Next year

[GKiller]

Selfishly from a UR perspective - Mooney and team seem to do better when expectations are lower. I don't remember many times when we have been selected as a top 2-3 team in the A10 and live up to that. We seem to do better when selected lower and ahcieve higher results.

It just feels that way because we are rarely picked high and in 20-21 and 21-22 because we underperformed greatly in reg season. Nerd alert I've tracked it. in 20 years (counting this year it's obvious we won't be picked high officially in a10 poll) we've been picked top 3 only 4 times. 4 for 20. 2 were the back to back ncaa years. Picked 3rd both years, finished 3rd. 20-21 picked 1st finished 8th. 21-22 picked 2nd finished 6th. Gross, no doubt underperformed most of those 2 years. But...ultimately in 2022 we made made NCAA & beat Iowa which is what matters most. so 4 years picked top 4, made ncaa in 3. That's good u take it.

But as we know we've never made NCAA under Mooney any other season. So what that means is we rarely outperform expectations. In fact in last 15 years we've done it 3 times total. a few ties in there of course. Mooney beat expectations his 3rd & 4th years here when finishing 7th. We were picked 11/12/12 hist first 3 and finished 12th his 1st two years.

Since the back to back NCAAs, we are 3 for 13 (poll vs. finish). Last year was easily the biggest outlier. 11th to 1st. I hope its a trend. & I think consensus here is we should be picked higher than we will be, and finish higher than picked, so nothing wrong with hope for a repeat. Last season proved u can make a huge jump but definitely an outlier and would be very unusual to do it again. Not us specifically, that goes for any team in that situation. Not sustainable. Richmond imo isn't viewed as a reload program because we never do it.

I've said this before but when u have a 20 year coach, u r coming off a 1st place reg season, and think of yourself as 1 of the top programs in all the nation, that team will never ever be picked where we will. No team in any league imo. Even in the new portal era with turnover. There's disconnect on how we view ourselves and how others view us. It doesn't help that we normally give off the little ol Richmond leafy campus its amazing we compete vibe. Frankly I'd go with hey it's contract extension time so we must be 1 of the top programs in nation vibe.

People can have their own takeaways from all that. But its data. Mine is clearly we are rarely picked high. & when we are picked high it's the ONLY times we make NCAA. A couple years had chances but we didn't make it. We want to be picked high. I grant u that a lot of these ppl making predictions don't know any more than we do, & we could predict just as well. But fact is data says our odds are a lot better when we're expected to be better. So in reality everyone should want high expectations. This thought that low expectations traditionally works for us and provides a chip on the shoulder? Fallacy.

 

[spiderman]

I think it's harder than ever to pick accurately with all the turnover.
we were picked 10th and LUC 12th last season.
and it looks like the A10 is very deep again. not many weak teams.

 

[GKiller]

I think it's harder than ever to pick accurately with all the turnover.
we were picked 10th and LUC 12th last season.
and it looks like the A10 is very deep again. not many weak teams.

I agree it's harder to pick accurately, which could lead to more outliers let's hope so again for us. But it's not where we want to ever be.

The A10 was much stronger & deeper in the past. It has weakened tho some uptick last season. I don't see much evidence it won't regularly have weak teams. It was a 1 bid league again last year if Dayton had won A10 tourney. It needs to prove a lot more to me to say it's very deep.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

Deep with NIT offers

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

We need to figure out who the P5 NET frauds are and schedule those teams. Dayton found some good NET 30s frauds last year and beat them. Schedule similarly.

Going the route of good mid major on the road / h&h is no longer viable IMO, the upside isn’t there bc it’s very difficult for that to be a Q1 game or Q2a, the NET just punishes those teams in their league play.

