Can you remind us when the NCAA calendar for the portal ins and outs and recruiting will settle down to the point of knowing who will be on our basketball team next fall?
KQ- The window closes May 11th for men's basketball. So that is the timespan where Damon Stoudamire and who ever he hires has to figure things out.
What is the time line on hiring new basketball assistants and knowing who all is staying and who is coming, player wise? I think we have a good core, but definitely need two big guys. I assume most of that will be settled after the national championship game?
KQ- The Final Four weekend is like the coaches convention weekend in CFB and that is when most business is done. I expect he will have his staff in place shortly after that. Basically everyone in college basketball will go to Houston so you can get a lot done there. That is when we are likely to start really hearing a lot of names. The other piece is you need the open jobs to settle up like Notre Dame or Georgetown because that impacts who is available to hire, who stays at other jobs and there is a trickle down from that depending on who gets hired where and who leaves.
Buzz used to be a staple in commercials with mascots. Not anymore. Why is Buzz blackballed?
KQ- I'm not sure, the Nissan commercial I think is has a bunch of mascots that are not in the NCAA Tournament so that is amusing.
How different are the spring practices between our former coach and Coach Key?
KQ- Well there is no music or shouting out where people should go, the kids know where to go between drills. No more Canada/Cuba end zones or Waffle House/Coke sidelines. It is a very traditional practice like CPJ ran or Mark Richt at UGA that I covered. They changed some of the drills and obviously, new coaches have an impact on that. It is a lot quieter and more focused in general.
I know it’s early, but do you think Jordan Williams sticks at guard or will they try him at tackle again?
KQ- He is focused on playing guard. I do not expect him to move back out to tackle other than if he is spelling someone in case of an injury. His path to the NFL is playing guard and GT needs him to be good at guard.
The GT jersey they presented to CDS at his press conference was #22. Why that #. I believe he wore 3 and 20 in the NBA.
KQ- He wore 20 at Arizona as well, not sure. Maybe he was a big John Salley fan? I'll ask about that the next time I see Batt or Damon.
Will Key’s recruiting emphasis be more on high school recruits than portal transfers?
KQ- It will always be a mix in this day and age because you lose kids to the portal so you can't just backfill only with HS kids. The numbers on the roster at each position (experience wise) will dictate some of the split between HS and portal. It will vary year to year IMO.
Adequacy of recruiting support staff was always a deservedly painful topic to Paul Johnson. How well have we progressed on adequate staff? Stripping away all the grandiose titles Collins gave staffers, is recruiting infrastructure fleshed out better now than under Scooter or not?
KQ- They have a solid size staff and have for a while. They do not have the sheer numbers that Clemson has for example, but they have enough bodies to get things done. They are also maxed out on space for staff as well so that will become an issue eventually.
How does the payout situation work for the NCAA Tournament? Like should we be pulling for the ACC teams to keep winning to up the payout? Would it be terrible for GT recruiting wise? Or does it not matter much for GT whether teams win/lose?
KQ- The school payments are split among the schools evenly so you should root for the ACC. Each unit is worth like $300-400k for each team game played.
Why did our recruiting drop off a cliff after Paul Hewitt? Funny business?
KQ-
Are there one or two primary focal points we should be paying attention to throughout the Spring that will likely indicate whether we are in for a relatively successful and exciting season or just another dud?
KQ- I think staying healthy is a big one and the other is the play of the offensive line as well. I think the defense should be pretty solid and I am not as concerned about that. Obviously, the QB thing is big, but I expect that will be unresolved until Fall Camp as they want competition there.
