[thesportscritic]

bye. great point manson. this team is playing very hard despite the fact that they lack the bench depth.

Why do you have to be a jerk about it? The kid is doing everything he can to be successful when he gets out of school. He's taking the time to work, for free, while in school for experience. He's leaving for the same reason I stopped posting a lot in football last year and for the same reason I haven't posted much in football the past two or three weeks. Some of us do what we can to get experience while in college. If you have a problem with that, and want to be a jerk about it, then maybe you should just leave as well.

first of all sj, i am not going any where so get used to me being on here. second of all i could give a rats behind about what he does. third of all i was attacked personally by him and judged my character on a personal level and i don't take kind to people like that. good for him that he is doing something constructive. and btw i am working for free too with LU athletics too and getting my experience.

[Southbeach]

Dang it, you guys responded to checkmate. I was hoping you'd leave the comment alone.

wow censorship at its finest.

[bigsmooth]

guys.....PLEASE take your personal issues to PM. no one wants to hear it. thanks your bald moderator.

[SuperJon]

Dang it, you guys responded to checkmate. I was hoping you'd leave the comment alone.

wow censorship at its finest.

Are you sure you weren't supposed to be signed in as checkmate to post that?

[RagingTireFire]

no one wants to hear it.

I do.

wow censorship at its finest.

Actual censorship would have been deleting your comment entirely and not allowing a response. I think the mods have shown a remarkable level of restraint to your posts.

[Southbeach]

It looks to me like we have the best post player in the BSC in AM, the best penetrating pg in the BSC and arguably one of the top wings in AS. The role players are solid in RP and BJ. The staff should have added a post and a perimeter after being hired in March. So the depleted bench strength could have been solved. Most teams in the league only have 2 or three exceptional talents so if we are truly coached up, stay healthy...then this group is talented enough to make a run at the tournament bid.

[Purple Haize]

Lowered bar of expectations??? I don't think anyone would expect a first year coach to make it to the Sweet 16!! Winning the conference will be tough any year, but when you take into account a new coach with a radically different philosophy from the previous coach it is going to take time to get the current players to grasp the concepts and to get new players in that fit the system. IF, during this transition time, we were being whacked by 80 pts or so, THEN one might be concerned. The fact that we are losing is not the point. What IS the point is how are we competing. These close loses show that what RM would like to install here at LU is legitimate and needs time to come together. Look at any situation (With the exception of UNC and Michigan assts. taking over) and you will see that most big gaines come in years 2 and 3. The next trick is to sustain it!!

[LUconn]

It looks to me like we have the best post player in the BSC in AM, the best penetrating pg in the BSC and arguably one of the top wings in AS. The role players are solid in RP and BJ. The staff should have added a post and a perimeter after being hired in March. So the depleted bench strength could have been solved. Most teams in the league only have 2 or three exceptional talents so if we are truly coached up, stay healthy...then this group is talented enough to make a run at the tournament bid.

A lot of that is true. Except we did add a perimeter player. And decent post help isn't as easy to come by as you're making it out to be.

[SuperJon]

However, these coaches decided to honor the commitments of the previous staff in Anderson and Stephene. We only had three players leave the team from last year. We took a chance on the third incoming player and it turned out to be a bust. Of the three players we brought in, only one of them is able to play this year. This is a rebuilding year. I still think we have a shot at finishing near the top of the league, even in a rebuilding year. All along I've said 3rd place and I'm sticking to that.

[Southbeach]

last year's staff made the commitment to Anderson and Stephene? I thought they were going with the 7' Nigerian and the JUCO all-american. RM signed Anderson, Stephene, the Croatian and advertised the 6'11 transfer from New Mexico.

[SuperJon]

The last JuCo All-American that the previous staff signed never stepped foot on the court here.

The kid from New Mexico wouldn't have been able to play this year anyways, so there's no reason even bringing him up.

[LUconn]

And how is that Nigerian working out anyway? Ok let's put this rehashed argument to bed.


It was fun to be competing with WU @ WU. I'm upset that we lost and played poorly.

[olldflame]

Once again we have people who are under the misconception that you can come into a coaching job in March and actually recruit for the next year, when the reality is that all that is available at that point are borderline prospects or the random JUCO player who has slipped through the cracks. Exhibit A would be our 08 class, all signed in November.

[SuperJon]

And going back and looking at it, I was wrong about the new staff sticking with the old staff's recruits. My bad on that one.

