High school recruiting is going to become even more of a double edged swordā¦say Rodney Brown comes in and plays spot minutes as a physically overmatched FRā¦Madsen and staff work with Brown in the offseason, he puts on some weight, polishes up his mid-range game and he breaks out in year 2, averaging 13 ppgā¦next thing you know, a big program comes calling and offers the kid a $750k NIL deal, and unless you can match it, the kid is gone. Same thing could easily happen next season to Grant Newell.
Can Madsen find the right blend of transfer portal AND high school recruits? Will he land any elite HS players? We shall seeā¦I like his chances to succeed, provided he has donor support. Itās how we got Aimaq - he may love Madsen, but he certainly didnāt just do him a solid. Heās getting paid!
To turn a program around pro teams typically lean heavily on either transfers (free agents, trades) or development to get momentum then add in the other later. Makes sense for us to start with transfers since Madsen doesn't have an existing California pipeline (but has great potential to build one).
Madsen should have at least one seasoned assistant coach who is dedicated exclusively to high school recruiting, with a focus on California high schoolers
Little concerned with the underlying premise of this article. The Portal and NIL have fundamentally changed the way in which talent is acquired for hoop. EVERY coach at Cal now and into the future untill NCAA creates a new landscape will need to be "transfer-centric". Rather than ask "Will Mark Madsen's approach work" the better question is "Will Cal understand the new reality?" As others note below, the combination of NIL, Playing Time and the natural development of growing young men means that it will be critical to maximize the impact of transfers. Remember, you get two moves - once during undergrad and then one grad transfer.
All we can do at this point is wish him good luck in his recruiting endeavors. Getting seasoned guys who put up a winning record in year 1 is key. Elite freshmen, as stated by Jimmy, are unlikely to stick around. So it is time to evaluate the one-and-done phenomenon vs. the portal contributors who are more or less known quantities.
https://247sports.com/Article/Northern-Arizona-Jalen-Cone-Mark-Madsen-transfer-portal-208116423/
Yes
North Arizona guard Jalen Cone committed! #LFGoBears!
Thanks Nick. Great article.
High school recruiting is going to become even more of a double edged swordā¦say Rodney Brown comes in and plays spot minutes as a physically overmatched FRā¦Madsen and staff work with Brown in the offseason, he puts on some weight, polishes up his mid-range game and he breaks out in year 2, averaging 13 ppgā¦next thing you know, a big program comes calling and offers the kid a $750k NIL deal, and unless you can match it, the kid is gone. Same thing could easily happen next season to Grant Newell.
Can Madsen find the right blend of transfer portal AND high school recruits? Will he land any elite HS players? We shall seeā¦I like his chances to succeed, provided he has donor support. Itās how we got Aimaq - he may love Madsen, but he certainly didnāt just do him a solid. Heās getting paid!
Thanks again for the article, Nick!
100% agree.
To turn a program around pro teams typically lean heavily on either transfers (free agents, trades) or development to get momentum then add in the other later. Makes sense for us to start with transfers since Madsen doesn't have an existing California pipeline (but has great potential to build one).
Madsen should have at least one seasoned assistant coach who is dedicated exclusively to high school recruiting, with a focus on California high schoolers
Little concerned with the underlying premise of this article. The Portal and NIL have fundamentally changed the way in which talent is acquired for hoop. EVERY coach at Cal now and into the future untill NCAA creates a new landscape will need to be "transfer-centric". Rather than ask "Will Mark Madsen's approach work" the better question is "Will Cal understand the new reality?" As others note below, the combination of NIL, Playing Time and the natural development of growing young men means that it will be critical to maximize the impact of transfers. Remember, you get two moves - once during undergrad and then one grad transfer.
Coach Braun started his team with transfers: Geno Carlisle, Thomas Kilgore and Michael Gill to name a few. Hope Madsen has similar success.
All we can do at this point is wish him good luck in his recruiting endeavors. Getting seasoned guys who put up a winning record in year 1 is key. Elite freshmen, as stated by Jimmy, are unlikely to stick around. So it is time to evaluate the one-and-done phenomenon vs. the portal contributors who are more or less known quantities.