[JK37]

mid majors (low majors especially) don't get prototype 4/5 guys with NBA size.

Well-put TTL. The Big South is for the athletic post player who happens to not be 6'10". And that's completely okay. Recruiters just have to be a bit more creative when evaluating post prospects. When people want players and lineups to fit cookie-cutter, antiquated molds of what a post or a whole lineup should look like, they prove why they're just fans.

Besides, true big men aren't recruited anyway; they're bought.

[Cider Jim]

I've followed LU basketball for 25 years, and about the only true centers we had were Julius and Peter; Coleman and Ace were both excellent, but they both had the bodies of a 4 playing the 5.

Now with Carter and Joel, only time will tell.

[ToTheLeft]

mid majors (low majors especially) don't get prototype 4/5 guys with NBA size.

Well-put TTL. The Big South is for the athletic post player who happens to not be 6'10". And that's completely okay. Recruiters just have to be a bit more creative when evaluating post prospects. When people want players and lineups to fit cookie-cutter, antiquated molds of what a post or a whole lineup should look like, they prove why they're just fans.

Besides, true big men aren't recruited anyway; they're bought.

Arti$om Parakhou$ki is proof of that. You really think Radford was the best school after big Art? Even if there were doubts about his skill, a guy like that doesn't fall to a team like Radford. And it's funny that Ali Ton was at Binghampton, who was under a lot of investigation after he left for Radford. Hmmmmm.... funny!

[jenkins]

TTL, i'm not upset about anythign, especially not over a message board disagreement. I know you guys' like to get your buttons pushed. Of course i dont expect to get Greg Oden, let's get serious here. If you really want to break it down we could be under sized at almost every position. Sanders is short for a PG, Gordon is short for a SG, I dont know who will start at small forward. Burrus at 6'6 is a couple inches short for a PF. Carter and JVP are skinny and get out muscled all the time. I'm talking from a sheer size comparison of looking at the roster we have been an undersized team for as long as I've kept up with the team (since 2003). That's not always a bad thing which is what you guys are acting like I'm saying. Just watch we will get crushed on the boards again this year unless Burrus can grab 15 a game

As far as not getting any decent big men. We can certainly get some guys that fit that bill like alex mclean, he was undersized at C but he should have been a PF. He has focused on Guards like phillips and woods lately it seems. I would have preferred to see us take a risk on another guy with some size. You guy's can disagree with me, it's a message board. I'm not going to get upset haha.

[ToTheLeft]

TTL, i'm not upset about anythign, especially not over a message board disagreement. I know you guys' like to get your buttons pushed. Of course i dont expect to get Greg Oden, let's get serious here. If you really want to break it down we could be under sized at almost every position. Sanders is short for a PG, Gordon is short for a SG, I dont know who will start at small forward. Burrus at 6'6 is a couple inches short for a PF. Carter and JVP are skinny and get out muscled all the time. I'm talking from a sheer size comparison of looking at the roster we have been an undersized team for as long as I've kept up with the team (since 2003). That's not always a bad thing which is what you guys are acting like I'm saying. Just watch we will get crushed on the boards again this year unless Burrus can grab 15 a game

As far as not getting any decent big men. We can certainly get some guys that fit that bill like alex mclean, he was undersized at C but he should have been a PF. He has focused on Guards like phillips and woods lately it seems. I would have preferred to see us take a risk on another guy with some size. You guy's can disagree with me, it's a message board. I'm not going to get upset haha.

This isn't the NBA. Jesse is NOT short for a PG, at all, that's an absolutely ridiculous comment. Jesse is properly sized to play NBA PG. Skills, not so much, but size yes. He's 6'3, 200. I'm 6'3, and I tower over a lot of point guards.

Evan is short for an NBA 2, but most NCAA 2's, even at "BCS conference" teams, are 6'4 tops. This isn't the league of Kobe and Brandon Roy. It's the league of JJ Reddick and Jon Scheyer. So sure, Evan might be a couple inches short, but at SG, that's really not a problem. Evan holds his own in terms of athleticism and strength against other 2's.

And 6'6 is not short for PF. Especially if he's athletic. This isn't the NBA (have I said that?), 6'6-6'8 is a college power forward, and mid majors it's usually on the lower end of that. And yes, our 5's lack "muscle", but again, it's either get height or get size, you can't get both at this level (low major).

You should e-mail Layer and tell him he needs to get taller players. Shame on him for not having Kobe at the 2 and Rashard Lewis at the 4.

