It’s pigskin season right now but hoop season is just around the corner.

The Caveliers are scheduled to open their regular season on November 6 against Campbell followed by Coppin State on November 11.

This year’s roster is a mixed bag. There are returning players, transfer portal players, recruits, and even a homegrown walk-on in Carter Lang. So it’s anyone’s guess on how this season will materialize.

One thing is for sure though, Bennett will have them ready for the opening tip-off.

A game that UVA fans are looking forward to will be played in Baltimore on November 15 against perennial powerhouse Villanova.

Then, on November 21, they travel to the Bahamas for the Bahamas Mar Hoops Championship where they will face either Tennessee, St Johns or Baylor. Hopefully, they return home with the Championship Trophy.

In all, the Wahoos will have a busy November having seven games on their schedule.

I’m looking forward to the opening game tip-off not only because last season is behind us but I’m anxious to see who Bennett will have as his starting five.

Go Hoos!

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For more information, please visit our website at Shortwave Information of Interest – International Christian Temple Church (ictchurch.org)

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NIL:

The NIL policy, which allows college athletes to profit from their personal brands, was implemented in July 2021, fundamentally altering the relationship between athletes and institutions. This change has empowered athletes, providing opportunities for them to monetize their fame through endorsements, social media, and other ventures. Players can now earn significant income while still in school, addressing a long-standing grievance about the NCAA’s strict amateurism rules.

The NIL era has also introduced new dynamics that complicate the collegiate sports landscape.

1.Recruitment Imbalances:
  NIL deals have amplified the existing disparities between programs.
Wealthier schools, particularly those with strong alumni networks and larger
media markets, can offer recruits lucrative endorsement opportunities. This
worsens the competitive imbalance, as top-tier programs can now leverage
financial incentives more openly to attract the best talent.

2. Shift in Player Priorities:
  The focus on marketability and a players own “Brand” may shift
players’ priorities away from team success and development. Athletes might
prioritize individual exposure over collegiate achievements, potentially
disrupting team cohesion and the traditional emphasis on team goals.

3. Potential for Exploitation:
  While NIL is designed to benefit athletes, it also opens the door
for potential exploitation by unscrupulous agents and sponsors. Young athletes,
many of whom lack experience in business negotiations, might fall prey to
unfavorable deals that do not adequately compensate them or align with their
best interests.

The Transfer Portal:

The change to the transfer portal has also damaged college basketball by providing players greater freedom to transfer between schools without having to sit out a year, as was previously required. This change has led to a huge level of player movement, with thousands of athletes entering the portal each year in search of better opportunities and NIL money.

While the portal offers athletes more control over their careers, it has introduced several challenges.

1. Coaches now face the constant threat of losing key players, creating turmoil in their roster management. Teams that invest in developing young talent may see their efforts wasted if those players transfer to other programs, disrupting continuity, long-term planning and program building

2. The ease of transferring has also led to a less stable environment. Players who don’t immediately receive playing time or the role they desire may quickly seek other options, which can foster a culture of impatience and short-term thinking. This undermines the traditional model of athletes developing and growing within a program over several years, building cohesion and loyalty.

3. Players have lost sight of the main purpose of college which is to use the abilities they were given to get an education and help prepare them for success after school. Very few have the elite abilities to have success playing basketball beyond college.

Conclusion:

Together, NIL and the transfer portal are creating a college basketball landscape where money and mobility dominate. Schools with strong financial backing and marketable platforms will likely attract top talent, further entrenching their dominance. Meanwhile, smaller programs may struggle to compete, both in terms of retaining players and attracting new ones.

For fans, these changes might lead to a less predictable and more fragmented sport. The excitement of watching a young team grow and mature over several seasons could be replaced by a more transient, mercenary model where rosters are overhauled annually. While this new reality might bring short-term excitement with high-profile transfers and star-studded lineups, it risks eroding the deep-seated traditions and loyalties that have long been the bedrock of college basketball.

by Franklin N. Gibson

Sports Analyst for Dr E C Fulcher Jr, LLC

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The Wahoo’s began February on a Rocky Mountain high by winning their first three conference games.

They were now in contention for the ACC top spot. But then the unthinkable happened – their offense began to unravel.

In the next four games they averaged just 49 points per game which resulted in three loses.

For the month, they finished 5-3 chasing both North Carolina and Duke in the Conference.

There are two more regular/ conference games left in March before the league playoffs begin.

Although the Cav’s overall record stands at 21-8 – as of this writing – they took their defeats on the chin. Some of their eight loses were frustrating to watch because they were uncharacteristic blowouts.

This team is too good to have these kinds of lapses so it is a concern for Bennett going forward.

