[Kolzilla41]

Take a chill pill jcrew...Im sure that the folks who make these sorts of decisions will be following the team the rest of this year, and if a change is made, that it wont be some knee jerk hire just because some guy on a message board said so or so that they can get a segment on Sportscenter that maybe stays in the rundown 1 or 2 days after the hire

[jcrew4]

Take a chill pill jcrew...Im sure that the folks who make these sorts of decisions will be following the team the rest of this year, and if a change is made, that it wont be some knee jerk hire just because some guy on a message board said so or so that they can get a segment on Sportscenter that maybe stays in the rundown 1 or 2 days after the hire

Do you think they'd actually do that? They'd actually look beyond my grammatical errors and lack of basketball knowledge to consider my opinions. Well then......basketball important people, I'd like to nominate Ron Mullican, a fellow alumni, who threw his share of toilet paper on the court in the now destroyed basketball gym. Ron, with his basketball prowelness, hit a half court shot at half time for a 2 night stay at the Day's Inn of his choice. He's not Isaiah but his son could use a free ride and well I'm thinking he could get them 5 wins with his movational speeches. If they paid him more than the fire department I'm sure he'd stay around awhile.

[adam42381]

On a serious note, this off season should be interesting. You can't stay where your at unless the whole program wants to follow Assinesi to DIII. 339 out of 347. Florida Gulf Coast and Kennasaw State are ahead of us??? Atlantic Sun have any openings???

FGCU is 9-6 against D1 opponents and are inside the top 100 in RPI. They've played a pretty tough schedule so far. The resources are being poured into their athletic program like crazy right now. It's a very young school that is growing at a ridiculous rate. They have really nice facilities and are in a fairly attractive area within 15 minutes of the beach. Unfortunately for them, their campus is surrounded by protected wetlands and wildlife areas so they can't do a lot of campus expansions in the future.

[jcrew4]

On a serious note, this off season should be interesting. You can't stay where your at unless the whole program wants to follow Assinesi to DIII. 339 out of 347. Florida Gulf Coast and Kennasaw State are ahead of us??? Atlantic Sun have any openings???

FGCU is 9-6 against D1 opponents and are inside the top 100 in RPI. They've played a pretty tough schedule so far. The resources are being poured into their athletic program like crazy right now. It's a very young school that is growing at a ridiculous rate. They have really nice facilities and are in a fairly attractive area within 15 minutes of the beach. Unfortunately for them, their campus is surrounded by protected wetlands and wildlife areas so they can't do a lot of campus expansions in the future.

It sounds like maybe you've been there. Since the parents live in Ft. Myers I've seen them play ever Thanksgiving or Christmas the last few years. I saw them this past Thanksgiving. About the best thing they have going for them is their coach (ex FSU Asst I believe) and the weather. The arena is ok but not big. Might hold 2-3k. Typical attendance might be 250 people, atleast the times I've been there. Its a small school with a lousy campus, very broken up. I don't think the school is noted for anything special. They don't play football so I suspect they put their money into their basketball and baseball program. I think they put some money and attention into the program, got a good coach, and their moving in the right direction.

[Bigsouthking]

Okay --- I'm going to stop the hate on Curry.... Upsets me that guys like Curry, Gordon, Luke Davis at GWebb now on UNC roster turns their nose up at schools in the BS that gave them their only D 1 offer to run to better school, all had family connections to do that....I just have way more respect for Stephen Curry for being loyal to Davidson and staying put cause he surely could have transferred as well. The American Way I guess bigger is better...

Comment on the topic, the resource VCU comparison how LU fits that is --- VCU won first, resources attention came second.... Liberty has resources, facilities and waiting on the winning to occur. Bottom line is to win!!! Maybe it starts tonight.

[BJWilliams]

After talking to olldflame, even though the coach he suggested would be a "name hire" (I think a couple people have mentioned that the AD likes to do that), he has very good credentials and certainly could get not only talented kids but talented and solidly Christian kids to give LU more than a cursory thought

[jbock13]

The only thing FGSU has ever been noted for was banning Christmas and all other holidays in 2008.

[Bigsouthking]

Duke draft picks Purple Haize;
Austin Rivers
Kyrie Irving
JJ Redick
Kyle Singler
Josh McRoberts
She den Williams
Duhon, Dunleavy, Jay Williams, Dahntay Jones, Boozer, brand, Magette, Nolan Smith...

Maybe not UNC or Kentucky good, but not bad either.

I'm done with the rant now...

