Bad News

[Wyovanian]

The program and Linder are getting hammered in the basketball community. You have these players and their families, aau coaches in Texas and California, college coaches, and nba players, that are all talking about UW basketball in negative light. As one poster mentioned above it doesn’t matter if it’s true, it’s what they are saying and that is what people see and read.

nba players? who has said anything?

Bingo. And if they have, who gives f-ck #1 about what an NBA player has to say?

 

[Wyovanian]

nba players? who has said anything?

The reality of the situation doesn't matter. The Cali three are just fine with being painted as having been treated unfairly. If they all turn out to flame out... Doesn't matter. Damage done.

Wrong on so many levels. The damage done is far worse for them. At this point, the "portal" is still an experiment, and so far, not a good one.

 

[307bball]

The reality of the situation doesn't matter. The Cali three are just fine with being painted as having been treated unfairly. If they all turn out to flame out... Doesn't matter. Damage done.

Wrong on so many levels. The damage done is far worse for them. At this point, the "portal" is still an experiment, and so far, not a good one.

This whole incident was either good for Linder's program, bad for Linder's program or of no consequence. Whatever happens to the three California players going forward is irrelevant unless they end up being all conference players elsewhere or it comes out that they were dealing drugs or something while they were at Wyoming. I'm going to go out on a limb and say those two outcomes are extremely low probability.

So, was it good for the program? I guess I can play devil's advocate and make the case that on a team that is this competitively bad, the more turnover you have, the better of your will be. From a chemistry perspective, it seems obvious the fit was bad. I can see this argument but it not very compelling.

Is it off no consequence? I don't think there is a good faith argument that this is the case. Outside commentary on the program and tons of people following the Cali 3 all made statements, had opinions, and formed or re-formed some sort of narrative .... and Wyoming basketball is a player in that narrative. The upper level of college basketball is still a small world in a lot ways.... Rumor and innuendo are a knife edge that will cut... One way or another.

Maybe it was bad for the program? It doesn't have to be "black 14" level to be bad. It just means that is not good and it's not of no consequence. The Linder chapter of Wyoming basketball history most likely will not hinge on this mistake... But it was definitely a mistake. Let's hope this is a "toe stub" mistake and not an albatross that dogs Linder's ability to draw talent to Laramie.

Successful programs have to deal with mistakes and malcontents all the time... What Linder and the program do in the few years won't be defined by this... But this was an event in Linder's young tenure that won't make things easier for him.

 

[Wyovanian]

Wrong on so many levels. The damage done is far worse for them. At this point, the "portal" is still an experiment, and so far, not a good one.

This whole incident was either good for Linder's program, bad for Linder's program or of no consequence. Whatever happens to the three California players going forward is irrelevant unless they end up being all conference players elsewhere or it comes out that they were dealing drugs or something while they were at Wyoming. I'm going to go out on a limb and say those two outcomes are extremely low probability.

So, was it good for the program? I guess I can play devil's advocate and make the case that on a team that is this competitively bad, the more turnover you have, the better of your will be. From a chemistry perspective, it seems obvious the fit was bad. I can see this argument but it not very compelling.

Is it off no consequence? I don't think there is a good faith argument that this is the case. Outside commentary on the program and tons of people following the Cali 3 all made statements, had opinions, and formed or re-formed some sort of narrative .... and Wyoming basketball is a player in that narrative. The upper level of college basketball is still a small world in a lot ways.... Rumor and innuendo are a knife edge that will cut... One way or another.

Maybe it was bad for the program? It doesn't have to be "black 14" level to be bad. It just means that is not good and it's not of no consequence. The Linder chapter of Wyoming basketball history most likely will not hinge on this mistake... But it was definitely a mistake. Let's hope this is a "toe stub" mistake and not an albatross that dogs Linder's ability to draw talent to Laramie.

Successful programs have to deal with mistakes and malcontents all the time... What Linder and the program do in the few years won't be defined by this... But this was an event in Linder's young tenure that won't make things easier for him.

It will largely be forgotten by the middle of next season, a footnote in the media guide at best.

 

[Itsux2beaewe]

This whole incident was either good for Linder's program, bad for Linder's program or of no consequence. Whatever happens to the three California players going forward is irrelevant unless they end up being all conference players elsewhere or it comes out that they were dealing drugs or something while they were at Wyoming. I'm going to go out on a limb and say those two outcomes are extremely low probability.

