[olldflame]

I would be extremely surprised if any Big East school will tie up a scholarship for 3 years to get 2 years of eligibility from a player who was a mid-level performer in the BSC. This is part of the problem I have in bringing basketball transfers here for a year or 2. In football you have 65 scholarships and, the FBS transfers could play right away. In basketball you have 13 (or less), and they have to sit a year taking up a scholarship you could have used on a freshman who will be with you for 4 years.

My guess is BJ will wind up closer to home. I base that on his unhappiness, and the fact that young people who are seeking happiness will tend to gravitate toward the familiar. Possibly ODU or VCU (although quite frankly that may be a bit optomistic). Maybe a MEAC school like Hampton, or Howard would be more likely. Norfolk State, which is a D2 power with a highly respected long-time coach (and where he wouldn't need to sit a year) would be another possibility. Transfers generally do not move up to a higher level unless they have truly excelled where they are.

[SuperJon]

Norfolk State is Division I in the MEAC.

[olldflame]

Norfolk State is Division I in the MEAC.

My bad SJ, the school I was thinking of is Virginia Union. Multiple D2 national championships and has developed the likes of Charles Oakley and Ben Wallace. The coach has been there for like 30 years.

[inthebeginning]

Deductive reasoning would say he is extremely unhappy with the basketball in order to leave a situation

[jcmanson]

Union's coach just retired.

[Schfourteenteen]

Deductive reasoning would say he is extremely unhappy with the basketball in order to leave a situation

Glad to see you hear it took you about 15 hours. Not bad

[SuperJon]

Deductive reasoning would say he is extremely unhappy with the basketball in order to leave a situation

So you're saying he's lying when he says otherwise?

[thepostman]

i would dare say its a combination of many things...that is what i got from what he said anyways...

[paradox]

He's a basketball player first, who's in college to play basketball. The basketball situation that he was in still remains as the most likely reason for his supposed unhappiness and his ultimate departure.

Clearly, McKay was headed in a different direction with the new guys, regardless of whether BJ was going to be here or not.

[jmdickens]

The only good thing about Jenkins leaving is that we have something to talk about on here

[Knucklehead]

The only good thing about Jenkins leaving is that we have something to talk about on here

CORRECT!

[paradox]

i would dare say its a combination of many things...that is what i got from what he said anyways...

It could be. However, I gotta think that if he was gonna play a significant role as many here imagine, then passing up an opportunity to start alongside one of the Currys would be very difficult to pass up.

It's tough when you started the year before, and then realize that you are not going to be that guy. But again, this is life in the big city and the tough world of college athletics. It's not personal. Players know this going in. The program needs to move on with what's best for the program.

[Rocketfan]

Deductive reasoning would say he is extremely unhappy with the basketball in order to leave a situation

So you're saying he's lying when he says otherwise?

Alright SJ im gonna play this game because honestly just cause you talked to him means nothing in my opinion. People have approached BJ for for the last year and asked him if he was thinking of leaving, we all know this is true. So less than a week ago i know another person who did and BJ responded " i dont know where anyone would get such and idea, i like Liberty and im not leaving." So unless in less than a weeks time he changed his mind completly he lied to someone ( and heck if he lied to anyone who asked him im fine with that, i wouldn't tell anyone i was thinking of leaving) - all the leads me to this, he is still enrolled at Liberty and hasn't decided where to go, no matter how he felt right now there is no way he would talk crap about the school if he hated it at this point. No one in there right mind would, you simply say exactly what he said....

[olldflame]

Union's coach just retired.

Can't say I'm surprised. He had to be like 70+. I can't think of his name for some reason (probably senility) but I do seem to remember that this is the white coach who was hired by historically black VA Union, which played in the same all black conference as Winston Salem State, coached by legendary "Big House" Gaines. The hire was controversial because Gaines (among others) said that a job was being taken from a black man. After Union's second national championship, Gaines grudgingly admitted it had been a good hire.

Still could be a good landing spot for BJ, although he might not mind sitting out at a D1 program and having an extra year for academics.

[jcmanson]

Dave Robbins

[BJWilliams]

Dave Robbins is his name olldflame. I remember him being on the Black Magic special on ESPN.

[SuperJon]

Deductive reasoning would say he is extremely unhappy with the basketball in order to leave a situation

So you're saying he's lying when he says otherwise?

Alright SJ im gonna play this game because honestly just cause you talked to him means nothing in my opinion. People have approached BJ for for the last year and asked him if he was thinking of leaving, we all know this is true. So less than a week ago i know another person who did and BJ responded " i dont know where anyone would get such and idea, i like Liberty and im not leaving." So unless in less than a weeks time he changed his mind completly he lied to someone ( and heck if he lied to anyone who asked him im fine with that, i wouldn't tell anyone i was thinking of leaving) - all the leads me to this, he is still enrolled at Liberty and hasn't decided where to go, no matter how he felt right now there is no way he would talk crap about the school if he hated it at this point. No one in there right mind would, you simply say exactly what he said....