 

[SpiderTrap]

It just feels that way because we are rarely picked high and in 20-21 and 21-22 because we underperformed greatly in reg season. Nerd alert I've tracked it. in 20 years (counting this year it's obvious we won't be picked high officially in a10 poll) we've been picked top 3 only 4 times. 4 for 20. 2 were the back to back ncaa years. Picked 3rd both years, finished 3rd. 20-21 picked 1st finished 8th. 21-22 picked 2nd finished 6th. Gross, no doubt underperformed most of those 2 years. But...ultimately in 2022 we made made NCAA & beat Iowa which is what matters most. so 4 years picked top 4, made ncaa in 3. That's good u take it.

But as we know we've never made NCAA under Mooney any other season. So what that means is we rarely outperform expectations. In fact in last 15 years we've done it 3 times total. a few ties in there of course. Mooney beat expectations his 3rd & 4th years here when finishing 7th. We were picked 11/12/12 hist first 3 and finished 12th his 1st two years.

Since the back to back NCAAs, we are 3 for 13 (poll vs. finish). Last year was easily the biggest outlier. 11th to 1st. I hope its a trend. & I think consensus here is we should be picked higher than we will be, and finish higher than picked, so nothing wrong with hope for a repeat. Last season proved u can make a huge jump but definitely an outlier and would be very unusual to do it again. Not us specifically, that goes for any team in that situation. Not sustainable. Richmond imo isn't viewed as a reload program because we never do it.

I've said this before but when u have a 20 year coach, u r coming off a 1st place reg season, and think of yourself as 1 of the top programs in all the nation, that team will never ever be picked where we will. No team in any league imo. Even in the new portal era with turnover. There's disconnect on how we view ourselves and how others view us. It doesn't help that we normally give off the little ol Richmond leafy campus its amazing we compete vibe. Frankly I'd go with hey it's contract extension time so we must be 1 of the top programs in nation vibe.

People can have their own takeaways from all that. But its data. Mine is clearly we are rarely picked high. & when we are picked high it's the ONLY times we make NCAA. A couple years had chances but we didn't make it. We want to be picked high. I grant u that a lot of these ppl making predictions don't know any more than we do, & we could predict just as well. But fact is data says our odds are a lot better when we're expected to be better. So in reality everyone should want high expectations. This thought that low expectations traditionally works for us and provides a chip on the shoulder? Fallacy.

Good stats you pulled GKiller - I guess what is bothersome, and you pointed out - in the 4 years when we were picked top 4, we made NCAA in 3. That is very good. But what is not good - being picked in top 4 in only 4 years out of 20. Like you said - we are rarely picked high - and that is the sign of a program that is not "top in the nation". If we were - we would be getting respect like VCU is getting, even with a new coach - it seems like every year, no matter what happens down on Broad Street - VCU is picked to be top 4 in the league, and to their credit - the last 12-13 years, they have delivered on those predictions.

 

[SFspidur]

 

[KE Spider]

Exactly why are projected to finish so low in the league. Believe we have the horses, albeit many new, to show the pundits otherwise.

 

[spider23]

One problem with all of this speculation and pre season rankings etc is that the only metric seems to be offense. Yes, very important, and think we have some very good options. But I think one reason we exceeded regular season expectations last year was defense and toughness. I think DLo brings this, and Tyne. I think Walz and Beagle will too. But the forward positions? That is TBD. Dji and Bigs and Tyler Harris brought that last year.

 

[spiderstudent17]

Not sure where to put this and didn’t want to make a new thread for this, but I enjoyed reading this feature in the summer edition of this year’s UR Magazine. President Hallock talks about the value of athletics at UR. My favorite quotation is “It was a starting seed from which I’ve grown a profound appreciation for athletics and a conviction, as the president of a university with 17 Division 1 teams, that competitive sports brings tremendous value to our university and that Spider Athletics can help take UR to even greater heights”. Love this mentality and hope we take measures to put it into action.

Link (feature is on page 7): https://urm.richmond.edu/University-Of-Richmond-Summer-2024-e-Edition/7/

 

[Eight Legger]

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Just a completely meaningless statistic these days, so of course Rothstein probably places a ton of emphasis on it.