So, was it good for the program? I guess I can play devil's advocate and make the case that on a team that is this competitively bad, the more turnover you have, the better of your will be. From a chemistry perspective, it seems obvious the fit was bad. I can see this argument but it not very compelling.

Is it off no consequence? I don't think there is a good faith argument that this is the case. Outside commentary on the program and tons of people following the Cali 3 all made statements, had opinions, and formed or re-formed some sort of narrative .... and Wyoming basketball is a player in that narrative. The upper level of college basketball is still a small world in a lot ways.... Rumor and innuendo are a knife edge that will cut... One way or another.

Maybe it was bad for the program? It doesn't have to be "black 14" level to be bad. It just means that is not good and it's not of no consequence. The Linder chapter of Wyoming basketball history most likely will not hinge on this mistake... But it was definitely a mistake. Let's hope this is a "toe stub" mistake and not an albatross that dogs Linder's ability to draw talent to Laramie.

Successful programs have to deal with mistakes and malcontents all the time... What Linder and the program do in the few years won't be defined by this... But this was an event in Linder's young tenure that won't make things easier for him.

It will largely be forgotten by the middle of next season, a footnote in the media guide at best.

In 100% agreement. Maybe within weeks.

Coaches do talk, and the community is relatively small. I can’t imagine many coaches that would say, well, even though the 3 were unproductive and disruptive to your program, “you should have kept them”.

Additionally, firing for lack of production, happens all the time in life, and certainly in sports. Can you imagine if the Broncos management said, man, what will the other NFL teams and potential coaching candidates think if we fire our head coach. It doesn’t happen!

These kids were fired. Linder is making room to look for someone different he can build with.

 

[307bball]

It will largely be forgotten by the middle of next season, a footnote in the media guide at best.

In 100% agreement. Maybe within weeks.

Coaches do talk, and the community is relatively small. I can’t imagine many coaches that would say, well, even though the 3 were unproductive and disruptive to your program, “you should have kept them”.

Additionally, firing for lack of production, happens all the time in life, and certainly in sports. Can you imagine if the Broncos management said, man, what will the other NFL teams and potential coaching candidates think if we fire our head coach. It doesn’t happen!

These kids were fired. Linder is making room to look for someone different he can build with.

If you are talking about the events of just the past week then I suppose that is a coherent take. I disagree with it because in spite of the move towards the NIL era, none of these players are on a payroll and ostensibly are supposed to be developing. A coach that consistently does not develop players may be good in the professional levels but has no place in college. Maybe a few programs become some sort of NIL mills of talent I guess. My personal opinion is that Linder is a developer of talent but this whole situation opens up that line of attack for people who want to make that claim.

Again..i'm not claiming the mistake was in dismissing them...maybe it could have been done better...that is not the issue I'm talking about. The mistake was the colossal whiff that was signing these three in the first place. The only way that it could have worked was if they were so talented, they could have made up for the lack of chemistry .... that should have been easy to predict. Now Linder is in a situation with a divided locker room and having to make a "no-win" decision. I actually applaud him for not giving in to a sunk cost fallacy and trying to continue to make it work. Going forward, you have dismissed players and hangers-on spreading rumors that are most likely not true but will not make recruiting any easier. Just because something is not in the news for you and I to consume does not mean that it does not circulate in youth basketball circles and become sort of "accepted wisdom". I bet It was absolutely the right call to do what Linder did .... and I can hold two facts in my brain at the same time. I think Linder, despite the group think around those three players at the beginning of the season, would view this as mostly self-inflicted. His decision to pursue those players led to this. He could come up with all the justifications for doing it if he wanted to but I guarantee he's not letting himself off the hook. As he shouldn't if he's half the coach I think he is.

 

[bladerunnr]

It wasn't a total whiff. Anderson was good enough to start and contribute. He wasn't much of a shooter and a terrible foul shooter but he could penetrate. Kyman was the total whiff. He couldn't shoot and was amazingly slow for a D1 swing man. Abongpolo (I'm sure I misspelled it) has athletic ability. It just never made it to the court.

Over the years, I can't remember any transfers that worked out. We've had some incredible JC players come in (Justin Williams, Donte Richardson, Sean Ogirri) and make major contributions. Maybe NIL has destroyed that now. But I hope Linder tries JC before looking for transfers again.