[Purple Haize]

You must be channeling your inner logic because you keep moving the goal posts. At first you said lottery and now you say draft choices. You even tried to bolster your case by citin Irving and Rivers. Even within the lottery there is the 'real' lottery and the rest of the lottery. If you hate Duke that's fine, I get it. I was just pointing out inaccuracies. And even with my apparent lack of basketball knowledge I know you left Shane Battier of the list and he makes your point a out the game being more than scoring!

[Bigsouthking]

Yeah my point was Curry minutes were limited cause of Irving and Rivers which was true...
You said Duke never had any lottery picks... Anyone drafted in top 12 or 13 is lottery pick... Duke has had At least a dozen picked in lottery since '99 and Mason Plumlee will be picked this year...

[adam42381]

It sounds like maybe you've been there. Since the parents live in Ft. Myers I've seen them play ever Thanksgiving or Christmas the last few years. I saw them this past Thanksgiving. About the best thing they have going for them is their coach (ex FSU Asst I believe) and the weather. The arena is ok but not big. Might hold 2-3k. Typical attendance might be 250 people, atleast the times I've been there. Its a small school with a lousy campus, very broken up. I don't think the school is noted for anything special. They don't play football so I suspect they put their money into their basketball and baseball program. I think they put some money and attention into the program, got a good coach, and their moving in the right direction.

I live in Fort Myers and my wife took some grad school classes there. I wouldn't call a school with over 12,000 students a small school. For a school that opened in 1997, they're making tremendous strides. Sure, the arena is small, but it's pretty nice. Heck, Liberty's basketball programs couldn't fill it up either these days. For the record, I actually like the natural, eco-friendly campus environment.

[adam42381]

The only thing FGSU has ever been noted for was banning Christmas and all other holidays in 2008.

They banned holiday decorations from common areas.

[VAGolf]

We need to hire a big time coach to attract some attention! I hear Isaiah Thomas is available.

Pretty sure this was sarcasm but I had to reply to this comment. Hiring a big name coach is the last thing we need to do. To an extent, that's what we've done with McKay and Layer. Both coaches coached at big programs and enjoyed at least a bit of success. If we decide to release Layer, we need to grab a coach from a small school. Maybe even dip into NAIA or DIII. This sounds crazy but my philosophy is that we need a coach who has done more with less and is familiar with the area. If this season ends on a sour note, I would blame it on not getting kids from the area. On our basketball roster, only one player is from the state of Virginia yet three are international. There's nothing wrong with getting kids from across the country or even not in the country, but I still think we should try and get the local talent. There are several great basketball schools in the state and some very solid D1 prospects come from the area. Maybe it's just me but if we do release Layer, I would suggest we hire someone who has been coaching at a small school and is knows this area well. Am I too crazy for thinking this?

[BJWilliams]

Not a crazy thought at all VAGolf...It would be good to have someone who knows this area well and can not only tap high schools but also places like Hargrave and Fork Union Military Academy and is a good developer of talent as you suggest

[jcrew4]

It sounds like maybe you've been there. Since the parents live in Ft. Myers I've seen them play ever Thanksgiving or Christmas the last few years. I saw them this past Thanksgiving. About the best thing they have going for them is their coach (ex FSU Asst I believe) and the weather. The arena is ok but not big. Might hold 2-3k. Typical attendance might be 250 people, atleast the times I've been there. Its a small school with a lousy campus, very broken up. I don't think the school is noted for anything special. They don't play football so I suspect they put their money into their basketball and baseball program. I think they put some money and attention into the program, got a good coach, and their moving in the right direction.

I live in Fort Myers and my wife took some grad school classes there. I wouldn't call a school with over 12,000 students a small school. For a school that opened in 1997, they're making tremendous strides. Sure, the arena is small, but it's pretty nice. Heck, Liberty's basketball programs couldn't fill it up either these days. For the record, I actually like the natural, eco-friendly campus environment.

Wow, I would have never guessed there were 12k students there. I'm assuming a majority must be commuters. Honestly if my son couldn't play baseball at a larger program I'd be happy for him to go to FGCU. You live in a great town. There's a few Liberty people down there. Seems like every Thanksgiving I'm down we go see Naples High play someone in the state playoffs. I went to school when their coach was at Liberty a long time ago. He's got a great program there.

[jcrew4]

We need to hire a big time coach to attract some attention! I hear Isaiah Thomas is available.