 

[VT4700]

No doubt. White, Neskovic, and Beagle combined for 39 ppg last year, but that stat will have them at 0.

 

[kneepadmckinney]

Not sure where to put this and didn’t want to make a new thread for this, but I enjoyed reading this feature in the summer edition of this year’s UR Magazine. President Hallock talks about the value of athletics at UR. My favorite quotation is “It was a starting seed from which I’ve grown a profound appreciation for athletics and a conviction, as the president of a university with 17 Division 1 teams, that competitive sports brings tremendous value to our university and that Spider Athletics can help take UR to even greater heights”. Love this mentality and hope we take measures to put it into action.

Link (feature is on page 7): https://urm.richmond.edu/University-Of-Richmond-Summer-2024-e-Edition/7/

Thanks for pointing that out. I'm very glad to hear it explicitly stated by our president.

 

[GKiller]

Just a completely meaningless statistic these days, so of course Rothstein probably places a ton of emphasis on it.

I don't think his a10 rankings reflect a ton of emphasis. If you have a good team u want your best players returning who wouldn't so relevant to still look at it imo. It's just now easier to replace the departures.

 

[SpiderTrap]

We don't need to worry about outside reviews - internally, on this Board - I think it is safe to say, and myself included - that UR had a good off-season with the transfer portal pickups. So while we are a team that lost a lot from the roster last year, I think the staff has done a good job reloading. And I think this will be the norm, especially for mid-major levels. If you have a good team that is successful, that likely means you have good players, and good players are going to get recruited by bigger schools in bigger conferences to transfer up. You keep what you can and try to fill in the holes.

I don't agree with the pre-season rankings right now. I would put UR somewhere in the 4-5 range, especially given the success Mooney had last year - that should gain some respect. For some reason it did not, but who cares - internally - I think the expectation is this team, come A10 play - SHOULD be a top 4 A10 team.

 

[spider23]

That is my expectation Trap. Top 4 A10 finish. Mooney did a very good job with team chemistry last year. I do think it will be a bit tougher this year, with more mouths to feed on offense, and more guys that may not get minutes they are hoping for.

 

[VT4700]

I think team chemistry will be fine. Agree it is an unknown, but what we do know is Mooney's teams have pretty much always had great team chemistry. I think being a player's coach and not throwing them under the bus with the media goes a long way toward keeping things positive and upbeat. And being honest in the recruiting process helps as well. I doubt anyone is promised big playing time, and the players know it is all about the team here.

I always will want and hope for a top 4 finish, and feel the talent and fits are there to get us there this year.

 

[SpiderTrap]

That is my expectation Trap. Top 4 A10 finish. Mooney did a very good job with team chemistry last year. I do think it will be a bit tougher this year, with more mouths to feed on offense, and more guys that may not get minutes they are hoping for.

Agreed Spider - this is why I could see UR struggling again in OOC play as players try to determine their roles and fits. Sure - they can practice all they want, but roles are determined in the game. Who is going to be primary scorer, who will be the shooter, defender, etc. So I could see this taking time again and we have a not so great OOC and then hit a streak in A10 play.

 

[spiderman]

way too many unknowns for me to say where we should finish.
1) even if I had a handle on who we are, I can't rank without doing a deep dive into every team in the league (which I'm not willing to do).
2) I'm excited to see Beagle and glad to hear Walz is improving, but I'm doubtful we improved over Quinn.
3) not sure who becomes the go to guy or who runs the point, but I'm pretty sure we haven't improved over King.
4) we may have improved a little offensively at the 4, but not idea if Neskovic plays defense at the level of Bigelow or Harris.
5) Glue and GW3 come from impressive schools, but haven't done anything yet.

we might be great and I hope we are, but I don't know. just like last year.

