A Sea Of Red

This player Aquino looks good. LU will have to continue to recruit foreign players to help boost the program to another level. This maybe the way to go because LU can’t seem to get the 3-4-star recruits with good size and athleticism.

Great name for a shot blocker.

ECC29 wrote: ↑April 11th, 2024, 10:02 pm This player Aquino looks good. LU will have to continue to recruit foreign players to help boost the program to another level. This maybe the way to go because LU can’t seem to get the 3-4-star recruits with good size and athleticism.

This may be the way to go because foreign players can’t make NIL money. Higher level foreign players might end up at lower level schools if the high level schools are filling up their rosters by throwing around NIL money.

stokesjokes wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 5:45 am

ECC29 wrote: ↑April 11th, 2024, 10:02 pm This player Aquino looks good. LU will have to continue to recruit foreign players to help boost the program to another level. This maybe the way to go because LU can’t seem to get the 3-4-star recruits with good size and athleticism.

This may be the way to go because foreign players can’t make NIL money. Higher level foreign players might end up at lower level schools if the high level schools are filling up their rosters by throwing around NIL money.

There are very good reasons why we cut back on recruiting international athletes, which could be summarized by saying "the juice was no longer worth the squeeze". It does appear that, at least for the present time, it may now be a viable option.

******

I heard there is a Christian Academy (high school level) in Nigeria that has a very basketball program. There are a lot of good basketball academies all over Europe that can be a good source for players.

Sorry, very good basketball program.

ECC29 wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 6:53 am I heard there is a Christian Academy (high school level) in Nigeria that has a very basketball program. There are a lot of good basketball academies all over Europe that can be a good source for players.

I think I can say with some certainty that there is more than one such school (with widely varying definitions of "Christian", as well as widely varying levels of competence in the coaching). In addition, there is an extensive club system, somewhat equivalent to AAU here. We hit the jackpot in the early 90's, getting Nwosu and Aluma out of the club system. This was followed by years of frustration getting players who wanted to come through the NCAA clearinghouse and numerous other hurdles.

The last straw was a 7 foot center we signed to a NIL in RD's last year. When he "left" we actually retained a Nigerian assistant coach he had hired specifically to be our contact with this player, We were never able to get him on campus, and when Ritchie arrived for his first stint, he decided it wasn't worth it, hired his own assistants, and focused on recruiting his own players. Greg Marshall, who had just left Winthrop for Wichita State, scooped up that assistant coach, and they labored for over 2 years before finally getting him in the fold (after a year of JUCO). Can't remember the name, but he was a physical freak of an athlete who never developed any significant skills as a basketball player and played 10-15 minutes a game off the bench for the Shockers, just for his rebounding and shot blocking. As far as I am aware, neither Layer or McKay have devoted any effort to pursuing Nigerian players since.

As far as the possibilities of our taking advantage of the current situation, I actually think Europe presents better options to get players who can make us better.

For the benefit of all you gringos, "aqui no", translated to English, is "not here". Don't know how much of a shot blocker he is, but it would be a great chant for the students any time he rejects one. Maybe with a Mutombo finger wag thrown in,

Give me 5 Tomasz Gielos and we could rule the world

stokesjokes wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 10:56 am Give me 5 Tomasz Gielos and we could rule the world

If you are actually suggesting those 5 be on the floor at the same time............. I'd take a pass on that. 5 on the roster with some other pieces (2 solid guards and a couple of stud defenders) would be formidable.

Thomasz is an awesome dude, but I was not the biggest fan of his game. He had an impressive offensive skill set for 6'9'" but played a lot of matador defense and committed too many turnovers. The only thing he did better than Cleveland does was shooting the 3, and Zach is a MUCH better defender. I would also give Zach a bit of an edge as a ball handler and passer, but he turns it over too much as well.

stokesjokes has gotten me to thinking. If you could put 5 replicas of any past or present Liberty player on the court at the same time, which "lineup" would be the best? I have a pretty strong opinion on this one.

I can’t speak of anyone before my time, but I’m going to go off the list of usual suspects here and say Anthony Smith. Great athlete, decent size, can handle and shoot.

olldflame wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 2:49 pm

stokesjokes wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 10:56 am Give me 5 Tomasz Gielos and we could rule the world

If you are actually suggesting those 5 be on the floor at the same time............. I'd take a pass on that. 5 on the roster with some other pieces (2 solid guards and a couple of stud defenders) would be formidable.

