2024 Transfer Portal Thread

[berryvol]

wouldn’t be shocked to see Delaware state say they have the lead next

This account is a 12 year old. Mad respect to him, he gets legit scoops all the time, even tho this isn’t one.

 

[Creeker]

Just from what I've seen elsewhere, rumors of course, that Kugel might be a locker room issue. Also saw it mentioned somewhere else that maybe not having the academic details all squared away to be accepted into school. Don't know. Just saw that mentioned somewhere. Seems to be a possible reason Florida didn't seem to press to keep him and Kansas may be of the same opinion.

Hate to hear that if true. Watched him play his senior year of high school. He won a dunk contest in a tournament and I bet you afterwards he hung around for an hour and probably signed autographs for over 100 little kids. I’ve been a fan of him since then.

 

[wtmvol]

This account is a 12 year old. Mad respect to him, he gets legit scoops all the time, even tho this isn’t one.

lol - for real?

I'm trying to imagine my 12 year old following college hoops that closely, and it's making me laugh.

 

[VolArmy74]

Lol. Ok.

Read the last 10 pages of the thread. Both things Basilio said here were stated in the thread. BTO literally said he's 99 percent sure Lanier ends up here but Kentucky may throw out some epic NIL offer. Then Basilio mentions not quite 100 percent but very confident and that a big NIL offer from Kentucky as being a remotely possible reason he doesn't come here.

I posted that someone I trust to know said the staff was all in with Lanier and are confident in him because of what they were told by him that at the end of the process this was an NBA or Tennessee decision and they are still confident in that and aren't recruiting at that position currently due to it.

So Basilio adds a version of that to his post.

If this was isolated I'd not think it, but it happens regularly that things appear here and then he summarizes it in a blog a day or two later.

 

[RudyVol]

Feels like Lanier is more of a 50/50 thing at best right now. I respect the optimism some have.

 

[wtmvol]

Read the last 10 pages of the thread. Both things Basilio said here were stated in the thread. BTO literally said he's 99 percent sure Lanier ends up here but Kentucky may throw out some epic NIL offer. Then Basilio mentions not quite 100 percent but very confident and that a big NIL offer from Kentucky as being a remotely possible reason he doesn't come here.

I posted that someone I trust to know said the staff was all in with Lanier and are confident in him because of what they were told by him that at the end of the process this was an NBA or Tennessee decision and they are still confident in that and aren't recruiting at that position currently due to it.

So Basilio adds a version of that to his post.

If this was isolated I'd not think it, but it happens regularly that things appear here and then he summarizes it in a blog a day or two later.

I do remember one time I said something on VolNation with kind of weird phrasing (because I'm a little weird), and a few days later on TB's blog that same weird phrase made an appearance. I can't remember what it was, or honestly what sport it was about. But I do remember thinking I unknowingly became one of TB's sources that day.

Edit: it might have actually been on the old 247/Scout version of Hoopsville, I can't remember.

 

[Chaz-Vol]

Feels like Lanier is more of a 50/50 thing at best right now. I respect the optimism some have.

Huh? AP, Basilio, other folks on here all clearly saying the same thing. Maybe they happen to have the exact same source who's feeding them the exact same info but things are pretty clear. Lanier likely will be a Vol based on connections and how long Barnes and staff have put in. The main caveat is should some other school come with insane NIL offer that Vols can't match then chance he goes somewhere else. Not really 50/50.

 

[Orange.]

Chaz Lanier Top 5:

Maryland
Kentucky
BYU
Florida Atlantic
Lincoln Memorial

Delaware State

wouldn’t be shocked to see Delaware state say they have the lead next

Added

 

[Nighthawkvol10]

Huh? AP, Basilio, other folks on here all clearly saying the same thing. Maybe they happen to have the exact same source who's feeding them the exact same info but things are pretty clear. Lanier likely will be a Vol based on connections and how long Barnes and staff have put in. The main caveat is should some other school come with insane NIL offer that Vols can't match then chance he goes somewhere else. Not really 50/50.

Trilly basically declared it a 50/50 at this point in his discord. The TN sources over there have held pretty firm on Lanier being a Vol but everything seems to be moving in Kentucky’s direction based on what he’s said. Pretty contrasting info from the Trilly/UK side of things compared to what’s coming from our side right now

 

[VolArmy74]

I do remember one time I said something on VolNation with kind of weird phrasing (because I'm a little weird), and a few days later on TB's blog that same weird phrase made an appearance. I can't remember what it was, or honestly what sport it was about. But I do remember thinking I unknowingly became one of TB's sources that day.

