Virginia Tech freshman guard Joe Bamisile has entered the transfer portal, sources told ESPN.— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 22, 2021
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Virginia Tech freshman guard Joe Bamisile has entered the transfer portal, sources told ESPN.— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 22, 2021
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From his twitter account:
This is extremely frustrating. I never understood his lack of playing time and now this...
I'd like to hear (officially or otherwise) why he was immediately benched for an entire month without any playing time following his best performance in December, and then again for our most important games at the end of the year after he provided some valuable minutes in February. One of the strangest usages of a player who seemingly had no problems on or off the court or with injury that I can remember.
Dang. Why does Justin Fuente keep doing this to us!?
/S
Definitely sucks, but ultimately not too surprised. Mike Young said he wants a pick up a true 5 to play with Aluma and Mutts, which leaves a lineup of Bede/Murphy, Radford, Mutts, Aluma, and "center to be named later."
So that leaves him competing with Alleyne, Cattoor, Maddox, and Cone (plus maybe Pedulla) for backup guard minutes. He deserves more playing time than what he was getting, but I can't easily say who's minutes he should be taking. I don't know too much about the responsibilities that guards hold in MY's system, and I don't think he was going to be used as a primary ball-handler - so probably Cattoor? But without Cone, you need his three-point shooting? I don't know... it's a hard case to crack.
Again, sucks we couldn't make it work, sucks he's leaving, but ultimately totally understand it from his point of view.
Bede is done playing. Probably won't see Murphy and Cone on the floor at the same time. If MY's comment is correct, would have to think Aluma would be a 4/5 and Mutts a 4 to back up or play beside Aluma when the TBD Center is not in.
Bamisille is probably the best on the dribble drive of anyone on our team. It is definitely frustrating because that's two players (Diarra) that we lose that dribble drive skill set on a team that already doesn't have a plethora of athleticism to drive to the basket. We've seen what happens when a zone D limits our scheme and we have no one who can penetrate the zone. Bummer!
Tyrese would like a word.
Id much rather have Bamisile that 6th year senior Bede who literally is not a threat to score a basket.
I agree DC, but I think the biggest argument that is reoccurring in this thread, is Bam's challenges on the defensive side of the ball. CMY is the only one who can accurately assess whether there can be improvement in that area or not. As a fan, I have to believe that his inability to play defense prevents him from hitting the floor more regularly, and that's unfortunate, because the coaches get paid to teach him that skillset. Unfortunately, Joe has chosen to learn that trait elsewhere, I wish he chose otherwise.
I guess the folks that said he would be a 1 and done type player were right after all.
Not surprising. The kid has loads of potential and he was benched for a month or two - he inexplicably behind Darius Maddox in the rotation for a while (as others have pointed out). Next year, he probably wouldn't see his minutes go up too much with Murphy, Radford, Alleyne, Cone, and Cattoor.
Very odd from the staff though. This is the highest rated high school recruit from Mike Young's 3 recruiting classes and he barely saw the court. Now he's already gone.
This will happen a TON with transfers turning into free agency (no sitting out a year). If you don't have playing time for a freshman, make sure he's okay warming the bench for a year before you sign him.
Man, I was hoping we would be able to hang onto him, but I'm sure he's frustrated with the playing time. I still like our rotation next year, but really wanted to see him develop here.
Well now it makes sense why he wasn't used in the tournament game.
I don't know what the deal is there but I'd like to see some reporters find out. This isn't to say that its something bad that is being hidden that needs to be dug up. But that there's just details here that are worth knowing because it is an odd thing with how this played out. He was the best rated recruit of the CMY era so far, a big recruiting win for the new staff, yet apparently there were some bumpiness right from the get go (remember there was rumors he was gonna leave not long into the season). Despite that, he does get some playing time, looks pretty good in limited minutes, enough to where you can see his potential while also seeing how he can help right away. It was exactly what you would hope for out of most coaching staffs for a young player. Then you never see him again. The whole thing is just strange. Like I've seen players transfer after a couple of years not getting the role they want and I've seen freshman transfer after a year usually with a big blow up either from the player or the family/people managing said player where there's constant friction every turn. But its rare to see something like this where on the surface everything should be a fit but its not for some reason
Any idea if we're just gonna pocket the scholarship for 2022 or is there somebody we can go after now
Bobby Pettiford. Decommit from Louisville
I would have hoped for somebody a bit taller. Not 7', but certainly that midling 6'4-6'7 range
We got someone in mind for that as well
Who else is not coming back?
