Cayo is back!

[Eight Legger]

I'm sort of hoping that happens, Carolina. Just to give us a little different look or something. We need to change things up a bit. We have an athletic team that can run and scorer a lot of points -- and also play an up-tempo defense. I'd love to see that happen, but I also know better.

 

[spider23]

have your 9? No offense sman but I don’t want u handling roster construction. I feel like depth is talked up here every year. We r brittle. we could still have transfers of our own. & frankly 5 of the 9 r not exactly proven & irreplaceable anyway.

Plus a transfer is not solely for next season. It would be roster management beyond that too. We have 2 ships any seniors returning don’t count. We should still be managing 2 ships no matter what. This year gives u some leeway there but we have to be in the portal for minimum 1 imo. No way we should not be recruiting Justin mcKoy or so many others. Too much there. & more known quantities.

lets create some comp on the roster. Fight for roles. I guarantee mortal lock it VCU will pick up a transfer. & they have way more depth than us. But they want to make their roster even better. it’s a winning mentality. Nobody standing around saying nah I got my 9.

Agree wholeheartedly, great to see guys come back, hate that they missed out on a normal school year. But I also cannot stand the comfort level our program creates. No competition for spots. Just need to show up. We should be recruiting McCoy absolutely. Love Cayo, but should be trying to bring in another big. Have not seen us mentioned with one?

 

[spider23]

Considering that Queally is now making enough of an ass of himself

Just read up on this. Hopefully we have cashed his checks. Hopefully we kick this bum out and welcome Ukrops back in the fold. Then bring in a real AD again and put Mooney on notice. I work at a large corporation and really impressed at welcoming and collaborative nature of the senior leadership and VPs I have interacted with on rare occasion. And interestingly enough we have personal and team level goals that are set for each half year and tracked and measured. Richmond sounds like it is going back in time to the good of boy network. Tired of Paul's act. Screw his money.

 

[spiderman]

have your 9? No offense sman but I don’t want u handling roster construction. I feel like depth is talked up here every year. We r brittle. we could still have transfers of our own. & frankly 5 of the 9 r not exactly proven & irreplaceable anyway.

Plus a transfer is not solely for next season. It would be roster management beyond that too. We have 2 ships any seniors returning don’t count. We should still be managing 2 ships no matter what. This year gives u some leeway there but we have to be in the portal for minimum 1 imo. No way we should not be recruiting Justin mcKoy or so many others. Too much there. & more known quantities.

lets create some comp on the roster. Fight for roles. I guarantee mortal lock it VCU will pick up a transfer. & they have way more depth than us. But they want to make their roster even better. it’s a winning mentality. Nobody standing around saying nah I got my 9.

we do need another 5. really can't go into the season with just 2, and Sal is arguably a 4 anyway. at the bare minimum we need one that can back up.

I know there's 1200 kids out there, but very few 5's that work for us. there are some that excite me. but it's likely they're exciting everyone. here are a few:

C

Chol Marial

SO

7-2

230

Maryland

C

Emmanuel Okpomo

FR

6-10

220

Wake Forest

PF

Drew Pember

SO

6-10

190

Tennessee

PF

Justin McKoy

SO

6-8

221

Virginia

C

Marcus Larsson

SO

6-10

207

Incarnate Word

PF

Josh Oduro

SO

6-9

237

George Mason

 

[GKiller]

we do need another 5. really can't go into the season with just 2, and Sal is arguably a 4 anyway. at the bare minimum we need one that can back up.

I know there's 1200 kids out there, but very few 5's that work for us. there are some that excite me. but it's likely they're exciting everyone. here are a few:

C

Chol Marial

SO

7-2

230

Maryland

C

Emmanuel Okpomo

FR

6-10

220

Wake Forest

PF

Drew Pember

SO

6-10

190

Tennessee

PF

Justin McKoy

SO

6-8

221

Virginia

C

Marcus Larsson

SO

6-10

207

Incarnate Word

PF

Josh Oduro

SO

6-9

237

George Mason

Research 2 and 3s too. 4/5 is ideal I agree. But just go get another good player. No reason that can’t be accomplished. It’s a numbers game. More players more comp better odds to win. If we have 15 on ship so be it. We’ll probably have attrition anyway. As 23 says it’s too comfortable in the program. The coach is perpetually comfortable it starts there.