In fairness to these players, coming from Los Angeles to Laramie has to be a bit of shock. The coldest day in L.A. is a warm day in Laramie. And not really knowing what goes in a player's head, they probably thought they would be stars in the MWC, or at least major contributors. But as Linder and the rest of us found out, the big programs have lots of mediocre players, the same as everyone else.

 

[Wyovanian]

Over the years, I can't remember any transfers that worked out.

Leonard Washington says, " Oh, really?"

 

[Wyovanian]

In 100% agreement. Maybe within weeks.

Coaches do talk, and the community is relatively small. I can’t imagine many coaches that would say, well, even though the 3 were unproductive and disruptive to your program, “you should have kept them”.

Additionally, firing for lack of production, happens all the time in life, and certainly in sports. Can you imagine if the Broncos management said, man, what will the other NFL teams and potential coaching candidates think if we fire our head coach. It doesn’t happen!

These kids were fired. Linder is making room to look for someone different he can build with.

If you are talking about the events of just the past week then I suppose that is a coherent take. I disagree with it because in spite of the move towards the NIL era, none of these players are on a payroll and ostensibly are supposed to be developing. A coach that consistently does not develop players may be good in the professional levels but has no place in college. Maybe a few programs become some sort of NIL mills of talent I guess. My personal opinion is that Linder is a developer of talent but this whole situation opens up that line of attack for people who want to make that claim.

Again..i'm not claiming the mistake was in dismissing them...maybe it could have been done better...that is not the issue I'm talking about. The mistake was the colossal whiff that was signing these three in the first place. The only way that it could have worked was if they were so talented, they could have made up for the lack of chemistry .... that should have been easy to predict. Now Linder is in a situation with a divided locker room and having to make a "no-win" decision. I actually applaud him for not giving in to a sunk cost fallacy and trying to continue to make it work. Going forward, you have dismissed players and hangers-on spreading rumors that are most likely not true but will not make recruiting any easier. Just because something is not in the news for you and I to consume does not mean that it does not circulate in youth basketball circles and become sort of "accepted wisdom". I bet It was absolutely the right call to do what Linder did .... and I can hold two facts in my brain at the same time. I think Linder, despite the group think around those three players at the beginning of the season, would view this as mostly self-inflicted. His decision to pursue those players led to this. He could come up with all the justifications for doing it if he wanted to but I guarantee he's not letting himself off the hook. As he shouldn't if he's half the coach I think he is.

Guy, it's happening all over D1 Basketball. The ONLY thing that made this situation at all unusual was the way the three were a sort of package deal. MOST portal transfers in D1 have been "whiffs". Wyoming isn't somehow unique insofar as unsuccessful transfers. What you're getting at, i think, is that because we're Wyoming, we have a bigger cultural target on our backs when these things happen. Perception can become reality, but sometimes perception is only perception, especially when it's coupled with butthurt.

 

[LanderPoke]

Over the years, I can't remember any transfers that worked out.

Leonard Washington says, " Oh, really?"

Hankerson too. Both good ones

 

[307bball]

If you are talking about the events of just the past week then I suppose that is a coherent take. I disagree with it because in spite of the move towards the NIL era, none of these players are on a payroll and ostensibly are supposed to be developing. A coach that consistently does not develop players may be good in the professional levels but has no place in college. Maybe a few programs become some sort of NIL mills of talent I guess. My personal opinion is that Linder is a developer of talent but this whole situation opens up that line of attack for people who want to make that claim.

Again..i'm not claiming the mistake was in dismissing them...maybe it could have been done better...that is not the issue I'm talking about. The mistake was the colossal whiff that was signing these three in the first place. The only way that it could have worked was if they were so talented, they could have made up for the lack of chemistry .... that should have been easy to predict. Now Linder is in a situation with a divided locker room and having to make a "no-win" decision. I actually applaud him for not giving in to a sunk cost fallacy and trying to continue to make it work. Going forward, you have dismissed players and hangers-on spreading rumors that are most likely not true but will not make recruiting any easier. Just because something is not in the news for you and I to consume does not mean that it does not circulate in youth basketball circles and become sort of "accepted wisdom". I bet It was absolutely the right call to do what Linder did .... and I can hold two facts in my brain at the same time. I think Linder, despite the group think around those three players at the beginning of the season, would view this as mostly self-inflicted. His decision to pursue those players led to this. He could come up with all the justifications for doing it if he wanted to but I guarantee he's not letting himself off the hook. As he shouldn't if he's half the coach I think he is.