I have Diarra, Bede, and Bamisile
Pemsl
Keep in mind Bede, Diarra, and Pemsl could all return for an extra season and not count against the scholarship limit. With Bam transferring, we can add 4.
1. Pedulla (FR)
2. Murphy (SR, COVID season)
3. Pettiford? (FR)
4. PF/C ???
Tre Mitchell
I would like this very, very much. During his initial recruitment, Tre Mitchell had a final 6 that included VT, UMass, GT, Providence, Indiana, and Syracuse.
That would be a hell of a lineup.
5s: Aluma, Mitchell, Ojiako
4s: Aluma, N'Guessan
3s: Mutts, Radford
2s: Radford, Cone, Alleyne, Maddox, Cattoor
1s: Murphy, Pettiford, Pedulla, Cattoor
Multiple guys at each position who can drop 15-25 a night. Height in the frontcourt. Defensive talent across the board. Veterans. Could do some damage.
The transfers would have accounted for 5x30-pt games, 23x20-pt games, and 31x15-pt games over the last two seasons (105 combined games)
transfer or freshman?
Transfer but has 3 years left
Tre Mitchell UMass? What are our chances. Dude is really good. Very similar to Aluma
I remember it was down to us and umass cause he really liked our Assistant coach Webster who is still with the current staff maybe that can sway him over other schools
Opening up spots
Heard bam to Ole Miss
Kermit Davis is an excellent coach. He'll learn a ton from him. Rebels gonna be better in the SEC if Bam goes there.
They also just got the other Louisville decommit👀
The PF? because Ole Miss was heavily in on Pettiford. The more roster spots they eat up, the better for us.
Yeah the power forward
This is a big bummer I was liking what I saw from him this season
Not sure how anyone could do anything but wish the kid luck. He wants to play now, there's not an opportunity at Tech to do so.
https://roanoke.com/sports/college/va_tech/virginia-techs-joe-bamisile-e...
We're loaded at his position, and Radford/Mutts are already in that role. He wouldn't get to really play until his senior year. He'll do great things somewhere else, but outside of hype abilities it's not a huge loss for us. I'm grateful to have had him, but unsurprised and supportive of this move.
Mutts is a 4, maybe a 3... bam was gonna be a 1 or 2... am I missing something? I could easily see 20+ minutes per game for him next year. With storm, cattoor, bam and cone splitting 80 minutes per game 4 ways at pg/sg
MY wants mutts to be a 3 next year
I think bam a straight up 2 and our 2 situation is loaded. Radford Cattor and Cone
For me it seems:
1 Storm, Catoor
2 Cone, Catoor, Bam
3 Radford, Bam
4 Mutts, Radford Aluma
I could see plenty of minutes... not sure I want radford at the 2 for much time at all and not sure I want him off the floor which keeps mutts at the 4 for me.
MY wants Aluma at the 4. Thats why we are also targeting a center as well
Most rotations are 7-9 players for competitive games and that shortens in the postseason.
Starters: Storm, Alleyne, Radford, Mutts, Aluma
Bench: Cone, Cattoor, N'Guessan, Ojiako
That's 9. You can move some parts around but you need the backup big, you need the extra shooters, where's 20 minutes for Bam? I don't see it without developing into a knockdown shooter.
there's also the guy that got 28 last Friday and for all we know, Bam might have been behind Maddox.
Yea somehow I totally whiffed on nahiem... deserve DVs for that, haha.
Minutes are definitely tight at 2... I guess I like bam more as a small ball 3 than most do based on his athleticism but obviously that isnt a direction CMY wants to go if Mutts gets run at the 3. Personally i think that would be a mistake but who am i to question CMY?
I don't know about Mutts at the 3 either but who knows? In my mind a lot of how the front court rotation plays out depends on how N'Guessan develops. He's very athletic and in HS showed good range on his shot.
The other big offseason "fix" will be cutting back on turnovers. There was some pretty loose passing at times; and this will impact who plays where.
