[A.G.]

What if?

What if LU has the rumored high turnover in players (again) after this season, as spoken about in other threads (Spring Cleaning)? This leads to some questions:

Does that make next year another rebuilding year, and, if so, does Coach Dunton get another hall pass if the team is less than competetive in the Big South (bottom 4 or 5)? or

Is the pressure on for the coach to win (top three in the conference) next year, and if LU goes thru another year like this year, then "bye?" or

Is Coach Dunton so secure (for reasons only "known" to those conspiracy folks out there), that it won't matter one way or another?

Thoughts? Hopefully without getting hateful.

[Ed Dantes]

I don't think he should be immune from criticism next year, or that he should be able to use a high turnover rate as an excuse. Why? Because it would be his fault, and his staff's fault, that the team is so young -- their fault that they were completely incapable of judging and recruiting talent -- which is why they put themselves in that position.

[krh44]

Well as Stevev said in another is does me remind me a lot of the football season. Dunton did say last night that Help is on the way. He mentioned that there were 3 recruits at the game last night. I hope that help gets here soon. I don't think another season like this will be excused considering we have how many D1 wins this year? I am not calling for Dunton's head but I am saying no school is going to allow a coaching staff to keep using this is a "rebounding year" as a excuse. I don't think Dunton is looking for excuses but he used the analogy after the game about recruiting talent about the Chargers picking Leaf instead of Manning. If we let players go then we are probably going to have another rebounding year unless we get some JUCOS that can play. I don't think we will let too many players go, we can't. I have heard from someone that the kid from NY was playing in some pickups games and didn't look that impressive. Just what I heard. Also I heard that one of our better players maybe in trouble. I have heard and don't want to say until I can confirm. I don't want to alarm anyone, they may not be in trouble since they are on the bball team but other LU students would be gone for this. What about Tyler Baker? Does anyone know anything about him? Dunton said he is going to be a great player but I don't remember hearing too much about high when he was recruited.

[thesportscritic]

Tyler Baker was recruited by Iowa State and New Mexico and some other schools that I can't think of. These were the two main schools that came to mind.

[Stevev]

Who is the guy from NY. I agree with what you said about not letting too many players go or it is back to the rebuilding stage ounce again. Hopefully we can do the same thing that Hankinson did his 2nd year and keep some of the better players, hope that Brewington is just as good as Karl Williams was and hope that we can get 2 other JUCO's to be able to put a respectable team out there. At least Hankinson's second year rebuilt team was able to notch wins vs JMU, Virginia Tech, and Richmond. No reason by Coach Dunton could do the same thing. My opinion is that it should never had come to this but you just have to "suck it up" and move on.

[Hold My Own]

no, if we lose next year it cant be considered a rebuilding year...although i can see us starting off slow since 3 or 4 will be new starters and it should take some time to get adjusted

[Ed Dantes]

Here's a "What-If..."

March 2001, at the Roanoke Civic Center...

#6 seed LU has a 16 point lead against Winthrop in the second half of the conference semi-final game. Going down to the wire, LU was up by three when we inexplicably decided to guard in the paint. Guy puts up a shot, clanks, and Kenneth Anaboneam goes for the rebound... but tips it out to some guy waiting, open, from behind the arc. Puts up a shot, swish, game goes into overtime.

What if we won?

Winthrop narrowly won the next game for the champeenship, as I recall. Liberty, riding the momentum of two straight stunning victories, could have reasonably won the next game.

Although they were the Big South champs in 2001, the next year's recruits probably would've remained the same -- Travis Eisen-suck and J.R. Nicholas. Probably would have finished with an identical record, and last in the nation in '02. Dunton wouldn't have been brought in, and with that, neither players such as Gabe Martin, Ryan Mantlo or Larry Blair.

LU would have probably tanked '03. Hankinson's expiring contract would've been renewed on the backs on the '01 win, although it gets nebulous from there.

So Flame Fans, have at it... What if we won in '01?

[Ed Dantes]

And while I'm at it...

What if we won in 1997?

I'm saying... if we did -- we'd have jettisoned the Big South by now.

[A.G.]

What if we had beaten UNC-A in the semis Coach Dunton's interim year? Would he have gotten the job based on reaching the finals in a turmoil-filled season?

[Hold My Own]

not with that committee....I could see a 30 second interview though which would consist of one of the members saying "you had a few very big wins in LU's history, with a team far worse than the future team in 2005-2006 season, congratulations....good bye"