paul. All right. Number six on my list was Dylan Faulkner. Double, double machine. And now I like saying it, too. Hey, he's a Clemson Tiger as a Clemson grad, man. I'm all excited about Dylan Faulkner coming into the orange fold. So to speak. And I think he fits right in with Brad Brinell's system. Now he's not a three point shooter. We know that, but he's that grit, grind type of player. It's going to do the dirty work, maybe a little bit undersized based on the ability that he has, because again, I mean, has a knack for rebounding. And he can finish towards the rim. And so this is an opportunity now. Okay. It will be a little bit different in the ACC, just as you talked about previously, I mean, there will be some size difference, but I do expect Dylan Faulkner. He'll be able to perform maybe not all ACC type of level, but there's no doubt he'll be a major contributor for the Tigers. Yeah, well, it's funny. You and I haven't talked about this yet, but as a former Clemson Tiger, the guy that you want to be really excited about, in my opinion, is Col Serta. Oh, yes. Oh, no doubt. Oh my goodness. Are you crazy? Yes. Great get for the Clemson Tigers. He's getting ready to have an explosive year because he's coming into his own now. And there's no doubt. But sorry, I digress, but I couldn't help but bring him up because he's an Illinois guy and I've known about Cole for a long time. And it has always been a fan of his game. I think he's a really good player. But look, you know, with Faulkner, again, another guy that ends up going to the power four level. And I think it just speaks to, as we've mentioned multiple times now, the level of skill and talent in this league that you've got a ton of guys leaving and not just going to the mid major plus level, but are going to the high major level. And I think are not only just filling roster spots, but are, frankly, really going to be expected to be key contributors. I think everyone that we've talked about that has gone up to the power four level. I know there's a lot of roster spots to fill, right? But I think everyone that we've talked about so far, these are guys that are going to the power four level, that these programs are expecting them to be key contributors to their rotation next year. If not start, I would think a lot of these guys we talked about are expected to start and will start. But nonetheless, these are guys that are that, you know, if they don't have significant years where they make a key contribution to that rotation, you know, coaching staffs are going to be frustrated, surprised and you may have some frustrated administrations because like these, these guys can play, right? And so there, there are expectations for these guys as they move up. Yeah, no question. All right. Also Blake Barkley is next there. ETSU heading out to the sunny weather of Arizona Grand Canyon University. And then also had Jordan Friesen there from Chattanooga going to Wichita State. And again, I think he is a phenomenal player. And again, he doesn't have the athleticism of some of the other guards in the league, but he's just consistent and he's stable and he can knock down the three point shot. He's not a high volume type of guy, but he's a guy that can be a contributor also. And I love just the trajectory that we've seen talking about a guy that has developed over the years from Division two and then making a splash there at Chattanooga. And in all reality, he kept Chattanooga float this year based on all of the injuries and everything for Dan Earl. He did and he came on late. Yes. I'm not saying he didn't play well earlier in the season, but what I am saying is I think something clicked late because the dude was a walking bucket for the last couple of weeks of the season. And I think you could tell that it wasn't necessarily a heater. Like, I think, I think it just took a good portion of a year for him to kind of figure figured out at the level that I think coach Earl probably thought he was capable of doing and playing at maybe even earlier on. But the one that I do really love is Blake Barclay to Grand Canyon. I think this is a really, really good fit for both parties. I kind of was of the mindset. Is this a kid that ETS, you can figure out a way to hang on to because, man, this is a guy that can really be the cornerstone of Coach Savage's program for the next couple of years, you know, not too, too far from home, winning, winning culture, winning tradition at ETSU. And so, you know, there was a part of me that was like, can can can they keep him? And we've got to try to keep some of these guys in the league. Yeah. But taking a step back, I'm not sure from a style perspective and from a level perspective, if he was going to go back up. I mean, this is this has the potential to be a slam dunk. No doubt. Of a move. Grand Canyon is a sleeping giant. I don't really think there's so much slept on anymore. No, they're not. This is a place that is very could very easily in the next five to 10 years become a high major caliber program. Coach Drew does a great job. He does. And I just think he, the way he plays fits in really well at that level. And with the way Coach Drew wants to play and just the fit there is. I think this is the appropriate level. Yeah. I think it's the appropriate level for Blake Barkley. I really do. Not to say he couldn't develop a little bit more and play at a high major. But I think this is a great opportunity for him. And to kind of clarify your point there, like I think what a lot of these guys do is they say, I'm going to leave and I'm going to go to the highest level I can and or go get the biggest bag I can, but they don't take into account necessarily like, yeah, I'm going to move up a level. But I'm also going to move up a level where I can I can certainly increase my money. But I can still definitively contribute. Like something has to, in my opinion, from his ability at that level, like something has to go