Sources tell me that Idaho State freshman forward Garrett Swason has asked for and been given a release from new head coach Bill Evans to speak with other coaches about transferring.
Swanson is a versatile big man that can score from the perimeter, and had big scoring numbers in high school. On a team that lost their best big man after last season, I thought Swanson would have a chance to have a pretty good role on the team, but things didn't quite work out as planned.
Through early January he was averaging 5.5 PPG and 2.5 RPG (including scoring 15 points and nabbing 7 rebounds of North Dakota), but he reportedly got mono through the second half of the season, and he played less than ten minutes per game over the last six.
Though Swanson never was able to make a big impact every game, his future looked to be solid. He shot 46% from inside the arc this year, and could have been a solid frontcourt player for them, especially if he had been able to bulk up a bit. On a team that will lose three of its top four players, you have to figure he might have competed for a starting spot next year.
ISU fans, your thoughts?
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Garrett was an outstanding player! He can play the 3 or 4 spot with his height, and should be a good sign for another D1 program if he decides to leave Idaho State. He should come play with Portland State! We could use him!
ReplyDeleteNooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo He is the best Freshman we have had at Idaho State in a long long time. I hope he stays!
ReplyDeleteI was really looking forward to seeing Swanson mature as a Bengal. He seemed to be getting opportunity when O'Brien was coaching, but rarely came off the bench after Martin took over. I think Swanson was getting overpowered after teams got an opportunity to see him on film. Hopefully if he ends up someplace else he has the opportunity to redshirt and get stronger. One thing that drove me crazy over the years has been ISU burning redshirts years on kids. I don't think it is fair to ask them to lose a year for 5-10 min a game.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, with coaching changes comes players changes. I hope Swanson lands on his feet and has a nice little career somewhere.
Cub
I was very big on Swanson. I am certain if he stayed at ISU he would have helped us continue to turn things around here. I think he has the potential to be an all conference player. According to this article the reason he didn't play as much after O'Brien left is because he got mono and tried to play through it. So sad to lose such a great promising young player.
ReplyDeleteWe wish him well. loved watching him play as a Bengal. We were hoping we would have him around for 4 years. It's not as fun with the JUCO transfers just being here a short time. Wish we could keep Garrett.
ReplyDeleteJUCO transfers? Great, back to being a good JUCO team. Not going to work at this level. Garrett was going to be our best player this year!
ReplyDeletelooks like Evan is coming in and making changes for the worse. Ya he had a solid team at Montana last year but look what happened when they played Wisconsin. It wasnt even a game. I dont think he realizes he needs a 6'7 guard like Swanson to compete in those games. I also dont think he realizes Swanson is better then any freshman or even sophomore he had on his team last year. I thought Garrett was going to be our best player this year too!
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, how many offers did Swanson have coming out of high school? He didn't have any division I offers, and he was actually a walk-on at ISU. O'Brien promised him a scholarship for next season, but did Evans decide not to?
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, because he has potential. However, I don't see him being an impact player at the D-I level. A good support player, perhaps. He definitely needs to bulk up and get stronger. Transferring to a JC might be a good move for him, otherwise a transfer to a D-II or NAIA would better suit him if he wants to be more of an influence.
I am sure Evans would do the honorable thing and offer Swanson the scholarship he was promised, especially after a solid freshman season and helping ISU win games. That would be terrible if he didn't honor the promises made to Swanson. All the press on Evans says he is a guy of honor and integrity. If he didn't offer Swanson the scholarship that was promised after he definately earned it then maybe the Evans isn't the guy he claims to be.
ReplyDeleteMan, I loved watching Swanson shoot. It is too bad he had mono at the end of the season, or I think they could have made it further in the tournament. I hope he stays. Does Evans not know what he has?
ReplyDeleteKids change schools during coaching changes all the time. Is anyone sure that ISU did not intend to give Swanson a scholarship for next season? Does anyone know for certain that Bill Evans said that he did not want Swanson? Finally, as of yesterday I have been told that Swanson is still working out with the team. That may or may not mean much, but it doesn't sound like a five alarm break up.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, if Swanson leaves or stays, one player does not define the character of a new head coach.
-Cub
http://profiles.berecruited.com/athletes/607232
ReplyDelete"I am currently a basketball player at Idaho state University, coach O'Brien quit half way through the season, I have been granted a release to talk with other coaches."
Would he need a release if he wasn't on scholarship? Just asking...
If he does stay at ISU, I hope he's redshirted. But that's just my two cents.
That is a great question. From what I am hearing yes, he does need a release...here is short blurb from the NCAA:
ReplyDeletePermission to Contact or “Why Compliance Folk Hate the Word ‘Release’”
“So and so was released from his scholarship.” That is the common phrase you hear when it is reported that a student-athlete has decided to transfer. But there are two gigantic problems with that phrase.
The first is that whether an athlete is on scholarship affects surprising little in the transfer process. A walk-on must still get permission to contact and must still sit out in most cases. The second is that a release could mean one of four things, only one of which is formally called a release. But typically what it means is that the student-athlete was granted permission to contact.
-Cub
Cub you are spot on with your statement that this does not define the character of Evans either way. If a previous coach told him he would get a scholarship, and the new coach didn't see fit to do that (don't know if that is what actually happened), that would hardly be the worst thing a coach did right after taking over a program. These things are pretty common in coaching changes.
ReplyDeleteI find the amount of attention paid to a walk on player really amusing. Swanson hardly played down the stretch, and that wasn't because of mono. He didn't get sick until the last weekend of the season. The reason he didn't play is because he was a complete defensive liability. While he does have some offensive skill, he has a long way to go to be a productive Big Sky player. I wish Garret the best, but Coach Evans needs to do what he feels is best for what is now his program.
ReplyDeleteDon't wanna get in the middle of this but after a saw the defensive statement I thought this would add to the amusement. On a team ranked 335 out 344 teams for defensive efficiency I think everybody is a defensive liability. LOL
ReplyDeleteI WATCHED EVERY BENGAL GAME. I THINK GARRETT HAD GREAT POTENTIAL TO BE ONE OF THE BETTER PLAYERS ON THE TEAM. IT WAS TOO BAD TO SEE HIM BENCHED WHEN DEAN MARTIN TOOK
ReplyDeleteOVER THE COACHING POSITION. I WAS SORRY TO HEAR HE HAD MONO. HE WILL BENEFIT ANY TEAM THAT HE PLAYS FOR WHETHER
IT IS STAYING AT ISU OR MOVING ON TO ANOTHER TEAM. I AM
JUST SORRY THAT THE NEW COACH ISN'T ABLE TO SEE THAT. LOOKING FOR BETTER PLAYERS...YOU ALREADY HAVE ONE THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO LET GO...SORRY TO HEAR THAT.
Where are all the Swanson fans now. He obviously wasn't good enough to play at Marquette. So I guess Buzz Williams is clueless as well. He tried to transfer to North Idaho JC and they didn't want him, so he ended up at Casper JC. Some fans are just clueless. Kid is a big sky level walk-on type player, nothing more.
ReplyDelete