 

[MrTbone]

Research 2 and 3s too. 4/5 is ideal I agree. But just go get another good player. No reason that can’t be accomplished. It’s a numbers game. More players more comp better odds to win. If we have 15 on ship so be it. We’ll probably have attrition anyway. As 23 says it’s too comfortable in the program. The coach is perpetually comfortable it starts there.

We certainly could have used extra players this year. There’s just very little reason to leave a scholarship spot open.

 

[spiderman]

Research 2 and 3s too. 4/5 is ideal I agree. But just go get another good player. No reason that can’t be accomplished. It’s a numbers game. More players more comp better odds to win. If we have 15 on ship so be it. We’ll probably have attrition anyway. As 23 says it’s too comfortable in the program. The coach is perpetually comfortable it starts there.

too many of them to list!
I do remember Mooney talking longingly about Kolek in the pregame presser against GMU. talked about how we recruited him.
he's an interesting target. I saw him in AAU and he's really good, but if he's not careful he could end up on someone's bench. tough to find the highest level you can be really successful at. certainly no guarantee he'd star here either.

 

[SpiderTrap]

Question with kids returning at UR. If we get one more kid to return (Golden or Francis) - does that make next year a make or break year for Mooney (although I am beginning to think those years don't exist at UR with Hardt).

Point being - we will have had the core of the same team, a highly regarded and rated team, for 3 years and IF we don't make it next year - that will be the following results.
1) Team on bubble - shut down because of COVID
2) COVID year - ranked in top 25 to losing down the stretch into NIT
3) ???? - next year, lets say another NIT.

I am not going to use the greatest class ever line, but we do have a team that is not only regarded by us the fans, but by opposing coaches as a very good team and if we go three years with the core of this group and not make it - what else can we do?

I personally like the idea of just Cayo and Gilyard returning. That gives us a solid 3 options on offense along with Burton. I think sometimes less is more and hopefully that is the case next year.

 

[spiderman]

this won't be popular, but I don't think I'd ever put absolutes on results.
at the end of each year I'd look at everything that happened and is happening with the program and evaluate.

 

[97spiderfan]

In the (my) ideal world, we roll with Cayo and Gilly next year. Grant and Francis graduate and Mooney brings in a rim protecting big. If Sherod wants to come back on, I'd be cool with that as well.

As great of players as Francis and Grant are, they both have what I think are fatal flaws when it comes to team construction. Blake is a shoot first guard, which can be great at times, but it is not how Mooney's constructs his offense and I think leads to other players (Gilly) being not as involved as we need to be. Grant provides almost zero low post defense and every coach knows the ways to beat us it to pound it inside.

Fatal flaw in this year's team as constructed is defense. I think guys like Dji, Wilson, and Sal getting more minutes will make us a much much better defensive team. Add in a rim protecting big and we could be a really good defensive team.

Yes, we won't be as "efficient" on offense but I think that makes Gilly the true alpha on offense both creating his own and getting others involved and he has two really good scoring options in Burton and Cayo.

 

[spider23]

97, I don't think you are a basketball coach, but great evaluation above. Some of the points are very easy for us to see and comment on over the last several years - but Mooney does not see or fails to fix or is able to fix. It is a classic cannot see the forest for the trees type of scenario.

I thought Francis was a very good defender, but again when you have two sub 6 foot guards, collectively this becomes an issue. I do think with Wilson and Dji (along with Gus) we can be better. Sal plays with really good effort and length on D, and can be very good on that end too if can avoid fouls. Burton needs to be drilled on D to stop penetration. This is 100% on coaching and can be fixed. Cayo too. Need one coach to the "bad cop" and not allow these lapses. Do we have that guy?

