Getting major conference level HS kids requires NIL, too. And then more to retain them. It's a new world.
Holloway seemingly isn't inspiring a lot of contributions, though, and hasn't been able to get the most out of the roster he's assembled.
Does it? I mean, I’m sure every kid gets a little something but for the most part, I don’t think most teams are paying big money for raw potential outside of the 5 stars and maybe high 4 stars. There are exceptions, but to earn real money most frosh have to first prove themselves. Remember - schools with unlimited funds have been able to simply buy rosters filled with transfers who have already proven what they can do. To be fair - that’s likely the reason why Lathan would’ve spoken out against bringing in a second Ogbole type. He needs to put up stats to be able to market himself.
It has certainly changed the way OOC games are scheduled. Used to be that scheduling a top team from a bad conference would help your RPI with a win.... now it's just another Q3 game that doesn't do anything for you. More valuable these days to beat the 14th team in the SEC than to beat the top team in the MVC.
Correct - and in my view, that was not a positive change overall for the sport. There are a lot of variables that go into the level of difficulty of a particular game. Trying to assign SOS metrics to talent level using advanced metrics that aren’t well aligned with outcomes isn’t working. The 14th best SEC team will blow out the NET 300 types by more than the autobid contenders on their home courts every time. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily easier to beat the autobidders in one off games.
Case in point - look at our track record against mid-major types away from home. I’m not sure we’ve beaten one of them under Pike. Like literally it might be a donut? At Fordham - L. At UMass - L. At Kennesaw - L. At Stonybrook L. Neutral losses - Princeton (2), St Bonnies, Temple. I must be missing a few games that perhaps we won. But point still stands - our record through the years in these games has been horrendous.
Thats why I say - you can’t just look at ND blowing out the worst low majors at home in front of a packed South Bend crowd and conclude much of anything. Princeton has played 5 total home games this season. One was a rivalry game vs Monmouth that likely had a neutral crowd. They lost to Loyola (12-7). Beat Akron (13-5) and Columbia (11-5) in close games at home. The only “bad” team they played at home was Iona in the very first game of the season. Comparing this schedule to ND’s is apples to oranges.