Guy, it's happening all over D1 Basketball. The ONLY thing that made this situation at all unusual was the way the three were a sort of package deal. MOST portal transfers in D1 have been "whiffs". Wyoming isn't somehow unique insofar as unsuccessful transfers. What you're getting at, i think, is that because we're Wyoming, we have a bigger cultural target on our backs when these things happen. Perception can become reality, but sometimes perception is only perception, especially when it's coupled with butthurt.

I would re-word that to say that Wyoming is in a group of basketball programs where there is very little room for the kind of error that was made in bringing those three players on. You can say that it was an unavoidable error but that is just an excuse for why we will never be any good. We have to somehow put together multiple years of competitive play ... The injury to Graham is truly not something that you can control for. We all (not just us....most commentators on NCAA basketball agreed) thought this year was going to be a continuation of what Linder accomplished last year. If it was just the Ike injury, and the California three had been slightly better than the MWC median player, we would be somewhere north of .500....but probably not challenging SDSU. As it is, those three as a group are a bust ... yes, I could envision Anderson being a contributor but as is....that group of apples came in one basket (as you point out) and it was rotten.

Secondly...is the whiff rate on transfer players any significantly higher or lower than high school recruits? Your claim that most portal transfers are busts, while probably true, is pretty much true across all incoming players at competitively bad schools.

This season going the way it did is a major setback for Linder....The reasons that it happened are numerous. Some of those reasons are sort of everyday run-of-the-mill sports reasons...like injuries and whatnot. The three players that transferred in from the Cali schools not being very good and also being somewhat of a locker room cancer and then getting dismissed/quitting (whatever), and then throwing spreading rumor and innuendo about the program is a different level. If everything stayed the same, and those three were higher character guys or Linder had handled it better (not saying he just did terribly)...the season still is a dumpster fire but this situation takes it to dumpster fire++. The way this all went down makes it tougher..that's all. Injuries suck but guys heal. Miss-evaluating talent or fit or character of incoming players sucks even worse...but then to have it blow up is even worse than that.

I will accept that I may be over stating the impact...but I've been a Cowboy fan for a long time. If I've learned one thing, it is that it will probably be worse than I think. Trying to explain away all of the crappy results of both the men's basketball and football programs for the last 20+ years has taught me to look at negative news from Wyoming athletics as a harbinger of another competitive trough. I don't know what the opposite of a sunshine pumper is but I think I'm getting close.

 

[flyfishwyo]

In 100% agreement. Maybe within weeks.

Coaches do talk, and the community is relatively small. I can’t imagine many coaches that would say, well, even though the 3 were unproductive and disruptive to your program, “you should have kept them”.

Additionally, firing for lack of production, happens all the time in life, and certainly in sports. Can you imagine if the Broncos management said, man, what will the other NFL teams and potential coaching candidates think if we fire our head coach. It doesn’t happen!

These kids were fired. Linder is making room to look for someone different he can build with.

If you are talking about the events of just the past week then I suppose that is a coherent take. I disagree with it because in spite of the move towards the NIL era, none of these players are on a payroll and ostensibly are supposed to be developing. A coach that consistently does not develop players may be good in the professional levels but has no place in college. Maybe a few programs become some sort of NIL mills of talent I guess. My personal opinion is that Linder is a developer of talent but this whole situation opens up that line of attack for people who want to make that claim.

Again..i'm not claiming the mistake was in dismissing them...maybe it could have been done better...that is not the issue I'm talking about. The mistake was the colossal whiff that was signing these three in the first place. The only way that it could have worked was if they were so talented, they could have made up for the lack of chemistry .... that should have been easy to predict. Now Linder is in a situation with a divided locker room and having to make a "no-win" decision. I actually applaud him for not giving in to a sunk cost fallacy and trying to continue to make it work. Going forward, you have dismissed players and hangers-on spreading rumors that are most likely not true but will not make recruiting any easier. Just because something is not in the news for you and I to consume does not mean that it does not circulate in youth basketball circles and become sort of "accepted wisdom". I bet It was absolutely the right call to do what Linder did .... and I can hold two facts in my brain at the same time. I think Linder, despite the group think around those three players at the beginning of the season, would view this as mostly self-inflicted. His decision to pursue those players led to this. He could come up with all the justifications for doing it if he wanted to but I guarantee he's not letting himself off the hook. As he shouldn't if he's half the coach I think he is.