I am just really very doubtful of Mooney's ability to bring in an enforcer / shot blocker. Couple years ago when Hason Ward was available, folks on this board said we dont need him not a fit. Big guy at SBU was not heavily recruited by p6. Tired of the excuse that we can't get these guys. Guy that went to BC, we were in his top 5 - and he choose BC, come on. Need to win some of these battles and one this off season for a transfer.

 

[spiderman]

I think we're clearly a better team next year with Grant and Blake back, but 97 and 23 make good points.

we're light offensively without them unless Burton becomes the every night offensive powerhouse like he can be.

 

[SpiderTrap]

I think by not having Grant and Blake back this gives Burton the opportunity to become that every night offensive powerhouse. If they do come back - I think Burton and Mooney will defer to the upperclassmen and Burton, while he might be our best overall player - will take a back seat to them on the offensive end.

With Cayo coming back - I hope all summer he just shoots jumpers. If he could just become a 30% percent shooter from 3 - that would open up his game so much more and he would be an all league player. He clearly was able to get better at free throws, so I hope he can move that to the 3 point line.

 

[MountainSpider]

Last year we were without Sherod, Crabtree, Weir, Blake, and Grant by the end of the season. Who knows how many we are now counting on that won't be available at some point next year. The more seniors return, the more likely we'll field a quality lineup from start to finish. I'll happily welcome any of them back, regardless of their flaws.

 

[MrTbone]

this won't be popular, but I don't think I'd ever put absolutes on results.
at the end of each year I'd look at everything that happened and is happening with the program and evaluate.

Context always matters, so that’s a reasonable approach. But under the assumption there aren’t major injuries (or equivalent disruptions) then I think it would be really difficult to further extend the experiment.

You have a a minimum of three starters returning, two of which are fifth year guys, and you’ll have three fourth year senior bench contributors, plus some reasonably talented second year guys. It just feels like you have got to win with that setup.

 

[97spiderfan]

I think we're clearly a better team next year with Grant and Blake back, but 97 and 23 make good points.

we're light offensively without them unless Burton becomes the every night offensive powerhouse like he can be.

I think Burton can be that and I think he stands a better chance of being that if guys like Blake and Grant don't return. He certainly had a late season slump this year but hopefully that was some growing pains. And like Gilly, if he knows he is more of a the man, a central focus of our offense that will give him that opportunity.

Blake and Grant return, Burton is what our 5th scoring option, despite the fact that I see him as our most complete player on the roster.

 

[spiderman]

then I guess Burton would REALLY be the man if Gilyard and Cayo didn't come back!

he shouldn't become a better player by putting lesser players around him. just like Jacob, Tyler needs to be aggressive and confident no matter who's on the floor with him.

Grace did some nice things at the end of the year but I'm not buying that we're better on either end of the court with him over Grant.

 

[97spiderfan]

then I guess Burton would REALLY be the man if Gilyard and Cayo didn't come back!

he shouldn't become a better player by putting lesser players around him. just like Jacob, Tyler needs to be aggressive and confident no matter who's on the floor with him.

Grace did some nice things at the end of the year but I'm not buying that we're better on either end of the court with him over Grant.

Well, no. If Burton were only really good player, defenses would key in on him and try to take him out of the game. But with Cayo and Gilly back, they can't do that, he will be one of three really good scoring options.

Agreed, I'm not taking Grace over Grant but will I take a line-up with Sal and a rim protecting front court player via transfer, with some Grace mixed in as well. Yes, I think I would take that. I think makes us a much better defensive team than with Grant. And I think that makes us a better rebounding team as well.

Now, yes, it is upon Mooney to go out and land said rim protector if Grant doesn't return. Obviously, not confident in that either.

 

[GKiller]

Question with kids returning at UR. If we get one more kid to return (Golden or Francis) - does that make next year a make or break year for Mooney (although I am beginning to think those years don't exist at UR with Hardt).

Point being - we will have had the core of the same team, a highly regarded and rated team, for 3 years and IF we don't make it next year - that will be the following results.
1) Team on bubble - shut down because of COVID
2) COVID year - ranked in top 25 to losing down the stretch into NIT
3) ???? - next year, lets say another NIT.