I didn't see enough from Cone this year to say Bam wouldn't have been able to beat him out for PT. I thought Bam looked like a more polished Chris Clarke and was looking forward to what he would be able to do for us.
Mutts/Radford already play the Chris Clarke role. Cone is designed to be Fletcher Magee. He lit it up in a couple games and remember he's supposed to still be a freshman.
That seems ridiculous to me... and still shouldn't eat minutes from bam unless it moves radford to a 2 which would real knee cap our outside shooting ability.
If Radford improves again from 3 not really. Cattor and cone dont have the ball handling to be a 1 so they are 2s and if you look at the PGs MY has been trying to recuirt bam doesn't fit that either
Man, I don't like this. Gotta assume that sends Alleyne to the bench, which I strongly disagree with. Alternatively you bench Radford, which I disagree with even more strongly. That means we start Murphy-Radford-Mutts-Aluma-center. That is an exceptionally unbalanced team, with almost no perimeter shooting. Better off with Murphy-Alleyne-Radford-Mutts-Aluma IMO.
That would also mean Alleyne, Cattoor, and Cone are all starting on the bench as upperclassmen. I can almost guarantee at least one of them transfers due to lack of minutes if this happens.
Why recruit all guards and then suddenly go ridiculously big (with no shooting) and take away the guards' starting jobs??
I think the goal is to have a deep roster capable of playing small ball (4G/1F) and big ball (2G/3F) which would also result in having enough quality coming off the bench up and down the lineup to keep everyone fresh and playing at max ability. Something we had at times in the backcourt, but did not really have up front this season. Think FSU style.
"Role" a slasher who's tough inside with a not so great outside shot and is a long limbed mobile defender/rebounder
Guys want to play, have to respect it
Well now I'm interested in what about his game the staff thought didn't warrant him getting minutes. As some others have pointed out, there's definitely a path for him to get good minutes. Heck, he probably should have had more this year despite being a freshman. Maybe he wanted "all the minutes" and the staff said "no, you can have some of the minutes"?
He was Ryan Gosling levels of a liability on defense.
Just getting beat all day.
Hey man, lay off the 5 time player of the week
You know, I was racking my brain last week trying to remember that actor's name. You helped me out.
(Yeah, I could have looked it up, but...)
I think a lot of frustration is that Bamisile has a higher ceiling than Cattoor, Cone, and (probably) Radford, but (barring injuries) all of those guys have established their role in the rotation. Maybe without the COVID pauses, Bamisile establishes himself as someone who can handle some of those minutes.
But for a freshman who came in after missing a season to injury, on a team that was surprisingly deep and had legit championship aspirations - it's hard to balance that. You have to find the tradeoff between playing raw talent and the variance in their quality of play with the team's goals. In a full, 30 game season - I believe this is something that Mike Young could have figured out. Unfortunately, this has just been a super weird year.
The frustrating thing is that if he is what everybody thinks he is, he should be able to pull minutes or replace some of those guys in his second year. So, go get that spot here. Transferring seems to be too damn easy anymore and I don't know that it is as good for the players as everybody makes out.
Last three years a report I saw was that only 28% of players entering the portal remained at or improved the Division in which they were initially playing. That said, Bamisile will land at another D1 school, the question is just where.
Hard to imagine a team that struggles mightily on offense unless the 3's are dropping and Aluma has zero fouls, not needing a talented guard? I wish we could be florida state and play like dogshit and be in the sweet 16 every year, but we are not.
Curious you bring up FSU when it took Leonard Hamilton 7 years to reach the NCAA Tournament at FSU and has been to the Sweet 16 4 times in 19 years, with his first run coming in his 9th season.
Comparatively speaking, between Buzz and Young our ascention has been quicker than his at FSU.
The part of the calculus that is easy to overlook is that NO ONE lost a year of eligibility this year.
The competition for Bamisile is substantially the same as it was when he arrived. Maddox still has 5 years to play 4 (as does Bam). Cattoor, Alleyene, and Cone have 4 to play 3. Radford has 3 years. All 5 of those guys were ahead of Bam at some point this year. Then sub in Murphy (the only one scheduled to be out of eligibility) for Bede as the starting PG and add Pedulla for Diarra and voila! Very much like Groundhog Day.
