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BB RECRUITING Portal Shopping

I heard Iullia had a visit to Michigan. Heard nothing in regards to schools of interest on Sifa or Rubio. Sifa, according to her instagram, was recently in Texas (about 2 weeks ago, I think?) and currently in her home country of Rwanda.
 
Just seeking a follow up on the 3 outgoing transfers. I believe it's been well over a month since Ineza, Rubio, & Grabovskaia all entered the portal. Has anyone heard or had access to the portal on knowing if any of them have found a home yet? Thought I may have read or heard Sifa may have changed her mind & requested to come back. It's been a while so I'm not even sure about that. But makes me curious when wondering about the faces on next year's team, & what's become of those whom elected to move on.


Zahira to FAU per her Instagram
 
Hoping we sign McClendon for the '25 class. Looks really talented & her 6' 4" height would help to offset the loss of Boldyreva.
 
I would be fine from a commit from any of the 3 offers we have at center. If your wanting a Boldyreva type that just towers over the competition, then Hunter might be the best option.

Regardless, were probably gonna need to hit the portal for a Center next offseason, unless Mason has improved enough to start
 
I heard Iullia had a visit to Michigan. Heard nothing in regards to schools of interest on Sifa or Rubio. Sifa, according to her instagram, was recently in Texas (about 2 weeks ago, I think?) and currently in her home country of Rwanda.
I saw a social media post with Iullia working out in Michigan gear in their weight room so looks like that is her new home. Best of luck to her although I am disappointed she decided to leave. She was gonna be fun to watch.
 
I saw a social media post with Iullia working out in Michigan gear in their weight room so looks like that is her new home. Best of luck to her although I am disappointed she decided to leave. She was gonna be fun to watch.
For what it’s worth, she’s not on their roster for next season at this point
 
From listening to Coach Matt it appeared she was unhappy getting only 10 minutes per game in her 1st season here, & wanted more time that was allotted to Boldyreva. Wish her good luck. Maybe Michigan can give her that 25-30 minutes per game she wants. Despite her size, & talent Michigan is loaded with skilled players. Not sure I would bet the bank on her getting the minutes she wants in her 1st year in Ann Atbor.
 
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From listening to Coach Matt it appeared she was unhappy getting only 10 minutes per game in her 1st season here, & wanted more time that was allotted to Boldyreva. Wish her good luck. Maybe Michigan can give her that 25-30 minutes per game she wants. Despite her size, & talent Michigan is loaded with skilled players. Not sure I would bet the bank on her getting the minutes she wants in her 1st year in Ann Atbor.
Michigan got hit pretty hard in the transfer portal so she'll have a chance to get big minutes. With that said, not sure what she was expecting knowing Boldyreva was the starter
 
Michigan got hit pretty hard in the transfer portal so she'll have a chance to get big minutes. With that said, not sure what she was expecting knowing Boldyreva was the starter
Can be frustrating not getting consistent playing time when you’re as good as she is. With this era and MTSU being on the national scene within the people in the actual sport, MTSU players are not going to go unnoticed anymore and in this era, other coaches are going to tap into those potential frustrations to try to draw you out for a pitch of greener grass
 
Can be frustrating not getting consistent playing time when you’re as good as she is. With this era and MTSU being on the national scene within the people in the actual sport, MTSU players are not going to go unnoticed anymore and in this era, other coaches are going to tap into those potential frustrations to try to draw you out for a pitch of greener grass
Don't disagree but Boldyreva is probably one of the top 10-15 centers in WBB, not sure why she would think she was going to get close to starter minutes against a fringe All-American.

Wish her the best but she would have been part of a pretty special team the next few years as opposed to rebuilding at Michigan. Maybe she has to learn the lesson that Blakely did and will make her way back
 
Definitely don't blame her for getting to a less-stacked program like Michigan. We've got one of the top players in WBB this year, possibly the best center in the nation. Also helps for our newer bench posts to get more playing time instead!
 
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I understand Mason made excellent headway during her redshirt last year. It's 2 sides of a coin. Hated losing Iullia, but her departure also opens the door for Mason to show how she's come along. Grannum came on at the end of the year. That experience will bolster her confidence for this season.
We all know how reticent CRI is concerning subs, but would be great if Mason & Grannum could combine for 8-10 minutes of game time, & let Boldyreva have her 30 minutes at the post. Would leave her well rested for the end of game stretch
 
Don't disagree but Boldyreva is probably one of the top 10-15 centers in WBB, not sure why she would think she was going to get close to starter minutes against a fringe All-American.

Wish her the best but she would have been part of a pretty special team the next few years as opposed to rebuilding at Michigan. Maybe she has to learn the lesson that Blakely did and will make her way back
Don’t know if it was as much as she was expecting to play over Nas as much as it was the fact that she knew she could have a big role at a major program somewhere with how good she is. Could be wrong but that’s kinda how I’m viewing it right now
 
Don’t know if it was as much as she was expecting to play over Nas as much as it was the fact that she knew she could have a big role at a major program somewhere with how good she is. Could be wrong but that’s kinda how I’m viewing it right now
Based on Matt's comments on a radio/podcast show a while back, I think we can infer it was the former. Not happy with playing time and wanting more.
 
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While we all felt that Boldyreva was the higher skilled athlete, & deserved the larger amount of playing time that doesn't mean Iullia felt the same way.
I don't think she understood the concept just yet of paying your dues when it came to being on a good team.
Believe there was a maturity issue concerning her playing time versus Boldyreva. Probably not my place, but I suspect a combo of jealousy & envy.
While I wish her well it's probably all for the best. If her anger towards playing time was spilling over to the locker room things like that can become a cancer, & cause division throughout a team.
And to tell the truth, as a 1st year player under CRI I thought her minutes were pretty darn good. 10 minutes per game to start a career at Middle Tennessee is not that bad. And as mentioned before she was competing against one of the nation's best centers in their 3rd year of play. So despite losing such a talented big, if there were some maturity issues as I suspect she probably made the right decision for all parties involved.
As Blue brought up earlier, these were the reading between the lines feelings I picked up from Matt's interview.
 
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I think she also saw that there wasn't much of a chance for more playing time this season. The coaches didn't seem to like playing her and Boldyreva together. There are so many options to take Whitson's place. I don't think she was going to be considered one of them. I think we could see Ta'Mia Scott at the 4 when Arike And Boldyreva rest. We also have Milanovic And Kabernick. Grannum will play because she's been loyal to the program for 4 years. I just don's see Mason Playing much this year.
 
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