Verbinskis?
- Thread starter CarolinaSpider
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Mooney meant to get him some minutes...He just needs to do a little better job remembering to put him into the games.
Tomas seems like the forgotten man. I'll tell you what, the article by JOC is pretty damning if you ask me, talking about the transfers. Back when I was in school (I walked to class uphill both ways through 2ft of snow), we had to worry about guys transferring out b/c they might jump up in level. Or were pretty damn good with guys in front of them. Now we are back to starting 4 guards and one big guy and zero bench. I really like our top 6 but they have ZERO competition for playing time. I think these are motivated talented players, but when you bring in top recruits and have depth, it gives you a little more motivation - that is hard to create. The old "I need to do a better job getting player X in the game" is really really getting tiresome. Either you are flat out lying, or just not very good at your job, or delegating certain tasks during the game to assistants. It's crazy the same answers year after year after year.
Our bench is really pretty poor. If we are thinking of redshirting 3 of our players because they can't get playing time against the rest of our bench, that to me smells like many of our past redshirts.
You could see this coming a mile away. Verbinski, Scheinder, AJ, all were very lightly recruited.
Yeah, at least JOC wrote something to somewhat tear down the "woe-is-me" notion about how young we are. But he made it seem like the problem was that those guys transferred out – when of course the problem is that they never should have been here in the first place. He's a bit limited in how he can convey that, though, I guess, unless he can find some recruiting expert to ridicule how bad those guys were. Mooney's not going to say that, and JOC can't write it himself in a piece like that.
I will add that this narrative about this OOC schedule being our hardest ever under Mooney or in team history is complete garbage. We've played one really good team so far and a couple that are above average. We don't play any other OOC games against teams that are likely to make the NCAAs, with the possible exception of Bucknell. In total, I'd say three of our OOC opponents have strong chances to make the NCAAs. I know we have played harder schedules than that, so stop with the BS.
I will add that this narrative about this OOC schedule being our hardest ever under Mooney or in team history is complete garbage. We've played one really good team so far and a couple that are above average. We don't play any other OOC games against teams that are likely to make the NCAAs, with the possible exception of Bucknell. In total, I'd say three of our OOC opponents have strong chances to make the NCAAs. I know we have played harder schedules than that, so stop with the BS.
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That is so devastating from a roster management standpoint. I know we are beating a dead horse with negative posts but this just shouldn't happen with a head coach in his 13th year. These recruiting "misses" just cause a cycle of having to bring in transfers and fill those holes every year. We have to bring in freshmen who are at least ready to play bench minutes and contribute some right away in A-10 play.
I know its somewhat of an apples to oranges comparison (football to basketball) but roster management is one of the many reasons that Dave Clawson is such a good program builder and HC. The guy identities recruits that can play at his team's level and then recruits the right amount of guys so that there is a balanced roster and never a panic situation where one position group is lacking.
I assume they are saying it is toughest OOC because they are looking at the avg. 4x RPI 175/4x RPI 100/4x RPI 80 is a better average than 4x RPI 300/4x RPI 120/4x RPI 40 , but isn't a tougher effective schedule.
Given how the season is going, they might as well give Verbinskis some PT and let him develop a bit. Otherwise, we have another redshirt who will essentially be an untested freshman next year, not to mention the roster/recruiting imbalance and potential transfer problems it causes.
Actually noticed something weird on Saturday vs G'Town. Verbinskis was wearing our old shorts from last year. Guess we don't have enough uniforms for our guys?
Maybe so. However you slice it, I wouldn't rank this OOC schedule as even among our toughest under Mooney.
2015: West Virginia, Cal, Florida, Northern Iowa, ODU, Texas Tech
2013: Minnesota, UNC, Belmont, Wake Forest, Ohio, Florida
2011: Davidson, Illinois, VCU, Wake Forest, Iona, Bucknell, UCLA
2010: Iona, Purdue, ODU, Arizona State, VCU, Georgia Tech, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, Bucknell
2009: Mississippi State, Missouri, ODU, VCU, South Carolina, Florida, Wake Forest, Bucknell
I mean, most of those seem more difficult to me than this year, even with a few sub-250 teams mixed in.
I agree they are wrong about the toughest. But it almost seems like they are looking at our 4 easiest OOC opponents this year as being tougher than any other 4 easiest OOC opponents in previous years.
They should be looking at the 4 toughest opponents to determine toughest schedule instead.
Difference between 30 and 60 is much more meaningful than 230 vs 260...
we're still sticking with this? watching Golden, can we please toss away the notion that guys can't progress in a red shirt year or if they aren't getting a lot of playing time?
not only did Grant miss almost the entire year last season, he also went through physical and then mental stuff that no red shirt should ever have to go through. and yet Grant's a totally different player this year from what we saw in small doses last season. you can develop by working hard in practice, in the weight room, and by getting coached up. the year isn't wasted.