So I don't blame Bam at all. He came to VT to be THE GUY. But his best case here for the next couple of years is to split time. If he thinks he is NBA bound sooner than later, he's better off finding somewhere he can rack up minutes and stats.
Finally, I don't think it's a given that they'll fill his scholarship...could easily hold it for the following year.
See, I dont see him having trouble getting playing time on this roster if he is going to be NBA bound. And if he isnt NBA bound, he will find similar struggles wherever he goes.
NBA bound does not equal college playing time. See Zach Collins, Tony Bradley, Nassir Little. Guys can also be buried on the bench for a few years before getting significant minutes or may never graduate from a bench role player (Donte DiVincenzo, De'Andre Hunter, Grayson Allen, DJ Wilson). It's not always a one-to-one.
Looking specifically at the VT roster, an NBA prospect should get playing time.
he thinks he is; that's why he's transferring
That is why I am making the counter argument to the crowd that says "can't really blame him for transferring". The future scenarios are:
He transfers down a tier to get more immediate playing time (this would mean he doesnt have confidence in his abilities, and I dont see it happening)
He transfers laterally into a similar situation (he is decent but perhaps never develops to the high point of expectations and no real advantage to the transfer)
He transfers laterally or up a tier and develops into a great player. (If he can do this, he can do it here and our other guards would see the reduction in minutes)
Transferring is dangled out there as a quick fix to playing time when it more often isn't.
Not if he can't play defense. I hope he decides to double down and stay. But regardless thanks for the minutes he gave us.
With the exception of Donte DiVincenzo, all those other guys you listed were full-time starters in their final college seasons. All of them, with the exception of DJ Wilson, played significant games and minutes in their freshman seasons. Even Collins, Bradley, and Little all average close to 20 minutes a game and played 30 plus games a year (without starting) in their one-and-done seasons.
Not saying he will or won't turn into those players, but almost all of those players got significant playing time early and built on in their second season. It seems clear he's transferring because he doesn't see a path to starting even a couple games, or getting anywhere close to 18 minutes a game like most of those players were.
Somewhat valid on the one and domes. Little especially saw increased pt as the season progressed. The two you mentioned as playing significant games and minutes, Hunter was redshirted his freshman year and Allen barely played until the championship game. We didn't play as many games this year so it gave less opportunities
Agree here, but given the number of students that go into the portal, it seems like VT could easily find a senior or graduate student to contribute to depth at one position or another. I think the one-and-done senior/grad student will become the new NCAAM trend.
true
I mean, we have a glut of guards and we could use the scholarship on a big to help balance out the roster. Idk, I think this works in our favor.
I'm not surprised. The kid wants to play and I have a ton of respect for that decision. He's talented as hell and seems like a good dude.
Bamisile was one of those rare players who could do something to make you gasp in amazement at least once or twice a game. I hate losing a guy like this but IIWII.
This is the new normal in college basketball. Development in the college game is hard to predict sometimes. I would have thought Bam would have played more minutes this season, but I think Cattoor took a big step forward and ended up playing more than even the coaching staff may have expected.
I can't fault Bam for wanting more playing time and given the way the roster is constructed he was definitely going to have a hard time seeing the floor more.
Really hard to be a fan of any program with the constant turnover of rosters that's going on right now.
We had one scholarship player two years ago, and no coach, and this team isn't living up to your expectations?
We had a realistic shot at the Sweet Sixteen if we made one more shot.
I'm thinking your VT Football Fandom PTSD is kicking in. This is quite the take. Especially if you factor in the PG we will be bringing in through the portal.
I'm going to give ATownHokie the benefit of the doubt and assume they are discussing how collegiate basketball wide it is harder to get attached to players and therefore a program due to the transfer portal and one and done nature of the sport. I don't believe this is an indictment of team performance.
Thank you! That's exactly what I was implying which is why I worded it "any program". I am in no way disappointed with what Mike Young is doing with the program. I just miss the days of guys sticking with a program for 4 to 5 years and not leaving after one year.
as a fan I understand this, but from a player benefit standpoint I'm all for them having the freedom to move around.