sideways for him not to be to borderline kind of keep going where he left off in this other. Yeah, I think he's just two more numbers in that league. I do think he's just too good that he will have success. All right, some of the other guys that we're still actually waiting on to see where they're going to go. Cord Stansbury and where is he going to go? Niels Mahosky. Where is he going to go? Now, Caden Vasco, Wofford, we do know he's going to Central Florida. And maybe Niels Mahosky had a little bit of influence there since Mahosky transferred from Central Florida to Wofford. But also Lily and Marville going to George Mason. So he's going to be pairing up with Barack Kojai there at George Mason. And then also, don't forget, we did have two intra-conference transfers, graduate transfers, Marcus Kale going to Furman. That's a huge big time pickup for Bob. Really good player. Yeah, really good player. Big time pickup combined him with Luca Taves that's coming from Boston College. And then you've got some guys that are coming back there at Furman. And so that's the other thing. When you start looking at some of these rosters, I mean, there were there are multiple teams that were decimated, but it's also about retention. Can you keep some guys in your programs? And again, we saw Furman lose some of those and Edwin Bronson going to the Citadel as a graduate transfer. So that's a way to keep conference players within the conference. But the one that is two years left. Yes, exactly. Two years, the one that I'm looking at though, right now, this is big news. TJ Johnson coming back to VMI. He entered the portal, but decided to come back to VMI. And then Ricky Bradley, Jr. He's coming back. He's back, baby. Let's let's run it again. Storyline doesn't end, man. The storyline doesn't end, man. We thought the craziest story in the Southern Conference last year had ended. But oh, no, Andrew Wilson gets his two guys back. And that's huge in Lexington. And I absolutely love it because Andrew Wilson is such a great guy. And all of these coaches are great guys. I love all of the coaches in the Southern Conference, but just based on the expectations and where things seem to be going. And then so to lose Ricky Bradley, Jr. For the entire season, the preseason player of the year, and then also all of the other injuries that you had. I mean, this is again, we talked about NFL draft season of hope and a new birth, so to speak. This has got to be one of those type of feelings in Lexington right now with both of those guys coming back because it's the only team in the Southern Conference that could say, hey, we've got two also con players coming back. Yeah. I mean, massive, massive news out of Lexington for the Southern Conference and for Coach Wilson, man, they needed some good news. They needed some. So they had to put that to postpone this, you know, the jump, jump forward type year that we were all expecting them to have a year. Now, they've got to surround those two guys with some with some players. Yeah, because they love to do complimentary pieces. But look, I don't care if you're VMI or if you're Furman, ETSU, you bring two guys of that caliber back in this league. You're going to you're going to be able to be competitive. And so, you know, we're going to go into it. We're going to go in the next season. I think having some excitement again, Lexington and seeing what what can happen and kind of come from this. Hopefully both those guys stay healthy and, you know, we'll see what they do with the rest of your class. But man, that's got to be a sense of relief for them to know that they've got two players of that caliber coming back because both those guys can really play. No question about it. And actually going back to Niels Mawaski, I'm wondering if there's an opportunity. Could he be looking at Virginia Tech? Kevin Giltner has got a great relationship. Mike Young. I kind of like him at this level. I think he's a really good player in the Southern Conference. Oh, there's no question. Again, it goes back to and you had the opportunity. You could be first team preseason, also con type of player. And there's no question that he couldn't be in the conversation for another stellar year that he'd be player in the year in the so con. So there is something to be said about grass isn't always greener. But we also know that there's a lot of other guys that even don't have eligibility that they have entered the transfer portal. And again, we talked about it. Why wouldn't you? So we'll see how that plays out. All right. We didn't really talk about Tennessee Tech because they don't officially come into the league until July 1st. But I'm keeping my eyes on them. They've made some moves. Tobin Anderson's got his staff all set looking forward to actually having Coach Anderson here on so con fast break. And of course we're in the process of diving through all of the players that are coming into the Southern Conference and it's ever changing. And it's ever changing, it seems. So we have another so to talk about some of the impact players that are coming in to the Southern Conference and how that might reshape some of the teams. That's for certain. So make sure you hit that follow or subscribe button. Again, subscribe there on YouTube and follow wherever you get your podcast, including the I heart radio app, Apple podcast, Spotify, because we've got more content coming this off season. If we can even call it an off season, Darren. I don't know. There is no, there is no off season. I mean, and now they, the NCAA expanded the amount of time that you can practice. I mean, no one followed it anyway, but now you have eight hours instead of four in the summer. No, there's no off season. No off season. That's right. That's why there's no off season for so con fast break either. No, sir. Right. But we're going to keep it rolling. Yes, we are. Until next time. May all your jumpers hit nothing with the bottom of the net.
