[Mel Hankinson Fan Club]

Bad loss to Charleston Southern?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Trash the team. Get rid of them all.

[Hold My Own]

I asked Hildo tonight if this team is better than every team Mel brought in, and the Hank Fan club wouldnt want to know his answer! LoL

I'm telling yall now so you dont scream how unstable our Bball team is, there will be SEVERAL players that will be asked to not return, and thank the Lord...I pray only 2 return

[thesportscritic]

HMO is right about some players not coming back. I do know a few names but can't reveal them but all I have to say is thank goodness some of these players will not be back. Their BB IQ is 0

[TallyW]

Ouch... this is a tough thread.

[Hold My Own]

I would think there are several players going back to their scholarships looking at the fine print seeing if it said 4 years or not....unfortunately or fortunately for us it's only a year to year commitment

[fsn32]

I don't know that it is really appropriate to talk about this sort of thing until after the season is over. It would be hard for a team to rally around it's supporters if those supporters are hoping publicly that most of the team gets the boot.

Critics of the team... I can understand, but not supporters of the team.

Talking about it privately is one thing but putting it up on a public forum is rough. Remember there are coaches and players who view this and it isn't exactly a rallying cry for the rest of the season.

[Hold My Own]

I agree, but I think when I have players coming up to me saying how they dont think they are coming back or they dont think they'll be asked back then I think it's OK...but no names, that wouldnt be right, if they were to say that in confidence then I wouldnt even hint that there are players that may or may not leave regardless of if I was to mention names or not....but come on....isnt it common knowledge at this point that a lot of these guys are going to be evaluated to see if they should return?

[fsn32]

It may be common knowledge that we will have to reevaluate our talent after this season... but I doubt that the average fan would think that 13 of 15 players might be run off. That's unheard-of... so I can't imagine that sort of thing is common knowledge. Even if you were exaggerating, there would be people who read this and go back to their friends and say "most of the basketball team is getting kicked out" and that isn't the best thing to have flying around when we are trying to drum up support and finish strong.

[Hold My Own]

ohhh and that wont happen even with this team...it boils down to my stupidity for using exaggeration over the internet...when in reality we're only going to lose a few (some injuries and others for different reasons)....my bad

[ATrain]

Coach mentioned something tonight about redshirting Monroe next year...but he just said it was a "possibility"

[Hold My Own]

yeh, that's been discussed and I'd be very surprised if he isnt red shirted next year

[A.G.]

Could this be as big of a cleaning as after Mel's first year?

[TDDance234]

I think it's safe to assume the players who won't be back next season. But if Monroe is red-shirted, who on earth is going to play center for us? Eck? Bigby?
Yuck.

[BJWilliams]

Well there is Alex McLean too

[absturgill]

Just my 2 cents here.

We also need to remember that these kids are "student athletes" Sure they are athletes but they are also getting their education. The NCAA ran commercials during last year's NCAA tourney reminding people that most of these kids will do things other than sports.

Seeing our school on a cable outlet here in DC was great the other day. I don't feel right making comments on our players after one game but FSN32, SCAR, and BJWilliams have praised our kids and can attest that they are giving it their all. Are we the winningest program in the NCAA's no ( I'm used to losing seasons, I'm an Orioles fan.) The VMI game that i was able to see these kids played their heart out and are representing LU well.

Sure players may come and go but we have to remember that most of them won't make it pro and an education is much more important than a playing career.

Just my 2 cents

[Chris Lang]

Dunton has been pretty careful to not call out players by name, and I respect that. He's been pretty vague, saying basically that LU has issues with talent.

There's no questioning that.

Someone asked about who will play center next year if Monroe shirts. Here's the thing, you don't really need a 7-footer in the Big South. Bradshaw at Winthrop is what, 6-9? Konare is 6-8 or 6-9 at High Point and Oliver is 6-8 at Radford. So height is not the issue. Can Armon Jones come in right away and play the five? Maybe. I haven't seen him. What you need at that position is bulk and desire, and Russell quite honestly seems to lack both of those qualities.

Russell has all the tools but he doesn't seem to know what to do with them. He should be able to physically overpower most of the bigs he sees, yet he's still hesitant, as if he doesn't trust his ability to use his skills in the right way. The VMI game was a great example. He's got a nice 6-foot jumper with touch that VMI couldn't guard, but when he tried to power inside, it looked real clumsy.

As far as Bigby and Eck, well, they haven't played very well. Both are flawed players. Eck gives a ton of effort but just doesn't have a lot of offensive skill ... at least in terms of posting up and scoring. He very well may do well running up and down the floor in a JC game and scoring, but you can't do that at DI. The game is much more half-court oriented and you need bigs that can post and get touches on the block. Defensively, he gets out of position too much and has to foul too much to compensate.

Bigby is a 6-7 forward who looks like he'd be happier playing the three. Again, he struggles when he's asked to post up and score. Give him the ball up top, and he can take his man off the dribble and score easily. That's nice and all, but Liberty already has plenty of wing players (Blair, Hubbard, Smith). You need forwards who can post, and you don't have them right now.

I still think the root of all the offensive problems comes down to that simple issue. But there's nothing you can do about it. You have to play with the personnel you have and hope you can reload next year with better talent up front.

[Stevev]

I disagree with the "representing LU well" part. The basketball teams incompetence is right now hurting the universities name and what it represents. We are portrayed as a bunch of losers right now and it is such a shame we can't put at least a respectable team on the floor. On top of that it is a darn shame that administration can't find a respectable conference for our sports teams. But I guess that is a moot point right now since we can't even win in this lousy conference of ours. I don't think that Christians should settle for a product this bad. This is not what Christianity is all about and that is what we ultimately represent when our team hits the floor.

[Stevev]

Getting back to the Spring Cleaning thing. I would think that it is going to take more than just Brewington and McClean to get us out of this hole we are in. Hopefully maybe at least 2 JUCO's can be picked up.

[LUconn]

I vote for Stevev for coach. He's had all of the answers this season.

[Hold My Own]

I disagree steve...when you add Brew and McLean that changes a lot....Smith will no longer have to step up and be the go to player if LB is off...he can now fall into a role player and shine in the games he's feeling good...LB no longer has to do everything, and hopefully Mclean can get some of those boards he has been averaging...we could have 3 go to players with (hopefully) someone to suck up the boards....not to mention Tyler...

[intheknow]

ive been reading all these posts about the players,no effort, no bb iq, etc. who recruited these guys. Dunton right. it seemed they played well last year. who ran deese off. Dunton right. who changed coaches and staff, Dunton right. ive got news for you give him winthrops team or birmingham southern team, heck how about dukes. and he woulnt win, guys he cant coach. what is his record. just wait and see it will always be next yr. if i am wrong i will be back next year same time and apologize.

[Stevev]

I think I can see what you are saying and you are right. Lets see if he can right this sinking ship for next year and see where it takes us. Then it is up the admin to make the right and fair move in his future at LU.

[Sly Fox]

Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Right now, everyone on the team is an easy target. But I prefer to believe Coach D can turn things around and that some of our players will show vast improvement.

[Hold My Own]

what is his Big South Record? While being at LU these last 4 seasons?

[BJWilliams]

what is his Big South Record? While being at LU these last 4 seasons?

2002-2003 8-8 (Lost BSC semis to Radford)
2003-2004 12-4 (BSC Champions)
2004-2005 11-5 (Lost BSC 1st Round to Charleston Southern)
2005-2006 2-9 (Through 2/11)

Sum total: 33-26 (Through 2/11)

Thanks to LU media guide for the numbers