re: NIT: LSU Men hosting North Texas in Opening Round, Tuesday at 6 PM CT, SECN/ESPN+

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The big names said No thanks, they’ll be recruiting hs & portal at least that’s their reasoning Pittsburgh Oklahoma Memphis St Johns Ole Miss

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The reasons vary. I know with Memphis, it isn’t just about recruiting. That was a team of hired guns and as soon as Mills went down for the season, defense went out the window and that’s the one thing Penny has been good at coaching. When this team gave a shite they could beat anyone, but that was maybe 30% of the time. 5-2 vs tourney teams and 4-1 vs the SEC and weren’t even on the bubble at the end because the players didn’t care.

The strange thing is, while Penny isn’t a great coach by any stretch, his strengths have been getting teams to buy into playing great team defense and to play with a high level of effort. They didn’t always play smart, but effort was never a problem before this season.

NIL changes everything.