a kid from Russia and a kid from Lithuania....might take some high level negotiating skills. ?

Anything new on Lelevičius? Saw he visited TCU last weekend. No news is good news… right?

Field of 68 is a fan of our portal moves so far:

Loyola Chicago only lost one key piece to the portal, which was leading scorer Jayden Dawson, who went to Kansas. One could argue retaining center Miles Rubin was more important. He’s an elite interior defender who’ll thrive during his junior season.

That meant coach Drew Valentine had to address two key positions: A sharpshooting guard to replace Dawson and a floor-stretcher to play next to Rubin.

He did both in 24 hours with Charleston transfer Deywilk Tavarez and Wisconsin transfer Xavier Amos (3.6 ppg). Don't let Amos' unimpressive number fool you, he's 6-8 and shot 38% from 3 at Northern Illinois in 2023-24. He's an awesome fit next to Rubin, who doesn't shoot 3s. And Tavarez should be terrific.

Don't forget about Kayde Dotson, either. The 6-2 guard played just six minutes per game at New Mexico, but Donovan Dent rarely left the floor, which cut into Dotson’s opportunities. He should be a strong option behind veteran PG Justin Moore.

From top-to-bottom, Loyola Chicago and Saint Louis are the clear A-10 portal winners.

Some interesting stuff:

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SI likes what we are doing in the portal too. They had a blurb on A10 as follows:

"And in mid-major land, the Atlantic 10 (armed with significant revenue-sharing resources) has had a nice spring. Loyola Chicago could be the favorite with Miles Rubin returning and a strong portal class headlined by Deywilk Tavarez incoming, but Saint Louis is charging hard with six portal commits already including former top recruit Trey Green at PG and sharpshooter Brady Dunlap on the wing. Dayton and VCU are far from finished products, but each made recent splashes with Oregon transfer Jadrian Tracey picking the Rams and Georgia’s De’Shayne Montgomery landing with the Flyers. And don’t sleep on George Mason, which had a monster year in 2024–25 under Tony Skinn and has continued that momentum into the portal."

If we get a low post scorer and/or Liutauras Lelevicius ...who knows what the upside could be.

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I like that SI likes what Drew did, but the more interesting thing is the comment about the A10 being "armed with significant revenue-sharing resources". Got me thinking. So I dug up the following AI
generated description regarding revenue-sharing:

Under the House v. NCAA settlement, Atlantic 10 schools will be able to share a portion of their athletic department revenue with student-athletes, potentially up to $20.5 million annually, with this cap increasing each year. This amount is a "salary cap" rather than a strict revenue-sharing percentage, meaning schools can spend up to this amount regardless of their actual revenue.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Revenue Sharing Cap:

Schools can share up to 22% of their annual athletic revenues with student-athletes, with an initial cap of $20.5 million in the 2025-2026 academic year.

Annual Increases:

This cap will increase annually, with reevaluations every three years.

Flexibility:

Schools have flexibility in how they distribute the revenue, potentially including new scholarships, academic-related expenses, and direct payments.

Conference Minimums:

Some conferences, like the American Athletic Conference (AAC), may set minimums that schools must meet, such as a total of $10 million to be shared over three years.

No Limit on Athlete Earnings:

There is no limit to how much a student-athlete can earn from NIL deals and activities.

Potential for Increased Spending:

Some sources estimate that the cap could increase to around $30 million per year over the next ten years.
In essence, the settlement allows schools to make direct payments to student-athletes, effectively creating a "salary cap" for NIL-related compensation, with the understanding that schools can choose to spend up to that cap, even if their actual revenue is less.

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So, if Loyola really wanted to, it could spend up to 20.5 million regardless of what its actual revenue is. Question is, how much does LU generate? How much are those contracts on EPSN, CBS, USA worth to each A10 school? What do our local revenues in sponsorships, ticket sales, concessions and parking bring in? Drew has stated on a few occasions that NIL won't be a problem. Does LU generate that kind of money and do they feel the basketball program is worth it? Does basketball fund the entire athletic department? What's it worth and its affect on student enrollment and potential donations? What kind of outside NIL deals are available to kids beside what LU can pay? These are all interesting questions that we may never know the answer to.

Indiana supposedly sniffing around as well.

I don't think he's going to "enroll" here

Time to shift focus to a low post scorer ......

Jalen Quinn just revealed he'll be at Drake for next season.

Great spot. Likeable place. Quality program. Should contend again for bid next year. Even better fit.

I wouldn't mind it if we just got the widest low-post body available for the sole purpose of throwing in the way of Avila.

Liutauras Lelevicius off to TCU.

Turner hits the portal



Hendawy lands at Winthrop



If this is legit makes sense why Turner might go looking elsewhere




Also the other three transfer were officially announced today