I am not going to use the greatest class ever line, but we do have a team that is not only regarded by us the fans, but by opposing coaches as a very good team and if we go three years with the core of this group and not make it - what else can we do?

I personally like the idea of just Cayo and Gilyard returning. That gives us a solid 3 options on offense along with Burton. I think sometimes less is more and hopefully that is the case next year.

Of course it should be make or break. hell when u haven’t made Ncaa since 2011 it should be regardless of who is returning. But like u said looks like that doesn’t exist at UR.

 

[DTSpider]

There are no “break years” for Mooney. the more players on your roster the higher the chance that one of them has to miss time for something like an injury, illness, etc. thereby giving you an excuse for any & all losses. If Sherod comes back but doesn’t play do we get another year of “how could any reasonable fan expect an NCAA appearance, we lost an all-conference player unexpectedly”? I wouldn’t be surprised if Grant doesn’t come back if that’s just the excuse given for next year before the year even starts.

that being said, I’m excited for the kids that want to come back and make another run.There’s no reason every student can’t be vaccinated by next fall, which I’d like to think a “back to regular” college experience. I can’t imagine anything more fun than spending a year on campus taking random classes. I mean, if I’m any of them I come back for the year.

 

[VT4700]

this won't be popular, but I don't think I'd ever put absolutes on results.
at the end of each year I'd look at everything that happened and is happening with the program and evaluate.

Agree sman. Let's say we go 14-4 and 24-7 again after the regular season, and going into the conference tourneys most everyone has us in. Then, 4 or 5 bid stealers win conference tourneys, causing some at larges to fall out. Maybe we lose in the conference semis or final and end up with 25 or 26 wins. Would it really be smart to get rid of a coach who went 14-4 and 24-7 each of the last 2 full regular seasons? I would certainly take that every year because it would take some strange events ( like covid cancelling the season, or several cinderellas winning their conference tourneys) for that to not be dance worthy. That is a boat load of wins that very few teams in the country would match.
I would feel the same if the opposite happened, and we had a terrible regular season, the coach lost the team, our future recruiting looked bad, and/or kids were ready to transfer, but then we somehow won our conference conference tourney. I don't think that should mean you automatically keep the coach.

 

[Spider B]

It should be NCAA or bust. But this is UR. Mooney is not going anywhere. Remarkable but true.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

We are already excusing a hypothetical 11-year drought, and 10 straight missed tournaments. There would be no comparable in the modern tournament era.

But nah, we're good.

 

[GKiller]

We are already excusing a hypothetical 11 year drought. 10 straight missed tournaments. There would be no comparable in the modern tournament era.

But nah, we're good.

And quite the hypothetical outlier too. I mean when was last time there were 4 or 5 bid stealers?

All I know is 4700 should play roulette w the numbers 14 and 4!

 

[nathanw19]

Agree sman. Let's say we go 14-4 and 24-7 again after the regular season, and going into the conference tourneys most everyone has us in. Then, 4 or 5 bid stealers win conference tourneys, causing some at larges to fall out. Maybe we lose in the conference semis or final and end up with 25 or 26 wins. Would it really be smart to get rid of a coach who went 14-4 and 24-7 each of the last 2 full regular seasons? I would certainly take that every year because it would take some strange events ( like covid cancelling the season, or several cinderellas winning their conference tourneys) for that to not be dance worthy. That is a boat load of wins that very few teams in the country would match.
I would feel the same if the opposite happened, and we had a terrible regular season, the coach lost the team, our future recruiting looked bad, and/or kids were ready to transfer, but then we somehow won our conference conference tourney. I don't think that should mean you automatically keep the coach.

I agree with your general sentiment that everything should have context.

But I would also argue that 24-7 needs to have context too. Who did you beat? Who did you lose to? How strong was the conference? How many bids did the conference get?

And this is why making the NCAA tourney or not is, while not perfect, a pretty good barometer. It takes a lot of the context of 24-7 into account.