When those kids were in town being recruited someone from athletics who was very close to the situation told me that they wanted Anderson and Agbonkpolo but not Kyman. They were going to have to take him because the three were a package deal. Bringing in all three made for a wierd dynamic. It allowed the players to keep their own culture instead of buying into Linder's. An individual coming in would have to change or become an outcast in a team system. I'd say even 2 guys would be more likely to buy in. But 3 guys together are hard to integrate into a roster. I bet the program doesn't do that again.

One thing that really bothered me was the immediate response from the parents and SoCal basketball community on social media. They quickly called out the program and fan base for questioning the character of these players. Outside of the usual trolls I didn't see anyone challenging their character. A fair number of fans did point out that their effort and game performance wasn't meeting expectations. Most of those people were were quick to wish the guys well. My point is that questioning effort or performance is not necessarily a knock on their character. From what I see Linder expects extreme effort and he rewards it with playing time. It isn't for everyone and that's okay. I thought this tweet summed up the situation pretty well: https://twitter.com/latsondheimer/status/1623415254045839363

 

[Wyovanian]

If you are talking about the events of just the past week then I suppose that is a coherent take. I disagree with it because in spite of the move towards the NIL era, none of these players are on a payroll and ostensibly are supposed to be developing. A coach that consistently does not develop players may be good in the professional levels but has no place in college. Maybe a few programs become some sort of NIL mills of talent I guess. My personal opinion is that Linder is a developer of talent but this whole situation opens up that line of attack for people who want to make that claim.

Again..i'm not claiming the mistake was in dismissing them...maybe it could have been done better...that is not the issue I'm talking about. The mistake was the colossal whiff that was signing these three in the first place. The only way that it could have worked was if they were so talented, they could have made up for the lack of chemistry .... that should have been easy to predict. Now Linder is in a situation with a divided locker room and having to make a "no-win" decision. I actually applaud him for not giving in to a sunk cost fallacy and trying to continue to make it work. Going forward, you have dismissed players and hangers-on spreading rumors that are most likely not true but will not make recruiting any easier. Just because something is not in the news for you and I to consume does not mean that it does not circulate in youth basketball circles and become sort of "accepted wisdom". I bet It was absolutely the right call to do what Linder did .... and I can hold two facts in my brain at the same time. I think Linder, despite the group think around those three players at the beginning of the season, would view this as mostly self-inflicted. His decision to pursue those players led to this. He could come up with all the justifications for doing it if he wanted to but I guarantee he's not letting himself off the hook. As he shouldn't if he's half the coach I think he is.

When those kids were in town being recruited someone from athletics who was very close to the situation told me that they wanted Anderson and Agbonkpolo but not Kyman. They were going to have to take him because the three were a package deal. Bringing in all three made for a wierd dynamic. It allowed the players to keep their own culture instead of buying into Linder's. An individual coming in would have to change or become an outcast in a team system. I'd say even 2 guys would be more likely to buy in. But 3 guys together are hard to integrate into a roster. I bet the program doesn't do that again.

One thing that really bothered me was the immediate response from the parents and SoCal basketball community on social media. They quickly called out the program and fan base for questioning the character of these players. Outside of the usual trolls I didn't see anyone challenging their character. A fair number of fans did point out that their effort and game performance wasn't meeting expectations. Most of those people were were quick to wish the guys well. My point is that questioning effort or performance is not necessarily a knock on their character. From what I see Linder expects extreme effort and he rewards it with playing time. It isn't for everyone and that's okay. I thought this tweet summed up the situation pretty well: https://twitter.com/latsondheimer/status/1623415254045839363

That Tweet is nonsense. It gives the three transfers ALL the benefit of the doubt, the city of Laramie and UW absolutely none of it. We're talking about measuring the character of one-time, and possibly, two-time quitters over the credibility of a city and university. Anyone with half a brain and 8th grade reading and comprehension can see the fallacy of such nonsense.

