Update and Correction on Sacramento State Post

A couple of days ago, I posted an article on Walter Jackson of Sacramento State quitting the basketball team, and including this snippet:

Jackson is the second player to leave the team this year, as Anthony Costetino quit the team before playing a game for them before the season started, not saying a word to Head Coach Brian Katz. For Katz, players leaving is becoming a disturbing trend, despite Sacramento State always saying that Katz graduates all of his players. Eventually, Sacramento State fans and boosters are beginning to be disenchanted with Katz, as a source tells me that boosters may slowly be mobilizing to buy out Katz's contract, of which next season is the final year on his deal.

I want to correct an error that was made, as next year is not the final year of Katz' contract. I am being told that he originally signed a 5 year deal, but he re-upped a couple of years ago, so there are three years remaining on his deal. I am not sure if all of the years are guaranteed, but I was incorrect when I said that his contract was out next year, and I want to apologize for that error.

I did also want to expand on one other part of this point. One commenter (there were a couple of boosters who posted some excellent comments on the original post) posed this question to me, and I wanted to reply in a post, as well as throw out a question to Sacramento State fans and boosters. The commenter said: "Speculating as to why Walter Jackson or any other player leaves his team is simply unfounded conjecture unless you have personally spoken to Mr. Jackson. Why would you simply conclude that the problem lies with Coach Katz?"

I just want to clarify this - I have no idea why Walter Jackson left the team, and I didn't mean to insinuate that it was because of Coach Katz. I simply don't know. But, I do know this -- there is a pattern or trend developing of guys leaving the program, and that is what I was saying. According to some fans counts, the number of players that have simply left the program under Katz has reached double figures.

Last season, two players (Zach Nelson and Antoine Proctor) left the team in the middle of the season. Big man Alpha N'Diaye was declared ineligible and left the team. This season, big man and solid JUCO recruit Anthony Costetino left the program before ever playing a game for the Hornets. And now Walter Jackson has left the team in the middle of the season as conference play is beginning. That is five guys since the start of last season that are no longer with the team.

Now, for all I know, all of them could have left for reasons independent of the Coach. But here is my question to Sacramento State fans -- does that bother you that many players are leaving? I have seen suggestions that they are leaving because Coach Katz is a disciplinarian, and some players can't handle that. I get that if it is some guys leaving, but at what point is he maybe a little too hard on them? Or at what point is it his responsibility to bring in guys that can handle his coaching style?

I am not doubting his coaching ability, and I am not doubting his character or anything of that nature. For the former, the team has improved every year (a trend I think will continue into next year, when I think they will be very solid), and he certainly has a strong track record. To the latter point, I've never heard a bad thing about the guy, and he is from all accounts a stand up guy.

As an outsider, it is my opinion that if this were my school or my team, I would be worried about the program because it has seen so many players leave it over the past few seasons. However, I know there are people out there that know the Sacramento State program better than I know it, so I would love your opinion. What do you think of the job that Coach Katz is doing? Does the amount of attrition worry you?

Please share your thoughts, I would love to hear them.

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Transfers Out of The Big Sky (Part 2)

After covering half of the Big Sky transfers, it's time to take a look at the rest:

- Chris Harriel (Portland St) - After Glen Dean, Harriel is the biggest lost for any team in the conference. He played the second most minutes on the team, and had the second highest usage rate for the Hornets. He averaged 12.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.4 SPG. His shooting percentages weren't great, but he did a little bit of everything. He had a great steal rate, and was a solid rebounder for someone his size. For a team that will have a lot of newcomers next season, Harriel's continuity would have been huge. He would have had a chance to be an All Big Sky performer next season.

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- Zach Nelson (Sacramento St) - In 16 games last year, Nelson averaged over 22 minutes per game. However, looking at the numbers, this might more a function of a mediocre team as opposed to Nelson being an above average contributor. He did average 6.4 PPG and 4.8 RPG, but he shot only 33% from the field, and was merely an average rebounder. Heading into his senior year, he was unlikely to improve a lot, so it might be better for them to get a fresh face in there anyway.

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- Antoine Proctor (Sacramento St) - Proctor left in midseason in his first year with the Hornets, after playing at a JUCO. Like Nelson, he got solid PT, but that was a function of a mediocre team. He had a solid all-around line of 6.5 PPG/4.0 RPG/3.5 APG, but he shot 38% from 2s and 29% from 3s. His great assist rate was offset by a high turnover rate (3.1 per game in 23.3 minutes), and further the 3.5 assists per game could be an issue of small sample size against bad competition at the start of the year. He transferred to Montana-Billings, but it might be a case of addition by subtraction.

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- BJ Porter and Blake Davis (Weber St) - There is a good write-up here on these two leaving, but they were just guys that were not likely to get a lot of playing time. Both could have seen a little bit of action next year, but their minutes will be easily swallowed up by others, and it doesn't seem likely that Weber St will miss their contributions next season. Porter will be transferring to NAIA Azusa Pacific, while Davis will head to DII Grand Canyon.

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- Matt Hodgson, Eric Rippetoe, and Jordan Weirick (Southern Utah) - While not officially part of the Big Sky yet, Southern Utah will be joining eventually, so though it would be important to mention their transfers. Weirick and Hodgson both had pretty solid sophomore campaigns, though each saw less than 15 minutes of action. Hodgson was a solid big man with ok rebounding rates, but at 6'11'' could block a few shots and was efficient around the basket. Weirick shot 18/37 from downtown last year, though he didn't contribute a whole lot else. Rippetoe was a redshirt freshman who will transfer to a community college in Wyoming.

While losing Hodgson and Weirick is not the type of thing that will set a program back a lot, they were very nice rotation players who may have had a chance to start at some point in their Southern Utah careers.

If I missed any transfers, please let me know!

Which losses are going to have the biggest impact?