Today seems like a good day to launch a blog, no?
#UMassTwitter is abuzz with rumors and by the end of the day, or the end of the week, we could know everything is fine, we could have 13 open scholarships, we could have a need for an assistant, we could be hiring a whole new coaching staff. Fun!
Here are the rumors: The Tony Bergerson-Matt McCall shotgun marriage has disintegrated, Tony is leaving, taking Tre with him, and the players tied to Tony, which is to say all the players, will at least be considering the transfer portal if not jumping in with both feet. Also, Matt McCall is trying to leave as well, and maybe he is being pushed out, and maybe everyone is leaving and tumbleweeds will be blowing through the Performance Center. All rumors at this point but hard not to believe there is something there.
Frankly, everyone involved, from the AD to the Head Coach (McCall) to the Assistant (Bergeron) bought their ticket and knew exactly what they were getting into when McCall fired his coaching staff and brought in Tony and his players. Anyone with their shocked face on today is lying.
The Tony and Matt version of the Odd Couple was always strange – the entire roster was tied to Tony but the reins were held by Matt who seemed to be contractually obligated to ignore what the players are good at and run three-man weaves at the top of the key for 20 seconds of each possession.
Here’s the current UMass Basketball Roster, in descending order of likeliness to transfer, noting position, years of eligibility remaining, and likeliness to transfer, with some notes on why (but I’ll save the do I think it’s a good idea for another post) – I will update as this changes:
*For the record, I don’t want any of my large adult sons to transfer, I think we can win with this roster, and I love them*
Tre Mitchell, C, 3 years, 🧳🧳🧳🧳 – Tre’s gone. Just get used to it. His mom is subtweeting the head coach (and in some cases so obviously and aggressively that the tweet disappeared), Tony is family to Tre so if Tony is going Tre is going, and most importantly, Tre has OPTIONS. It seems clear that TeamTre doesn’t like the way he was used in the offense and thinks there are better places for him to get to the next level, and without question there are some P5 coaches who agree (and are willing to take a package deal assistant coach who can recruit the prep schools). UPDATE: Tre’s gone – https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1371457728250572800
Ronnie DeGray, F, 4 years, 🧳🧳🧳🧳 – If he goes, I will be sad. RDG3 has the makings of a fan favorite, a do-everything, play hard forward who always seemed to be scrapping for a rebound or a loose ball. He also had a nice high-post game that was underutilized. I don’t know if this is necessarily an up transfer but if he does transfer what ever school gets him will be very happy. Recruited by Tony. UPDATE: Rumors have regrettably forced an upgrade to 4 suitcases :/.
Javohn Garcia, G, 4 years, 🧳🧳🧳🧳 – Another criminally misused player (there is a theme here) who probably didn’t get exactly what he signed up for when he came to UMass. Talented on both ends of the court he should have suitors as well. Recruited by Tony. UPDATE: Rumors have regrettably forced an upgrade to 4 suitcases :/.
Kolton Mitchell, G, 3 years, 🧳🧳🧳🧳 – Kolton can’t be happy with his playing time and will probably be looking for a place where he can play meaningful minutes.
Dyondre Domnguez, F, 4 years, 🧳🧳🧳🧳 – Another player who had a parent openly subtweeting the coach. Didn’t play the kind of minutes he probably expected to play, didn’t make the expected impact, and wasn’t particularly put in a position to be successful in the first place. Was suspended for part of the year for reasons unknown. Recruited by Tony.
Preston Santos, G/F, 3 years, 🧳🧳🧳 – Preston played for Tony in High School but signed with UMass before Tony came on board. Took this year off for personal reasons, which he later revealed, with more maturity and self-awareness than many adults, to be mental health issues. He has hinted at coming back to UMass, but given that he wasn’t with the team all year, wit and see is probably the best approach.
Cairo McCrory, G, 4 years, 🧳🧳🧳 – Cairo is the only wing/guard on the roster who gets to the rim, and was a junkyard dog on defense – really a fun player to watch. He also disappeared on the bench for long stretches and was suspended for part of the year with DD for reasons unknown. I have to imagine that he is at least thinking about a transfer, but may not be in the best position to transfer this year because of his limited playing time. Recruited by Tony.
TJ Weeks, G, 4 years, 🧳🧳.5 – TJ played for Tony in High School, but also has deep connections to UMass (his dad is all-timer Ty Weeks and his mom is a UMass alum as well), and was widely rumored to be coming here before Tony came on board. Aside from the UMass legacy, he would be in an odd position to transfer – he started last season as revelation, shooting almost 50% from three but then lost the rest of the year to injury (believed to be a medical redshirt, hence the 4 years of eligibility) and when he came back he never really found his rhythm.
Dibaji Walker, F, 2 years, 🧳.5 – Played for Tony in High School and also almost certainly only here because of him. Transferred in from Cleveland State when that program imploded (couldn’t be happy to see them dancing while we might be stripping it down to the studs again and rebuilding) and got a late waiver that cost him half a year – if he wants to transfer again would likely have to sit a year before playing two. Gutted out a game or two injured after it was announced that he was done for the year.
Noah Fernandes, G, 3 years, 🧳 – Played for Tony in High School and almost certainly only here because of him. Transferred in from Wichita State and got a waiver – if he wants to transfer again would likely have to sit a year before playing three. His dad was subtweeting the coaching staff in a good way and seems to be the only one of Tony’s players who actually is happy with current coaching. UPDATE: This tweet from his dad makes it seem likely that Noah will stay: https://twitter.com/micnice10/status/1371523899557617669?s=20, downgraded to one suitcase.
Other open questions: We have three open scholarships, one ostensibly filled by Brian Matthews who signed a NLI, but he was recruited by Tony – is he still coming? Who is going to fill the two other (or three 😬) other scholarships? If Tony is indeed gone, who is going to recruit them (😬😬😬)? Is McCall, whose seat would have been hot without multiple transfers, going to try to get transfers to fill out the roster (like he did when he first started that … did not work)? Is Carl Pierre, who has graduated, gotten a Masters degree, and moved up the UMass all-time lists, open to coming back? He has one year of eligibility (without counting a scholarship against the limits) if he wants it.
And the biggest question of all, this one for AD Ryan Bamford – If McCall being here is going to cause multiple transfers, starting with a generational talent in Tre Mitchell, and we are going to need to rebuild for the third time in McCall’s short tenure, why is he still the head coach? Would letting him go and giving Tony the reins for a year to see if it works keep the players home? The chances that a complete rebuild is going to work and that we aren’t going to be back in this same situation next year is tiny? Is there a plan and what is it?
Please, for the love of Dr. J, tell me there is a plan.
mullinsitover.com 
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