If roundball is your blood, this is the place to discuss the Flames as they move into the Ritchie McKay era for the 2nd time.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke

User avatar
By jcmanson
Registration Days Posts
#457834
olldflame wrote:I can't imagine them offering him a scholarship other than as a shameless ploy to set themselves up to try to get his 5 star HS teammate Blackwell in 2016.
Ding ding ding!
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#457838
I'll be really surprised if it works. Lindsey not only didn't sign with LSU, he actually transferred away from CPA (and BB) to play his senior year at Huntington Prep. Everyone in the country is going to be after Blackwell, and he has a high powered support system (he is Ralph Sampson's nephew). He won't be deciding where he plays college ball based on a PG who will likely be sitting at the end of the bench.
User avatar
By jcmanson
Registration Days Posts
#457840
You're always good at putting words in people's mouths. I never said where BB ends up would determine where Blackwell ends up. But you really think teams going after Blackwell won't do whatever they can to get BB especially as a walk-on for a year or two?
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#457842
:dontgetit

I didn't put any words in your mouth and I actually agree with you 100%.

Teams are going to try. I just don't think it will work with a prospect as hot as Blackwell with the advice he will be getting. Those are MY words.
User avatar
By jcmanson
Registration Days Posts
#457843
olldflame wrote::dontgetit

I didn't put any words in your mouth and I actually agree with you 100%.

Teams are going to try. I just don't think it will work with a prospect as hot as Blackwell with the advice he will be getting. Those are MY words.
My apologies then. I misunderstood your post. Yes, I agree with you as well.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#457845
I wonder if Braxton has looked at Belmont. It's right there in Nashville, and their program has been a lot more successful than ours (they have developed a rep as one of the teams the big boys DON'T want to face in the first round of the dance), but not at the SEC level where teams only want to use him as a pawn. It's also a (nominally) christian school, but with a lot fewer rules than LU.
By SuperJon
Registration Days Posts
#457849
olldflame wrote:If this happens, I think he will also be in for a rude awakening as to the distance. 3 hours is a lot less than 8, but once team obligations begin, he still won't be able to get home all that often. Welcome to adulthood Braxton.
Nashville to Knoxville is nothing. People do it all of the time.
User avatar
By R i
Registration Days Posts
#457872
With the way he left, I see the Vols having problems securing their need for a PG next season. Flunking a class, and Getting a coach you Bailed on to help you out, can be a pretty hard situation to rise out of and play the following season.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#457873
One of the PGs TN has offered for 2016, Kobi Simmons, is Blackwell's AAU teammate. He's a 5 star prospect and is actually rated higher than Blackwell. The team is based in Atlanta, not too far from Simmons home turf. Blackwell came from Tennessee to play with HIM.
By TheGovernor
Posts
#457908
Purple Haize wrote:
TheGovernor wrote:
jcmanson wrote:Per multiple media reports, Braxton Bonds has been released from his NLI and will walk-on at Tennessee. More here http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/brax ... tennessee/
You meant to say "Per TheGovernor, and now multiple media reports"
Easy now. Don't pull a muscle patting yourself on the back.
:I chortle audibly.:
Its a tough job... but someone has to do it.
User avatar
By Kiwon
Posts
#457911
I will look forward to the Sports reporters at knoxnews.com to get to the bottom of why Bonds preferred the atmosphere of UT to LU.

It's hard for me to understand how a highly recruited 18-year old like Bonds doesn't know himself better about what he really wants in a program and school.

UT's BB program had a banner year last year and has a solid coach but it would be difficult for me to recommend any Christian young person to attend UT over LU. The environments are so different.
User avatar
By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#457917
Kiwon wrote:I will look forward to the Sports reporters at knoxnews.com to get to the bottom of why Bonds preferred the atmosphere of UT to LU.

It's hard for me to understand how a highly recruited 18-year old like Bonds doesn't know himself better about what he really wants in a program and school.

UT's BB program had a banner year last year and has a solid coach but it would be difficult for me to recommend any Christian young person to attend UT over LU. The environments are so different.

See the bolded text for the answer as to why
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#457933
My best guess is that when Bonds signed his LOI last November, he didn't feel like he had anyone in his life he couldn't stand to be apart from for a week. Apparently now he does.

For his sake I hope he is focused 100% on earning a spot in the UT program with his performance, because I have a feeling any edge he may have right now based on having been Blackwell's teammate in HS will be short-lived. Yes, they played together 2 years and won a state championship, but Blackwell has 2 more years of HS ball with new teammates. he also has the rest of this summer and next playing AAU ball where his PG this summer with the Atlanta Celtics is considered by some to be the best in the class of 2016. May I suggest THAT is a "package deal" that is more likely to happen, and the destination may be North of Nashville rather than East.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#457951
TDDance234 wrote:Tough, tough loss. PG is going to be a big time weakness this season.
Not necessarily. There is a good chance Retic would have been our starter anyway. We need him to stay healthy, and he will play more minutes (at PG) than he would have if Bonds were on board. I think we will be OK as long as Dembley and/or Calvin Hoffman aren't absolutely horrible when they come in to give him a rest. Also, the fact that Retic will probably be playing exclusively at the point means Moller, Kemrite and Layer will have to get it done at the 2.
User avatar
By Kiwon
Posts
#457958
Well.....disappointed over what might have been. It would have been fun to see how Bonds would have developed at LU with consistent playing time.

UT's a big-time program and getting a 3-star walk-on is a luxury. But if that's the plan, I do find the 'meat market' aspect of recruiting distasteful by throwing a bone (walk-on spot) to Bonds just to improve the chances of getting a commitment from a 5-star in 18 months.

UT fans are in for a rude awakening anyway. The admin allowed the Bruce Pearl groupies to drive away a quality coach in Cuonzo Martin and their beloved Bruce took the job at Auburn. They are on Coach #3 in four years and it will be a bitter pill to swallow when Pearl's Auburn kicks their rears on the court and in recruiting the next several years.

Given all that, I would think UT would be less, not greater, of an attractive destination for a 5-star recruit than in recent years.
User avatar
By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#457960
Still amazed at the quality of talent that starts at LU and then transfers out: in the past few years, our MBB players have transferred to Duke, Arizona State (and Indiana), and now Tennessee.

Am I missing any other major schools?
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#457961
If there is no scholarship involved, which seems to be the case, throwing him a bone is a good way to put it. Interesting that now that his name is associated with UT they are touting him as a 3 star recruit. None of the scouting services have him with 3 stars.

In the article from the Knoxville paper they say Layer wouldn't give specifics about the release, but that Bonds could only play this year if he had a "complete release".
http://www.knoxnews.com/govolsxtra/bask ... y_62710183

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think Layer has the authority to do that. Because he was enrolled in classes, Bonds is a transfer, and the NCAA would have to rule him as a hardship for him to play this year. Based on past cases I know of, he doesn't come close to meeting the criteria for that. That's to say nothing of the eligibility issues raised by his neglecting to drop the classes he was taking.
  • 1
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 16
Dondi Costin - LU President

Ive gone there a few times since moving to texas[…]

NCAA Realignment Megathread

Duke Gonzaga B12? https://larrybrownsports.com/co[…]

FlameFans Fantasy Baseball

We are on!!! Hope to see everyone tonight at 9:30[…]

Another player that most people who post on here[…]