[olldflame]

Once again, I suggest you look at our roster. We have a proper mix of guards, swing players, and big men. It is unfortunate that Baird won't be able to play this year, as he is a skilled 6'8" forward, but our coaches certainly can't be blamed for that.

I don't know who you are comparing us to Jenkins, but here is a news flash. WE PLAY IN THE BIG SOUTH! You can't expect us or any other BSC school to consistently recruit the same type/size athletes as ACC/SEC/Big East schools. The Big South is, was, and always will be a guard oriented conference. We need guards to compete, and I would stack up our starting backcourt against any in our league.

BTW, I hope you were referring to JC as the "undersized" Sanders. Jesse is 6'3" and 200+ and is most definately NOT undersized for a D1 PG at any level.

[Cider Jim]

BTW, I hope you were referring to JC as the "undersized" Sanders. Jesse is 6'3" and 200+ and is most definately NOT undersized for a D1 PG at any level.

He probably thought all good point guards were 6'9" like Magic Johnson.

[jenkins]

Once again completely disagree. I've stood next to Sanders and if he's 6'3 then i'm 6'3. We are eye to eye and I'm 6'1. If either of you have any common sense you'll know that the rosters are always grossly inflated on size (especially at PF and C). If you want to compare it to the Big South (one of the worst leagues in all of College Basketball) then that is fine, I compare it on mid major and national scope. I compare us more to CAA teams that we should compete with due to our major advantages in spending, building etc. Heck, we can't even win the big south so maybe you guy's are right. Watch again in person when we play Mason and W&M even JMU ( i know there not on the schedule but there bigger and more athletic). Let me make one thing clear, I dont fault Layer on this because he had a dumpster fire dumped in his lap and he's had to take what he can get. It's amazing that he was able to dig guy's like Gordon and Burrus up. Finally, i think you all have been tempered to watching bad basketball. I live in the Roanoke valley and frequently watch Cave Spring, Franklin County, GW Danville, Ph. I can say with 100% certainty that several of those teams have started lineups with PG's and SG's that are 6'3-5. Also JJ Reddick was atleast 6'4 in high school he was the shortest guy in his lineup, I know because i saw it in person multiple times. So once again if you want to compare yourself to a crappy conference in which we have several inherenet advantages and can't take advantage of them be my guest. i will compare us to other schools that we should be competing with.

[jenkins]

Oh and I agree about Baird, I think he would have been a valuable and very flexible part. Baird, Oguke and Gordon are the kind of skill set players we need to get in IMHO. I'm assessing the roster as a a whole including guys like JA who will see time at SF like last year which is just a crazy bad matchup for us on defense. I guess we can just agree to disagree. I'm not complaining about what Layer has done so you can save the e-mail comment. I actually think he has done as well as could be expected to this point with what he was handed. The recruiting class he snags this year will go a long way toward telling if we will make any strides since he's had a couple years to get things together.

[thepostman]

even compared to other mid-major conferences Liberty isn't that much smaller...they may be a little, but not nearly as undersized as you are trying to make it out to be..stop watching the nba for a second and realize that college basketball as a whole doesn't have 6'7 2 guards and 7 feet centers except for the rare occasion...

[olldflame]

Well, if everyone inflates the size of their players like you say Jenkins, then it doesn't matter if Jesse is 6'3" or 6'1", because the guy he's playing against is shorter than it says in the program too. What's funny is that this whole conversation started with you saying that we need rebounding from Brown to make up for being undersized at the 4 and the 5, when in fact at 6'4" 195, Brown would arguably be the most undersized player on our starting front line. It doesn't matter as long as he can rebound, just like it doesn't matter exactly how tall Jesse is, because Jesse can play. (BTW the idea that you know how tall he is because you stood next to him is silly.)

Oh yeah, if Carter isn't 7', he's pretty close to it. So why do we list him at 6'11"? I actually think the heights on our roster are pretty accurate.

[Chippy]

Size doesn't matter. Duquesne plays in the A-10. Two years ago there center was, and still is, 6'7" and their power forward was, and still is, 6' 5" and they went to the final of the A-10 tournament and lost a close game to temple. Then lost to Va Tech in double overtime at VT in the NIT. Those two guys were Sophs at the time. They're both seniors and still are the starting 4 and 5. Damian Saunders 6' 7" second in the nation in rebounding behind Parhakowski and had the most steals of anyone in the country taller than 6'6". Their point guard is 5'11" by the way and they play a big time schedule and have a winning record.

