Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
So, who thinks MD will win this year? UNC won in 2022 with a stacked team of 7 5th years - MD is the same this year. Thoughts? Curious how teams pan out when he 5th year goes away?

Not sure why having 5th year players matters. Maryland and UNC were two of the best programs long before the whole COVID 5th year eligibility thing came about. It is a level playing field for all but some of the Ivy's (some do not permit transfers, redshirts, 5th year etc..). As far as I know, all other programs can have 5th year players. The team that plays the best when it matters will win the National Championship. Not sure why anyone is concerned about 5th year players. Are there programs that can not have 5th year players on their roster?

I assume the poster is saying without the 5th year players it will be strictly based on recruiting. You can't just cherry pick top 5th players out of the portal, the coaches are going to actually have to develop their own players.

The coaches at the top programs bring in the best players. It doesn't matter if they recruit them out of HS or out of the portal. Unfortunately, this sport has become a haven for excuses. For many parents it's always something, always an excuse. The best players get recruited by just about every school but the large majority of them choose to go to the one of the best programs. If your definition of "level playing field" is that the talent be distributed evenly then you are not living in reality because that is not the way it works, there is not a Draft. Coaching + Talent = Results. Recruiting and Identifying talent is a huge part of coaching, get a bunch of the top players and you will have one of the top teams. All coaches can recruit players out of HS as well as out of the portal not sure what the hang up on 5th years is.

Agreed. Also they all have a fixed number of scholarships to spread across. In a way, that's already leveling the playing field to a certain degree. Obviously, some schools have better endowment and other non-athletic scholarships to attract students overall, including athletes.