Let’s hope they can play winning basketball throughout March because March is when the men from the boys get separated.

Go Hoos!!

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January proved to be a successful month for the Hoos.

After two consecutive losses they showed their prowess by reeling off five straight wins which is no easy feat in the ACC.

Entering February, the Cavs find themselves tied for second place with Duke – both 1 1/2  games behind North Carolina in the conference. Overall, they possess a respectable 16-5 record.

The ACC is arguably the premier conference in the country. To date, twelve of the fifteen teams have winning records, and two (North Carolina & Duke) are ranked in the top ten in the country.

Reece Beekman continues to be the glue on Bennett’s team and one of the consummate players in college basketball.

If January was any indication of what to look for in February and March it must be the Cavs bench. When called upon, each of them fulfilled their roles to their expectation which is a sign of maturity.

At this point, it seems like Bennett has found the rotation he was searching for. With that being said, the road to the conference title looks promising.

As always, Let’s go Hoos!

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If the Hoos are going to be competitive in the ACC, they are going to have to play better basketball, both offensively and defensively, because the heart of the competition awaits them for the next two months.

With that being said, the Cavaliers finished the first half of their season 10-3, having lost to Wisconsin, Memphis, and Notre Dame.

Statistically, Reese Beekman continues to be the anchor of the team averaging 13.1 ppg. He is followed by Isaac McNeely with 10.8 ppg. This should be an area of concern for Bennett going into the second half of the season because, at this point, the other members of the team are not contributing enough for them to be successful against ACC teams.

Collectively, they are averaging 65.8 ppg while surrendering 56.2 ppg. One area that requires improvement is at the free throw line where they are only converting 65% of their attempts.

Let’s hope Bennett can better prepare his team for conference play.

Go Hoos!!

Jerry Corsaletti

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The Wahoos opened their season with four straight victories, which helped them crack the top twenty-five teams in the nation being voted number twenty-four.

Needless to say, expectations began to rise after they had their way with Tarelton State; beat a quality University of Florida team in the Hall of Fame series, and then manhandled both North Carolina A&T and Texas Southern.

During this four game stretch, UVA averaged seventy-four points per game while the defense allowed just fifty-one points per game.

Next on their schedule was the Fort Myers tip-off tournament. Their first opponent was the Wisconsin bagers from the Big Ten.

Basketball being basketball, Bennett’s team did not fair well and were handed a disappointing and uncharacteristic defeat. However, they did return to beat a scrappy West Virginia team 56 – 54.

The Wahoos did finish November on a high note with a very impressive win over then 14th  ranked Texas A&M.

Beekman, McKneely, and Dunn continue to be the pillars of the team. But portal transfers Groves, Buchanan, and Rohde made their presence felt as did Leon Bond III, and Dante Harris.

Also looking to play more minutes is Elijah Gertrude, Jordan Minor, Taine Murray, Bryce Walker, and Tristan How who are all talented players.

This team may very well be one of the better teams that Bennett has coached in recent years.

Looking forward to watching the progression of this Wahoo team.

Jerry Corsaletti

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College basketball season will soon be upon us, and we look forward to seeing our Hoos back on the court beginning November 6th against Tarleton State.

This season promises to be an interesting one because of several unknown factors.

The pivotal players will be Beekman, Dunn, and McKneely. Then there are several transfers who Bennett hopes will make an immediate impact on the court. 

Beekman is one of the better defensive players in the country notwithstanding his overall contribution to the team.

McKneely, who is only a sophmore, as is Dunn,  is already being compared (statistically) to Kyle Guy while one writer has Dunn being a second coming of De’Andre Hunter. 

Off the bench, there is an experienced junior in Taine Murray. If he plays up to his potential he can most certainly earn a spot on the starting five. 

With that being said, Bennett has to find playing time for those who transferred into his program as well as Leon Bond III, a red-shirted freshman, and true freshman Elijah Gertrude.

As we know, Tony Bennett’s side of the ball is defense. If this year’s team can limit their opponents to under 55 points a game, they may very well contend for the ACC title.

Let’s go Wahoo’s and surprise the critics. 

Jerry Corsaletti

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As modern times progress and technology expands, mankind has moved away from the “old-school” method of getting news and listening to music.

Most people use their hand-held smart phones to communicate, get news, listen to music, read, apply for jobs and watch T.V. The dinosaur days of sitting in front of the television, anticipating your favorite show to premiere, or waiting by the radio to hear you favorite musicians’ new song are long gone — So, can you image how useless people think shortwave radios are?

Many people laugh at the thought of turning the knobs on a shortwave radio in today’s time, but individuals with true knowledge, know that if and when the world crashes, shortwave radio will be one of the only modes of communication available.

