[bballfan84]

guys dont get your hopes up..it is not going to happen. there is too much left on his contract. it would be extremely costly to Liberty to fire him and bring in another expensive coach!!

[adam42381]

But, Liberty has more money than they can spend right now!

[bballfan84]

still gotta be smart with that money

[Purple Haize]

still gotta be smart with that money

Never stopped us before KK has a nice chunk of change left on his contract as well.

[VAGolf]

Maybe it's just me but I'm still confused as to the downside to firing Layer now, if that's the direction we're headed. Is the only downside a bad rest of the season? If so, who cares? Make a statement, start the search early and get a good candidate before anyone else has the chance to steal him. Again, I'm not going to pretend to have some infinite knowledge of college basketball, I definitely don't. I just know a struggling organization when I see one.

On the other hand, I still contend that letting Layer finish out his contract (which goes through next season I believe) may be the best option. I would think the coaching options would be better after we've accepted a bid to a better conference. I understand we could still be in the Big South this time next year but I would rather take that risk.

If we do fire Layer this year, I really hope we at least consider some NAIA coaches. There are some great coaches at that level who have done way more with way less.

[Purple Haize]

You would have to assume someone is available now who we want. Also, you would have the inmates running the asylum so to speak. You have no one with 'gravitas' to hold the team together until the end of the season. Plus, you still have a fighters chance with him still coaching.

[Kolzilla41]

Plus, who would coach, Bryan Joyce?

[ballah09]

ok. for those who think Layer should get another year, tell me where the team is going to improve? replacing speaks with another slow white guy (sorry but thats what the scouting report says on Kermite). and Burris, while good, doesn't have a Seth Curry impact. Liberty even loses more athleticism on the perimeter, if thats possible!.


Layer should be fired when the season comes to the end. money shouldnt be a problem for them since they have it and winning and exposure is important to them, so they say. Barber should then go after an up and coming top asst. coach from a winning team, no mediocre big name coach.

[flamehunter]

What is the timetable for the ECU hiring? If JB goes, that could really delay any changes in the coaching job. Doubtful JB would fire Layer as he heads out the door.

[PAmedic]

The Longwood Lunatics have to put Longwood in their name because they know they'd never compare to The LUnatics.

I'm done.

I still wear my t-shirts around the house

my wife won't let me go out in them.

something about the creepy guy in his 40's wearing a college kid shirt.

yet another reason for MrsSJ to love me.

[BJWilliams]

As I asked in another thread, with the talk around this section of the board, would it be fair to say that we have given up on the team (at least for this season)?

[PAmedic]

yes

[VAGolf]

ok. for those who think Layer should get another year, tell me where the team is going to improve? replacing speaks with another slow white guy (sorry but thats what the scouting report says on Kermite). and Burris, while good, doesn't have a Seth Curry impact. Liberty even loses more athleticism on the perimeter, if thats possible!.


Layer should be fired when the season comes to the end. money shouldnt be a problem for them since they have it and winning and exposure is important to them, so they say. Barber should then go after an up and coming top asst. coach from a winning team, no mediocre big name coach.

I think you're missing it. Our focus shouldn't be on how much we improve next year or on our performance next season. I would gladly take one more terrible year for a better coach. If we wait one more season, possibly we receive an invite to an FBS conference. If we receive that invite, we will have a lot more options than what we have now. You might be able to get a decent coach this year but you'll have more options next season. Again, positives are, save money, more options. Negatives are, you possibly have another bad season.

Honestly, I don't think it's a huge deal either way. I just see a lot of positives to sticking with Layer for one more season.

[LUconn]

We have A LOT of people graduating after next year. Plus who will Layer be recruiting next year in a lame duck season? If you let Layer coach out his contract and don't give him an extension, you are killing the guy hired in 2 years or Dale if he's retained. We at least have a veteran team next year and would possibly have something to build on if you have a coach with a future. Whether it's Layer or someone else.

