Surprising to see no walk-on(s) particularly with the short roster. Guess the assistants will see some floor time
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Surprising to see no walk-on(s) particularly with the short roster. Guess the assistants will see some floor time
There is 11 on the roster. It is surprising that there hasn't been any walk-on added. Or that nobody asked in media day about his views on walk-on's with a small roster.
My analysis of "why no walk-ons" is that it is extremely hard at this point in the season to replace someone of Gabe Levin's size (6.6+) and who can compete with teammates, at least defensively. Guessing that the male population of our U lacks someone of that criteria. We've got a lot of guards already on the team - no need to add another one just because it is nice and feels good to have a walk-on on team. Coaching staff has plenty to do already than hold tryouts.
I am not sure why the fascination with walk-ons, although our last 2-3 have been quality individual (who also help bring the teams avg GPA up).
Nuke: "fascination" is maybe the wrong word. Interest?
I've always respected Walk-ons for the amount of effort and time that they put in for very little playing time. On the other hand, they get the travel and some of the perks of being on the team. And it is also a nice resume point, IMHO.
What I always struggled with, was the pressure fans put on them by cheering for the Coach to put them in, and the "shoot- shoot" yells when they got in. If not "fascination" by fans, I don't know what to call it. I always felt sorry for those walk-on players to be put in that somewhat embarassing position while they are trying to carry themselves as credible ball players with their teammates and fans. I'm sure the Coaches did not appreciate it either.
I wonder if the NCAA rule change regarding meals impacted the walkon decision?