Grant wouldn't have redshirted last year except for the medical issue. Grant was good enough from day one to play. These other guys obviously are not. They all were lightly recruited, didn't put up big numbers in high school, and were way down on our wish list of players. So, yes, they will get better, every player does, but that doesn't make them A-10 quality players next year.
I'd be willing to give Mooney and these guys the benefit of the doubt had I not seen this scenario play out far too many times in the past 6 years.
+1 Spiderman. Golden is a very good example of the potential benefits of a red-shirt year. He would have played some last year, if healthy, but also would have had to sit behind TJ, and earned limited minutes. This RS was a very wise one, and one that no one on this board will regret.
Red-shirting Thomas is probably a very good idea, so that he can come in next season with a much better understanding of our offense and defense. He will likely be one of our top 5 3-point marksmen when he plays next season, but he would earn 0-4 minutes per game this year if we burn his shirt. I beleive he should only play if our 3-point shooting stays totally cold for the next month (won't happen), or if we learn that Khwan or JJ are not recovering well from their injuries.
Regarding OOC schedule.. One of our posters can probably do the research on actual schedule difficulty, at an appropriate future date, but this OOC may be our toughest in reality but one of our easiest in terms of "name-recognition." Just because no one has heard of our opponents (like Vermont) does not make them bad teams. Some research, that takes place in January, will likely support this as one of the 2-3 toughest OOC schedules we have had in the past 13 years (Mooney's tenure). The question can't be definitively answered until we have more data, and more games are played, and that will take time.
Red-shirting Thomas is probably a very good idea, so that he can come in next season with a much better understanding of our offense and defense. He will likely be one of our top 5 3-point marksmen when he plays next season, but he would earn 0-4 minutes per game this year if we burn his shirt. I beleive he should only play if our 3-point shooting stays totally cold for the next month (won't happen), or if we learn that Khwan or JJ are not recovering well from their injuries.
Regarding OOC schedule.. One of our posters can probably do the research on actual schedule difficulty, at an appropriate future date, but this OOC may be our toughest in reality but one of our easiest in terms of "name-recognition." Just because no one has heard of our opponents (like Vermont) does not make them bad teams. Some research, that takes place in January, will likely support this as one of the 2-3 toughest OOC schedules we have had in the past 13 years (Mooney's tenure). The question can't be definitively answered until we have more data, and more games are played, and that will take time.
You can do all the research you want, but this year's OOC schedule is nothing like 2009, 2010, or even 2015. The reason it is so difficult this year is because we are not very good. Our strong OOC schedule and record in 2010 is the chief reason we got the seeding we got as an at-large in the 2011 NCAA's.
Grant is a perfect example of the level of recruit we need to be getting. He was literally on the court last season when his medical issue was discovered...and he was surely going to get minutes off the bench in a reserve capacity as the season progressed. Guys like Grant and Gilyard are not the problem. It's the numerous other "projects" that redshirt, never get any minutes, and then transfer out to smaller programs only to be replaced by older transfers from other lower programs that have to learn Mooney's system and then are only here for a year or so. If we want to be in the mix for the top 3-4 spots in the A-10 every year then we need to be bringing in freshmen who are talented enough to play reserve minutes right away. That way you have a young bench that improves as the season goes along and a bunch of experienced, confident players going into the next season.
Verb may have told the staff he is only staying 4 years. Having said that, he is the best of the 3 "red shirts" at this point. He played the best in practice. Bryce has been nursing an ankle sprain and needs 20lbs. AJ just doesn't get it yet. These 3 could be very nice players in their junior and senior year, hopefully before.
I don't know why I'm arguing about this (maybe to take my mind off the current situation) and I agree it is incredible spin, but...
2010 OOC included
Kenpom/team/wins (old RPI takes more work)
317 VMI 10
298 Longwood 12
253 UNCG 8
248 UTC 15
246 Bucknell 14
212 UNCW 9
This year it appears our 5 weakest OOC opponents are
259 JMU
223 Delaware
145 UAB
116 ULL
113 JSU
I agree playing number 175 vs number 225 isn't meaningfully different, while playing number 40 vs number 90 is huge. But it allows marketing to state how tough our schedule is.
Grant showed a lot of promise last year and was getting meaningful minutes in the games before his injury. Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that guys who aren't good enough to break this lineup are magically going to become Grant next year.
never said these red shirts were going to become the next Golden.
but Grant was playing 7 mpg and scoring 2 ppg in 9 games last season. he was 1-5 from 3 and 3-9 from the FT line. a lot of the difference is opportunity change, but he's also a totally different guy out there. he developed, even with all that went on with him. players can become better players with a red shirt year.
Which is normal for college basketball. 40% of all men's basketball players who enter Division I directly out of high school leave their initial school by the end of their sophomore year. Why expect to see anything different here?
