While some may be overlooking the Transfer Portal, there are others who are following with tempered optimism and / or overvaluing the unknown that is to come, believing that it will help to fix what has thus far been a bust on the recruiting trail - all love and loyalty to Goode, btw.
Bad years happen, and save for special circumstances / team needs, a bad year is still very much that; the talent is not coming. The many misses coupled with the dearth of remaining prep players and our projected departures, made this a terrible year to brick. Yes, it is only December, but the staff failed to capitalize on the program's resurgence and the hype created by '19-'20 and '20-'21 teams ... hype that should have been good enough to secure LOIs from Top-50s / 100s. The staff is now in an unenviable position of operating with a very small margin of error to creatively address team needs in a shortened recruiting lifecycle.
Perhaps some who have full faith in this year's Transfer Portal look to it as more of a cure without accounting for the fact that we are still going to be recruiting against the top programs for the top talent. The Portal, like the prep trail, is a highly competitive market where recruiting reigns supreme. It serves as a viable option to augment prep classes and add positional depth; it is not, however, a one-stop shop for repairing a busted recruiting class. Admittedly, this Spring is going to be different from than any we have seen - even if the expected talent boon is only a feint uptick from the norm - so saddle up. Although impossible to predict, will talent be there? And if so, will the staff be able to shake off the collective sting of its misses this Fall and downshift to a new gear?
Oddly enough, optimism is not dead. There are a few intriguing prep wings still available to go with those in the Top-30 who have yet to announce but with whom we have no shot. There is also a player already in the Portal who fits our needs (as we fit his) and checks a "big" box. Whether he is an anomaly, represents the ceiling / prize of the class, or a positive sign of the talent to come, Will Baker is a welcomed addition to the Portal. Unless there is a [recruiting] coup in the works, it would be surprising if the staff does not go all-in here, as they are not in a position to pass; Baker and two wings would palatable. The staff knows this and is no doubt silently at work forecasting various markets / signing scenarios, creating plans of attack, as well as prepping contingencies ... and contingencies for those contingencies ... as we wait impatiently. Until more materializes, what are "your" expectations regarding how the Portal will fill out / predictions for the players who will be filling it?
