Mountaintop View 1-24-22. Chang hired, NCAA constitution, Transfer Portal, NET, Bracketology.

It’s Monday and we are back at it! As always, a lot going on. Basketball season has entered conference play, plus football news is still rampant with recruiting, transfer news, and all-star bowls. Through it all, coverage is still coming your way today in the form of game links from the weekend and original content later today and all of this week.

Hawaii has an eventful weekend and comes away with a new coach.

What a circus. All signs pointed to June Jones making an exciting return to coach Hawaii and reviving the team. Then, discussions fell apart as Jones was not willing to give up control on hiring a coaching staff, as well as not being on board with a succession plan. So the program set their sights on legendary QB Timmy Chang and announced him as their new HC Saturday night. Chang is short on experience but the offense should be fun to watch and that’s what the program needs right now.

NCAA changes coming?

NCAA member schools voted at the end of last week on a new constitution to reform and change the way college sports works. It was approved by vote of 801 to 195. So are changes coming? Yes but it will take time. And the changes will be more in the vein of non-revenue sports getting full scholarships and not putting athletes on the university payroll or a P5 split to form its own division.

Transfer portal adjustments?

Some coaches had some ideas to change the transfer portal. Having a transfer start and end window may help decrease tampering or at least provide a break in the year-long cycle. Having a stricter GPA requirement to enter the transfer portal. Players can only transfer if their head coach is fired or leaves the school. Players can not transfer until one calendar year following their enrollment at their original school. Eliminating the early signing period.

NFL take on SDSU draft hopefuls.

It’s nice to get an inside look about what a GM thinks of SDSU players.

For Cam Thomas, he said “He has size, high motor, really quick, tons of production at San Diego State and in that conference every single week,”

On Matt Arazia: “They have a lot of value because they flip the field and if they can do it consistently there’s a ton of value. I mean, a punter is part of your defense. He is a unique punter with the distance he puts on the ball. Not necessarily a lot of hangtime but the ball goes a long way. He’s a pretty good athlete, too.”

Bracketology.

MWC in the NET rankings.

This was before the games this weekend but it’s still important to see how well the conference is doing.

On the horizon:

• Later today: A new MWC Recruiting Roundup, with the latest news, offers, and interviews.
• Later today: Boise State basketball recap.
• Coming Tuesday: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Storylines from 2021 (Part 3)
• Coming Wednesday: Peak Perspective: The 2021 Out of Conference Review