A Sea Of Red

While we are waiting for the next tidbit of news on the search for our new coach, I thought I would take a look at the current players on the roster with eligibility remaining to get an idea of what the new HC will have to work with.

Guards
John Dawson
Jordan Dembley
Ryan Kemrite
Peter Moller
Joe Retic
Caleb Homesley (signed LOI)

Dawson will not be eligible til the second semester. Word is he has been a defensive terror in practice since transferring this Spring, and he will probably play a lot, even though he is not a particularly polished offensive player. I have heard nothing about Moller since he left to be with his sick mother in Denmark. If he hasn't returned to school by now, I would be surprised if he does. The arrival of Dawson and Homesley and the development of Dembley and Kemrite probably would mean a greatly reduced role if he did. I'm going to say until Dawson can play, Dembley will probably start at PG with Kemrite at the 2 and Retic backing up both of them. Homesly could see time at the 2, or possibly redshirt.

Forwards
David Andoh
Thomas Gielo
Theo Johnson
AC Reid
Ezra Talbert
Jacob Karwowski (signed LOI)

This should be our strength, with Johnson and Gielo our 2 best returning players (provided Thomasz stays). Andoh is a backup who could start for a lot of teams and Reid has talent if he can get his shooting eye back without the mask he had to wear much of last year. If Talbert is fully recovered from his back surgery, he could be a factor. We did not see the real Ezra Talbert in his limited efforts to play through pain last year. Karwowski is reportedly an even taller version of Gielo, which is why I put him at F instead of C even though he is 6'11". No way of knowing if he is ready to contribute. He might be a redshirt candidate.

Centers
Evan Maxwell
Robin Jurch (signed LOI)

Evan is a load at 6'10" 250+ and he has soft hands and a nice touch and moves surprisingly well. If he can improve his stamina he can be a presence inside. At 6'9" 240 Jurch has proven in international play that he can mix it up in the middle against 7 footers on defense and then give them fits at the offensive end with 3 point shooting range. I think he will be a nice change of pace and he and Maxwell could be a good 1-2 punch at C.

Add up the returning scholarship players with the signees and you get 14, which of course is one too many. The coaching change could cause one or more of the recruits to change their mind and of course we could have one or more choose not to return (hopefully not Gielo). If we end up with schollies available, the new coach will still have the Spring period to fill them.

Attrition is expected under normal circumstances. But under current conditions, it is nearly an assurance. Provided TG is back for one more go, then backcourt is the area where the new staff will either need to coach them up or find some new faces.

Retic didn't do much for me last season. He's at best a backup in the Big South and probably shouldn't be playing a ton of minutes moving forward - unfortunately, there isn't much competition. Moller and Kemrite are probably best playing off the ball, and the others didn't show much. It could be a long season again next year with a serious lack of talent in the backcourt.

Now that we know who the coach is, we may have a better idea of where we are with the roster. As I said before, if all the signees come and everyone wants to return, we are one over the scholarship limit. A lot of speculation here, but I'm going to break it into categories based on the likelihood they will leave.

One foot out the door
Peter Moller
As far as I know, he is still in Denmark, so he actually has both feet and everything else way, way out the door for the moment at least. If someone knows otherwise, clue us in. I would say whether his choice or RMK's, he is the most likely attrition to get us down to the limit of 13.

Weighing options
Thomasz Gielo
John Dawson
Theo Johnson
Joe Retic
Jordan Dembley
AC Reid
Caleb Homesley
Robin Jurch
Jacob Karwowski


As a graduate, Gielo will be free to transfer and play immediately pretty much anywhere, and as posted here, he has been looking at schools. Unless his time under Bennett has completely changed Ritchie's offensive philosophy, I would think he is a dream hire for Thomasz, and the kid obviously likes it at LU. I say he stays.

The NCAA is generally sympathetic in granting waivers to players who sign or transfer to schools who then have a coaching change. Dawson clearly came to Liberty to play for Layer. If Ritchie wants him, he will need to re-recruit him. If RMK is serious about wanting to use the Pack Line here, Dawson's defensive abilities would be a big asset.


The same applies to the 3 Fall signees. They can likely get a waiver to go elsewhere. All 3, including the 2 Euro bigs, can shoot the 3, which should suit Ritchie just fine. My guess is he consults with the Layer assistants, (Joyce was the recruiter for Jurch and Karwoski; don't know about Homesley) looks at video, and then talks to the kids to find out where we are.

Johnson still has his redshirt year and a year of eligibility. He probably would get some interest if he wanted to transfer. He is more a slasher than a shooter, which makes him valuable IMHO. He was our go to guy at the end of last year, but a new coach and Gielo's likely return could change that. His length and athleticism would be great in the Pack Line.

Retic should also have a redshirt year and a year to play. He is inconsistent, but talented. He never regained the starting PG job when he came back from his injury, and our turnovers were down with Dembley at the point. If Ritchie has a PG in his recruiting files who hasn't signed yet, Joe may get recruited over.

Dembley was a last minute replacement signee who was very familiar with the bench until Retic got hurt and Moller left for Denmark. He actually did a solid job for a Freshman, but he isn't super talented. I would think his status is similar to Retic's. Ritchie may want to upgrade if he has a guard he could sign.

Reid has his redshirt year. He is long and athletic, and his jumper was a thing of beauty until it got near the basket (at times not very near). He did shoot better when not wearing the mask. Richie will need to evaluate where he fits in. I would think he sticks around at least another year because he should be a fit on both ends of the court.

