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Blake Smith scholarship

Could do Smithand a Big. Not sure if MN is coming back and if he does, how effective he will be. Not sure about Hunger contributions going into next year at either end.

If someone transfers, that opens another spot, but seems most of the players on the team now want a degree from NU.
Unless they already have one
 
I think some are putting way too much emphasis on the “scholarship”. It’s a new age of college athletics. Keep things the same, give him an NIL stipend, sign another grad transfer and all is well.
Got to be careful as NU is mostly need based and if he gets NIL payday, that could push him up in assets and income enough that his help from NU disappears
 
1. Boo
2. Langborg
3. Preston
4. Berry
5. Nicholson
6. Barnhizer
7. Martinelli
8. Hunger
9. Mullins
10. Clayton
11. Barkley
12. Strauss
13. Open

1. Berry
2. Nicholson
3. Barnhizer
4. Martinelli
5. Hunger
6. Mullins
7. Clayton
8. Barkley
9. Strauss
10. Ciaravino
11. Windham
12. Grad Transfer - PG
13. Grad Transfer - Big

Unless there’s an unexpected transfer from 7, 8, or 9 - I don’t see a path for a scholarship for Smith. Sorry.
Pains me to say it, but @CoralSpringsCat is absolutely correct here. For all he knew, Blake Smith was done playing basketball when he arrived at NU.

Calls were made, a tryout was arranged, and now he’s getting significant minutes. But the original facts that brought him to NU — he wanted the NU degree, he wanted the journalism education, his parents had the financial wherewithal to make that happen — also remain true.

If NU ends the summer cycle with only 12 scholarship athletes, then Smith is a slam dunk as the 13th. But if NU adds two more in the next three months, then Smith is no worse off than when he started the season.

If it matters, Smith also has options. I’d imagine there are mid-major programs contacting him, potentially Penn State contacting him, with scholarship opportunities.

His parents and brother sure seemed overjoyed after his bucket last night.

For what it’s worth, published tuition at Germantown Academy is $43k per year in high school. Parents are also encouraged to donate to the annual fund.
 
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No idea. But Michigan supposedly gave him $100k.
After taxes, he’s likely netting $70K.

If he has to spend $30K for the entire school year then he’s only getting paid a net $40K for a season at Michigan.

He should have negotiated for more. Looks like UM got a home state discount.
 
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It's pretty simple - if Collins can find a second guy in the portal who is better than Smith, he will take him. If not, the scholarship will go to Smith. I tend to agree with others here that it's more likely he finds a portal guy who can contribute next year (whereas Smith mostly played this year because of injuries, he wasn't a main rotation guy).

If we get another transfer and Smith transfers for playing time, it sucks but it's fine. You want to be a program where players might have to transfer (to good programs) to get playing time, because that means you have good players. Roper transferring to ND did not kill the chemistry of this team.
 
After taxes, he’s likely netting $70K.

If he has to spend $30K for the entire school year then he’s only getting paid a net $40K for a season at Michigan.

He should have negotiated for more. Looks like UM got a home state discount.

Yes.

Direct quote: “I had a pretty good idea — even before I went in the portal — that I would definitely want to target Michigan and be able to gauge their interest right away,” Priebe said. “I knew they were going to have guys leaving at the guard positions and I knew it could be potentially a good opportunity for me. I talked to quite a few other schools — I really was only interested in Big Ten and SEC schools just because those are the two most competitive conferences, especially now with all the realignment stuff. So I talked to quite a few other schools in both conferences, but after I took my visit here, that kind of solidified where my mind was at.”

 
If you don’t have schollie money, no training table and other benefits that are limited to scholarship athletes.
Not true. Those rules changed years ago. Athletically related meals are essentially unlimited and entire roster included (pre/post practice, mandatory meetings, travel etc). And yes.. NIL being used to put lots of athletes on "full aid" across the country.. especially in the equivalency sports like baseball, softball, etc. The big boys in FB doing the same. Mom and dad don't care where the money comes from.. especially when the kids turn a profit.
 
