We've had time on our hands to make calls, do some digging on Kirk Herbstreit's comments that he would be "shocked" if there were a college season this year. Here's what we've picked up ...
First off — yes, the NCAA is taking this seriously, and yes, as our John Borton reported, they are preparing different contingency plans, including playing a conference season only. Some we have spoken with mentioned "spring ball in summer" minus hitting, assuming the Coronavirus has been contained at that point and is no longer a threat, starting fall practice earlier to ensure kids are in shape and not more likely to get injured (again, assuming they can - a big assumption at this point).
These are proposals at this point, of course, but know that people are working to prepare for any an all scenarios. One of the concerns, of course, is that the virus could be cyclical, and there still (likely) won't be a vaccine by the start of the season. The unknown is what's causing them to look and evaluate so many scenarios, but they're on it, at least. And they also realize that world events take precedence over a game.
One of our friends in an athletic department at another school noted they expect attendance to be way down this fall. They've already collected their PSDs (personal seat donations) - at this school, the donation is bigger than the cost of the season tickets. As you Michigan season ticket holders know, the tickets are still more than the PSD here.
So 85 percent of the money is in at this school, and the approach they'll take — and to their understanding, it's becoming universal — is that they'll ask to keep the money as a donation first, see if the folks will transfer it to 2021 should it come to that or, if necessary, refund the money.
"We'll absolutely do that," she said. "But the big concern is down the road."
And at U-M, will there be many who view the PSD (our family's is $800) as collateral damage and not renew the $2,000 (or more) for four tickets?
It certainly seems plausible.
Student attendance is already waning here (and at other schools), and there's a real concern that selling tickets could be a much bigger worry in 2022 and '23, for example.
Another well-placed source, meanwhile, believes Herbstreit's comment was "irresponsible."
"It's his opinion. We're not close to that yet," he said. "We'll know a lot more over the next several weeks into the summer."
So that's where we are. Nothing is close to being decided, and there's hope, obviously, that this gets much better quickly so it doesn't come to canceling any part of the season.
****
There's been a lot of talk about who needs to leave in order for Juwan Howard to get to 13 scholarships next season. As we've said for weeks now, Adrien Nunez won't be one of them. The Athletic's Brendan Quinn reconfirmed that with Nunez' mother recently (in a tweet) — he's all about the Michigan education, and he's not going to be forced to leave.
Next year's scholarship chart:
2020-21
1: Austin Davis, 6-10 5th-Sr. C
2: Eli Brooks, 6-1 Sr. PG/SG
3: Isaiah Livers, 6-8 Sr. PF
4: David DeJulius, 6-0 Jr. PG
5: Brandon Johns, 6-8 Jr. PF
6: Colin Castleton, 6-11 Jr. C
7: Adrien Nunez, 6-5 Jr. SG
8: Cole Bajema, 6-7 So. SG
9: Franz Wagner, 6-8 So. SF
10: Zeb Jackson, 6-3 Fr. PG
11: Jace Howard, 6-7 Fr. PF
12: Isaiah Todd, 6-10 Fr. PF
13: Hunter Dickinson, 7-1 C
14. Terrance Williams, 6-6 SF
We believe 5-Star shooting guard Josh Christopher will be No. 15. That means U-M needs two spots, and in addition to Nunez, we can say with certainty that Davis, Brooks, Johns, Jackson, Howard, Dickinson and Willams will be on the roster next year.
We can say with confidence that Castleton (who many considered a strong transfer candidate) and Wagner will be here.
That makes 10. After that, without going into details, it's up in the air. Livers will test the NBA waters, as we said recently, but whereas he was once leaning toward leaving, sources close to it say it would take a lot at this point for him to go how his season/recent events have played out.
This can change, of course, and we'll see what happens in the next several weeks But there are interesting times to come in the Michigan basketball recruiting war room.
First off — yes, the NCAA is taking this seriously, and yes, as our John Borton reported, they are preparing different contingency plans, including playing a conference season only. Some we have spoken with mentioned "spring ball in summer" minus hitting, assuming the Coronavirus has been contained at that point and is no longer a threat, starting fall practice earlier to ensure kids are in shape and not more likely to get injured (again, assuming they can - a big assumption at this point).
These are proposals at this point, of course, but know that people are working to prepare for any an all scenarios. One of the concerns, of course, is that the virus could be cyclical, and there still (likely) won't be a vaccine by the start of the season. The unknown is what's causing them to look and evaluate so many scenarios, but they're on it, at least. And they also realize that world events take precedence over a game.
One of our friends in an athletic department at another school noted they expect attendance to be way down this fall. They've already collected their PSDs (personal seat donations) - at this school, the donation is bigger than the cost of the season tickets. As you Michigan season ticket holders know, the tickets are still more than the PSD here.
So 85 percent of the money is in at this school, and the approach they'll take — and to their understanding, it's becoming universal — is that they'll ask to keep the money as a donation first, see if the folks will transfer it to 2021 should it come to that or, if necessary, refund the money.
"We'll absolutely do that," she said. "But the big concern is down the road."
And at U-M, will there be many who view the PSD (our family's is $800) as collateral damage and not renew the $2,000 (or more) for four tickets?
It certainly seems plausible.
Student attendance is already waning here (and at other schools), and there's a real concern that selling tickets could be a much bigger worry in 2022 and '23, for example.
Another well-placed source, meanwhile, believes Herbstreit's comment was "irresponsible."
"It's his opinion. We're not close to that yet," he said. "We'll know a lot more over the next several weeks into the summer."
So that's where we are. Nothing is close to being decided, and there's hope, obviously, that this gets much better quickly so it doesn't come to canceling any part of the season.
****
There's been a lot of talk about who needs to leave in order for Juwan Howard to get to 13 scholarships next season. As we've said for weeks now, Adrien Nunez won't be one of them. The Athletic's Brendan Quinn reconfirmed that with Nunez' mother recently (in a tweet) — he's all about the Michigan education, and he's not going to be forced to leave.
Next year's scholarship chart:
2020-21
1: Austin Davis, 6-10 5th-Sr. C
2: Eli Brooks, 6-1 Sr. PG/SG
3: Isaiah Livers, 6-8 Sr. PF
4: David DeJulius, 6-0 Jr. PG
5: Brandon Johns, 6-8 Jr. PF
6: Colin Castleton, 6-11 Jr. C
7: Adrien Nunez, 6-5 Jr. SG
8: Cole Bajema, 6-7 So. SG
9: Franz Wagner, 6-8 So. SF
10: Zeb Jackson, 6-3 Fr. PG
11: Jace Howard, 6-7 Fr. PF
12: Isaiah Todd, 6-10 Fr. PF
13: Hunter Dickinson, 7-1 C
14. Terrance Williams, 6-6 SF
We believe 5-Star shooting guard Josh Christopher will be No. 15. That means U-M needs two spots, and in addition to Nunez, we can say with certainty that Davis, Brooks, Johns, Jackson, Howard, Dickinson and Willams will be on the roster next year.
We can say with confidence that Castleton (who many considered a strong transfer candidate) and Wagner will be here.
That makes 10. After that, without going into details, it's up in the air. Livers will test the NBA waters, as we said recently, but whereas he was once leaning toward leaving, sources close to it say it would take a lot at this point for him to go how his season/recent events have played out.
This can change, of course, and we'll see what happens in the next several weeks But there are interesting times to come in the Michigan basketball recruiting war room.
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