Edit: it might have actually been on the old 247/Scout version of Hoopsville, I can't remember.

Unrelated but I used to post on Hoopsville before here too.

 

[Col_Cathcart]

Trilly basically declared it a 50/50 at this point in his discord. The TN sources over there have held pretty firm on Lanier being a Vol but everything seems to be moving in Kentucky’s direction based on what he’s said. Pretty contrasting info from the Trilly/UK side of things compared to what’s coming from our side right now

I’ve yet to see anything from Lanier that would indicate that UK has made up much ground.

 

[RudyVol]

Huh? AP, Basilio, other folks on here all clearly saying the same thing. Maybe they happen to have the exact same source who's feeding them the exact same info but things are pretty clear. Lanier likely will be a Vol based on connections and how long Barnes and staff have put in. The main caveat is should some other school come with insane NIL offer that Vols can't match then chance he goes somewhere else. Not really 50/50.

I like our chances a lot from what I read. "Feels" was my main point of the post though. My honest prediction is that he's a done deal to the Vols already. That prediction is based on Tony B saying we are not recruiting anyone else for that prediction. Whether that's 100% true, I'm not sure, but if that is true then I am lead to believe that he's nearly a done deal as others are saying. I I don't just totally disregard the Kentucky reports though, as much as I'd like to. BVS and the Kentucky reports lead me to believe that I need my cup ready.

 

[pimo1]

All the talk has been around people lately like Chaz Lanier and he's a great get but there is one name I have not heard brought up once. Wooga Polar. Not only is he ranked higher as a prospect than any of the other names I have heard mentioned.. He has one of the most epic names. His name is epic not just on a this-year this-portal perspective but this is some all-time great level of epic. Its a win-win situation. He comes and plays great.. that's the best outcome but even if he just plays ok or hardly plays at all the name alone is worth it. Why isn't his name more poplar here?

check this bio
Full name is Nisine Hamir Poplar, but goes by Wooga
Nickname is pronounced WUH-Guh, legal name is pronounced Niye-SEEN and last name is pronounced POP-Lurr
Born Jan. 5, 2003
Parents are Hisine Poplar and Monica Solomon
Has a younger brother, Niare
Majoring in sociology with a minor in sport administration
Enjoys riding dirt bikes

Thoughts?

 

[Dougie_D]

Honestly Lanier holding out for awhile may handcuff UK more than UT…they too have 3 scholarships open and a glaring hole for a scoring 2 guard, arguably more glaring than Tennessee. They are recruiting 3 different guys for that spot and if any of them want to pop before Chaz they probably can’t afford to sit around and wait.

I don’t like the fact that KY is in the running while TN has been waiting for awhile. This isn’t recruiting . This is called making the best deal. Also, whatever intel he got from the NBA/G league is going away his decision. Here’s what he’s probably looking at:
1. NIL value compared to every other transfer
- will a school match his value?
2. What school will best get him to increase his draft in the NBA
- is he looking for a track record with a coach, or a specific style of play that will increase his game?
3. Family and culture
- TN fits this well but I don’t think it’s high on his list. He seems ALL biz

 

[Dougie_D]

I’m actually curious about when TN was talking to Lanier. Was that before or after he signed with an agent? I understand “a players word” but agents don’t use that in consideration.

 

[Shadowboxer]

I’m actually curious about when TN was talking to Lanier. Was that before or after he signed with an agent? I understand “a players word” but agents don’t use that in consideration.

They usually go through AAU coaches or family members. It's real Game Of Throne'ish.

 

[cncchris33]

Unrelated but I used to post on Hoopsville before here too.

Same here. I was there for probably 5 years before migrating to VN in 2009.

 

[Volprofch05]

All the talk has been around people lately like Chaz Lanier and he's a great get but there is one name I have not heard brought up once. Wooga Polar. Not only is he ranked higher as a prospect than any of the other names I have heard mentioned.. He has one of the most epic names. His name is epic not just on a this-year this-portal perspective but this is some all-time great level of epic. Its a win-win situation. He comes and plays great.. that's the best outcome but even if he just plays ok or hardly plays at all the name alone is worth it. Why isn't his name more poplar here?

check this bio
Full name is Nisine Hamir Poplar, but goes by Wooga
Nickname is pronounced WUH-Guh, legal name is pronounced Niye-SEEN and last name is pronounced POP-Lurr
Born Jan. 5, 2003
Parents are Hisine Poplar and Monica Solomon
Has a younger brother, Niare
Majoring in sociology with a minor in sport administration
Enjoys riding dirt bikes

Thoughts?

