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

By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#532303
The roster has been updated, and includes the incoming FR class. Williams has not been added yet.

http://www.liberty.edu/flames/index.cfm ... 1&TeamID=6

It looks like the hoped-for rule change which would have allowed us to not count Scottie James against our scholarship total did not go through. For those who always complain we have too many guards........... felizidades. Be careful what you wish for, you may get it. 8) Outside of walk-ons, we have only 2 true guards on the roster. Players like Cuffee, Homesley and Kemrite are going to have to up their game to take on ball-handling duties. My level of trust for this staff is such that I have to believe they are confident those guys can do it, or they would have gone a different direction with this last roster spot.

The team is on campus, enrolled in summer school, and doing whatever workouts/limited practices are allowed under NCAA rules. I would think Williams will be there soon as well, if he is not already.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#532307
Love seeing a fellow West Virginian on the team! Play Basketball
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By jcmanson
Registration Days Posts
#532310
I can't wait to see how minutes are distributed. Georgie and Cabbil will get all the time at the 1. After that, there's so much flexibility for time. Cuffee, Kemrite, Homesley, Gardner, and McDowell will all be fighting for time on the wing. Myo, Scottie, Williams, and Ezra will battle it out at the 4 & 5. That's 11 guys before you get to Barber, Newton (who is redshirting), and the walk-ons.

The other thing is there's only 3 upperclassmen in Kemrite, Cabbil & Talbert.
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By cruzan_flame13
Posts
#532311
It may be to early to bring this up, but do you think our roster is BS championship/NCAA tournament worthy (If we're even going to be in the BS for next season)? Also, I noticed the A-SUN is adding another member in 2018. Does anyone know which school that is joining that conference?
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By jinxy
Registration Days Posts
#532312
Love the addition of williams. His game looks different than anbody else we have. As long as cabbil and georgie stay healthy we should be fine ball handling wise. The game i saw of cuffee he showed pretty good handles as well.
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#532317
He may not have traditional PG skills, but the more Caleb has the ball in his hands the better as far as I am concerned. Then again, I live in Houston and saw what an impact having Harden take the rock had on the local squad.

Ritchie has never been shy about heavy rotations. You may recall the 5-in, 5-out switches he had back in his first tenure on campus. I am confident that he'll make this work and just imagine with the size in the forntcourt how tough our Packline D will be. He's built this roster to adjust to this style of play and I'm loving it. It is hard to believe that this is the same coach that started 5 guards at times in his first stay.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#532322
More recent than that. Our starting lineup at the end of 15-16, after Maxwell fell out of favor.

PG- Cabbel
SG- Dawson
SF- Kemrite
PF- Reid
C- Homesley

We went quite a bit last year with 3 true guards and nobody over 6'5", but of course that included Myo, who is by no means small.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#532323
Wasn't Homesley a PG in high school before he grew a few more inches?
By ALAFlamesFan
Registration Days Posts
#532341
This should be a good team. For me anything less than a Big South Championship will be a disappointment. This team is deep and flexible. We finally have size at every position and we have some guys who can score. Rebounding should be greatly improved and year three of the pack line should mean some upsets in the preconference season. It is time to take the next step.
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By cruzan_flame13
Posts
#532342
ALAFlamesFan wrote:This should be a good team. For me anything less than a Big South Championship will be a disappointment. This team is deep and flexible. We finally have size at every position and we have some guys who can score. Rebounding should be greatly improved and year three of the pack line should mean some upsets in the preconference season. It is time to take the next step.
I surely hope so. I wouldn't want McKay to have the same experience as former coach Layer. I'm sure that the team will improve than last season and win the BS championship. We shall see the structure of the team, especially in the Paradise Jam.
By ATrain
Registration Days Posts
#532343
cruzan_flame13 wrote:It may be to early to bring this up, but do you think our roster is BS championship/NCAA tournament worthy (If we're even going to be in the BS for next season)? Also, I noticed the A-SUN is adding another member in 2018. Does anyone know which school that is joining that conference?
To answer your second question: North Alabama.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#532373
cruzan_flame13 wrote:It may be to early to bring this up, but do you think our roster is BS championship/NCAA tournament worthy (If we're even going to be in the BS for next season)? Also, I noticed the A-SUN is adding another member in 2018. Does anyone know which school that is joining that conference?
I believe I am correct in saying that regardless of any decision made at the BSC Spring meetings just completed, we will be playing for championships in all sports except football during the 2017-18 academic year.
By flamehunter
Registration Days Posts
#532374
oldflame wrote:
cruzan_flame13 wrote:It may be to early to bring this up, but do you think our roster is BS championship/NCAA tournament worthy (If we're even going to be in the BS for next season)? Also, I noticed the A-SUN is adding another member in 2018. Does anyone know which school that is joining that conference?
I believe I am correct in saying that regardless of any decision made at the BSC Spring meetings just completed, we will be playing for championships in all sports except football during the 2017-18 academic year.
Ok I'll bite. Which conference?
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#532375
flamehunter wrote:
oldflame wrote:
cruzan_flame13 wrote:It may be to early to bring this up, but do you think our roster is BS championship/NCAA tournament worthy (If we're even going to be in the BS for next season)? Also, I noticed the A-SUN is adding another member in 2018. Does anyone know which school that is joining that conference?
I believe I am correct in saying that regardless of any decision made at the BSC Spring meetings just completed, we will be playing for championships in all sports except football during the 2017-18 academic year.
Ok I'll bite. Which conference?
I guess that did leave room for interpretation, but I was referring to the Big South. They cannot just boot us out effective immediatly, and I suspect even if we already have plans in place to leave for the A-Sun, we would wait til 2018-19 for that.