 

[RichmondNative]

Big difference between knowing and expecting. With the high player turnover, there is definitely going to be significant uncertainty (ie knowing). But on the expectation side, I can’t see how top 4 isn’t the rule. We have had past discussions on the top 4 “goal” and its benefits. Like it or not, the expectations for this year have to be higher as an “unknown” team won a share of the regular season title last year. I don’t think anyone expects a regular season champion again, but one has to think that a top 4 is expected. If it isn’t then what is all the investment for? The problem to me is that the external perception is far from the team internal perspective. A consensus of 11 is a major slap in the face for a “premier” program. It just shouldn’t happen to UR in a mid-major conference.

 

[VT4700]

way too many unknowns for me to say where we should finish.
1) even if I had a handle on who we are, I can't rank without doing a deep dive into every team in the league (which I'm not willing to do).
2) I'm excited to see Beagle and glad to hear Walz is improving, but I'm doubtful we improved over Quinn.
3) not sure who becomes the go to guy or who runs the point, but I'm pretty sure we haven't improved over King.
4) we may have improved a little offensively at the 4, but not idea if Neskovic plays defense at the level of Bigelow or Harris.
5) Glue and GW3 come from impressive schools, but haven't done anything yet.

we might be great and I hope we are, but I don't know. just like last year.

1. I agree.
2. I never felt Quinn was a difference maker. He had some nice games, but I always felt he should do more. Maybe I'm still bothered by the floaters he took, but I think we will be fine at the 5.
3. No doubt we will miss King, but White and GW3 can replace his scoring.
4. Good point about defense, but the scoring and 3 ball from Neskovic should be there on a consistent basis.
5. No, those 2 haven't don't anything yet, but we have enough talent where they might not even start. So, I don't think we are counting on them to be our main guys.....at least not early in the season.

It is fair to have question marks. I always look at PG, 3 ball, and defense. I think we have multiple good ball handlers and feel good about the PG spot. I am way excited about the 3 point potential. White has had 2 high volume years at 41.9% and 38.6%, and is 36.4% for his career. Neskovic was 42.4% and 36.3% the last 2 years. Hunt was 38.6% last year and seemed to get more and more comfortable from there as the year went on. All the talk is GW3 and Glou can light it up. We still have Roche, and we know what he can do. And, Tyne, though his % wasn't good last year, looks like he has the form and shot to make them at a good rate. That's 7 guys that have really good 3 point potential, and we dont even know about Tanner and the freshmen yet. Defensively, we have good on the ball defenders, which sets the tone. The non guards might not be as good as Bigs, Harris, and Quinn defensively, but we'll see. We might only need them to be good enough and not great if we score enough this year.

 

[VT4700]

Big difference between knowing and expecting. With the high player turnover, there is definitely going to be significant uncertainty (ie knowing). But on the expectation side, I can’t see how top 4 isn’t the rule. We have had past discussions on the top 4 “goal” and its benefits. Like it or not, the expectations for this year have to be higher as an “unknown” team won a share of the regular season title last year. I don’t think anyone expects a regular season champion again, but one has to think that a top 4 is expected. If it isn’t then what is all the investment for? The problem to me is that the external perception is far from the team internal perspective. A consensus of 11 is a major slap in the face for a “premier” program. It just shouldn’t happen to UR in a mid-major conference.

I know I will get crap for this, but I have a tough time with the word expected, especially when we don't have a team like 2011 and 2021 returning. Maybe it's fair to expect a top 4 team those years with what we had coming back and how each did the previous year. But, we have 15 teams in the A-10, many of which have good talent and top 4 ability. Are we really so much better than 11 of them where we should expect a top 4 finish? Who are the top 4? Should it be VCU, Dayton, Loyola and us? Every year? Should we always be better than Mason, St Bona, St Joe's, UMASS, and Duquesne, who each won 20+ games last year? All Duquesne did was win the A-10 tourney, a dance game, and 25 games last year. Why should it be "expected" that we finish higher than them?