It's pretty simple - if Collins can find a second guy in the portal who is better than Smith, he will take him. If not, the scholarship will go to Smith. I tend to agree with others here that it's more likely he finds a portal guy who can contribute next year (whereas Smith mostly played this year because of injuries, he wasn't a main rotation guy).

If we get another transfer and Smith transfers for playing time, it sucks but it's fine. You want to be a program where players might have to transfer (to good programs) to get playing time, because that means you have good players. Roper transferring to ND did not kill the chemistry of this team.
Another reason to give Smith a scholarship: we have limited NIL funds. Why waste some on him when we could use some to retain Barnhizer, Martinelli, and recruit a new point guard?

Just give Smith a scholarship and be done with it. @CoralSpringsCat needs to stop trolling the free board with this stuff.
 
Another reason to give Smith a scholarship: we have limited NIL funds. Why waste some on him when we could use some to retain Barnhizer, Martinelli, and recruit a new point guard?

Just give Smith a scholarship and be done with it. @CoralSpringsCat needs to stop trolling the free board with this stuff.

…because you probably don’t have to offer him either NIL money or a scholarship to remain at NU. Though things could well have changed since his enrollment, he picked NU completely independent of basketball.
 
…because you probably don’t have to offer him either NIL money or a scholarship to remain at NU. Though things could well have changed since his enrollment, he picked NU completely independent of basketball.
Do 6’6 wings that can play Big Ten defense and qualify academically at Northwestern grow on trees?

Since when do we get this lucky? He is giving us quality minutes on a tournament run. Good luck keeping him if he’s clearly earned a scholarship and we play stupid games like this.
 
Do 6’6 wings that can play Big Ten defense and qualify academically at Northwestern grow on trees?

Since when do we get this lucky? He is giving us quality minutes on a tournament run. Good luck keeping him if he’s clearly earned a scholarship and we play stupid games like this.

All of this is conjecture.

What isn’t conjecture is that the kid chose NU because he wanted to be at the school to get the degree, then basketball became a possibility. Not the other way around.

I tend to think a kid who came literally exclusively for the school/degree independent of basketball would suddenly get dollar signs in his eyes and look for a payday elsewhere, but guess you never know.
 
All of this is conjecture.

What isn’t conjecture is that the kid chose NU because he wanted to be at the school to get the degree, then basketball became a possibility. Not the other way around.

I tend to think a kid who came literally exclusively for the school/degree independent of basketball would suddenly get dollar signs in his eyes and look for a payday elsewhere, but guess you never know.
He may not look for a payday elsewhere. But if we don’t give him a scholarship, why would he keep doing this?

He came to NU for academics. He can clearly help our basketball team. Let’s not over complicate this. Give Smith a scholarship.
 
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Spoken like a semi-jilted former walk-on ;)
Lol! I’m doing quite well and not feeling jilted in the least. Try to compartmentalize a bit, I’ll show you how.

Smith deserves a scholarship unless we can find other walk ons like him. Sorry, they’re not that common in the General Northwestern study population. It may shock you to discover that most of our students are not athletic at all.
 
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It's pretty simple - if Collins can find a second guy in the portal who is better than Smith, he will take him. If not, the scholarship will go to Smith. I tend to agree with others here that it's more likely he finds a portal guy who can contribute next year (whereas Smith mostly played this year because of injuries, he wasn't a main rotation guy).

If we get another transfer and Smith transfers for playing time, it sucks but it's fine. You want to be a program where players might have to transfer (to good programs) to get playing time, because that means you have good players. Roper transferring to ND did not kill the chemistry of this team.
I still think we see a transfer or two from our younger group.

Funny, for years we struggled to use 11 and now we lament having a limit of 13.
 
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Not true. Those rules changed years ago. Athletically related meals are essentially unlimited and entire roster included (pre/post practice, mandatory meetings, travel etc). And yes.. NIL being used to put lots of athletes on "full aid" across the country.. especially in the equivalency sports like baseball, softball, etc. The big boys in FB doing the same. Mom and dad don't care where the money comes from.. especially when the kids turn a profit.
Wow - never knew that either. Having only a few of us on the swim getting scholarship money, it kinda created an awkward at times divide back then. I always thought that they should just let them use their meal plan for training table. We all had one - even if we were on a ride.
 
