6'7 sophomore forward from William and Mary, Jack Karsinski has announced on his social media that he is transferring to Bellarmine.

That's good news.

Unfortunately, Bash Wieland entered the transfer portal a week ago.

(04-17-2024 08:14 AM)#1KnightFan Wrote:  That's good news.

Unfortunately, Bash Wieland entered the transfer portal a week ago.

Didn't know he had the opportunity for grad transfer status, having said that I am shocked.

Great to hear about the W&M kid, but am surprised by Bash (both the move and that he even had another year of eligibility).

Thanks for the scoop -- I'd been trying to monitor the portal for BU-related stuff, but it's hard with the pay sites, Power 5 focus, etc.

Zac Jennings also entered the portal.

Saw where the women's team got hosed via the bloody portal: Gracie Merkle to Penn State.

(04-19-2024 02:01 AM)BellarmineGrad Wrote:  Saw where the women's team got hosed via the bloody portal: Gracie Merkle to Penn State.

Unfortunately, today its all about the money (NIL). Even with eligibilty for D1 post-season tournaments this upcoming season, the lack of meaningful NIL money will hinder upgrading of talent. Last season, each men's player received $4,500 in NIL money - $1,500 if on the roster at the beginning of fall practice, $1,500 if on the roster at beginning of second semester, and $1,500 if on the roster on the day after the transfer portal closes. While this is good for the players, I doubt many high-caliber recruits would be enticed to come to Bellarmine for this. We will remain an institution that prioritizes academics first and athletics second.

Oh, yeah -- I get why it happens. Just not a fan of the scheme.

Rick Bozich posted an article last week on pre-sseason ratings:

"How about Bellarmine and Scott Davenport?

The news is good. The Knights made a spectacular jump from No. 304 to No. 199, which seems reasonable if Bellarmine can keep its returning nucleus healthy.

Ben Johnson, Pete Suder, Curt Hopf, Langdon Hatton and others should give Davenport plenty to work with, now that the Knights are officially cleared to pursue a spot in the NCAA Tournament."

He also provided a link to the Torvik ratings. In the past week, Bellarmine has fallen from 199 to 212. As Torvik monitors activity in the transfer portal, you can see who is on the current roster. Here is the link for the overall ratings:

https://barttorvik.com/trankpre.php

Here is the link for Bellarmine and its current roster for 2024-25 season:

https://barttorvik.com/rostercast.php?te...&year=2024

Interestingly, Bellarmine is ranked by Torvik as 3rd in ASUN next year, behind Lipscomb and Jacksonville.

(04-19-2024 02:01 AM)BellarmineGrad Wrote:  Saw where the women's team got hosed via the bloody portal: Gracie Merkle to Penn State.

Heard today from a source inside the women's program that they have 13 committed for 2024-25 season, including a couple of international transfers.

Langdon Hatton and Peter Suder have entered the transfer portal

In checking Torvik’s site, Pete Suder is no longer listed on the roster. We now have 11 players, including 5 freshmen. Ranking dropped from 199 to 297 in six hours

Ugh. This sucks.

We're going to have to get used to it, but I doubt I'll ever like the portal madness.

Figured portal exits would become a problem one day, but hoped not until we at least had a squad make the Big Dance™.

They already have "portal highlights" online [eyeroll]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOMO8sQUNNk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvNGPcEWSu0

And Hatton already has a lengthy list of suitors (half of these I would not consider an upgrade):
https://twitter.com/ThePortalReport/stat...2227204548

Scotty & Co. better hit the portal hard...

Suder, while a nice player, very replaceable, very inconsistent and cannot shoot the 3. Ben J was the guy I thought would go.
Hatton is a loss. I sat by his Mom and Gdad, nice people. Hard to believe he would leave but $$$ talks and bright lights even though you are a sub. And "reaching out" means what?
Scotty did a great job developing him.
And I guess both don't realize their career is over after college so chase bball instead of a degree????
Feel Bad for Chance Dugan who developed Merkle and needs some wins.
Both men and women need international players but our one Aussie may have soured Scotty.

I like the international route idea, in addition to hitting the portal. Scotty has had at least one other player originally from overseas (Dapo).

Either way, there's got to be some talented guys available who'd be good fits for the Knights, especially now that the program has completed the transition period.

On a transfer-related note, it strikes me odd that Bash is moving on to Chattanooga.

This just showed up on the UL board

https://twitter.com/rationalUofLfan/stat...1688703224

I find it odd, and a little concerning, that I never see Bellarmine mentioned in the online reports about which schools have contacted which candidates in the portal (e.g., @ThePortalReport on X).

Hopefully BU is reaching out, but, say, keeping it "hush-hush."