Coaches look for wingspan as well as height.

It's the size of one's heart . . and it helps to be talented

[Liberty4Life]

I think we can finish fourth and win a first round game. Anything less than that is disappointing in my mind and anything more than that is great.

Anything less than a conference championship and/or a trip to the NCAA Tournament, in any of our sports*, is a disappointment.

Liberty spends the most on its athletic programs than any other school in the Big South. For us to say something like, "well, you know, if we can beat #5 seeded High Point this year, we should consider the season a success" is loser talk and should have no place on this board.

Unless you're the lead dog, the view never changes.

*Football, baseball, basketball.

[From the class of 09]

Yeah the great thing about the basketball set up is you only have to have the better team on 3 nights to go to the NCAA tourney. I don’t see a BS team we can’t beat (at least once) so I don’t know why the NCAA tourney is not the goal.

[Cider Jim]

the rosters are always grossly inflated on size.

You mean Larry Blair really wasn't 6'1"?

Regarding rebounding, the old hags will always cite Charles Barkley, who in college was referred to as the "round mound of rebound." Listed at 6'6", he admits openly that he's only 6'4", yet he played center for Auburn in the '80s, and he was a rebounding machine!

I've never seen Brown play, but hopefully he will go to the glass like ole Charles used to in his Auburn days.

Lastly, in the local fishwrap today, I read where DALE LAYER will be the featured speaker on the 7:00 Coach's Call-In Show on 88.3 FM. So bring your rebounding and size questions to the radio.

[TDDance234]

The real problem is we don't have anyone who can play back to the basket. Carter thinks he's a two, JVP is probably a hustle guy and Burrus's post game is terrible. He got the majority of his points on put-backs.

Carter showed a little toughness last year but would rather roam the wing. JVP is an unknown but we know Burrus is at least steady.

[Sly Fox]

First off, Carter has wing skills but when he did focus on getting his back to the basket he showed an ability to get it done in spurts last year. I am going on record as saying that I expect carter to score 30 in a game this year. Yeah, I know. But I still see huge upside in him.

[TDDance234]

First off, Carter has wing skills but when he did focus on getting his back to the basket he showed an ability to get it done in spurts last year. I am going on record as saying that I expect carter to score 30 in a game this year. Yeah, I know. But I still see huge upside in him.

I believed the hype surrounding Russell Monroe every year thinking that a new year would bring about something different from him. Excuse me if I'm having a hard time buying the McMasters hype. All I saw last year was a guy who roamed around the arc and occasionally had a solid game. Granted, I'll give him the game against Radford where he busted his butt in the paint...I'm just not ready to say any of our guys are ready to take that leap.

[Cider Jim]

I'll give him the game against Radford where he busted his butt in the paint.

For me, that was the best game of the season for me. Against Big Art, even though Carter was easily giving up 50 pounds, he went toe to toe with the big guy, and showed he can do it, if he just wills himself to compete at that level. Hopefully, that single game from last year will help him to develop into a much more consistent scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker this year.

I don't know if I'm drinking Sly's 30-point kool-aid, but I'm sipping some 20-point, 15-rebound, 5-block shot sweet cider.

[olldflame]

On the Flames Hotline tonight Layer said Carter now weighs "probably 245". I really doubt it, but if he is even up to 230, it should help him under the boards.

[From the class of 09]

He also mentioned JC should be practicing by the end of the week.

[BJWilliams]

On the Flames Hotline tonight Layer said Carter now weighs "probably 245". I really doubt it, but if he is even up to 230, it should help him under the boards.

well unless you want to grab a scale and head down to practice and weigh him sometime we may never know exactly how much he weighs

[thepostman]

On the Flames Hotline tonight Layer said Carter now weighs "probably 245". I really doubt it, but if he is even up to 230, it should help him under the boards.

well unless you want to grab a scale and head down to practice and weigh him sometime we may never know exactly how much he weighs

sounds like an old school BJWilliams assignment to me!!

[Cider Jim]

On the Flames Hotline tonight Layer said Carter now weighs "probably 245".

Olldflame, I heard the same thing, and almost fell out of bed. Carter was listed at 210 last year, so he's gained 35 pounds in a year?

Maybe somebody found Peter Aluma's recommended menu when he was a student here.

[SuperJon]

On August 2nd Carter tweeted that he was 240 pounds. It didn't come from an SID, a publicist, or a coach. It came from Carter.