Dr. E. C. Fulcher Jr. began broadcasting the truth on shortwave radio in 1979 — citing that it was the cheapest way to get his message to the world.

“It was the most inexpensive way to broadcast over long distances. I could cover several countries for the amount of money that I could have only covered, maybe 1 or 2 states here in America,” Fulcher explained.

Dr. Fulcher began utilizing shortwave radio, about 60 years after shortwave radio became popular.

At the beginning of radio history, the radio spectrum was divided into three radio waves, the long (LW), the medium (MW), and the short wave (SW) band, based on their wavelengths.

According to cruchreviews.com, shortwaves, as technology, was initially invented to aid long-distance communication for people at sea and has proved itself simple and cheap to operate.

While the technology has been around for a long time, it wasn’t until 1920 when shortwave radio began to become popular just before the First World War.

The name shortwave radio came about because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 1500 kHz, marking the upper limit of the medium frequency band. Shortwave is utilized for international radio stations and radio amateurs, but mainly used for aviation, marine, diplomatic, and emergency purposes, cruchreviews.com noted.

Shortwave radio is a radio broadcast like the common AM and FM, however private companies own AM and FM radio stations, and the government owns and operates most shortwave radio stations.

Additionally, shortwave radios broadcast on different frequencies, allowing transmissions to travel around the world. This means you can pick up or listen to broadcasts from virtually anywhere, thanks to their worldwide listeners.

Shortwave stations are the most suitable method to connect with marginalized regions with poor phone service. Despite reaching distant areas, the transparency of the stations can sometimes be challenging due to the susceptibility to the sun’s electrical interference. For this reason, most stations usually request their shortwave listeners to send them reception reports to identify how the shortwave broadcasts are being received in different regions, as Dr. Fulcher request from his listeners.

Aside from international communication, shortwave radios are also ideal for diplomatic communication and over-the-horizon radar. Shortwave enthusiasts also use these devices as a hobby, crunchreviews.com confirmed.

Truth seeker, Eric Ruark started listening to shortwave radio sometime around 1980 — one year after Dr. Fulcher started broadcasting on shortwave.

“I was introduced to shortwave radio by Dr. Gene Scott. I was living in Connecticut at the time. Dr. Scott owned a TV station in Hartford, Channel 21 or 18 UHF, I think. There was a governmental move to strip the station from him, so he began to talk about shortwave,” Ruark said.

Ruark started listening to Dr. Fulcher because he had the half hour before Dr. Scott came on.

After being astounded by both preachers, Ruark acted out his vision to bicycle across the country and stop at Truth House 1 and Scott’s Cathedral to give thanks for having survived my pancreatic illnesses. 

“And the rest is history,” Ruark said.

Just about all the ministers of today are on shortwave radio because of Dr. Fulcher.

“I was the first minister on shortwave radio in America. Every year, K USW shortwave out of Utah gave me an anniversary award for being the first minister,” Fulcher said. “For six months, my show was ranked number on in Monitoring Times magazine.”

Dr. Fulcher continues to broadcast live on the following Worldwide Christian Radio (WWCR) frequencies:

• Listen Sunday on 9.350 (Transmitters 2)
  • 4pm EDT; 3pm CDT; 2pm MDT; 1pm PDT; 2000 UT.
• Listen Monday – Friday on 5.890 (Transmitter 4)
  • 10pm EDT; 9pm CDT; 8pm MDT; 7pm PDT; 0200 UT
• Listen Saturday on 4.840 (Transmitter  3)
  • 9pm EST; 8pm CST; 7pm MST; 6pm PST; 0200 UT 

When all other technology fails, shortwave will still be standing, so Dr. Fulcher can preach the truth to all the world as commanded by God.

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Overall, the Wahoo’s ended their regular season with a very respectable 23 – 6 record. They also finished tied for first place in the ACC division with a 15 – 5 record.

Some of their wins were of the nail-biters variety as Tammy – for one – can attest to.

The highlight of the season were wins over Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State, Baylor and Illinois…three of which were top twenty-five teams nationally.

They, themselves, finished the regular season ranked at number thirteen in Division One college basketball.

Armaan Franklin led the team in scoring with a 12.6 average followed closely by Jayden Gardner and Kihel Clark with 11.6 and 11.1 respectively.

If the Hoos had a weakness it might be at the free-throw line and with their beyond the arc shooting.

Their defence held up as expected, and they led the country in the assist/turnover category with a ratio of 1.87 – kudos for that.

Next for the Bennett led team is the ACC tournament followed by the NCAA tournament.

Let’s go Hoos!!

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