Thomasz is an awesome dude, but I was not the biggest fan of his game. He had an impressive offensive skill set for 6'9'" but played a lot of matador defense and committed too many turnovers. The only thing he did better than Cleveland does was shooting the 3, and Zach is a MUCH better defender. I would also give Zach a bit of an edge as a ball handler and passer, but he turns it over too much as well.

I’ll take 5 6’9” guys with that many skills in their tool box and win a lot of games. I’d take that team

olldflame wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 3:33 pm stokesjokes has gotten me to thinking. If you could put 5 replicas of any past or present Liberty player on the court at the same time, which "lineup" would be the best? I have a pretty strong opinion on this one.

5 Bailey Alstons would be fun to watch for sure.

stokesjokes wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 9:24 pm I can’t speak of anyone before my time, but I’m going to go off the list of usual suspects here and say Anthony Smith. Great athlete, decent size, can handle and shoot.

Smitty would be #2 on my list. My #1 is someone you would also have also seen play, and IMHO, it really isn't very close.

The suspense! Tell us!

flamehunter wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 9:37 pm

olldflame wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 3:33 pm stokesjokes has gotten me to thinking. If you could put 5 replicas of any past or present Liberty player on the court at the same time, which "lineup" would be the best? I have a pretty strong opinion on this one.

5 Bailey Alstons would be fun to watch for sure.

Depends on your definition of "fun".
I'll channel SCAR on this one and ask 2 questions.
1. Who plays defense?
2. Who passes the ball?

For the record, Baily is probably my favorite LU player ever.

stokesjokes wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 10:10 pm The suspense! Tell us!

PG Caleb Homesley
SG Caleb Homesley
SF Caleb Homesley
PF Caleb Homesley
C Caleb Homesley

He actually logged substantial minutes at all 5 positions. Even if we had Georgie or Lovell in the game, the ball was usually in his hands as the shot clock ran down. He was incredibly long and played a lot bigger than his 6'6" listed height, but had great feet and could stay in front of almost anyone, and when a smaller guard did beat him off the dribble, he could still make it tough to finish trailing the play because of his length. His Sophomore year, before tearing his ACL, he was leading the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and blocks.

That’s who I thought you’d say. You could make a case for three of the guys on that team, honestly. Myo had good guard skills and showed at the end of his career that he could step out and shoot, so he could be versatile enough. If we’re counting what they showed after college, you’d have to take a look at a roster full of Scottie Jameses.

The thing about a hypothetical like this is it has to be someone who can shoot the 3, because you can hide 1 (maybe 2) who can't (like Cleveland or James), but obviously not 5 (especially on a Ritchie McKay team). Same thing applies to defense. No SCAR to cover up for Bailey's matador D. Just another Baily playing matador D.

I actually think a 5 Kyle Rode lineup would have a lot going for it. We would struggle to stay in front of quick guards, but the Kyle who got beat off the dribble would have 4 really good team defenders to cover for him. offensively he can shoot, handle, pass, and does not turn it over a lot.

Yeah, that’s why I said I’d make a case for James if you include after college. I just looked- he shot about 400 threes this season in China, made 37%.

olldflame wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 3:33 pm If you could put 5 replicas of any past or present Liberty player on the court at the same time, which "lineup" would be the best? I have a pretty strong opinion on this one.

Has to be 5 Carter McMasters! Can you imagine a 6'11" guy making a high screen pass to himself under the basket? And he loved shooting the three! By choosing LU, Carter turned down a full scholarship to play for the Vols.

olldflame wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 10:12 pm

flamehunter wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 9:37 pm

olldflame wrote: ↑April 12th, 2024, 3:33 pm stokesjokes has gotten me to thinking. If you could put 5 replicas of any past or present Liberty player on the court at the same time, which "lineup" would be the best? I have a pretty strong opinion on this one.

5 Bailey Alstons would be fun to watch for sure.

Depends on your definition of "fun".
I'll channel SCAR on this one and ask 2 questions.
1. Who plays defense?
2. Who passes the ball?

For the record, Baily is probably my favorite LU player ever.

What you say is true but if you have 5 guys averaging 35-40 per game, how much defense do you need? lol
Also, he'd be more generous with the passing since he's throwing it to himself.

Looks like both Jaylen Davis and Ben Southerland are still looking for a home. My guess at this point is that a couple of D2 teams ( or maybe JUCOs) will get a talented player.