I always want a top 4 finish, and go into every season hoping we can get there. But, other teams have players and want to win as bad as we do. Maybe after OOC play, it will be easier to use the word expected, but it's really hard in July with new players, and like Sman said, not even knowing how other teams look.

 

[GKiller]

If not now, when? I know I’ve said that b4. But I believe high fan expectations r a sign of a good program. If your own fans don’t expect much outsiders generally won’t either. When do Spiders fan expect a lot? It correlates to preseason rankings often. Which means not often. 1 every 5 years. That’s how often we r picked top 4. 4 times ever in 20 years under Mooney. We love our transfers we did it last year w transfers, we have a 20 year dean of A10 coaches, and the admin/coach view us as 1 of the top programs in the entire nation. A top 4 expectation should be reasonable. Yet the view here is traditionally slow your roll. Shouldn’t we expect it more than 20% of the time? If u look at sports fanbases overall why do they have lower expectations. It’s usually because their team hasn’t met expectations enough in past. So the alternative isn’t too good. Honestly I do feel it would help the program if our fans truly expected more.

 

[spiderman]

to GK and RN,
I understand what you're saying. I just think we're using the term "expectations" differently.
I believe you're saying that regardless of our roster or the rosters of the teams in the A10, we should expect a top 4 finish every year because we're Richmond, we have the facilities, we have the money, we have a 20 year coach, etc ...

my use of "expectations" (and I believe VT's as well) is actual expectations of this roster vs the rest of the league/country. not theoretical based on us being Richmond and having facilies and money. but the actual players. did we attract better players than the rest of the league. the pundits don't think so. there's upside, but there are question marks. and there's a lot of talent across this league. I bet fans of 13 or more teams think they could be top 4 this year.

 

[Eight Legger]

It's fair for us as fans to "expect" a top-4 finish most every year and also fair to say that it's unrealistic that we will get it. At the same time, we see Dayton and vcu do it most every year, and so the question is why can't we? The last breakdown of A10 basketball expenditures that I saw had us fourth. That may or may not have been exactly accurate and may or may not still be the case, but I think it's fair to assume we are spending among the top 4 or 5 schools in the league, and usually expectations align with expenditures.

And I do think that things like Mooney's tenure, our facilities relative to those of the other schools in the league, etc., should factor in with expectations. Just as having Bill Self as coach and playing at the Phog means I'm going to expect more of Kansas year in and year out than I do of Hampton.

 

[spiderman]

by that method, we should expect to finish 6th every year.

 

[Eight Legger]

Like I said, who knows exactly how accurate they are (I don't think anyone can really know every penny that we and the other private schools are spending on basketball or anything else) but generally speaking, you would expect expenditures to equate with order of finish. When they are wildly off, there's a problem. It's why SLU fired Ford -- they were spending at level much higher than the results he was providing.

Dayton and vcu are first and third in spending, and both are almost always in the top 4 in the league. Not shocking.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

spiderman, I've argued this with you previously a few weeks ago and I understand your position, but what myself and the others who posted their perennial expectations here are saying is that with everything we have going, we "should" have top 4 expectations year in and year out, since we have resources and all other factors completely stable and in abundance. We're not saying that some years talent levels, coaching levels, injuries and things like luck won't sometimes prevent a top 4 finish - only that we have expectations for that success. If you look at the A10, many/most programs don't have the money (St. Joe's, Lasalle, Fordham, Duquesne) or the stability or the other factors UR has going for it. Those that do should also expect success. Some like Dayton and VCU do have that expectation yearly.

In other words, my expectations are that with all we have going for us, I expect top 4 level talent each year now. Nothing - perhaps only the leaves on campus - are holding the program back from that. Turnover happens for all programs, saying you'll evaluate each year is living in a vacuum if you don't compare each year to those that came before, and what will come next.

If we don't have top 4 talent perennially, and top 4 expectations, I think we need to re-evaluate what we are doing as a program.

