The one's that got away

[spider23]

As I have been watching the action the last couple of days, noticed many a player we were listed with, or in the final group of schools. I know folks will say we weren't close or they were never going to Richmond, etc. but I do recall some pretty darn good players out there:

Guards
Andrew White (Nebraska) - Enough said. AW + SDJ backcourt? Not bad
Devonte Graham (Kansas) - Great talent. I recall we were in the final group, and he choose Appalachian State. Tried to de-commit and was not released and ended up prepping for a year before going to Kansas. May not have worked out if he had committed to Richmond, but you never know?
Troy Caupain (Cincy) - Great scorer from Richmond. We were listed with him. Who knows? Did we employ same strategy that allowed us to keep Run DMB, Sherod, Marquis, etc. home?
Forwards
Peyton Aldridge (Davidson) - Ended up with Diekvoss instead.

There are some others I can't recall at the moment. I know every team can put together a list like this, but any one of these guys may have tipped the scales in our favor this year.

 

[MolivaManiac]

I'm pretty sure we recruited but never offered the kid Warney from Stony Brook that went off for 43 today.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Alex Caruso has been really good for Texas A&M.

 

[spider23]

I'm pretty sure we recruited but never offered the kid Warney from Stony Brook that went off for 43 today.

Interesting. Saw a tweet that he was not on a sponsored AAU team, not ranked, not highly recruited, etc.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Johnathan Motley averaged 11 and 5 for Baylor.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Wesley Iwundu 11.9 and 4.5 for K State.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Quenton Decosey. 15 and 6 for Temple.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Brandon Taylor. 16.3 and 6.5 for Penn State. Maybe we'll see him in Vegas.

 

[Marley13]

If they aren't at Richmond, who the f cares?

 

[Eight Legger]

I have a very extensive and impressive list of attractive, successful women I attempted to date, but they all rejected me, too. Anyone want to hear it?

The disconnect between the good players we tried and failed to sign and the players we signed in their place is the main reason we are where we are now. It would be one thing if we were a "4" and were only inviting "10s" to the prom. But it seems to me that we're more like a 7 who lacks confidence and we're inviting 9s and 2s. The 9s almost always reject us, and then we settle for the 2s who are left. Either we just haven't been good at recruiting, or the players we want don't like our system. Everything else is in place for us to land some of these guys.

 

[spiderjpo]

This thread is extremely relevant to this year's struggles. We simply did not have enough talent to compete at a high level. Recruiting and identification of players we can sign must continue. My hope is the next two classes will bring better all around players that are not limited in certain skill sets. I think improvement in this area will start with the next two classes based on our committed players. If not, current staff will be in trouble.

 

[SpiderK]

I have a very extensive and impressive list of attractive, successful women I attempted to date, but they all rejected me, too. Anyone want to hear it?

The disconnect between the good players we tried and failed to sign and the players we signed in their place is the main reason we are where we are now. It would be one thing if we were a "4" and were only inviting "10s" to the prom. But it seems to me that we're more like a 7 who lacks confidence and we're inviting 9s and 2s. The 9s almost always reject us, and then we settle for the 2s who are left. Either we just haven't been good at recruiting, or the players we want don't like our system. Everything else is in place for us to land some of these guys.

You think we need a Ferrari and a Rolex to get those 9's? We now know how Pitino got his nines.

 

[SpiderHoops32]

Tavarius Shine, OK State. He's doing pretty well over there, but Travis Ford just got fired so maybe we might get another shot.

 

[SouthJerseySpiderFan]

Plenty of players that could have been Spiders, but for what CM did have this year he clearly underachieved as a coach. Hopefully he puts his thinking cap on this offseason and gets the most out of some fine young talent coming aboard.

 

[97spiderfan]

Plenty of players that could have been Spiders, but for what CM did have this year he clearly underachieved as a coach. Hopefully he puts his thinking cap on this offseason and gets the most out of some fine young talent coming aboard.

Yes, we underachieved this year, but NCAA tournament teams are not built on starting the likes of Deion and Trey. We deluded ourselves into thinking we had the talent of an NCAA team. Those outside the program that picked us 6th had better perspective. But 6th in the A-10 is good enough for an nit bid and we were no where close to that.

 

[97spiderfan]

And I'm most interested in who we sign in the spring. We can't go shopping in the bargain bin like we have the past 2 Springs. Go land a Wesson like talent and a good transfer and we finally have a class to build upon.

