KAEO Reggie (RJ) Luis

[NilesGold]

https://dailycollegian.com/2023/04/rj-l ... -nil-deal/

Good article, thanks. It blows my mind that he went silent and never tried to negotiate a better deal. As others have said, he must have had little birdies in his ear telling him how much more he could get.

Taking the $1000 and then ghosting the Mass Collective is a dick move, fuck RJ

[bunkerhill87]

College basketball will never be the same. Rj got poached plain and simple. the "mid majors" will face this issue every year now. Remake a team every year. awful!!! Hard to to get excited about a team when it will literally change every year. all the A10 teams are having this issue. Not sure where this will end up in 10 years. one power level and all the rest 2nd tier w/ their own tourney. I blame the ncaa for al lot of this. over the years they raked in hundreds of millions of dollars, paid themselves huge salaries and created stupid rules. I was a huge college sports fan for the excitement, rivalries etc. No longer. sad

[Upstate10]

College basketball will never be the same. Rj got poached plain and simple. the "mid majors" will face this issue every year now. Remake a team every year. awful!!! Hard to to get excited about a team when it will literally change every year. all the A10 teams are having this issue. Not sure where this will end up in 10 years. one power level and all the rest 2nd tier w/ their own tourney. I blame the ncaa for al lot of this. over the years they raked in hundreds of millions of dollars, paid themselves huge salaries and created stupid rules. I was a huge college sports fan for the excitement, rivalries etc. No longer. sad

I don’t think he got poached. I think he took his offer and is using it to get money elsewhere because he doesn’t want to be at UMass anymore. It seems like he went about it in an immature way but I don’t think he got poached.

[capezona]

After watching all this transpire and reading the Coach Martin interview in the Daily Collegian, I'm not feeling hopeful about UMass basketball. We've watched Kentucky's one-and-done for years now but the difference is that it was pretty much the only school doing this and top players were drawn to it because they knew that, if they excelled, they had a great shot at the NBA. Now, a lot of schools will be one-and-done as players shop around for the next best deal. As a fan, I get emotionally invested in new players coming to UMass in hopes of seeing the program succeed and watching players develop over the years. But now there's no continuity for the team and a lot of disappointment for fans. It's going to drive fans away.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

^

Sure, but fans also need to adjust to the changing landscape.


There's also the reality that UMass, historically, isn't that great of a program. We've had highs, but more lows. Go into each season with an open mind and don't get too high or low as the season goes. But don't stop supporting UMass.

[capezona]

^

Sure, but fans also need to adjust to the changing landscape.


There's also the reality that UMass, historically, isn't that great of a program. We've had highs, but more lows. Go into each season with an open mind and don't get too high or low as the season goes. But don't stop supporting UMass.

It still sucks. But I hear ya. One year at a time. Take what we get. Cheer the Minutemen on.

[GOODY]

Last two posts are what we need Positivity

[InnervisionsUMASS]

^

Sure, but fans also need to adjust to the changing landscape.


There's also the reality that UMass, historically, isn't that great of a program. We've had highs, but more lows. Go into each season with an open mind and don't get too high or low as the season goes. But don't stop supporting UMass.

It still sucks. But I hear ya. One year at a time. Take what we get. Cheer the Minutemen on.

Yep... there's only so much we can do as fans. Think of it like rule changes in the NFL or MLB... you can get pissed about them and let it bother you, or you can let it be and continue to cheer on your team.

[LS71]

^
Sure, but fans also need to adjust to the changing landscape.

There's also the reality that UMass, historically, isn't that great of a program. We've had highs, but more lows. Go into each season with an open mind and don't get too high or low as the season goes. But don't stop supporting UMass.

It still sucks. But I hear ya. One year at a time. Take what we get. Cheer the Minutemen on.

Yep... there's only so much we can do as fans. Think of it like rule changes in the NFL or MLB... you can get pissed about them and let it bother you, or you can let it be and continue to cheer on your team.

Despite the changing landscape in college sports, I’ll always cheer for the Minutemen/women. I’ll always support my favorite pro teams as well.

The difference for me is how I’ll support them…more often from my couch. The cost of attendance, both in dollars and time, is considerable. I’ll attend a variety of UMass sports and save a lot of time and money watching ESPN+.

My sense of urgency re: college/pro sports is gone. There are other ways to spend my time.

For example, my grandson’s hockey tournament in Lake Placid this last February was far more enjoyable then anything I’ve experienced at the Bill in years. We even watched UMass hockey on the plus while we were there.

[Quann]

Everybody that cheered NIL when it happened can get fisted. This sucks. I don’t blame young kids for taking the money but yeah it makes following the sport way less enjoyable. NCAA needs to figure out something. Turning into a joke of a sport.

[stevemaz]

The first thing the NCAA should do is not allow transfers after one year without sitting out a year.

[Quann]

^^^^^
I’ve been yelling this for over a year! The transfer portal is doing even more damage than NIL to college basketball.

[Battle Ax]

Everybody that cheered NIL when it happened can get fisted. This sucks. I don’t blame young kids for taking the money but yeah it makes following the sport way less enjoyable. NCAA needs to figure out something. Turning into a joke of a sport.

Your opening sentence made my day

[UMass1927]

UMass just has 0 chance of building a program in these conditions.

We have had plenty of obstacles even before NIL and transferring without penalty. I think the days of having hope for "building" the program are gone.

[eldonabe]

UMass just has 0 chance of building a program in these conditions.

We have had plenty of obstacles even before NIL and transferring without penalty. I think the days of having hope for "building" the program are gone.

If your program is not "built" already good fucking luck building one now. Umass has little tradition to lure people, they have a poor track record in recent years - not to mention last years debacle - also not to mention they were last in a fading mid-major conference.

Fans and players have ZERO patience to wait for a building project. Instant gratification or bust.

UMass is fucked as it stands with FBS Football and D1 Basketball.