2026-27 roster needs
- Thread starter MrTbone
- Start date
You are missing the point. Sure, they aren't end of the bench guys on a 5-14 A-10 team. They played 18 mpg because we stunk again. Is that your goal? Pay guys to play 18 mpg on a 5-14 A-10 team? If they transferred, would SLU, VCU, Dayton, or St Joe's even want them on their team for pennies? Of course not.
Spider17
All A-10 player
I might be wrong with this, I just think that with how much money is being thrown around now in college sports, a player playing on a roster at an A10 level or higher, is going to garner some NIL simply being on the roster. Otherwise, if word gets out that we take away someone’s NIL, as they become seniors nevertheless, it can be a bad look for us recruiting wise.
With that said, I completely agree that our staff needs to be willing to have hard conversations with these guys. To not use specific names, I’ll give an example.
“Player X: I’m sorry but based off your past seasons performances we cannot continue to offer you $100K NIL. We can offer you 50K”
“Player Y: We offered you $50K NIL the past few seasons. We haven’t seen enough from you to give more than a $10K increase as a loyalty raise for staying here all 4 years.”
Let’s say we are operating with $4 million for the sake of argument and only have 2 transfers. I don’t think it hurts us for 10 guys (who aren’t AA) next year to have a combined NIL value of $750K or less. If we give AA $250K, that would mean for the 4 remaining roster spots for transfers, we have an average of $750K per person to work with.
sman
All A-10 player
it's very similar to taking away a guy's ride. you can do it. it's understandable. but it's something that can hurt you in recruiting down the road.
if you believe there's any negative recruiting, I'd imagine a competitive A10 coach recruiting a high schooler would use "UR had guys transferred out of because they stripped their NIL".
Eight Legger
Starter
Yeah but the obvious retort is: "Yeah, because he sucked."
I see no recruiting disadvantage at all. Every team does this.
My reply: "No, we had guys transfer out because we went 5-14 A-10 thd last 2 years with those guys and we needed to get better. That is why we need you here. Come help turn this thing around. We have a lot of minutes available that has your name on it.
Seems pretty easy to me.
Seems pretty easy to me.
Spider17
All A-10 player
Evidenced by the fact we’ve had guys transfer out of UR to lower programs the last few years, I think the staff is willing to have the hard conversations with guys who are unlikely to get any playing time at all either “voluntelling” them to transfer or flat out telling them to.
Personally, I am with sman on this one. I want us to treat this basketball program like the high level division 1 team it is. However, I don’t think stripping away NIL of guys becoming seniors is the way to do it for several reasons.
1. It can hurt us recruiting wise like I said
2. We can have more players on our roster (15 v. 13 a few years ago)
3. We have way more NIL to give away.
Now of course, a big caveat in all this is guys like Tyne and Tanner are not making $150K plus. If they are, that needs to be below 6 figures for sure. However, let’s say that they are making $50-75K. What benefits would an extra $100-150K have for us with recruiting in NIL when we are operating with allegedly at least $4 million next year? I don’t think our ability to bring in impact transfers will be hindered without that extra $100-150K. I don’t think it would be hindered if the other guys 10 (not named AA) on our roster are making less than $750K combined either. That’s $75K a person. We would still have $3.25 million to spend on AA and 4 impact transfers.
Plus guys like Tyne and Tanner provide value to the team. They are not starters or 18 mpg level of value but Tyne can play a backup PG option to AA as hopefully Deuce gets up to speed to college level of play. Tanner can find 5-10 mpg too. So it’s not unreasonable for them to get NIL, especially considering the loyalty factor which we all know Mooney likes.
So to me there is either no or marginal benefit of stripping away a player’s NIL and more “negative” repercussions of doing so.
Personally, I am with sman on this one. I want us to treat this basketball program like the high level division 1 team it is. However, I don’t think stripping away NIL of guys becoming seniors is the way to do it for several reasons.
1. It can hurt us recruiting wise like I said
2. We can have more players on our roster (15 v. 13 a few years ago)
3. We have way more NIL to give away.
Now of course, a big caveat in all this is guys like Tyne and Tanner are not making $150K plus. If they are, that needs to be below 6 figures for sure. However, let’s say that they are making $50-75K. What benefits would an extra $100-150K have for us with recruiting in NIL when we are operating with allegedly at least $4 million next year? I don’t think our ability to bring in impact transfers will be hindered without that extra $100-150K. I don’t think it would be hindered if the other guys 10 (not named AA) on our roster are making less than $750K combined either. That’s $75K a person. We would still have $3.25 million to spend on AA and 4 impact transfers.
Plus guys like Tyne and Tanner provide value to the team. They are not starters or 18 mpg level of value but Tyne can play a backup PG option to AA as hopefully Deuce gets up to speed to college level of play. Tanner can find 5-10 mpg too. So it’s not unreasonable for them to get NIL, especially considering the loyalty factor which we all know Mooney likes.
