MHSTigerFan

I doubt Rode ends up back at Central if the IHSAA ruling comes out unfavorably. He hated it there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back at Westfield if that happens. His mom still lives up there and he’s there a lot.

Donovan Baker. His dad is Randall Baker, who was a stud RB for Memorial. Donovan is very strong and athletic. Might also see Landon Horning get some carries.

His transfer to Central after 1 year at Westfield was on the up and up. His transfer to Memorial after 1 semester at Central is not. Paul Neidig is the former AD at Central.

Memorial has a lot of guys to replace on D : Shea, A. Farmer, Russell, Agler, Rogers, Filbert, Scheberle were all regular starters. Tyler, Dehner, and a few others got some reps. But if anybody can pull that off, it’s Ben Johnson.

I didn’t say it did. His mother lives near Westfield and his father lives in Evansville. Other than his family situation, I don’t know what played into that transfer. I’m just saying, in light of the comment about athletes getting a freebie, that this was his second transfer. I’ve heard that he found the learning environment at Central bad, his grades were suffering for it, and that he’s done much better at Memorial.

It's worth pointing out that Porter Rode has transferred twice: once from Westfield to Ev. Central after his freshman year, then from Ev. Central to Ev. Memorial after his 1st semester sophomore year. But that's not why he's probably going to be denied eligibility. Paul Neidig is a Central guy and so is his protege Andy Owen (who is pursuing this). And it seems apparent that Neidig's vision for enforcing the transfer rule is less about how it reads and more about encouraging parity. As such, he would seem likely to place a high value on the athlete's ability and the relative success of the sending and receiving schools. But I guess that wasn't a problem when Javonte Madison transferred from struggling Bosse to the then-SIAC leader Central.

I suspect we’ll be seeing Fisher start. He’s just got a better arm than Caleb does. And they could easily utilize Caleb at another position. Caleb is quick and elusive, has decent hands.

Thanks for the link -- a lot of good info there. But also a lot of infuriating info too. So, yeah, there's no wonder that the IHSAA has moved to prohibit lawyers from the hearings. I'm surprised nobody has filed suit over that, considering the IHSAA's legal status as a quasi-governmental body. It seems like some pretty thin ice to tell people they aren't entitled to legal counsel -- especially for something that may well end up in court. And then to say that the IHSAA *is* entitled to confer with their general counsel? Robert Baker sounds like a real peach. Thank God they "retired" him after all this drama. Still, the thing I keep coming back to is Neidig's comment that suggests their motivation is actually about competitiveness. If that's the case, then how good an athlete is, how good the "sending" school is, how good the "receiving" school is...would likely play a huge role in determining their decision. OK. But the problem with this is that the written policy is facially neutral on all of those points. No wonder the courts have been so hostile to some of the CRP's determinations.

I found a story about the IHSAA transfer process. One recent denial was overturned by a court, so they have been looking at revisiting the process. One change they’ve made is that attorneys can’t be present for either party (which in itself seems ripe for a legal challenge…the IHSAA is a quasi-governmental agency). Interestingly, the IHSAA maintains the right to consult their counsel, but the student does not. Then I found this quote by Neidig: “What I do know is there has to be a transfer process along the way,” Neidig said. “As soon as there’s not and the best kids within a large metropolitan community can gather on a team, the hope of winning a state championship if you’re at a smaller school or in a school that is more rural where the kids who grew up in that community and play in that community, is probably going to go away. In my mind, that’s not going to be very much fun anymore. All 407 of our schools ought to start the season with a chance — or at least a dream of success." The written transfer policy says that a transfer can’t be deemed to have been “primarily for athletic reasons.” But that quote from Neidig sounds like they’re actually more motivated by preventing concentration of the best athletes…so as to maintain competition. So which is it? Given the written policy, that sounds like a misguided comment for Neidig to make. No wonder they’re moving to keep kids from having legal representation.

Speaking of my Tigers, a couple important and as yet unanswered questions: 1) Who will start at QB? 2) Will Porter Rode be suiting up for the Tigers? His hearing is May 3rd. I’ve heard that Andy Owen has made a particular effort to thwart Rode’s transfer. Does anybody know if Paul Neidig will be involved in the decision? Him and Andy are obviously very close.

As great as Brady Allen is, I still think MHS would’ve beaten GS last year. The Titans struggled with (but beat) Lawrenceburg. The Tigers struggled with (but beat) East Central. Those two teams played: EC beat Lawrenceburg 34-6.

VL to stay put in SIAC after being rejected by PAC. https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/03/11/vincennes-lincoln-remains-southern-indiana-athletic-conference/6994885001/

I agree (obviously). But, if I was Porter Rode, I wouldn’t mold my mouthpiece just yet. I should point out that we have had at least some transfers in from public schools without loss of eligibility. The most recent I can think of was Xavier Tyler, who came from Bosse. I don’t know if his xfer was challenged. But his dad is a Memorial alum and that might have worked in his favor. Rode’s father is a Bosse grad, I think.

Well, it’s only one player. He transferred to Central after a season at Westfield. His mother lives in the Carmel area, his dad is from Evansville. And his gripe with Central wasn’t Zirkelbach, but that his grades had suffered in what he thought wasn’t a great academic environment.

No. But it has a heckuva lot better chance of clearing Rule 19-4 than public to private. So, yeah, Curt Hopf failed to convince them he wanted to go to Barr-Reeve from FP for reasons other than athletics. But, as I recall, his parents made that an easy decision by trying to dictate what position he played to enhance his college prospects. But I’d argue that he’s the exception, not the rule.

LOL…he transferred from a public school to a parochial school. And he’s appealing to an IHSAA that is not only dominated by public school administrators, but almost openly hostile to P/P athletics. They’d let him transfer to North or Bosse - just as he transferred from Westfield to Central. But there’s no way on earth they’ll let him transfer to Memorial with full eligibility. FTR, Porter reportedly hated Central and he felt like it was not a good environment for him academically.

Didn’t Doug play there? Would probably explain it.

At the banquet this year, he said he asked Lindauer and Branson Combs to be ball boys in middle school, since neither of them had any direct family connection to Memorial. Of course, his wife’s maiden name is Lindauer…so he was really forward thinking when he married her. 😜 And they were already in feeder schools.

Well, clearly. Brodie was the conference POY and all-state. And Tyler was a very versatile complement who did a lot of things at a high level. We lose Josh Russell too. A lot of people have been wondering who would be in the Tigers’ backfield next year.

Yeah, I’m not a fan of coaches (or other interested parties) poaching players from other schools. I think the important thing is that the kid and/or his parents initiate it, not the other way around. If a kid initiates the interest to move, then it’s open game.

Yep. They both are enrolled at Memorial right now.

So Porter Rode transferred to Memorial? How did I just now hear that? Kid from Mater Dei, too - Waller.

Has Nick been able to get his teaching license?

Wooing transfers is something that Brunson is apparently putting some concerted effort in right now. He’s got to have more success than he’s had to date. And I would guess that he’s not been enthralled with the kids he’s had come through. Personally, I think actively poaching other schools’ players is bad form. I don’t know if Coach Brunson is doing that, or merely opening his arms to kids who were already looking to transfer. If it’s the latter case, that’s fair game.

My early money is on MD to be atop the list. That's mostly due to who they have returning vs. who they have to replace. They lose some good ones, but not as many as the others. The other top-half teams, IMO, are a puzzle to me...because they lose a number of key guys and I just don't know who they have coming up behind. Obviously, Castle would take a hit if Tilly doesn't play. But I don't know what kind of gap existed between him and the guy who would take his place.