Yeah, my comment on the NIL didn't mention my same concern, mentioned in many threads. Usually a new coach is bringing some players and staff. But then that didn't happen. So was a big part of the reason we struggled to build the roster, maybe or probably more than any NIL resources.

@jackskip23 Did they know that the market was going to spike how it did?  Did they react and adjust when it did?  If they didn't know, that's not great... and then if Dolson wasn't able to react to the spike in NIL values... that's also not great.

I agree that CDD likley knew what he was coming in to.  But I strongly suspect he thought the budget he was given or promised, was "top of the B10" level.  Many rumors lead me to also believe that very quickly in, he likely realized his budget wasn't gonna be sufficient to land really any of the truly elite difference makers.  So he got to work landing very good guys his budget would allow for... AND landing enough guys with eligibility remaining, that he wouldn't likely be starting from scratch in year 2.  The more this is discussed, the more I think of it, the more impressed I am with how he built his first roster.  That positive view depends on him having a fixed budget, and it not really having any flexibility.  If that isn't the case, and he just chose not to exapnd it, for whatever reason, obviously my views would change dramatically.  But who, on earth, would operate that way?

I do still think he should have signed maybe one less wing, and found a physical 6-8+ big... but maybe he was banking on Harris being that backup motor guy?  This team does look different if Harris is healthy, and able to provide 10 minutes or so of solid bench big support.  Kentucky and Minnesota games, specifically, could definitely have been wins.

I don't like how this team loses their focus, and stops running their stuff, for stretches.  And I don't like how CDD has rarely had anyone follow him places.  Both red flags.  But I've flipped on the roster construction... I think he did very well with that. 

HS recruiting appears to be going pretty well. Looks like Coach wants to build a team with recruits and fill in with transfers. That's probably the right way to go.

Posted by: @iunorth

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@jackskip23 Did they know that the market was going to spike how it did?  Did they react and adjust when it did?  If they didn't know, that's not great... and then if Dolson wasn't able to react to the spike in NIL values... that's also not great.

I agree that CDD likley knew what he was coming in to.  But I strongly suspect he thought the budget he was given or promised, was "top of the B10" level.  Many rumors lead me to also believe that very quickly in, he likely realized his budget wasn't gonna be sufficient to land really any of the truly elite difference makers.  So he got to work landing very good guys his budget would allow for... AND landing enough guys with eligibility remaining, that he wouldn't likely be starting from scratch in year 2.  The more this is discussed, the more I think of it, the more impressed I am with how he built his first roster.  That positive view depends on him having a fixed budget, and it not really having any flexibility.  If that isn't the case, and he just chose not to exapnd it, for whatever reason, obviously my views would change dramatically.  But who, on earth, would operate that way?

I do still think he should have signed maybe one less wing, and found a physical 6-8+ big... but maybe he was banking on Harris being that backup motor guy?  This team does look different if Harris is healthy, and able to provide 10 minutes or so of solid bench big support.  Kentucky and Minnesota games, specifically, could definitely have been wins.

I don't like how this team loses their focus, and stops running their stuff, for stretches.  And I don't like how CDD has rarely had anyone follow him places.  Both red flags.  But I've flipped on the roster construction... I think he did very well with that. 

If they didn’t have a good feel for the “market”, that’s on them. In the NIL era, having a poorly informed coach in this aspect would be an enormous disadvantage and clear cause to move on to the next candidate, and Dolson didn’t do that. As such, I’m not buying the “ignorance isn’t so blissful” defense.

Likewise, I don’t buy that they lacked the financial flexibility from NIL benefactors to adjust to the price of poker. DeVries may have come from Drake and WVU, but he didn’t show up on a turnip truck, and neither did Dolson or the most generous funders that have been in place for the last few years. The “market” has always been fluid, and these guys knew / know that reality.

I see no need to panic since DeVries is here for at least two more seasons, regardless of what anyone here thinks should occur. We’re likely going to be riding the bubble until Selection Sunday, and we’ll probably be one of the last few in or out, based on how we’ve played to date.

That’s been the fairly consistent reality for the last 25+ years, so most fans under a certain age know this to be the norm. For those of us a bit more seasoned, it sucks, but CBB as we knew it during our heyday is gone forever anyway, so the angst is mostly gone with it. I enjoy watching and attending games, but the good old days get a little more distant every day.

@jackskip23 I don't know, I'm not sure anyone could have known that the going NIL rate of players was going to jump 30-50% in a year. I really think he got hit with a perfect storm of bad roster construction conditions: that huge jump in NIL amounts, plus needing to fund an entirely new roster, plus many boosters that apparently were tied to the past coach and didn't contribute to the new one. Sort of the opposite of how it normally is where boosters are willing to spend to get rid of the old guy. I do ding him on roster construction, just because he built a B10 roster very light on post guys, especially guys who can defend the post, and then one of the guys he was counting on for some post presence was Bailey, which is not the player he is and a misuse of his abilities to even try. Bailey would be a much more valuable piece if he could play along-side someone who could anchor the paint and rebound, and allow him play more out of the paint on both ends. I think that miscalculation is understandable given the conditions, but how he responds in building next year's roster I think will tell if he's learned that lesson. May likes a perimeter oriented offense too and look how he's loaded up on size.