 

[flyfishwyo]

When those kids were in town being recruited someone from athletics who was very close to the situation told me that they wanted Anderson and Agbonkpolo but not Kyman. They were going to have to take him because the three were a package deal. Bringing in all three made for a wierd dynamic. It allowed the players to keep their own culture instead of buying into Linder's. An individual coming in would have to change or become an outcast in a team system. I'd say even 2 guys would be more likely to buy in. But 3 guys together are hard to integrate into a roster. I bet the program doesn't do that again.

One thing that really bothered me was the immediate response from the parents and SoCal basketball community on social media. They quickly called out the program and fan base for questioning the character of these players. Outside of the usual trolls I didn't see anyone challenging their character. A fair number of fans did point out that their effort and game performance wasn't meeting expectations. Most of those people were were quick to wish the guys well. My point is that questioning effort or performance is not necessarily a knock on their character. From what I see Linder expects extreme effort and he rewards it with playing time. It isn't for everyone and that's okay. I thought this tweet summed up the situation pretty well: https://twitter.com/latsondheimer/status/1623415254045839363

That Tweet is nonsense. It gives the three transfers ALL the benefit of the doubt, the city of Laramie and UW absolutely none of it. We're talking about measuring the character of one-time, and possibly, two-time quitters over the credibility of a city and university. Anyone with half a brain and 8th grade reading and comprehension can see the fallacy of such nonsense.

The replies to that are really telling. Definately worth the read.

 

[Itsux2beaewe]

That Tweet is nonsense. It gives the three transfers ALL the benefit of the doubt, the city of Laramie and UW absolutely none of it. We're talking about measuring the character of one-time, and possibly, two-time quitters over the credibility of a city and university. Anyone with half a brain and 8th grade reading and comprehension can see the fallacy of such nonsense.

The replies to that are really telling. Definately worth the read.

The replies are about equal in supporting kids/Linder, and the writer confirms they were asked to leave. Some elude to just wasn’t the right fit, which I agree and believe Linder is making room for others who will be a good fit.

If this is representative to the extent of damage towards Linder/Wyoming, the damage is minimal if any in my opinion.

 

[wyosports]

As much as we all would like to see this go away, I think there will be more to come out after the season. There was an incident after one of our road games and it has people who are aware of it questioning the character of our coach and the program. Because of this incident, people are giving the players the benefit of the doubt. UW has never commented on this, or made it public, and I don't expect them to until it becomes so. It is just speculation on my part, but I would be shocked if the individual involved does not make it public after the season.

 

[OrediggerPoke]

As much as we all would like to see this go away, I think there will be more to come out after the season. There was an incident after one of our road games and it has people who are aware of it questioning the character of our coach and the program. Because of this incident, people are giving the players the benefit of the doubt. UW has never commented on this, or made it public, and I don't expect them to until it becomes so. It is just speculation on my part, but I would be shocked if the individual involved does not make it public after the season.

Wow, this is very vague but certainly concerning.

 

[Wyovanian]

As much as we all would like to see this go away, I think there will be more to come out after the season. There was an incident after one of our road games and it has people who are aware of it questioning the character of our coach and the program. Because of this incident, people are giving the players the benefit of the doubt. UW has never commented on this, or made it public, and I don't expect them to until it becomes so. It is just speculation on my part, but I would be shocked if the individual involved does not make it public after the season.

Wow, this is very vague but certainly concerning.

It's also chicken sh-t. Either provide a general explanation or don't bring it up at all. IF anything comes out, it doesn't make you look like the cool inside guy, it makes you look like part of the problem.

 

[LanderPoke]

The replies to that are really telling. Definately worth the read.

The replies are about equal in supporting kids/Linder, and the writer confirms they were asked to leave. Some elude to just wasn’t the right fit, which I agree and believe Linder is making room for others who will be a good fit.

If this is representative to the extent of damage towards Linder/Wyoming, the damage is minimal if any in my opinion.

They were not asked to leave. They left on their own accord. Heard they planned to just not show up for a game having not told anyone. Super high character from the three quitters

 

[LanderPoke]

As much as we all would like to see this go away, I think there will be more to come out after the season. There was an incident after one of our road games and it has people who are aware of it questioning the character of our coach and the program. Because of this incident, people are giving the players the benefit of the doubt. UW has never commented on this, or made it public, and I don't expect them to until it becomes so. It is just speculation on my part, but I would be shocked if the individual involved does not make it public after the season.

you say the lamest, vaguest, most speculative stuff. Give us some specifics to back up your claims.