[olldflame]

Anyone know if the players are on campus yet?

[Humble_Opinion]

Anyone know if the players are on campus yet?

My son attended the LU basketball camp two weeks ago and the players were all there. Saw a couple of the new faces as well. They were having practices during parts of the camps and at the end of one of the days I saw Zach, Colin and Bryson Spell all heading back towards the Tower dorms.

[Tothehoopyall1]

Anyone know if the players are on campus yet?

This week is the 4th week of workouts. I am hearing that Kai Yu has really been playing well. I think he will be a bright spot for us this coming year.

[olldflame]

That's encouraging. My thinking has been that anything we get from Kai this year would be a bonus. If he can make a more significant impact, it would bode very well for us.

[Sly Fox]

[olldflame]

Basketball roster has been updated and somehow well over half the squad has gotten an inch taller from their roster height last year (or in the case of the new guys, their reported height when they were signed.)

https://libertyflames.com/sports/mens-b ... ll/roster/

Porter 5'10"
Peter 6'5"
Metheny 5'11"
Decker 6'3"
Ihnen 6'10"
Yates 6'8"
Gibson 6'7"
Blair 6'7"
Cleveland 6'8"

Average height of the 13 scholarship players is just a hair under 6'7"

[olldflame]

Ritchie has not yet hired a replacement for associate HC Rob Jones, who has left to take the job of HC at Cedarville, and with the season approaching, it seems unlikely a move will be made there til next Spring. This comes on the heels of the NCAA approving an additional 2 assistant coaches for both men's and women's basketball. As a result we are currently operating with 2 assistants, while some opponents may have as many as 5. The extra coaches will not be allowed to do off-campus recruiting.

[Sly Fox]

Do you think it is possible Dale comes back? He's one of the non-coaching assistants for Buzz at A&M. I see him at games regularly.

[olldflame]

Do you think it is possible Dale comes back? He's one of the non-coaching assistants for Buzz at A&M. I see him at games regularly.

Personally, I would love to have DL back (as anything other than HC) the logical role would be Associate HC, but IMHO Johnson has earned the right to be the sole holder of that title. Speculation is fun, but I think it's a moot point. DL is in College Station because of his relationship with Buzz, and is no doubt being compensated well above the normal pay scale for his current position. He is 66, and unless he and his family loved Lynchburg so much he wants to retire there, I think this is his last stop.

[A Sea of Red]

https://www.aseaofred.com/larry-mangino ... all-staff/

[olldflame]

https://www.aseaofred.com/larry-mangino ... all-staff/

Glad I was wrong about not making a hire til Spring. What an amazing get! Tough to upgrade from Rob Jones, but I think we may have.

$64,000 question. Is his daughter Chelsea, who is now assistant AD/Chief of Staff, his boss?

In reality, I'm pretty sure that while Chelsea is at the top if the chain of command for all other staff, the assistant coaches answer directly to Ritchie.

[jmclaughlin]

Inside 3 weeks to tip off!!
Any inside scoop on the VT scrimmage? Curious of who is making strides and if the transfers will help stretch the floor.

[Stevev]

I read the hoops preview and surprised that Curtis Blair not discussed with the exception that he is on the roster. Blair is probably the best recruit we ever had on paper. You would think that he would have a “Darius McGee” type of first year impact. Does anyone know what type of impact he should have on this year’s team.

[Humble_Opinion]

Reading the preview of the team from ASOR, I'm wondering more if we will really see Porter AND Metheny both start? It would seem to defeat the whole purpose of the transfer class we brought in, which was to get longer and more athletic if both of these guys started. I mean no disrespect - I think they're both awesome players and have legitimate roles on this team, but it seems to me that only under certain circumstances should both of them be on the floor at the same time.

[A Sea of Red]

Blair is not expected to be in the rotation.

I expect Porter & Metheny to start together opening night, but also think that could change as the year progresses and depending on opponent.

[paradox]

Porter’s the clear floor leader. Expect to see him in there. And when he’s not, you’ll see Decker. Additionally, Decker’s skill-set makes him a viable option at 2 & 3 as well.

[Tothehoopyall1]

This season will be interesting with a lot of unknowns. Here are my thoughts on some of the players going into the season.

Porter- probably has the most to lose this year. Depending on how others step up he could end up playing much less than he has been.

Metheny- He’ll start all year.

Decker- honestly not sure here. I’m not sure what his impact will be this year.

Blair- I’m a little surprised. I thought he would be a large contributor this year but it’s sounding like he’s just not where he needs to be to get significant playing time.

Kai Yu- will contribute but sounds like he will be a rotational player this year.

Cleveland- obviously will start. I pray he can make some free throws this year.

Peter- A big jump to the big boy level. He looks skilled but we will see how he does.

Spell- hopefully he can get some minutes. Hopefully he has found his way.

Ainen - looks like he has the tools but hasn’t played much in 2 years.

Aquino- a big jump from junior college level. How will he adjust?

Yates- could be wrong but I see him being a role player.

Maugmer- He looks skilled but a huge jump from NCCS ball to D1. Will be interesting.

Gibson- probably will resshirt

G McKay- role player.

[paradox]

What I’m most curious about is how the deep shots vacated by Rode get distributed. And, the question of overall proficiency on the wing with the catch-and-shoot.

[Tothehoopyall1]

What I’m most curious about is how the deep shots vacated by Rode get distributed. And, the question of overall proficiency on the wing with the catch-and-shoot.

We are about to find out in an hour and ten minutes.

[olldflame]

FAU just beat pre1viously undefeated OK State 86-78. The more they and Charleston win, the better for us.

[R i]

Very nice win for our non con opponent.

[R i]

Kaden shooting 45% from three amazing! He takes a ton of deep/contested/off balance threes.

Very impressive

[Sly Fox]

Gutsy defense down the stretch. Nice championship victory!

[paradox]

Is Porter looking more & more like an elite PG? The main thing missing from his game was finishing in the paint. His technique this year is far better…and getting fine-tuned.

[Tothehoopyall1]

Is Porter looking more & more like an elite PG? The main thing missing from his game was finishing in the paint. His technique this year is far better…and getting fine-tuned.

I wouldn't call him elite but he looks much improved. His 3 point shot has also been very consistent this year. Our balanced attack seems to be freeing him up to create and control the game better than last year. It's a long season but I don't think anyone will be looking forward to playing us. We also did a much better job of hitting free throws the last two games which is a huge plus.