[kel varson]

yes, next year the bsc should get at least 3 teams in the big dance. Probably a fourth on the bubble.

[thepostman]

yes, next year the bsc should get at least 3 teams in the big dance. Probably a fourth on the bubble.

this is a joke right??? I hope so....

[Realist]

Why would he NOT pass on S. Florida...
...the southern schools in the Big East (Miami and VT) never did well in basketball...my theory is the southern guys did not want to play in a conference where family and friends would not get to travel...so they lost out on some good recruits. I don't see USF ever doing anything in the Big East other than being bottom feeders.

There is a ton of basketball talent in the deep south and kids from the northeast don't mind going to school down in Florida. The USF program is up and coming. The USF administration is committed to winning in both football and basketball and this would have been a great opportunity for Marshall. Unless he somehow emerges as a canidate for the Arkansas job, which is highly doubtful, then Marshall made a huge career mistake. He will never be hotter than he is right now. And don't be surprised if Marshall is being labled by some AD's after turning down nearly one million dollars a year to coach in the Big East. Ironically enough, South Florida's big win this year was against a ranked Notre Dame team, which also happens to be the biggest feather in Greg Marshall's cap.

Oddly enough, South Florida actually ended up with a much better coach after Heath was let go at Arkansas.

Stan Heath jumped right on the opportunity to coach at South Florida and his resume far surpasses Marshall's. There are many who feel that Heath will have USF in postseason contention in the not too distant future.

Paradox,

What happened to LU beating WU this year? You said it was going to happen. You also said that Martin and Bradshaw weren't that good, but now WU is weak without them? Are you running for office?

He turned down the USF job b/c the USF job simply isn't as good as the Winthrop job now. Sure it's the Big East, but USF isn't going anywhere. It's going to take a really good job to get him away from a good job.

Good luck with Mckay, he is a pretty big question mark.

[SuperJon]

yes, next year the bsc should get at least 3 teams in the big dance. Probably a fourth on the bubble.

Funniest thing I've ever read on here.

[paradox]

Realist:

Sure, I talked up LU early this past year. That's what most fans do.

As far as Martin goes, I stated that he was the best ever to play in the Big South. That has been my position all along and that is why he was the focus of my early trash-talking.

As far as Bradshaw goes, I have nothing but respect for his game. I've never rated him publically before, but for what it's worth, and as a longtime LU fan, I regard him as among the top three all-around big man ever to play in the Big South. Arguably, he may even be the best big man ever to play in this conference.

It's true that Marshall tends to re-load every year and I'm sure that you guys will be competitive for as long as he is there. However, bringing in another Bradshaw and Martin will be a tall task. At LU, we've been waiting thirteen years for the next Hildebrand, and the last time that I checked, he's failed to show up every year since '94. I guess we were just lucky to have had him. Players like Martin and Bradshaw take things to a higher level and come around once a decade or two in the Big South terms, if you're lucky.

[thesportscritic]

yes, next year the bsc should get at least 3 teams in the big dance. Probably a fourth on the bubble.

you're kidding me right?

[fsn32]

yes, next year the bsc should get at least 3 teams in the big dance. Probably a fourth on the bubble.

If people thought you were serious they need to get a humor transplant

[Knucklehead]

yes, next year the bsc should get at least 3 teams in the big dance. Probably a fourth on the bubble.

If people thought you were serious they need to get a humor transplant

He was talking Ball room dancing. A lot of the Big South Schools are HUGE in rug cutting!

[TIMSCAR20]

Paradox,

I think WU will be very competitive next year. They do re-load and I know that some of the guys they have coming in will be great big south players. Randy Peele does a great job in bringing in players. WU, like LU has 2 head coaches on their staff (Peele, Marshall for WU, Layer, McKay for Lib). They will be fine but you are right about Martin and Bradshaw. Tough to replace. I have to disagree about Hildo and Martin though. I think Liberty has had much better players come through the door since Hildo. What Matt has is a leadership intangible that is tough to duplicate but in terms of good guards, we have had a few = or better than Matt. Jackson, White, Woodson, Blair, Dees, to name a few. As far as Martin being the best WU player ever? I'd give the nod to Greg Lewis from about 6 or 7 seasons back. Pure athlete with decent skills. He was a high major player.

[paradox]

Scar:

We agree on Randy Peele. He is a huge asset. LU, on the other hand, has both Soucie and Layer to go along with R-McKay. LU's staff is as strong as any ever seen in this conference.

As far as Hildebrand goes, his 18 pts per game along his 5 assists during his senior season is just flat out hard to beat in my estimation. When we factor in the intagibiles including his tenacity and leadership, he stands alone at the top as far as I'm concerned.

Also, it's interesting that you mentioned Greg Lewis. He's the only other Winthrop guard that can be compared to Martin, but Martin led them to an NCAA win, and he'll get a look from the pros, so I gotta give the nod to Martin.

[TIMSCAR20]

Good point about Martin although Lewis never had a Bradshaw and Williams to play with. If I were going to a gym in a pick up game or if I were recruiting a 3 for the big south, I would take Lewis 1st. I love Torrell's game don't get me wrong and he does some things better than Lewis but I would take Lewis. Just an opinion though. As far as Hildo I agree as I mentioned about his intangibles and leadership abilities as well as being a stand out Liberty kid. In terms of all those things there has not been another Hildo. In terms of straight basketball skills we have had some really nice perimeters come in over the years.

[paradox]

What I like most about Martin is that he has a strong all-around game and he's team-oriented. He could probally score 20-30 every game if that was his target, but like him or not, he's all about winning.

As far as Greg Lewis is concerned, he is probally the first truly great player to emerge from the Marshall era. You make a valid point involving WU's current level of talent versus the team that Lewis played on. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall Lewis as either a walk-on or a very late signee. So, in a sense, they were very fortunate to have had him.

[WinthropEagleFan]

What I like most about Martin is that he has a strong all-around game and he's team-oriented. He could probally score 20-30 every game if that was his target, but like him or not, he's all about winning.

As far as Greg Lewis is concerned, he is probally the first truly great player to emerge from the Marshall era. You make a valid point involving WU's current level of talent versus the team that Lewis played on. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall Lewis as either a walk-on or a very late signee. So, in a sense, they were very fortunate to have had him.

Greg Lewis was a very late signee (right before the semester started or something like that).