Limited Options
David Andoh
Ezra Talbert
Ryan Kemrite

All have used their redshirt year. With only one year left, Andoh could only transfer if he can get a waiver. Kemrite and Talbert clearly chose Liberty largely for non-basketball reasons. I think they are here to stay if Ritchie wants them, and I will bet he falls in love with Ryan's shooting stroke. I think Talbert has a substantial upside if he can put his back problems behind him, which is a HUGE if, especially for a player his height.

Gielo wod have to play defense. May be a deciding factor! Theo should stay for sure

Purple Haize wrote:Gielo wod have to play defense. May be a deciding factor! Theo should stay for sure

Sounds like you have transferred your man-crush Purple. I agree, but I think Gielo will be on board. His length could actually be an asset in the Pack Line.

I'm Not opposed to Open Man Crush relationships

Let's not forget that Ritchie's track record says he has absolutely no problem playing a walk-on ahead of a scholarship player if they are doing a better job (witness James Spencer, Kyle Ohman of course, and even Garen Lafser) so don't be surprised if Calvin Hoffman gets a better shot at PT if we don't bring in a stud PG or 2. I love that kids story, and really hope he ends up making a contribution on the court at some point.

olldflame wrote:Let's not forget that Ritchie's track record says he has absolutely no problem playing a walk-on ahead of a scholarship player if they are doing a better job (witness James Spencer, Kyle Ohman of course, and even Garen Lafser) so don't be surprised if Calvin Hoffman gets a better shot at PT if we don't bring in a stud PG or 2. I love that kids story, and really hope he ends up making a contribution on the court at some point.

His sister was my sister's RA. I used to know the Hoffman's pretty well actually. Great family.

Ritchie has a roster situation almost exactly the opposite of when he arrived in 07. Then he had 3 all-conference calibre players in Smitty, Ace and TeeJay, a couple of servicable pieces in Rell Porter and BJ Jenkins and a walkon named Kyle Ohman who became the 6th man. Tyler Baker was injured (again). Nate Campbell and Armon Jones were on scholarship, but horrible, and Russel Monroe had pretty much checked out for his Senior year. he started the season with a total of 6 athletes who could actually play D1 basketball. The fall signing class from the previous coach was a total disaster. He signed Jeremy Anderson in the Spring, who missed the first half of the season with a stress fracture. He had to play another walkon named Garen Lafser significant minutes early in the season until Anderson was available. Trust me, Garen Lafser was NOT a D1 player. People who talk about how he should have done better than 16-16 because he had those 3 talented starters aren't looking at the total picture.

This time you could make a good argument that his 2 best players, Gielo and Johnson, would be no better than the 4th and 5th best on that team, but he does have a lot of players on scholarship. This raises a question which didn't come up then. What will RMK's approach be toward players on the roster he doesn't really think can help the program going forward. Will he pull scholarships so he can upgrade with his own recruits? If so, who is most likely to go?

OK, sort of answering my own question here. 4 scholarship players with eligibility remaining did not return for Ritchie's second year. We all know BJ Jenkins transferred to Murray State. That leaves Justin Holland, Nate Campbell and Armon Jones. I'm not sure about Holland, but Jones and Campbell did not have their scholarships renewed.

olldflame wrote:The fall signing class from the previous coach was a total disaster.

Olldflame, it's been so long ago. Who was that previous coach?

Cider Jim wrote:

olldflame wrote:The fall signing class from the previous coach was a total disaster.

Olldflame, it's been so long ago. Who was that previous coach?

It's a trap! Don't answer!

Cider Jim wrote:

olldflame wrote:The fall signing class from the previous coach was a total disaster.

Olldflame, it's been so long ago. Who was that previous coach?

B.J. Stith is a name to look out for as well. Competition from ODU where his dad is an assistant and older brother is currently playing. But if B.J. wants to come to Liberty, we'd have a spot for him, I'm sure.

According to the Pilot, he will be heading to Norfolk to join his dad and brother.

RETIC GONE

http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/reti ... e-liberty/

Liberty point guard Joe Retic will be leaving Liberty, according to a post on his Instagram page.

that account is private but this https://twitter.com/jretic23_ is interesting reading

PAmedic wrote:RETIC GONE

http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/reti ... e-liberty/

Liberty point guard Joe Retic will be leaving Liberty, according to a post on his Instagram page.

that account is private but this https://twitter.com/jretic23_ is interesting reading

Is it official since we didn't hear it from the Coaching staff ?

Its coming straight from the horse's mouth (or social media as it were) to borrow a phrase

Being rejected from something good just means you were being pointed toward something better.

God will wreck your plans when He sees that your plans are about to wreck you.

He tweeted that on May 1. There are some others on there that point towards it not being his decision.

SuperJon wrote:

Being rejected from something good just means you were being pointed toward something better.

God will wreck your plans when He sees that your plans are about to wreck you.

He tweeted that on May 1. There are some others on there that point towards it not being his decision.

That sounds correct based on this Tweet.
I just can't believe he's ruining Graduation for everyone by announcing it now

To be fair we're the only ones who know about that at this point. If that was a public pronouncement through some official channel then that would make sense. That's just my view on it though...

Well, US and his Twitter followers

Id like to see the instagram post. The tweets could mean his girl just broke up with him.

BJWilliams wrote:Its coming straight from the horse's mouth (or social media as it were) to borrow a phrase

The horse's social media, or is it the social media horse??