 

[spider23]

Tavarius Shine. I remember he attended vcu game and we were feeling good. Ok state swooped in with their t Boone money. 6

 

[Ulla1]

Chris Chiozza, starting point guard for Florida. Chris even started 11 games as a freshman. Currently a sophomore, Chris averages 7.2 points, 3 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 78.8% from the free throw line. Remember when he visited UR. OSC

 

[Ulla1]

Tahj Shamsid-Deen, starting point guard as a freshman at Auburn before being plagued by injuries. OSC

 

[I-M-UR]

I no the problem is Gill, can't or won't fire Mooney. But is the answer hoping we can get better recruits who can cover for Mooney's coaching weakness?

I can't get over that 'maybe the league has figured out our defense' statement. Not only was that obvious to many months ago. It might also say something else about Mooney, After many seasons of playing the same defense he thinks the league may have figured out the defense, Ok so does that imply he hasn't figured out his opponents defenses by now? Or does he think only he can figure out other team's defense and offense but the other coaches are simply incapable of figuring out ours?

 

[Spiderbymarriage]

Almost no matter the scheme, if you have really skilled defenders all on the same page, you can stop even good offenses. There's no secret to UVA's defense, but they play it extremely well. "Figuring out" our defense is a cop out.

 

[SpiderK]

Supposedly we had an excellent chance at getting Ralph Sampson. Just what I heard the Sunshine Biys taking about on Big Al show. Now that is THE one that got away.

 

[64Spider]

I don't buy the "teams have figured out our defense" argument. There are plenty of successful programs out there that have played the same offense/defense for years.
It's about talent. From the above list of misses It looks like we are in on some great talent but just get out worked. Mooney should go with Rocco when he visits a player. Maybe he would learn how to close the deal.

 

[Ulla1]

One thing the Ulla cannot understand: why does it take generally one or two years to learn to play basketball defense? I can understand the time it takes to build up to Physical Chemistry or Integral Calculus, but we are talking "DEFENSE" for crying-out-loud. UR generally gets bright kids who are very coachable, but it takes TWO YEARS to learn to play DEFENSE! I surmised it before but now wish to share it: maybe we need to find a scheme that kids can learn in a month or two. OSC

 

[SpiderK]

One thing the Ulla cannot understand: why does it take generally one or two years to learn to play basketball defense? I can understand the time it takes to build up to Physical Chemistry or Integral Calculus, but we are talking "DEFENSE" for crying-out-loud. UR generally gets bright kids who are very coachable, but it takes TWO YEARS to learn to play DEFENSE! I surmised it before but now wish to share it: maybe we need to find a scheme that kids can learn in a month or two. OSC

The only bad parts to our defense were that we let people drive to the basket at will, didn't guard 3 point line at all, and then didn't rebound if they missed. Other than that, our D was stiff!!!

 

[Eight Legger]

One thing the Ulla cannot understand: why does it take generally one or two years to learn to play basketball defense? I can understand the time it takes to build up to Physical Chemistry or Integral Calculus, but we are talking "DEFENSE" for crying-out-loud. UR generally gets bright kids who are very coachable, but it takes TWO YEARS to learn to play DEFENSE! I surmised it before but now wish to share it: maybe we need to find a scheme that kids can learn in a month or two. OSC

Completely agree with this. It's holding us back.

 

[fan2011]

If our defense is so tough to learn, how can other teams figure it out?

 

[MrTbone]

I no the problem is Gill, can't or won't fire Mooney. But is the answer hoping we can get better recruits who can cover for Mooney's coaching weakness?

I can't get over that 'maybe the league has figured out our defense' statement. Not only was that obvious to many months ago. It might also say something else about Mooney, After many seasons of playing the same defense he thinks the league may have figured out the defense, Ok so does that imply he hasn't figured out his opponents defenses by now? Or does he think only he can figure out other team's defense and offense but the other coaches are simply incapable of figuring out ours?

It could be he doesn't want to throw our guys under the bus by admitting they are poor defenders (plausible, but admittedly an assumption.). The D has historically been good so I don't think it's the system nor do I think it's been "figured out".

I also would note the O has been improving yearly, particularly this year. I don't think CM is omitting or demonstrating any inability to figure out how to beat others defenses. Most often we beat ourselves in this regard with poor shooting.

This boils down to players executing which further boils down to talent. Recruit better, expect better results.