 

[VT4700]

Yes, I agree, you should look at those things you mentioned and plenty of others when making a decision on keeping or letting go a coach. That is why I added that if we have a crappy year with a lot of negatives going on with the program, and win the A-10 tournament, I don't think that's a good reason to keep a coach. My point about disagreeing with the make the dance or get fired talk is if we go 14-4 IC and 24-7 overall, and the committee decides that is not good enough, the AD is just letting a commitee decide whether or not a coach stays or is let go. No way should an AD ever let the committee make that decision. And, no way should our AD ever make a dance or he's gone statement. That talk would just dominate the whole season. No matter how well we were doing, the players would constantly get asked about the pressure of getting to the dance for their coach.

 

[VT4700]

I don't think 24 wins is underachieving. Others obviously do. And, that's fine. It's all opinion.

 

[97spiderfan]

you are seriously back with this bullshit making excuses for underachievement a year in advance? Everyone couldn't help but notice you went into hiding when your boy Moonét shit the bed yet again.

I've called him Moondog for a while, but I like Moonet. Gonna have to figure out to put that umlaut thingy over the E.

And yeah, it is quite remarkable how some people who pumped up Mooney and our season went and hid when the inevitable and predictable happened. If your betting on Mooney to come through and stake your credibility on it, that is a bad bet. Gonna lose that every time. However, nothing that a short disappearance from the board and some goalpost moving cant' fix right up.

 

[712_VT]

I don't think 24 wins is underachieving. Others obviously do. And, that's fine. It's all opinion.

Seems like you also think 15-17 wins and going to nit is a good season too. Big hint; it isn’t.

 

[spiderman]

a lot of posters want Mooney gone and that won't change if we dance next year.

according to 712, nobody would want to play for Mooney. yet we have nobody in a portal with 1,200 names (knock on wood) and already retained Gilyard and Cayo. and now we're asking "what if Grant comes back".

we went from no expectations for next year to contemplating an ultimatum if we don't dance. pretty good offseason so far.

 

[712_VT]

Except for that fact that there is no ultimatum with our athletic department and we all know that. Going to the nit is just fine with them.

 

[SpiderK]

The NCAA is the ultimate prize for UR, but this year we played as many games in the NCAA tournament as VCU did, and Tech and UVA didn’t stay long enough to unpack.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

Yeah, it's all moot, anyway. 24-7 or 7-24, he ain't going anywhere.

The acceptance phase is easier.

That twist about having a losing season and winning the A10 tourney was a good one, though. Kudos. You're right; it should not be considered a success. The only time I can remember someone trying to spin that was when Bob Black tried to sell us on Hampton being a good program because 3 years prior to their 20-point win over us, they made the tourney with a losing record.

 

[spider23]

He is entitle to state him opinion just like you are. We should stop making personal attacks on this board.

Look in the mirror dude.

 

[urfan1]

Stop

 

[spider23]

I hope we have a really good season next year. If we do,I t will not validate moonetdog. Guys coming back does not validate. It does validate the COMFORT level. That is what concerns me. We can basically pencil in the line up now. Only question is whether Wilson eats into Gooses minutes.
The other concern is Nelson, dji, Wilson and guys that were hoping for minutes. Pandemic was a weird as hell year, but Mooney trying to manage this situation could very well turn into a major cluster you know what. Unless we have a bunch of guys that are contempt.

 

[spider23]

Stop

Ok, he admonishes posters for no reason after flipping out for no reason but you admonish me. Just like when you dm me and have no idea what I said or posted. Unreal.

 

[urfan1]

Ok, he admonishes posters for no reason after flipping out for no reason but you admonish me. Just like when you dm me and have no idea what I said or posted. Unreal.

First why do you think that was directed only at you, second I never said I don't know what you said or posted -- I just don't take the bait.

 

[spider23]

First why do you think that was directed only at you, second I never said I don't know what you said or posted -- I just don't take the bait.

I don't have the energy to look at his posts but he is a friend of PQ's as he has stated many times on here and posted some inflammatory stuff on here with no opposition from you or 05. I get it. Good old boy network, don't challenge the rich guy. Carry on.

 

[Eight Legger]

Dji and Wilson can take a fifth year too if they want it eventually. Nelson can redshirt if he wants to. It'll all work out from that perspective one way or another.