So to me there is either no or marginal benefit of stripping away a player’s NIL and more “negative” repercussions of doing so.
Spider17
All A-10 player
Our recruiting pitch isn’t just to 1-2 year transfers but also to prospective high school recruits that Mooney has explicitly stated he wants to build a roster around guys staying 4-5 years.
Imagine our staff sitting with a recruit and his parents and pitching a UR education as a reason why we are selling them on coming here, only for them ask us why we’ve “pulled the rug underneath” other players so to speak a year before they graduate. Players who had been contributing on the team too. What should our staff’s response be?
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brooklyn brownstone
Starter
this seems simple. For guys who want to stay but have not shown the ability to be a starter or rotation guy on a winning team over multiple seasons (basically the rising seniors), they have to accept that they are not deserving of an NIL increase and be told that up front, as well as be told that we are recruiting all positions in the portal.
1. Be honest and direct. Tell them no guarantee on playing time. Best players play (a sman classic.) Inform them that we will be looking at all positions in the portal (except possibly PG.)
2. Give them the option to stay at no NIL increase, to finish their degrees.
3. We can then spend the same on them that we did this year if they want to stay.
4. Small increases for rising sophomores who played - Robinson and Harper.
5. no increases for the reshirts who have yet to play a game, as they have not earned anything.
6. All the NIL $ that came off the books from the graduating and transferring players PLUS the newly available increased dollar figures, will all go to the guys from the portal and any guys deserving of a good increase on the current roster (basically AA.)
5. Recruit the portal well, with all the remaining money as outlined above allocated for portal guys.
Summary:
1. Be honest and direct. Tell them no guarantee on playing time. Best players play (a sman classic.) Inform them that we will be looking at all positions in the portal (except possibly PG.)
2. Give them the option to stay at no NIL increase, to finish their degrees.
3. We can then spend the same on them that we did this year if they want to stay.
4. Small increases for rising sophomores who played - Robinson and Harper.
5. no increases for the reshirts who have yet to play a game, as they have not earned anything.
6. All the NIL $ that came off the books from the graduating and transferring players PLUS the newly available increased dollar figures, will all go to the guys from the portal and any guys deserving of a good increase on the current roster (basically AA.)
5. Recruit the portal well, with all the remaining money as outlined above allocated for portal guys.
Summary:
- incoming freshman - set NIL scale.
- redshirt freshman - no NIL increase.
- rising seniors - no NIL increase
- rising sophs/juniors - NIL increased based on results and production on an individual basis, not tenure with the program.
- portal guys - allocated a large percentage of current available NIL, with an eye on productive starters and rotation players at all positions except possibly PG.
PhillySpider
Starter
Works with NIL just like it did with rides. Technically school can not renew players NIL contract (they are typically one year renewable deals for all but the very top players) but not doing that is poor form and could hurt in recruiting. But that is far from the end of the story. Just like with full rides, if coaches want/"need" the spot/ride/NIL$ back, they will "counsel" you out and for the really bad ones they will make your life completely totally miserable if they council you out and you stay. Truly miserable in ways you just can't imagine for the worst of the worst.
Many, many of the kids you see in the portal are not really their by their own choice but that of their coach who is pushing them out. And this is NOT limited to the top 40 or 50 schools or even the full gamut of P5 schools. There are some who do it but with some compassion etc and try to lessen the blow to kids, but there are plenty who don't give a shit about the kids at all - - just themselves - - and will crush a kid if they think its in their own best interest. College coaches as a whole are NOT great people and the ones who are decent get sucked into the vortex created by the bad ones because they need to win to keep their jobs and to do so, can't let others have an advantage. Interestingly, this is getting a little bit better now that kids have agents because at least some agents will steer kids away from the really bad coaches. Before agents, the kid whose coach f'd him over was never really in contact with future recruits and his going out of his way to trash the coach didn't help his cause etc. But the agents are involved with future recruits (and each other) and can hurt coaches down the road, so that's forcing some to clean up their acts.
However, in defense somewhat of coaches - - this is a business. It always was, but now so in spades and I will say that its really "just" a business now. Forget the student/athlete thing and education thing. Kids are your schools hired employees - nothing more and nothing less. For some - - education is a perk like fully paid benefits or vacation time might be. For others its not even that. In addition, kids go back and renegotiate all the time so they can't and shouldn't complain when coaches do the same and lower or eliminate someone's NIL. They are at-will employees, they can fired for any reason or no reason at all as long as its not an illegal reason (e.g. discrimination, retaliation etc.).
brooklyn brownstone
Starter
I know we're well past this, but the idea of name/image/likeness being what gets a guy money still is amazing to me that it so quickly devolved to just paying everyone even the 15th man on the bench who would never earn a penny off his NIL, unless he had a side business going on.
brooklyn brownstone
Starter
Yes, agree with Philly - you want the NIL money as a deep reserve, you are accepting the deal that if you don't ever contribute you will be asked to have it entirely pulled or to leave the program. Same with an unproductive starter. Sad to say, but if you agree to get paid as a starter and you don't produce, you don't get starter money.
