Barret Benson to...SIU?
- Thread starter lou v
- Start date
What doesnt make sense? He gets a chance to start and play major minutes for a team in a conference thats wide open for a tourney bid vs facing the embarrassment of losing a starting spot to a red shirt or a true freshman which would have happened.
Young man is graduating from Northwestern and would like to play Basketball
for one more season before he works for the next 40 or so years....playing is
fun....watching, not so much.
for one more season before he works for the next 40 or so years....playing is
fun....watching, not so much.
Thing is, the starting job was his to lose at NU. This was his shot to be the starter with Pardon graduated. He could’ve been working toward a Master’s from NU, too.
Next season will be all about getting Nance, Kopp, Beran, Jones, Boo, Young. Greer better. Can't blame him at all for going to be "the man" versus a mentor that is viewed as an afterthought in many games.
Now it seems a littler clearer to me. The writing was on the wall. If he did an honest personal self-assessment, he may have concluded that he would be better suited to succeed in a conference other than the B1G. I'm sure he had many heart-to-heart sessions with coaches and personal advisers before making the decision to transfer. I hope he goes on to have a Rap-like year at SIU. Wishing him the best. And I hope that Jared Jones has a Pardon-like breakout season as a frosh.
As much as it hurts in the short run (2019-20) it frees up the minutes for Young and whoever else is coming in to compete at center. I wish Barrett success at SIU.
Carbondale is a decent town. Great outdoor stuff nearby (not that BB is going rock climbing or camping this fall).
A Grad degree from SIU after an undergrad degree from NU?
But there was no guarantee that BB would keep it, and he gets to play for a team that likely has a better chance of making it to the Tourney (worked out well enough for Rap).
Maybe he won’t get the degree. He is a grad student, might take the minimum classes, learn a few things and walk.
So a degree from SIU would cancel out his NU degree?
SIU currently has 8 scholarship players including Benson, 3 of whom redshirted last year, plus 3 recruits coming in, and has no one taller than 6'5" who has played any minutes at the college level. I...don't think they're in a better position to make the tourney this coming year.
But it sure sounds like Benson will get lots of playing time. Wonder if Ash might also being going down to Carbondale.
Giant City is the nicest state park in the Midwest.
The odds that BB visits and/or hikes Giant City while at SIU....200 - 1
Everyone needs to stop trying to rationalize this move. There is something amiss in Evanston. We all speculated that Benson (who is from Illinois) maybe wanted to explore the country and go west and use his film degree. Given that he graduated in 3 years and obviously takes school seriously, we thought maybe he wanted to go to the Ivy league and get a masters. Nope. He wanted to stay at home, but it just seems like he wanted to be done with NU. If he had gone to Loyola it would have made sense to me (good program, solid academics) this move strikes me as more of an indictment of the atmosphere at Northwestern than anything else. He just wanted out of Northwestern. I'm done drinking the Kool-Aid. There is a lot of smoke right now.
Welcome to the madhouse. Plenty of room. Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy the entertainment of the homers jumping on and off every potential inbound transfer rumor as they all go a different direction.
But you are rationalizing the move as well
It is just so strange. He wanted out of Northwestern that is a given but giving up a chance to be the starting post player this year or if nothing else a top 8 playeer in the rotation. He could go to many programs with his experience and size - bigger one's with a chance to play and be part of a winning team, or an academic school with very good master's programs and a good basketball program. Instead he chose a school with a less then stellar academic reputation who is considered a program in transition with a new coaching staff (albeit he knows the staff) from a one bid conference. Just a head scratcher to leave here for there, that is all
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Or...and stay with me here...Benson wanted a guaranteed shot at playing time, which was not necessarily going to happen at NU. I've seen no indication that Collins has ever been anything but brutally honest about where players stand in regards to playing time for an upcoming season. By going to SIU, a school that is graduating 6 seniors and where the only other bigs on the roster for next season will be a 6'8" redshirt freshman 2-star and a 6'9" redshirt freshman 2-star, Benson will be playing a lot, at a lower level, where he will almost certainly have better stats than if he stayed here.
