Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 131 - "The 'Hundred & 31 Episode" includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - NCAA: News & Storylines - - NCAA College Basketball: Longtime ESPN and HOF college basketball broadcaster, Dick Vitale (aka "Dickie V"), has been diagnosed with melanoma (cancer) in his lung & liver cavity, and will be starting immunotherapy soon, as this is the fifth time that he's had to deal with a cancer diagnosis - - Vitale, one of the preeminent faces of men's college basketball, has battled four (4) types of cancer over the past few years, and most recently underwent surgery in the summer of 2024 after a biopsy of a lymph node in his neck revealed cancer - - ESPN released a statement Monday on social media in which Vitale confirmed the diagnosis: "I've beaten melanoma. I've beaten lymphoma. I've beaten vocal cord cancer," Vitale, 86, said in a statement Monday. "I'm four-for-four and I'm fully confident I'm going to make it five-for-five." - - Following a nearly two-year break to deal with his health, Vitale returned to broadcasting in February of last year after he announced that he was cancer-free - and he just wrapped up his 46^th year covering college basketball at ESPN - - Vitale joined ESPN during the 1979-80 season, shortly after ESPN's launch, and called the network's first major college basketball game on Dec. 5, 1979 - - He has gone on to call well over 1,000 games, and in September 2024, he was inducted into the Broadcasting + Cable Hall of Fame. . .Q: What are your thoughts on ESPN's announcement regarding Dick Vitale's fifth cancer diagnosis?. . ."Mass Exodus:" Despite being open for less than a week, literally thousands of players are looking for a new home in the NCAA transfer portal: While some will wait until the portal closes on April 21 to make a decision, others didn't require that much time to find the next stop of their college basketball journey - - In this particular segment, JD & Spencer discuss a few of the most notable player transfers that have occurred within opening week of the transfer portal, and we will also present our picks for the programs who may be categorized as one of the "biggest winners" and "biggest losers" of the NCAA transfer portal thus far:**Be Sure to Tune In for Each Player's Transfer Destination. . . Kansas State transfer guard PJ Haggerty, one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball, has committed to __________________. . .This will be Haggerty's fifth college in five (5) seasons at the NCAA D-I level - - A 6'4'' guard, he has been a high-level scorer at across his time spent at Tulsa, Memphis & Kansas State after starting his career with six (6) games at TCU - - He averaged career highs in scoring (23.4) and assists (3.8) at Kansas State last season, when he was named an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection, whereas at Memphis in 2024-25, Haggerty posted 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds & 3.7 assists per game, when he was also named the American Conference Player of the Year & earned second-team All-America honors - - For his career, Haggerty is averaging 21.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. . .Q: What are your thoughts on PJ Haggerty's fifth program in the past five (5) years? Is it a good fit for the 6-4 guard? . . . Cal transfer guard Justin Pippen has committed to ___________________, per his agents at WME Basketball last Friday afternoon. . .Pippen, a sophomore who is coming off a breakout season at Berkeley, averaged 14.2 points, 4.6 assists & 3.9 rebounds per game last season while at Cal - - Pippen is the son of NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, his older brother is Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr., and he played his high school basketball at Sierra Canyon in Los Angeles (CA) - - He is expected to play a significant role at his new program, and as a combo guard, he will be expected to fill a role similar to the one Devin Royal played prior to his departure - - At Cal last season, Pippen led the team in assists and tied for second on the team in scoring average as the Bears reached the second round of the NIT Tournament. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Justin Pippen's new home? Is it a good fit for Pippen, the son of an NBA Hall of Famer? . . . Kansas transfer center Flory Bidunga and Oregon transfer guard Jackson Shelstad have committed to ___________________, per multiple reports. . .Bidunga spent two seasons with the Jayhawks and averaged 13.3 points & 9.0 rebounds per game this season for Kansas - - According to 24/7Sports' portal rankings, Bidunga was the top player available in the NCAA transfer portal - - Shelstad, a 6'1'' guard & product of Oregon, spent three (3) seasons with Dana Altman & the Ducks, however, he saw limited time in just 12 games this season, due to a recurring injury - - In his final season in Eugene, Shelstad averaged 15.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game - - The joint commitment of Bidunga & Shelstad put this particular program in an early position for the country's best portal haul this offseason, as they simultaneously snagged two of the portal's top targets off the board, in a move that sent ripples through the entire college basketball landscape. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Flory Bidunga & Jackson Shelstad's joint commitment to this particular program? Following this move, would you consider HC Pat Kelsey & this program as one of the "biggest winners" of the transfer portal so far? . . . Georgia transfer center Somto Cyril has committed to _________________________, per 247Sports on Sunday afternoon. . .A 6'11'' center originally from Nigeria, Cyril averaged 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in his second season at Georgia - - A tenacious defender & rim protector, Cyril was one of the top big man available in the transfer portal, and was ranked inside the top-20 in 247Sports' player transfer portal rankings. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Somto Cyril's new home? Is it a good fit for the 6'11'' Nigerian center?. . . Georgia transfer guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, one of the best scorers in the NCAA transfer portal, committed to _______________________ on Tuesday evening, sources told ESPN. . .A 6'1'' guard, Wilkinson had a long list of suitors, including Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State & LSU, and is a proven scorer at two power-conference programs - - He averaged 15.1 points at Cal his freshman season prior to transferring to the University of Georgia, where he elevated his play, and averaged 17.4 points last season as a sophomore - - He also improved his efficiency in Athens this past season, shooting 41% from the field and nearly 36% from beyond the arc, and most notably, he was capable of huge offensive performances, scoring at least 30 points on three (3) occasions. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Jeremiah Wilkinson's in-conference transfer? Is it necessarily a good fit for the 6'1'' guard? . . . "The Biggest Winners:" Obviously, Louisville's pickup of Kansas transfer center Flory Bidunga & Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad, places them in the mix as one of the biggest winners of the NCAA transfer portal's opening week. . .in addition to Louisville, a couple of other winners from the portal are: ______________________ and __________________________. . ."The Biggest Losers" (NOT the game show): Clearly, there have been programs who have drastically improved their roster following the first week of the NCAA transfer portal being open, but other schools will look to retool their respective rosters after losing multiple players to the transfer portal - - and one such program is _________________________, as this particular program has lost four (4) players that were an integral part of their rotation last season - - Another such loser is ____________________________, as the program's HC is in "wait-and-see" mode because some of the program's biggest stay-or-go decisions from his team have not yet been made. . .Q: Which program(s) would you categorize as being the "biggest winners" and "biggest losers" of the NCAA transfer portal's opening week in college basketball?. . . - NCAA College Football: Per an NCAA announcement on Tuesday, the University of Iowa's football program must vacate four (4) victories from the 2023 college football season for reportedly tampering with QB Cade McNamara before he entered the NCAA transfer portal - - The NCAA reported that Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz and assistant Jon Budmayr participated in 13 phone calls with McNamara, and sent two text messages prior to his entry into the portal in November 2022 - - McNamara left Michigan a few days later after his entry into the portal with a "do-not-contact" tag, and transferred to Iowa, after which point, both Ferentz and Budmayr were suspended for the 2024 season opener in a school-imposed penalty for the violations - - In his time with the Hawkeyes in 2023, McNamara went 4-1 as the starting QB before suffering a knee injury - - The NCAA ruled that McNamara was ineligible for those wins over Utah State, Iowa State, Western Michigan and...

Tradition's Finest Episode 131 - "The 'Hundred & 31 Episode"