…because you probably don’t have to offer him either NIL money or a scholarship to remain at NU. Though things could well have changed since his enrollment, he picked NU completely independent of basketball.
The kid is a human too. It’s a thing too; be on a ride, to letter, to start. Especially for college age guys. When I transferred, ND offered PWO and NU offered a schollie. Like PF, growing up of the south side and going to Catholics HS, ND was the dream. But to be able to say I’m a scholarship athlete was far more exciting to me. I still brag about it obviously.
 
Lol! I’m doing quite well and not feeling jilted in the least. Try to compartmentalize a bit, I’ll show you how.

Smith deserves a scholarship unless we can find other walk ons like him. Sorry, they’re not that common in the General Northwestern study population. It may shock you to discover that most of our students are not athletic at all.
I did love intermurals. If your team didn’t have other sport athletes, you were doomed.
 
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IMO, the 2022/2023 classes all come for the NU degree and just happen to play basketball.

They all need work and hopefully the asst coaches and team managers can help them improve over the spring/summer. Barkley/Strauss are unknown, although both have worked on the bodies and look a little stronger. Clayton/Mullins lost all confidence on offense with Collins taking them out for every shot missed. Hunger needs to fix the details of his defense and I thought Hummel did a great job pointing them out in the Mich St game. Also needs to get stronger. Smith did a good job on both ends, some minor things to cleanup.

Good thing is MN, Ty, Brooks, Nick, Smith are all returning. Couple of transfers and they should be in the top half of BIG10 next year

The way MN has taken time to get going, definitely need a big to help with the boards and be a presence j. The middle.

Nobody will replace Boo, but if they use the motion offense with the pin downs and floppy sets should be able to score

Collins needs to take the next step and Coach with confidence and build trust in his role players. All D1 schools will compete, but he needs to have the team ready for the non conference schedule, blow teams out and the role players get minutes to develop. Let them make some mistakes and build their own confidence,
 
The first and the underlying thing for me in this discussion is that nagging desire of wanting to cheer (as well as for example work for) an organization that tries to "do the right thing".

In this case it's giving Smith a scholarship. Sure some money scheme might amount to the same, but that's not what his team mates are getting. Why can't said money scheme go to a portal incoming transfer? Do the right thing.

Lots of variables still at play as pointed out by several. For all we know one of our freshman who did not see any play has felt he is in over his head and wants to be more of a mid major guy.

Anyway, do the right thing.
 
IMO, the 2022/2023 classes all come for the NU degree and just happen to play basketball.

They all need work and hopefully the asst coaches and team managers can help them improve over the spring/summer. Barkley/Strauss are unknown, although both have worked on the bodies and look a little stronger. Clayton/Mullins lost all confidence on offense with Collins taking them out for every shot missed. Hunger needs to fix the details of his defense and I thought Hummel did a great job pointing them out in the Mich St game. Also needs to get stronger. Smith did a good job on both ends, some minor things to cleanup.

Good thing is MN, Ty, Brooks, Nick, Smith are all returning. Couple of transfers and they should be in the top half of BIG10 next year

The way MN has taken time to get going, definitely need a big to help with the boards and be a presence j. The middle.

Nobody will replace Boo, but if they use the motion offense with the pin downs and floppy sets should be able to score

Collins needs to take the next step and Coach with confidence and build trust in his role players. All D1 schools will compete, but he needs to have the team ready for the non conference schedule, blow teams out and the role players get minutes to develop. Let them make some mistakes and build their own confidence,
Love all of this and hope it all materializes. Only difference I would take - I would like CCC now learn how to become a ref wisperer. The B1G seems unlikely to ever improve the refereeing so CCC would be well served to become Izzo like commanding respect and getting the listening ear of refs instead of justly screaming at them like we all would do.
 