I'm all for xfer portal for the players benefit, but what has been seen is that to most players its not a benefit. Lots of players go in and never come out. I don't have an answer, or any other solution, but so far transferring hasnt been the best choice for most players.
Yep, overstating your worth and leverage in life is a mistake too many people make
how are you measuring that? what numbers show that players enter the transfer portal but then never get to finish school?
https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research-student-athlete-transfers
https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/tracking-transfer-division...
Not very good results, although better in basketball in terms of transferring laterally. This isn't surprising considering there are 350+ D1 basketball programs.
Saw another article but can't find it that said only 28% of those transferring from a P5 school end up at another P5 school. The graduation rates are atrocious in both football and basketball regardless for those that leave their initial school.
To me the graduation rates are way more important than playing P5 or not. The goal of going to college is to graduate. If they go pro I'd consider that a success too.
thanks for sharing. some interesting numbers though I have to take some of this with a grain of salt given the NCAA's past and supposed stated aim with the data.
I suppose this leads to a more broad/philosophical examination of what is "successful" and how each person views the purpose of going to college and playing college sports
I know many want to joke about this being similar to the portal in football, but there is one big difference here in that there doesn't seem to be any pop shots or 👀 subtweeting going on regarding our basketball program or statements by coaches like we see every year in football. In fact, it seems to be the opposite. Bam likes the program, likes the coaches, but just doesn't see a path toward the PT he thinks he deserves, and he's probably right. We are loaded at the position he wants to play.
When you are a good program you are going to lose good players who just get blocked. It happens. The only thing you can do is to keep relationships good, not burn bridges, and do what's best for the players. I'm very glad that Mike Young gets this, and the reputation we are building is going to carry us over the long haul in this sport.
It's a little more nuanced though.
Joe was only in the program for one season and was told right away that he was going to be on the end of the bench until he claws his way into the rotation. Expectations were realistic, everyone was on the same page.
The football guys were jerked around a bunch in terms of how the coaches saw them. Let's take Hendon as an example. HH went into the portal in a similar manner that Joe did and the coaches brought him back. Spent a year working his ass off to become an ACC-caliber QB. The coaches gave him the reigns in 2019 and anointed him top dog. Then he gets into health issues to start 2020, he jumps back into the starting role mid-season, has health issues during the Clemson game, gets relegated to a backup role and the coaches told him he was going to be the #2 coming into spring practice. He got mad because he thought he had the coaches' trust the entire time. Some of that can be pinned on Fuente, some of it can't so it's not really that fair to make a blanket statement like this.
The dating equivalent would be: Joe got told from the get-go that they were only going to be friends, HH was put on the hook and then got thrown into the friend-zone. Obviously, HH is going to be saltier about it.
Glad we found a way to use this as an opportunity to complain about football. All is right with the world.
This biggest difference is Brent left Tyrece Radford, Bede and a cloud of literal dust for Young, and Young is in the dance 2 years later, while Fu is making excuses for not being physically competitive with 6 win Pitt. THATS the difference.
Wow hella pull by GW to land BAM
I mean he'll obviously have more playing time but...really?
Whole situation has been so bizarre, I would have thought dozens of schools higher on the totem pole than GW would give him what he was looking for
Maybe they offered him the "offense only" package?
Bamisile seemed to have effort on defense.
I haven't watched any George Washington basketball over the past 2 years, but Jamion Christian used to run a "Mayhem" press at Mount St. Mary's, which was derived from VCU's "Havoc" (he was a Shaka Smart assistant). So I don't know if he still uses that style at GWU, but if so, I feel like that beautifully chaotic brand of basketball could suit Bamisile.
I certainly didn't mean to imply a lack of effort, he just seemed to be lost most of the time. Maybe it was scheme and GW will be a better fit, but the prevailing theory about JBam not getting more minutes was he was a liability on the defensive end of the court.
Usually with freshman if it's a defensive issue it's team defense not individual defense.
Most expensive school in the country...
Head coach at GW also has Emory & Henry ties. He was an assistant at EHC in the mid 2000s.
If I land this new job in Foggy Bottom, it'll be really convenient to go to games. GWs home gym is one of my favorites.
Thought he would land at a power conference or upper echelon A10 school like VCU. But I'd love to see GW become competitive again.