 

[spiderman]

I understand you feel we should have a top 4 roster. but do you think we do have a top 4 roster? if you we're putting out a publication ranking A10 teams for 2024-25, would you have us top 4?

as for who has or doesn't have the money, the chart above shows we're 6th in spending and we barely spend more per player than SJU, GW, SBU, GMU.

we're spending substantially less than Dayton, SLU, VCU, Fordham and URI. no idea how we're spending less than VCU with their tuition a fraction of ours.

 

[spiderstudent17]

I think the difference between expecting to be top 4 every year and wanting to be top 4 every year is semantics. Of course, we want to be top 4 and are putting in the resources, funding, facilities, etc. to try and achieve that. Like VT mentions above, what is the basis for expectation? We are in a fantastic basketball conference with arguably every school, but definitely 10+, that are all dedicated to the success of its basketball program: several of which who have the same commitment with resources/funding (if not more) as we do. We have certainly not dominated the conference the last 20 years with results to warrant expecting us having the same results every year. So if our resources/funding isn't significantly above other A10 member schools and we haven't had a history of dominating the conference, what is the basis for expecting to be top 4 every year? Especially in a year where we have 7 new players on the team who haven't proven anything yet wearing a UR jersey.

For example, I expect UR men's lacrosse to make the conference championship game next year because we have done so every single year since we started in 2014. Even though we haven't played in the patriot league for football, I expect UR's football team to finish 1st or 2nd every year in that conference (until if/when teams like Villanova and W&M join) because our commitment, overall success, and resources in general to football is significantly greater than the other teams in the conference.

The way I see it, is wanting something is a desire and in order to expect something you need to see results. I want to run a mile in under 7 minutes. If I am not going to the gym, eating healthy, etc. how will I achieve it? If I ran a mile under 7 minutes 100 times in a row, I will expect to do the same the 101st time. If I am then running in a race with 10 other people who also have the desire to run a mile under 7 minutes and have shown the ability to do so, I would need to step up my game and work on running a mile under 6 1/2 minutes if I want to expect to win.

Again, this is not to say we don't want to be top 4 in the A10 each year. I hope this is not used as another way to conflate or spin it as "we don't care, aren't committed, have an only compete mentality, etc." I will be frustrated with UR if they say they want to win and are not making efforts to try and achieve that. Got to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Right now, I think UR is putting its money where its mouth is. We have seen solid results the last 5 years and hope we continue the momentum forward.

 

[spiderstudent17]

If we don't have top 4 talent perennially, and top 4 expectations, I think we need to re-evaluate what we are doing as a program.

I agree with this statement and think saying this and also that we can't expect something without having objective criteria to back it up, are not mutually exclusive from one another. If I want to get an "A" in math class but have been getting C's on all my tests, I should re-evaluate what I am doing and see why my results differ from my goals. Maybe I need to get a tutor, study more , study differently, do more practice problems, etc.

Same thing with basketball. If we are having very poor results consistently that are not meeting the goal of being top 4, winning A10 tournament, making NCAAs, etc. than a good AD should reflect on that and see why that is not the case and make efforts to address the shortcomings. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. This is why, I agree that an argument could've been made that a coaching change should've taken place in 2018 or 2019. We did not pursue that route. Instead we made other changes it seems and have seen positive results. Even with coaching, a lot of people harped on Mooney for keeping the match-up zone defense for too long, but he changed it the past couple of years. I don't bring this up to open this can of worms again, but to tie things back to our basketball program.

We do not operate in a vacuum though. Virtually every team in the conference is doing the same thing of re-evaluating and adapting to reach the same goals. So what may have worked in adapting 5 years ago, may not work in the next 5 years. There are 15 teams in our conference. 11 each year won't make the top 4.