Am fine with letting guys stay on the roster if they agree and want to get a degree, and just recruiting over them and paying new/more productive players more. Tough pill to swallow for a kid that age bc the NIL offer tells him in stark terms that he's not as good as another guy, the way playing time tells him the same thing.
Am fine with letting guys stay on the roster if they agree and want to get a degree, and just recruiting over them and paying new/more productive players more. Tough pill to swallow for a kid that age bc the NIL offer tells him in stark terms that he's not as good as another guy, the way playing time tells him the same thing.
That is an easy reply. "They elected to transfer. We mentioned we were looking for some different guys, your son being one of them, and they felt it was best to explore other options. We would have certainly welcomed them back, but you know how it is now with thousands of guys transferring each year. We want ( let's call him Joe) to come here and be the guy. We have some spots open and we plan on getting the right fits in here like we did during the Gilyard, Golden, and Cayo years. Those guys stayed 5 years because they all believed in us and in turning things around. That's what we are counting on with Joe."
97spiderfan
Starter
Their response should be. "We are here to win A-10 championships and NCAA bids and we haven't been able to get that done so we had to make some changes. We believe you and your son are a part of that future and if you want to get a great education and compete for an A-10 championship and NCAA bids than we want you here."
You think some high school player cares about Tanner and Tyne having their NIL cut, I don't. I think they see that an opportunity to get more $$$ themselves and more playing time.
brooklyn brownstone
Starter
look at it from the other direction, which we have only had to do once under Moon, sadly (Burton).
If we had guys who were being offered big money by Michigan or Alabama and decided to leave, we would not begrudge them for going. They are chasing titles and money that they judge is not available at Richmond.
Likewise, we are trying to chase titles and being honest with your unproductive guys is just how it should go on the other end too.
Best guys play. Best guys get paid.
If we had guys who were being offered big money by Michigan or Alabama and decided to leave, we would not begrudge them for going. They are chasing titles and money that they judge is not available at Richmond.
Likewise, we are trying to chase titles and being honest with your unproductive guys is just how it should go on the other end too.
Best guys play. Best guys get paid.
Agree 100%. No high school guy cares about this because it is happening everywhere, and if they are a high school recruit, they know this.
Eight Legger
Starter
The reality in college sports now is that everything is year to year. I'd be honest with recruits about this.
"We want you to be part of our program, we think you will love it and make us better, and we hope you'll be a big part of our program for the next four years and earn a diploma from one of the best schools in the nation. At the end of every season, we sit down with every player and have an honest discussion about their performance and how we envision their role the next year. We'll do everything we know how to help you get better. We always hope when we sign a player from high school that he will spend his entire career with us, but we also want what's best for each player year to year. Sometimes players may choose to leave to seek more money or playing time somewhere else. I can't guarantee you that you'll be here for four year but I can guarantee that however long you're here, you'll be an important part of our team who has every chances to earn meaningful playing time."
"We want you to be part of our program, we think you will love it and make us better, and we hope you'll be a big part of our program for the next four years and earn a diploma from one of the best schools in the nation. At the end of every season, we sit down with every player and have an honest discussion about their performance and how we envision their role the next year. We'll do everything we know how to help you get better. We always hope when we sign a player from high school that he will spend his entire career with us, but we also want what's best for each player year to year. Sometimes players may choose to leave to seek more money or playing time somewhere else. I can't guarantee you that you'll be here for four year but I can guarantee that however long you're here, you'll be an important part of our team who has every chances to earn meaningful playing time."
Spider17
All A-10 player
Guys coming here for 1-2 years as transfers are here to play at as highest of a level they can for as much money as they can. Completely agree with that comment from other posts.
While that is certainly true for high school recruits as well, part of our recruiting pitch for as long as Mooney has been coach, is the value of the UR education. The 5 star, top 50 level players who are going to go to Duke, Kansas, etc. for 1 year and then hope to make the NBA or transfer around other schools trying to collect millions are not players we have ever seriously tried recruiting. I am not trying to say that we should or should not have that approach. Just pointing out that Mooney wanting to build a roster with guys who stay here throughout their careers is not only something he has explicitly said but other than Jordan King, have been our best players. Gilly, Golden, KA, Justin Harper, K0, Darien Brothers, Ced, SDJ, Burton, Terry Allen, I'll even include TJ who was here for 4 years but played 3.
We have had a lot of misses with recruits. However, all those recruits have either left after 1-2 years here. I think it's different pulling someone's NIL/scholarship after their freshman or sophomore years vs. after their junior years. Especially with guys who actually contributed, even if it was on a bad team.
The best solution is offer them the same or slightly less NIL they were receiving before and tell them that they probably aren't going to get more than 10 mpg. If they still want to transfer, then fine. If we are operating with a budget of $4 million, guys like Tyne/Tanner getting NIL isn't going to be the reason why we can't land top recruits or have a good season next year.