The only smoke here is in your mind. Note how none of our incoming recruits seem to feel that there is a problem with the atmosphere at Northwestern.
What we idiot fans speculate is meaningless, uninformed bullshit.
I can only speak for myself, but 40 years ago, I had a great experience in graduate school at SIU-C after attending Northwestern for Physical Therapy and Miami (OH) undergrad. The best professors I ever had in my long and varied time as a professional student were from the Chemistry, Physiology, and Biochemistry departments at SIU.
But he would likely have been the worst starting center in the Big 10 and getting roasted each game. With his foul tendency he might have fouled out of every game next season. Now he gets to be more successful against lesser competition
What? NU is losing Benson, Ash, and Falzone. Please provide the number of minutes they played last season or their career starts. I think you might have something in that Kool Aid if you are reading into this anything more than a playing time issue. NU is not going to be good next season, why would you come back for a post graduate year to assume your role as a back up with a very very very outside chance of post season play? These are GRADUATE transfers. This is not the State player of the year transferring to a hated rival. They should be plenty of time to jump CCC next year when we struggle just like the board mavens argued over whether Fitz was the guy. Some of the same people that are the negative Nancy crowd on here were the same people ripping Fitz a new one in 2014 and proudly proclaiming that BBall had become a better program than FBall.
This is the most likely thought process of Benson if he's brutally honest with himself. He's a great guy on the bench but he hasn't shown he can be an effective starter playing 20+ minutes in the B1G. It's telling that Barrett traded down to a mid-major in a lower level conference.
First of all those in 2014 who criticized Fitz were and are ridiculous, but moving on dismissing Benson, Ash and Falzone with also adding to that list Rap as players we don't need may be true BUT these guys were also BROUGHT here by CC who either A) over valued them as recruits or B) did not develop them. We cannot have it both ways. They are either recruiting busts or they are capable players running from the program. either way this is way too many mistakes.
One interesting aspect of this transfer is that SIU’s head coach is Bryan Mullins. His father, Mike Mullins, is the coach of the Illinois Wolves, the AAU program for which Barret played when he was in high school. I bet that connection played some kind of a role in this decision.
And the assistant is Brendan Mullins Bryan's older brother whom by the way was CCC choice to replace Billy Donlon on staff but turned it down to join his bro in Carbondale...ugh???
There are capable players who are not Big Ten starters....but who see themselves as starters. That might be part of it for some of the guys who left. For some, working out with the team and practicing isn't enough...they want some major minutes because its fun.
Here we go again. Ash and Falzon were legitimate recruits. Falzon played well his freshman year but even then showed no lateral skills and in my opinion stated here four years ago his ball handling skills were sadly missing. He was a spot up shooter. He had leg and hip injuries, possibly an arthritic hip. He never met his promise.
Ash also played well his freshman and sophomore years, but blew out his knee his junior year and the rest was history.
Benson, I was told by basketball people who knew him in high school was iffy. Purdue was in on him initially but backed off, and his dad played football for the Boilermakers. I honestly think recruiting him was a mistake but who knows.
By all accounts Barrett B was a very hard worker and a very good teammate. He
graduated (in 3 years) and also won some type of Athletic/Academic award? The
young guy apparently wants a chance to grab some extended minutes and play some
hoops! I would say congrats! Good luck and Godspeed. Northwestern is a wonderful place
but not the be-all and end-all.
graduated (in 3 years) and also won some type of Athletic/Academic award? The
young guy apparently wants a chance to grab some extended minutes and play some
hoops! I would say congrats! Good luck and Godspeed. Northwestern is a wonderful place
but not the be-all and end-all.
I understand that SIU has some good programs....especially in the area of media studies/media arts, an area I believe BB has a degree.
Did work previously with the Paul Simon Institute (I think that's the name) and met its namesake...he was very small, but had the most incredible memory. In two minutes and with three or four questions he would talk familiarly to anyone about their next door neighbor.
Did work previously with the Paul Simon Institute (I think that's the name) and met its namesake...he was very small, but had the most incredible memory. In two minutes and with three or four questions he would talk familiarly to anyone about their next door neighbor.
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