 

[GKiller]

to GK and RN,
I understand what you're saying. I just think we're using the term "expectations" differently.
I believe you're saying that regardless of our roster or the rosters of the teams in the A10, we should expect a top 4 finish every year because we're Richmond, we have the facilities, we have the money, we have a 20 year coach, etc ...

my use of "expectations" (and I believe VT's as well) is actual expectations of this roster vs the rest of the league/country. not theoretical based on us being Richmond and having facilies and money. but the actual players. did we attract better players than the rest of the league. the pundits don't think so. there's upside, but there are question marks. and there's a lot of talent across this league. I bet fans of 13 or more teams think they could be top 4 this year.

No I haven’t had those expectations every year in past. I look at other a10 rosters. When I do a few posters regularly accuse me of being a vcu fan or tell me to go be a fan of them. It’s hard to be an expert on every team roster tho but I definitely like ours. I’m a top 4 for sure guy this season looking at it all.

Yes I absolutely consider the other factors too.

But of course I do expect it way way more than 20%. Is it fair to expect a lot more? I’m asking. Maybe to u it isn’t. From having read your posts for 25 years u strike me as a 20% guy but I could be wrong. U r entitled. However as I’ve stated b4 if your own fans don’t expect a lot who will & u r fighting uphill imo. Heck a lot of ppl in our fanbase don’t even want the expectations. That trickles straight down from our program. Only time we ever make ncaa is with high expectations. Made top 4 only 2 other times under Moon but no ncaa. Our overall fanbase could use a huge attitude shift imo but I have ZERO expectations of that.

 

[GKiller]

“we've been able to keep Richmond as one of the top basketball programs in the nation”

 

[GKiller]

by that method, we should expect to finish 6th every year.

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Our expenses and revenue per player r identical to the dollar. What an amazing believable coincidence!

 

[Long Island Spiders]

Serious question for my fellow fans.

I’ve been reading the board in the background every couple of weeks. If I compare that to previous seasons, it’s way less.

How are you guys able to get past the current state of college sports? Where the almighty dollar is the only thing that seems to matter now? When we are talking about our transfers as opposed to talking about how we can’t wait to see a bench player elevate to a starting role?

 

[spider23]

Yep it's become free agency with one year contracts. Will say it worked out fairly well for us last season, othe than the end obviously, so we at least have some hope that Mooney and UR can operate under this model. But if we finish 8 with a bunch of guys transferring out, it will probably take a toll on my Fandom.

 

[PalmTreeSpidUR]

For me the upcoming season will depend largely on how quickly we develop chemistry and figure out the starting rotation and who subs for who. This used to be one of our primary advantages when we were able to retain players for 3-4-5 years. Last year the chemistry was clearly very good but if we had developed the second part a little quicker we might have put ourselves into position for an at-large. BUT I'm not blaming anyone for that because the more new pieces you have, the longer it takes to figure out.

 

[spiderman]

Serious question for my fellow fans.

I’ve been reading the board in the background every couple of weeks. If I compare that to previous seasons, it’s way less.

How are you guys able to get past the current state of college sports? Where the almighty dollar is the only thing that seems to matter now? When we are talking about our transfers as opposed to talking about how we can’t wait to see a bench player elevate to a starting role?

I have no problem with the new model.

we still have 4 year guys like Dji and probably Walz.
I'm still super excited about our HS recruits like Tanner, Tyne, Soulis, Robinson and McGlothin ... plus Harpe rand Richadson next season.

we used to complain that Mooney didn't embrace the transfer market enough. other teams had much more turnover than us. now he's been forced to adapt and it's worked out well. I've enjoyed the transfers like King and Quinn and Bigelow just as much as the long term guys like Dji. I'll let kids go where they're happy. I don't agree that things were better when the NCAA forced servitude with their restrictions.

 

[VT4700]

Agree, Sman. I love the new model. Best of both worlds for us. We can still go after our top recruits, but instead of adding 4 freshman a year, we can add a couple we really like and grab some already ready transfers with them.

I just want us to win and be relevant, and this new way seems to be working out great for us. The money they get doesn't bother me at all. Why should it? Good for them. It's up to us to find the right guys who will fit our system and be all about the team no matter how much money they get paid.