QuoteJustin Pippen is ready to make his decision. The four-star shooting guard out of Sierra Canyon (CA) will announce his college choice on Friday, April 19th at 1:00 PM PT/4:00 PM ET.

6-foot-3 stockriser will be choosing between five schools — Michigan, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Cal, and A&M.

Pippen's the son of NBA Hall-of-Famer and Bulls legend Scottie Pippen

Quote from: Otis Kirk on Yesterday at 12:20:48 pmhttps://www.nwahomepage.com/sports/pig-trail-nation/punter-max-fletcher-enters-transfer-portal

Quote from: Oklahawg on Yesterday at 10:07:16 pmYou are confusing your fandom with the industry impression. I can't help with that.

I spent an hour with one of the guys putting Oklahoma State's football NIL together. They want Pittman if Gundy retires one of these days. Also said that its their understanding Sam could go to other P4 schools if he were to leave, which is why they wanted to nab him now.

Yeah, not exactly Ohio State knocking at your door, but a huge chunk of this board lives in an echo chamber that has drummed up the anti-Pittman narrative. I do get why it exists, but it is magnified a lot. Simply getting perspective from a program that fancies itself as a step-up from UA should matter to a few around here.

QuoteThe transfer portal (error) in college athletics sees thousands of athletes changing programs on a yearly basis. Some head coaches have been able to evaluate their rosters and reach into the portal to secure (more) exactly who they need to succeed the following season better than others.

Cody Bellaire, who has held staff positions at LSU, Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas Tech, joined Andy Staples on Friday morning to discuss which programs are the best at adapting to this aspect of recruiting out of the transfer portal.

"I think there's two that really stick out," Bellaire told Staples. "Florida State is one. The second one would be Ole Miss. And the way they've essentially transform their rosters in two years time, maybe a year? The thing that I don't think a lot of people realize too. ... Now, this is a rule that's in place already. And I don't think people are aware of this. When I joined Joe McGuire at Texas Tech, that first year, you can essentially kick anyone on the current roster to the curb, and so essentially, you can clear out room on your current roster off the jump immediately when you step on campus.

"I don't think people realize like, how cutthroat it really is and how easily teams can essentially flip a roster in one to two years."

Coaches like Mike Norvell and Lane Kiffin have utilized talent from the portal and have seen immediate success.

"It's very interesting to me because Ole Miss and Florida State, they were able to do it and not have any headaches," Bellaire continued. "And to your point, Andy, it's about the evaluation of the roster. And it's about understanding the big thing. I think that's going to be another change in this, people are going to have dedicated staff members that are essentially salary cap machines. And they're going to say, 'Hey, these guys are all worth X amount of money, these guys are all worth X amount of money.

"We can afford to lose this tight end that's commanding $250,000, and we can say, 'Okay, let's use that $250,000 to get two corners and a running back. And that makes us better.'"

Bellaire believes this mindset is the next step in the evaluation process for how coaches will ultimately understand where funding needs to go to make their team better. So far, Bellaire believes Norvell and Kiffin are two of the best at it.

Quote from: Dark Helmet Hog on Today at 06:16:28 amI'll believe it when I see it happen. I think that guy fed you a line of darn. Oklahoma State would never take Pittman as a head coach. Assistant or oline coach? Sure. Head coach? Not a chance.

Quote from: Oklahawg on Yesterday at 10:07:16 pmYou are confusing your fandom with the industry impression. I can't help with that.

I spent an hour with one of the guys putting Oklahoma State's football NIL together. They want Pittman if Gundy retires one of these days. Also said that its their understanding Sam could go to other P4 schools if he were to leave, which is why they wanted to nab him now.

Yeah, not exactly Ohio State knocking at your door, but a huge chunk of this board lives in an echo chamber that has drummed up the anti-Pittman narrative. I do get why it exists, but it is magnified a lot. Simply getting perspective from a program that fancies itself as a step-up from UA should matter to a few around here.

Quote from: arktrav on Yesterday at 12:46:28 pmThree or four blocks down (I think) Arkansas 19 from now-closed Lafayette County Memorial Hospital, where I was born

QuoteAfter some speculation that a Kentucky reunion could be in the cards for Kenny Payne, the expected became reality on Thursday night. John Calipari is getting the band back together. Payne is staying in college basketball and will join the Arkansas coaching staff.

Hard to say that this move is a surprise at the end of the day.



Arkansas is hoping that a return as an assistant coach under John Calipari will lead to some good things in Fayetteville.

Payne was an assistant for a decade at Kentucky under Calipari. The staffer owns a national championship ring and was a member of each Final Four team under Calipari. The No. 1 assistant left Lexington after the 2020 season and that is when things really started to unravel under Calipari. Arkansas is hopeful some of that decade magic at Kentucky will translate to Arkansas.

Calipari is getting the band back together. New Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is still in the beginning stages of assembling his first full staff in Lexington.

Payne will not be a member of that staff.