He’s been discussed in this thread

 

[oldaaucoach]

In case you missed it. Nice interview with CRB:

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes met with reporters before Wednesday’s Big Orange Caravan stop in Kingsport, the final of the four-part fan event across the state of Tennessee:

Tennessee having three open scholarship spots and if he ever gets concerned with how quickly the Vols need to fill them


“Not really. I think the key is being deliberate and in terms of knowing what you want do when you’re really trying to construct a roster. And I think probably the worst thing you can do is feel like you got to do something quickly without really thinking it through. But we are really happy with where we are right now. We’re going to be really selective with what we have left.”

If they’re selling Tennessee’s defensive work to prospects in the portal

“Well, obviously people talk about it because a year ago this time, no one who knew who Dalton Knecht really was on the national level. And so obviously when we’re talking to people, his name comes up. But not just his, I mean, every guy on our team. People want to talk about Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack, guys who they want to play with. And the fact is, whether it’s someone in your program right now or whether someone we’ve recruited or someone we’ve had, we’re looking for somebody to make that same kind of jump that (Knecht) made. And none of us knew that he was going to be able to do what he did. And hopefully someone else can make the same jump he did.”


What John Fulkerson meant to the Tennessee program during

“Well, (he) was important to us when we first got here. He was one of the first guys that we targeted, when we knew the foundation that we wanted to build our program on. And John, it seemed like he was here forever. Now it seems like he’s been gone a long time. But he made an incredible impact with our program in more ways than what he saw on the basketball court. And we’re extremely proud of him. I know that he’s playing professional ball now. I think he had a tough year this year with an injury, but he’ll be back because he’s a fighter. But again, he, he’s a VFL and always will be special to us because he was part of really laying the foundation of where we are today.”

What kind of skillset Tennessee is targeting in the portal

“Well, I think what we’re looking for now is the best player we can find. And someone that … you’re always looking to add some scoring if you can. And that’s something we look at, whether it’s up front or in the back court. But right now it’s whatever we do, it’s got to be something that we think that we don’t have and something that we know can benefit us.”




Tennessee having success finding high school kids late in the process, what the market is like

“No, I think now you think about how many guys are still in the portal and we come every day and not just the guys that are are coming in, but the guys that are there because I think we have put together a really nice analytical program to help us sort through it, trying to find out the things that we think that has in the past proven to be successful when you make a jump from certain levels to this level. But I always think there’s somebody out there and I’ve said my whole career, there’s enough players for everybody. You just need to find the ones that fit you and we still think there’s a couple guys out there that will fit us.”

If there are still high school guys out there that fit what Tennessee is looking for

“I do think the portal right now is probably where high school players are probably overlooked a little bit more. There’s some schools now that are strictly going to go forward (using the portal) and because of that, that means there’s high school players that are going to be overlooked and we’re not gonna do that. We’ll keep our eye there and we always will, but we’re in a different era. I mean like, we knew we were going to lose some guys. We obviously lost two that we didn’t think we would lose, but that happens and we’re no different than anybody else. I think probably most teams were surprised at something, maybe some guys leaving. But we feel like we’ve been able to— you have to have the attitude that when you lose guys, whether it’s through graduation, whatever, this gives us an opportunity to try to get better and we feel like we’ve done that.”



The importance of fan support in the changing landscape of college athletics

“Our fans, they’re really important. When you come to a football game, basketball game, baseball game, softball game, volleyball game, you go down the line. I was at Tennis Sunday and you just feel the love that our fan base has for the University of Tennessee and its athletic department. You can’t come in this state without feeling the impact of the power team. And with that said, when you bring a recruit into a basketball game or any of those other events, they feel something special about Rocky Top. And we’ve actually talked to some guys the other day, and I love it when they say to me, we’re looking forward to visiting Rocky Top. And so we know it’s a national brand and something that people know about and I think we’re going continue to build it with because of the success that not just the athletic department is having but the university with the great leadership from Randy Boyd and Donde Plowman and Danny White. What they’ve done is really remarkable and it’s fun to be a part of.”


New Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell saying that she’s enjoyed being around him during the Big Orange Caravan, how much he enjoys being able to help young coaches

“Well, I’ve really enjoyed time with Kim. One, she’s going to be successful and I can learn from her as much as talk about wisdom. I think you can feel her passion. You can. I’ve seen what she’s done in a short time with what she’s got going right now, the way that they spent the spring here. But I’ve really enjoyed time with her and I think she’s all — this has obviously been new to her — but the way she’s handled everything has been really remarkable.

“I think it just shows you that Danny White knew what he was looking for when he went out there and made a great hire. She’s a basketball person and you can tell from our last trip. We watched a little film together and were talking about it. You can just tell from her insight, she knows what she’s doing and like I said, I love talking basketball with coaches and I think she and I will will end up spending time talking basketball and like I said, I think I can learn from her.”


The game this past season that stands out to him when he reflects on the season

“Probably the North Carolina game because we hadn’t played totally up to what we were capable of to that point. And I thought the second half Zakai (Zeigler) found himself. Dalton, obviously that was a time when he really, you knew that, hey, this guy is not gonna shy away from the bright lights. But that was the game where again, I thought Zakai got it back and from that point it was just a matter of now we know what we’ve got at this point.

“It’s a matter of just putting it together. But there’s so many games throughout the year, so many ups and downs you go through emotionally and physically, but anytime you get to the NCAA tournament, you can advance and get close and just makes you want more the next year. And hopefully our guys, and I know they want more. I can tell by the way they’ve approached the spring workouts and so it’ll be here before you start next week. We’ll have guys starting to trickle in here, so we’re really back into swing for next year.”


Getting away from Knoxville for a couple of days to spend time with Tennessee fans

“Well, you know, you’re part of something special. You know, your whole life, when you do what we do, you want to be appreciated. You want to know people love it. And you can’t be a Tennessee Volunteer and go out like this and not feel like, hey, you’re blessed to be have the job that I have and know that there’s so many people that care and there’s just those blue-blooded Volunteer fans that you know they’re gonna be with you, they’re gonna stick with you. And it goes back to really nine years ago when I first got here. A good friend of mine, Kevin Felton, said, ‘Hey, you’re gonna be surprised by the Volunteer basketball base. And he’s right. But now I’m not surprised. I’m not surprised by anything that happens within our fan base because truly, I think they’re the best in the country.”

The post Rick Barnes talks three open roster spots at Tennessee’s final Big Orange Caravan stop appeared first on On3.

 

[Kas232323]

Same here. I was there for probably 5 years before migrating to VN in 2009.

Same. Man….those were fun times. Lots of good posters no longer around.

 

[vol94]

I don’t think anyone knows Lanier’s plans. Either way, Barnes will have his roster ready to play for the upcoming season.

 

[joevols89]

This was pretty much what was said here in the last 48 hours. Tony B's source on this one is likely VN.

Nope

 

[joevols89]

Read the last 10 pages of the thread. Both things Basilio said here were stated in the thread. BTO literally said he's 99 percent sure Lanier ends up here but Kentucky may throw out some epic NIL offer. Then Basilio mentions not quite 100 percent but very confident and that a big NIL offer from Kentucky as being a remotely possible reason he doesn't come here.

I posted that someone I trust to know said the staff was all in with Lanier and are confident in him because of what they were told by him that at the end of the process this was an NBA or Tennessee decision and they are still confident in that and aren't recruiting at that position currently due to it.

So Basilio adds a version of that to his post.

If this was isolated I'd not think it, but it happens regularly that things appear here and then he summarizes it in a blog a day or two later.

Just because he writes it on the blog doesn’t mean he hasn’t been saying things on his show as well. He has a source close to the basketball program, moreso than football and baseball.

It’s more likely he is one of the “insiders” here than just taking information from here.

 

[berryvol]

lol - for real?

I'm trying to imagine my 12 year old following college hoops that closely, and it's making me laugh.

Click through his twitter media tab, it’s hilarious. Tons of pics of him with coaches and players. He also does spaces every week and breaks down players usage and conversion rates in certain scenarios and every high level analytic stat you can think of. Kid is a wizard lol

 

[joevols89]

Also, the whole reason the former SID and Tony B. had beef was because he was butt hurt someone in or around the program was leaking Tony information and he was sharing it.