All around the nation, there are low-majors and some of the poorest schools in the nation achieving notable portal wins. This occurs simultaneously with ECU facing setbacks, and many fans resort to the old NIL excuses. Let's take a mid way point look with about half of the players in the portal having committed, at some of the players choosing unlikely schools that would have been great additions to a Pirate uniform.
For this exercise, I’ll omit McNeese State, even though they rank as one of the poorest schools in the nation (300th). Despite this, I admire all four of their transfer recruits. We'll explore other options besides them to make this point despite the fact they have a better team alone.
These recruits are committing to the lowest of low-majors or remote outposts, showcasing that success can be achieved contrary to defeatist excuses made for ECU. I'll assemble a team exclusively from these types of schools just to make it hard.
Point Guard
Going to Incarnate Word
Any takers for a 6-4 point guard hailing from Jackson, Tennessee? Jalin Anderson, is headed to Incarnate Word a school not many years removed from D2? He boasted averages of 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists at Ball State, shooting 35.7% from three with respectable volume. Before that, he maintained an average of about 10 points per game in the WCC, a conference comparable to the AAC the season prior.
Shooting Guard
Going to Eastern Michigan
Instead of pointing out Devon Barnes or Deuce Turner, the recruits ECU recently lost to UTEP and UC Santa Barbara, let's consider Terry from DePaul, who's taking his talents to Eastern Michigan. Last season at DePaul, he averaged 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 45.2% from three, making 1.8 shots per game. Throughout his career, he's maintained a 38% three-point shooting record in both the Big East and Pac-12. Though slightly undersized, pairing him with a 6-4 point guard for cross-matching wouldn't pose an issue. He can do PG things as well.
Small Foward
Going to Samford
Certainly, we have a capable AAC player here, averaging 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists, boasting a 16.8 PER and .592 true shooting percentage already in the AAC . Standing at 6-6, 220 pounds, he previously averaged 9.2 points per game at Georgetown well before transferring to Tulane. Last year, he shot 34% from three, maintaining a career average of 35% from beyond the arc.
Power Forward
Going to UT Arlington
Here we have a 6-7 wing who averaged 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while shooting 39.4% from three, making 2.5 shots per game. He played a third of his minutes at small forward, showcasing versatility for either position. Utilizing him at power forward highlights his high skill level. Additionally, he was a rotation player at TCU starting 5 games previously, adding to his pedigree.
Center
Going to South Dakota State
Consider a 6-11, 255-pound center who started 23 games for an NCAA team that finished 2nd in the Pac-12. While his stats may not immediately stand out—7.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.9 blocks in 20 minutes per game—he boasted a productive 17.5 PER while contributing as an anchor to the 26th best defense in the nation on KenPom for half the game. Plus, who really wants to play a winter sport in South Dakota, especially someone from Australia. He previously averaged 18 and 20 in JUCO’s as well.
NIL
I guess we are supposed to believe that all of these poor random schools spread across the nation secretly have major donors no one has evidence of are paying major NIL dollars to their basketball players. Yet the coaching staff apparently see none of it unlike ECU's head coach getting paid over 900k. That's the logic some would have you believe. Anytime anyone lands a quality recruit it must be the NIL bogeyman.
Conclusion
I could envision such a starting lineup, likely reaching a top 75 level or even higher and it's procured from the lowest of the low schools landing transfers. I could even build a few more teams of solid players that would certainly demonstrate the depth of talent available. And considering the potential transfers available at McNeese State alone, it's evident that there's a wealth of talent waiting to be tapped into beyond the traditional powerhouses or even mid majors. These were some of the lowest and poorest schools around.
There is no chance all of them are all spending massive amounts on NIL. That's just the new modern excuse to why ECU can't recruit players exactly like the ones above.