Pretty sure this was sarcasm but I had to reply to this comment. Hiring a big name coach is the last thing we need to do. To an extent, that's what we've done with McKay and Layer. Both coaches coached at big programs and enjoyed at least a bit of success. If we decide to release Layer, we need to grab a coach from a small school. Maybe even dip into NAIA or DIII. This sounds crazy but my philosophy is that we need a coach who has done more with less and is familiar with the area. If this season ends on a sour note, I would blame it on not getting kids from the area. On our basketball roster, only one player is from the state of Virginia yet three are international. There's nothing wrong with getting kids from across the country or even not in the country, but I still think we should try and get the local talent. There are several great basketball schools in the state and some very solid D1 prospects come from the area. Maybe it's just me but if we do release Layer, I would suggest we hire someone who has been coaching at a small school and is knows this area well. Am I too crazy for thinking this?

Lots of sarcasm in that statement.

I think there's alot of great coaches sitting in the asst coaches chair that would love a shot at a head coaching job. Seems to me that if you can't get the job done on the recruiting trail it won't matter what kind of coach you are. I'm not sure who's fault it is but it would appear that that's part of Liberty's problem now.

[olldflame]

I wouldn´t say you are crazy, but I would disagree about placing too much emphasis on local recruiting. The area doesn´t produce that much D1 basketball talent anyway, and the few really good ones who want to stay in state are not likely to turn down the likes of UVA, VT, GMU and VCU to come to Liberty. The the more borderline players are just that, and often only come because those other schools didn´t offer. Add to that the need for young men who can feel at home in the environment at LU and I personally favor a more national recruiting approach focusing in on players who are legit D1 caliber, but are also attracted to what makes LU distinctive.

[bigsmooth]

i would prefer a young top assistant over a name "older coach" and then bring in some "LU guys" as assistants. Those guys could help sell the school and the environment. My first call would be to Julius Nwosu. He could get the Nigerian pipeline running again. There are plenty of ex-players coaching. I also firmly believe we need to recruit better in state. Big example is not reaching out to Andrew Rowsey from Rockbridge who signed with UNCA. What about VCU's Troy Daniels a William Fleming grad, or Jamelle Hagins another Fleming grad playing at Delaware? both are doing dang good at those CAA schools. Bee-jay is right too that we should be tapping into the military schools in virginia like Hargrave, FUMA, and Massanutten. Not all of their post-grad players go to major schools. Also, the strong private schools in VA., Benedictine, etc. which have produced plenty of mid major players, VES, Blue Ridge, Miller School, etc. Sly will counter and say we are a national school, but my philosophy is start in-state. We have a decent arena, new practice facility, and a growing school. we should be better.

[olldflame]

Do you know for a fact that we did not go after Rowsey Smooth?

[bigsmooth]

not a 100% fact, but have heard no, but when schools were listed who were recruiting and offered him it was always Radford, UNCA and VMI was interested. he is a good kid you can flat out play and UNCA will reap the benefits.

[Purple Haize]

The word on the street is that we didn't feel Rowsey would be an upgrade over what we have. There is a joke about drugs but I will refrain. The fact that CVA DOESN'T produce that much D1 talent makes that much more imperative we make a play for them and sign them. This goes for all sports btw.
I've always been a fan of moving someone up from D2 or NAIA because when they see our facilities they would appreciate it more and they would also have experience being creative in recruiting.

[VAGolf]

I've always been a fan of moving someone up from D2 or NAIA because when they see our facilities they would appreciate it more and they would also have experience being creative in recruiting.

Absolutely agree with this.

I do understand the whole argument about central va not being a great recruiting location but I don't like having to depend on national or international recruiting for a majority of our recruits. There is still talent in Virginia Beach, MD and NC. I would just prefer a more regional approach.

[scuzdriver]

With the way this season is going, getting any quality recruits from anywhere will be tough. If LU is going to make a change it needs to be sooner rather than later.

[NotAJerry]

I've always been a fan of moving someone up from D2 or NAIA because when they see our facilities they would appreciate it more and they would also have experience being creative in recruiting.

Absolutely agree with this.

I do understand the whole argument about central va not being a great recruiting location but I don't like having to depend on national or international recruiting for a majority of our recruits. There is still talent in Virginia Beach, MD and NC. I would just prefer a more regional approach.

Don't forget DC and even northern VA for hoops talent. Both Maryland and George Mason have had starters in recent years from public schools in Prince William County. Even this year, Maryland has a freshman from Fredericksburg who is putting up 22 minutes and 8 points a game.

It's amazing to me that we seem to be incapable of finding kids who can hit open shots regularly. This year's team gets a lot of good looks at the basket and misses way more than they have any business missing. Unless we get another random late season run, it looks like a new coach will be here and it's going to have to be someone who either does a better job identifying talent or a better job developing it.

[Bigsouthking]

Not a Jerry,

Your 2nd paragraph is way off basis... Liberty leads the Big South in 3 point FG%. They have 5 guys that are stand still shooters..