IMO, the 2022/2023 classes all come for the NU degree and just happen to play basketball.

They all need work and hopefully the asst coaches and team managers can help them improve over the spring/summer. Barkley/Strauss are unknown, although both have worked on the bodies and look a little stronger. Clayton/Mullins lost all confidence on offense with Collins taking them out for every shot missed. Hunger needs to fix the details of his defense and I thought Hummel did a great job pointing them out in the Mich St game. Also needs to get stronger. Smith did a good job on both ends, some minor things to cleanup.

Good thing is MN, Ty, Brooks, Nick, Smith are all returning. Couple of transfers and they should be in the top half of BIG10 next year

The way MN has taken time to get going, definitely need a big to help with the boards and be a presence j. The middle.

Nobody will replace Boo, but if they use the motion offense with the pin downs and floppy sets should be able to score

Collins needs to take the next step and Coach with confidence and build trust in his role players. All D1 schools will compete, but he needs to have the team ready for the non conference schedule, blow teams out and the role players get minutes to develop. Let them make some mistakes and build their own confidence,
I think high level D1 athletes usually pick a school because they like the program or the coaches. Sure, having a top academic degree is helpful in recruiting but it a secondary point. You can get a great education at a lot of places if you want it.

As far as confidence of bench players, this is elite basketball, they didn’t get to this level by doubting themselves. It’s not HS ball. If you go into action fearing a mistake, you don’t belong at this level. Coaches need to play the best players. If you are on the bench, do something about it when you get a chance, don’t go into the turtle.
 
The way all this will work out is, as others have said, a non-Clayton young or bench guard transfers out this offseason. Smith kinda ate Mullins’ role, so maybe him. Then we can have our PG and big cake and eat it with Smith too.
 
NIL money is taxable.
I understand that. But if you have Smith and some hypothetical grad transfer, and you are giving one a real scholarship and the other a lot of NIL money to cover the same expenses as a scholarship (plus taxes, as you note), does it matter which one gets the real scholarship?

One difference is that it may be easier to give the grad transfer the NIL money since he will graduate in a year and that frees up the limited NIL money for a different use.

A second difference is that an undergraduate may feel much better about the optics of being on an athletic scholarship; a grad transfer may not care as much.

There may also be differences in the taxes and financial aid implications for each.

Anyways, too many good players is a good problem to have.
 
One difference is that it may be easier to give the grad transfer the NIL money since he will graduate in a year and that frees up the limited NIL money for a different use.
Giving NIL money to a grad transfer instead of a scholarship just about assures he won't get a graduate degree. Just pay-for-play.
 
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Giving NIL money to a grad transfer instead of a scholarship just about assures he won't get a graduate degree. Just pay-for-play.
Do any grad transfers get a grad degree? I assume most take one class, often online.
 
Do 6’6 wings that can play Big Ten defense and qualify academically at Northwestern grow on trees?

Since when do we get this lucky? He is giving us quality minutes on a tournament run. Good luck keeping him if he’s clearly earned a scholarship and we play stupid games like this.
Yes, they actually do. Collins has hit on a bunch of them in the last few years and the best ones - Barnhizer and Martinelli - will be joined by Ciaravino next fall plus Barkley will be a RS Frosh. They will be joined by a recovered Berry, Clayton, Strauss and Windham. That said, NU still needs a veteran point guard and a big body to play forward / center.

I get it - it'd be awesome to reward him but also, let's be honest ... he's played 116 minutes in 8 games total. You don't give him a ride over a transfer who could put you back in the tourney and if you do... you will likely not be employed as a head coach for a long time.

As every year has shown us since the portal opened, its an adventure.

NU should expect its top four - Barnhizer, Berry, Martinelli and Nicholson back. After those four, who comes back and in what role will be up to the magic of the portal ... No one expected Roper to leave but I am sure when Langborg became an option, Roper decided that the grass was gonna be greener in South Bend (not sure how that turned out for him as he would be starting for NU now and would have played major minutes).
 
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