When asked where he was going, he said "I got some options but ain't made anything final yet." He just doesn't like it here. Anyone who truly knows him knew that. He probably responded in the way he did for the same reasons I didn't tell people I was thinking about leaving Coastal. He probably didn't want a ton of people trying to talk him out of it and saying he was making a bad decision. You even said yourself you'd probably lie about it. You're telling me a kid I have known over a year and had class with would straight up lie to me when he's been straight with me since I met him? I've also talked to his best friend and heard the same exact story. This is a Liberty thing, not a basketball thing. BJ was as highly ranked, if not more, than every single one of these players coming out of high school except for Curry, and Curry is just getting it because of his brother. He would've started next year out of the gate and I think if he continued to develop like he did this year it would've been hard for him not to continue starting. Why people have to blame this on anything other than a kid not happy with where he is going to school completely baffles me. Chances are, none of you have ever been unhappy enough with a school to transfer. Most of you were Liberty all the way. If he wasn't happy with life outside of basketball, there's no way basketball would've made up for that.

[jcmanson]

[ If he wasn't happy with life outside of basketball, there's no way basketball would've made up for that.

You can’t make a blanket statement like that because for many kids who play, that’s all they care about. They could be unhappy with everything else in the world, but as long as they were able to ball that’s all that mattered.

I’m not saying that’s the case with BJ, but you can’t make blanket statements like that.

[RagingTireFire]

[ If he wasn't happy with life outside of basketball, there's no way basketball would've made up for that.

You can’t make a blanket statement like that because for many kids who play, that’s all they care about.

Many kids who play also don't go to a school where they have to care about other things.

[LUconn]

From what I can tell they just didn't get along. That happens in life. BJ's leaving and going somewhere that he connects with the coach better. I wish the kid nothing but the best.

Do you not remember posting this? Because now you're giving different reasoning and acting like it's been obvious for years.

His reasoning quoted by Lang and then further emphasized in his message to you is that "he was not happy". That can mean any of 1000 different things. He's probably purposefully being vague.

[SuperJon]

From what I can tell they just didn't get along. That happens in life. BJ's leaving and going somewhere that he connects with the coach better. I wish the kid nothing but the best.

Do you not remember posting this? Because now you're giving different reasoning and acting like it's been obvious for years.

His reasoning quoted by Lang and then further emphasized in his message to you is that "he was not happy". That can mean any of 1000 different things. He's probably purposefully being vague.

That's what I had originally thought but was wrong. I knew someone would come back and say that. I was told by BJ and a couple others that him and Coach McKay were fine. I don't think they were best friends but they didn't hate each other.

Him not being happy with Liberty has been obvious for the entire time that I have known him. I was obviously wrong with my assumption about how he felt about Coach McKay and that came from a few conversations during a rough patch of the season. Once I found out I was wrong and was told what was really going on, I started posting that. I didn't make a huge post saying I was wrong originally which maybe I should have, but I figured it was more important to clear things up and post what I knew was actually true. Just goes to show what happens when you assume.

(Note: That stupid filter on the word as+s is annoying as crap. Good thing I wasn't making a donkey reference.)

[paradox]

SJ, just the way that you compare yourself with his situation, and talk about seeing him in class and all, just speaks to the personal and emotional dimension, but has nothing to do with decisions that have to be made from within the program in terms of overall direction.



Any of the three new gaurds coming in can easily surpass 9 pts per game if they are allotted 30-plus minutes at the 2-gaurd spot. So, why not play them? Wouldn't that ultimately be what's best for the program in the long run? We have an opportunity to improve. So, that would seem to be the smart place to put your money.

Again, leave the personal stuff out. The best interest of the program always comes first.

[jcmanson]

[ If he wasn't happy with life outside of basketball, there's no way basketball would've made up for that.

You can’t make a blanket statement like that because for many kids who play, that’s all they care about.

Many kids who play also don't go to a school where they have to care about other things.

It depends on how you define the word “care.” I didn’t have to “care” about my grades to stay eligible (if I was playing sports). If that was in reference to the Liberty way or team rules, I went through 4 years at LU and didn’t “care” about the Liberty way and only got 4 reps.

You can go through school without “caring” about other things, and still make it.

[RagingTireFire]

I was defining "care" as "having to pay attention to". At LU, an athlete may not have to pour their heart into a lot of things outside of sports but there are a lot of things outside of sports that they have to pay attention to and deal with they may not necessarily have to worry about at other places. That includes, yes, the Liberty Way but also convocation, personal social responsibility and, in some cases, even academics.

[SuperJon]

SJ, just the way that you compare yourself with his situation, and talk about seeing him in class and all, just speaks to the personal and emotional dimension, but has nothing to do with decisions that have to be made from within the program in terms of overall direction.



Any of the three new gaurds coming in can easily surpass 9 pts per game if they are allotted 30-plus minutes at the 2-gaurd spot. So, why not play them? Wouldn't that ultimately be what's best for the program in the long run? We have an opportunity to improve. So, that would seem to be the smart place to put your money.

Again, leave the personal stuff out. The best interest of the program always comes first.

Leave the personal stuff out of a kid deciding to transfer schools. That makes no sense. The program doesn't come first when a kid isn't happy. If the program came first, he'd be staying next year and putting up double digits every game.

As for your comment about any of those guys scoring 9 points, you're likely right. And the reason they could do it is because they wouldn't be the third or fourth option on every play which is what BJ was last year. Everything went through Alex and Anthony, and then maybe BJ got a chance to score if Teejay didn't penetrate and kick to Ohmerson. Yea, he took over some games, and some games he disappeared. You can't compared what BJ did this year to what he would do next year.

This was a personal decision to leave, not a basketball one.