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I was really surprised by Wahab going into the transfer portal, and it is especially disappointing to have such a setback when the season ended on a pretty good note. So a few points:

(1) Transfers. Clearly, transfers have become a bigger part of the college game (for better or worse, but that is another discussion). It's more common. But, the sentiment that this is just the way the game is now is simply untrue. Do players transfer frequently? Yes. Do players who are starting and the "stars" of the team transfer frequently? Absolutely not. Akinjo, McClung, and Wahab all basically had the keys to the kingdom, and yet they left anyway. Clearly, Ewing really liked Wahab, as evidenced by his post-game comments during the BET and in interviews.

So, there is something else going on here, but what is it? I have no idea. It's really all speculation at this point. But, I do wonder whether Ewing is meaningfully connecting with the players. Is he making them want to play for him? Is he encouraging? Inspiring? I have no idea, but anybody who has played for a good coach in any sport (or activity) knows that there are coaches that just instill such a high degree of connection that players become devoted and want to do as much as they can for that coach. And, I have no doubt some of our guys do - for example, Pickett really seems dedicated to Ewing, and others like Trey Dickerson clearly felt a strong connection. But, I do wonder, because this type of roster turnover is simply not normal.

We simply are not going to be regular NCAA contenders if we cannot figure out the roster retention situation. It's great for Ewing to put together solid recruiting classes, but if we only get the players for a year or two, it's not very useful. I don't have a solution, and do not claim to offer one. But, Ewing needs to figure this out.

(2) Style of Play. The idea that Wahab left because Ewing indicated he is going to change our style of play is absurd. First, Ewing has given no indication he wants to change his style of play. Second, Ewing was recently praising Wahab as potentially the next great Georgetown big man. If he wanted to change the style of play, why would he do that?

That said, I think a change of style could be warranted. Unless Ighoefe, Wilson, or Mutombo have huge jumps over the summer, none of them will be nearly as good as Wahab. Relying on a big man is already problematic in today's game for a number of reasons, but it's particularly a problem if you try to force it to big men who aren't that efficient, and we know Ighoefe and Wilson aren't ready (now).

(3) Ewing and Big Men. I know it is a media talking point to say "What big man wouldn't want to learn from the best," but frankly, we now have an answer to that question: Wahab. I always thought it was a silly talking point because there are plenty of great players who aren't good coaches, but nonetheless this idea persists.

I truly do fear for next season, as I think without Wahab, it's going to make getting back to the tournament that much harder. I still think the solution is a strong focus on defense, and playing as we did in the BET, rather than the rest of the season. If we do that, we can play well even without Wahab, but it's going to be hard. We will need to hope some of our freshman are ready to contribute more than we think.