[Southbeach]

There is no need to rehash or take cheap shots in either direction. We are where we are and as i previously stated have some talented young men on the floor. All the posturing or criticizing seems a way of life for these boards. RM has got to prove he can win. And I don't see freshmen replacing experienced seniors so this may be our best shot for the next three years. Of course most of the league has impact players who are seniors so there may be a drop off next year.

[RagingTireFire]

We are where we are

South Beach, right? Riiiiight.

[Southbeach]

Once again we have people who are under the misconception that you can come into a coaching job in March and actually recruit for the next year, when the reality is that all that is available at that point are borderline prospects or the random JUCO player who has slipped through the cracks. Exhibit A would be our 08 class, all signed in November.

Don't you think they were recruiting at New Mexico and Col St? I think you can still find players to help. They signed players just of little help.

[SuperJon]

There is no need to rehash or take cheap shots in either direction. We are where we are and as i previously stated have some talented young men on the floor. All the posturing or criticizing seems a way of life for these boards. RM has got to prove he can win. And I don't see freshmen replacing experienced seniors so this may be our best shot for the next three years. Of course most of the league has impact players who are seniors so there may be a drop off next year.

That's crazy. Even with losing seniors this year, we'll still have Smitty as a senior next year, and BJ and Tyler the year after that. You're acting as though we won't have any seniors for the next three years.

[jcmanson]

[RagingTireFire]

Don't you think they were recruiting at New Mexico and Col St?

That's kind of the point. They were recruiting at and for other schools.

Unless, you're inferring that they should have tried to entice those recruits to come with them. I'm sure you didn't mean it that way since attempting to steal another team's players is, at the very least, unethical.

[Southbeach]

There is no need to rehash or take cheap shots in either direction. We are where we are and as i previously stated have some talented young men on the floor. All the posturing or criticizing seems a way of life for these boards. RM has got to prove he can win. And I don't see freshmen replacing experienced seniors so this may be our best shot for the next three years. Of course most of the league has impact players who are seniors so there may be a drop off next year.

That's crazy. Even with losing seniors this year, we'll still have Smitty as a senior next year, and BJ and Tyler the year after that. You're acting as though we won't have any seniors for the next three years.

That is opinion and may be crazy. I like BJ, AS and TB. Replacing a 17pts and 9reb workhorse along with a top 100 player at the point need not be underestimated. No doubt though AS could be dominating.

[olldflame]

Once again we have people who are under the misconception that you can come into a coaching job in March and actually recruit for the next year, when the reality is that all that is available at that point are borderline prospects or the random JUCO player who has slipped through the cracks. Exhibit A would be our 08 class, all signed in November.

Don't you think they were recruiting at New Mexico and Col St? I think you can still find players to help. They signed players just of little help.

Yes, they were, and they more than likely had signed their key recruits for this year in the early signing period in November of 06. You don't get it, do you? This is the way recruiting works in the 21st century!

[LUconn]

So anyway, I can't wait for the Winthrop game at home. I don't think we'll have trouble winning that game if we can get students to come.

[SuperJon]

So anyway, I can't wait for the Winthrop game at home. I don't think we'll have trouble winning that game if we can get students to come.

I think we'll be in good shape getting kids to come. There wasn't a bad crowd of non-FF people at BWW last night. That impressed me. Kids are starting to care. We just have to keep playing well. There's no shortage of sign or chant opportunities against Winthrop.

[flameshaw]

Lowered bar of expectations??? I don't think anyone would expect a first year coach to make it to the Sweet 16!! Winning the conference will be tough any year, but when you take into account a new coach with a radically different philosophy from the previous coach it is going to take time to get the current players to grasp the concepts and to get new players in that fit the system. IF, during this transition time, we were being whacked by 80 pts or so, THEN one might be concerned. The fact that we are losing is not the point. What IS the point is how are we competing. These close loses show that what RM would like to install here at LU is legitimate and needs time to come together. Look at any situation (With the exception of UNC and Michigan assts. taking over) and you will see that most big gaines come in years 2 and 3. The next trick is to sustain it!!

Very true my friend, good summation. Mr(s). RD.........I mean checkmate/south beach will always be here to take shots at the current staff, and that is welcome, contrarian opinion is good. We should not forget how horrible we were last year. We didn't beat anyone with a winning record (may be wrong, but close), the total win/loss record of the teams we beat was miserable, way below .500, lost to some D2 schools. We are headed in the right direction, RM is playing with players he did not recruit, give him a few classes to get his players here, first recruiting class looks pretty good. No one should expect us to go from the outhouse to the penthouse overnight.