[VAGolf]

We have A LOT of people graduating after next year. Plus who will Layer be recruiting next year in a lame duck season? If you let Layer coach out his contract and don't give him an extension, you are killing the guy hired in 2 years or Dale if he's retained. We at least have a veteran team next year and would possibly have something to build on if you have a coach with a future. Whether it's Layer or someone else.

Valid points and you're probably right. However, I believe that the right coach for our program isn't someone who will have to depend on what the previous coach left him. It might take a few years for said coach to succeed but eventually they'll find a way. I just really don't mind putting up with another 3-4 years of mediocre basketball if a coach can develop us into a winner.

[olldflame]

New coaches always have to depend to some extent on what is left them. You can selectively cut out some dead wood to bring in your own guys, but in a situation like we are in, it´s not possible to ¨clean house¨. This is why you hear so often that any new coach deserves at least 3 or 4 years to show what they can do with their own recruits.

[BJWilliams]

olldflame is right...with a sport like football you can make a coaching change and be able to "clean house" without it having as much of an effect, but with basketball (especially where we are at), if you clean house as far as the players are concerned, it pretty much kills any ability to create chemistry. Regardless of what happens after this year coachingwise, you do not want to have a "fire sale" on the player front

[4everfsu]

Football coaching change,clearing house, just look at GW and tell me it did not have much of an effect.

[BJWilliams]

Let's see how much it affects on field results...remember, we had a significant coaching change for 2006 and it yielded very good results

[jbock13]

Are we seriously talking about chemistry? We have never had any!!! Half the team leaves every year, and since Layer can't recruit, he finds JUCO players who only have two years or less of eligibility, and even then some of them leave.

When we have a coach who can actually recruit four year players, then get back to me about team chemistry.

(FYI: I know some will still transfer, but just not as many as right now.)

[olldflame]

[quote="jbock13"]Are we seriously talking about chemistry? We have never had any!!! Half the team leaves every year, and since Layer can't recruit, he finds JUCO players who only have two years or less of eligibility, and even then some of them leave.

When we have a coach who can actually recruit four year players, then get back to me about team chemistry.

(FYI: I know some will still transfer, but just not as many as right now.)[/quote

I actually agree with most of this, but feel it should be pointed out that the JUCO player who left, Jared Jourdan, had 3 years of eligibility, not 2.

[olldflame]

We have A LOT of people graduating after next year. Plus who will Layer be recruiting next year in a lame duck season? If you let Layer coach out his contract and don't give him an extension, you are killing the guy hired in 2 years or Dale if he's retained. We at least have a veteran team next year and would possibly have something to build on if you have a coach with a future. Whether it's Layer or someone else.

You have pointed out one of the new realities of college athletics, which is the near necessity of deciding what you want to do regarding a coach BEFORE he goes into the final year of his contract. If a school simply retains their coach for that last year, recruits who may in fact like him and/or the assistant recruiting them will look at the lack of success and the fact that his contract is expiring and run away from it.

LU can let Layer go this year and they will eat the last year of his contract. I would say that normally, if they wanted to bring him back they would need to extend him NOT 1 YEAR, BUT 2. If you do that, and then we have another bad year, you end up paying off 2 years if you decide to make a change.

The one thing that makes the current situation a bit different than the norm is the fact that we only have one senior, and have already signed Kemrite, so theoretically he doesn´t have to sign anyone else for next year. Of course, based on recent history, that will change, but that is the situation as it stands.

[Purple Haize]

Plus we may get Antuan Burris back and he is the key to us winning 20 games a year! Ha

[ballcoach15]

A couple years or so ago, I attended a coaches clinic. One of the speakers who was a D1 coach, (can't recall his name or school, but he played in ACC). He said that college basketball is 85% recruiting.

[Bigsouthking]

It's about Jimmy's and Joe's not X's and O's.

Lefty Drisell once said to bunch of HS coaches; all you guys can probably out coach me, but none of you can out recruit me.

Players, Structure, Chemistry, Mindset.