While I agree in principal with those who argue the BSC does not have any compelling need to keep us around, I think the timing of our football move is not totally cooncidental, and worth mentioning. Obviously, the change in ADs played a huge factor, but the fact remains that we did not "fly the coop" on the BSC until they had their auto-bid secured by Campbell's decision to go scholarship in football and the upcoming addition of N Alabama. Not saying there necessarily would or should be any outright quid pro quo for that, but IMHO they owe us a solid.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#532377
Agreed, oldflame--LU willl be in the Big South (except for football) for the 2017-2018 academic/athletic year. In fact, LU has agreed to host the Big SURS (Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium) this coming spring semester.
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By cruzan_flame13
Posts
#533297
What a great post to read this morning ASOR! I can't wait to see what the coaches will decide and see the results all the hard work that is taken place this summer for each player. I can't wait till the season starts and I hope Homesley will be fully healed and ready to play ball.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#533305
cruzan_flame13 wrote:What a great post to read this morning ASOR! I can't wait to see what the coaches will decide and see the results all the hard work that is taken place this summer for each player. I can't wait till the season starts and I hope Homesley will be fully healed and ready to play ball.
I enjoyed reading some hoops discussion this morning as well, and I suspect if I were in manson's position (one where he has gained some journalistic credibility and I'm sure would like to build on it) that is probably the starting lineup I would project as well.

Since I am not, I will speculate a bit more and suggest a couple of changes. Georgie and Lovell starting in the back court is a no brainer. I cannot Imagine Ryan will not start as well, and agree that his days of having to play the PF position are thankfully over. I just have a feeling that even if Caleb is fully cleared by the doctors and trainers to play, Ritchie is going to be cautious and limit his minutes for a while. If that is the case, I think his versatility would be an asset coming off the bench. While I have not seen Scotty James play, I am hearing that more often than not he was the best big guy on the floor in practice last year. I'm going to give him the nod over Myo in the post, and I think Brock will win the starting job at PF, which I believe in this system and with this roster is his best position.
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By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#533306
I am so excited about basketball season this year. We were much better last year than I thought we would be. This year we actually have some depth. It should be fun to watch. I am really enjoying watching RM build this program. The basketball program has never had sustained growth and I really hope we can continue this trajectory.

Great article Manson.
By flamehunter
Registration Days Posts
#533307
It's exciting to think that any of 9 different guys could start and we wouldn't see much drop off in performance. I hope coach McKay is here for life! He's done a fantastic job in just two years.
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By flameshaw
Registration Days Posts
#533348
thepostman wrote:I am so excited about basketball season this year. We were much better last year than I thought we would be. This year we actually have some depth. It should be fun to watch. I am really enjoying watching RM build this program. The basketball program has never had sustained growth and I really hope we can continue this trajectory.

Great article Manson.
I wouldn't say never, but certainly not any time recently. RM is doing a very good job for sure.
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By R i
Registration Days Posts
#533354
My opinion

Georgie starts at PG because of his assist to turn over ratio. It is an absolute must in Mckay's system.

Lovell starts at the 2 guard. It was mentioned last year several times that he is the best on ball defender on the team. He will only get stronger and improve in that area. Soucie is keeping Mckay on track with the Packline , and having a great on ball defender especially at the guard position is a must.

Kemrite will start at the 3. He was one of the most efficient players in the NCAA last year. He is a phenomenal worker, and Mckay will reward that. I can see his minutes being down a little from last year. I do not think we can hide his inability to defend the perimeter this year. He was in the paint banging last year, and when he did play the perimeter he was getting beat regularly.

Brock at the 4 - He showed flashes of being the most talented player on the court last season. I have confidence that with the work this summer , Brock will be our MVP this season. He can shoot, jump, run, and will be a much improved defender.

Myo starts the season as the starting 5- I believe Mckay will start with the proven player out of loyalty, and ease James into the rotation.

Caleb H. as 6th man. His versatility and offensive skill set make him the perfect 6th man. As we saw last year, this team and system will need an offensive "pick me up" some games. Caleb will likely dominate the stat sheet and even be in the top of the team in minutes played, but I do think he can serve this team best coming off the bench.

Mcdowell and Cuffie - Mckay probably learned his lesson with Seth and giving the freshman green light so liberally. Seth was that good and Mckay probably did the right thing, however he showed lots of restraint with Brock last season. I think he will follow that plan, and ease these two into the rotation.
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