Basketball Expectations

[zephyr]

i missed on marquetti. thought he was a soph this season. so to answer your question for me high recruit can be 3 star at 84-89 rating with both russell and julien being rated in that range. for me 90-99 is the elite recruit. and personally i think julien was underrated and is bottom elite level. but thats just my take on him. so your turn, what do you feel is a highly rated guy?

Well, I would certainly suggest that highly recruited means a minimum of 3 star although in basketball there are obvious flaws with the system. While I don't know if I would suggest Julien is an elite player, I do think he will be a very good player for us and someone to build around.

[zephyr]

so your question is a projection for 2 years from now right, so with russell and julien, Gladney could be every bit the high level player by that time, who knows yet, the new juco guard looks like a player and that will be his senior season,could be just what we need and whatever freshman we recruit next year, tbd. to your point this current roster will be different in 2 seasons, but no reason to think things get worst.

Well, there's also no reason to think it will be as good as it was this past season. We had 3 P5 talent players who all contributed heavily last year and will be relied upon every bit as much this year. We also had Bryce who was as steady as they come and Stove who was an elite defender and great sixth man and leader. Let me not forget perhaps the MVP of the team in Frank Bartley who had P5 size and was a great shooter. After this year, I don't see where we have guys that can fill the shoes of a Gant and Stroman. We lost McCoy already and are extremely thin on the front line. I'm not saying these guys are donkeys but I'm also saying I don't see how our team in two years could compare to the team we had last year. And I certainly don't see where Cajunrebel can make that claim off the players we have now since many of them have not played a minute in college yet. Its all speculation at this point.

The team we had last season looked the part with not only their size and development but with their skill. I think its a stretch at this point to suggest the guys we have coming up right now can fill those shoes.

[tank]

Most softball teams do not have a stadium as nice as ours. All the teams in the north fight weather causing lack of interest. Generally most programs in the country Have few people caring about them even when very successful.

So we will not be good in any sport till we have the great stadium ? Cajundome is a pretty good venue . Northern teams fight weather ? Oregon and Washington are up north but they are top notch in softball.
We have some of the finest facilities of any G-5 school in the Nation.
Give some credit to coaches, and players . Hmmm ..... coaches recruit the players .They built the game from the ground up .This is why softball is followed . THEY WIN .Local kids are being recruited and work their butts off . TRADITION,RESPONSIBILITY,TOUGHNESS, was built from nothing .
No more excuses. Name a better basketball facility in the Sun Belt . Name a better training facility besides LSU in all sports than we have . What about indoor practice facility ? Baseball stadium? Give credit where credit is due .
Does Ga State have a better basketball facility ? WKU ? Mid Ten ? LSU ?
Who has a better baseball stadium in Sun Belt ?
Coach picks assistants, Coach picks players . Coach has a lot of resources in ALL SPORTS .

[CajunVic]

So we will not be good in any sport till we have the great stadium ? Cajundome is a pretty good venue . Northern teams fight weather ? Oregon and Washington are up north but they are top notch in softball.
We have some of the finest facilities of any G-5 school in the Nation.
Give some credit to coaches, and players . Hmmm ..... coaches recruit the players .They built the game from the ground up .This is why softball is followed . THEY WIN .Local kids are being recruited and work their butts off . TRADITION,RESPONSIBILITY,TOUGHNESS, was built from nothing .
No more excuses. Name a better basketball facility in the Sun Belt . Name a better training facility besides LSU in all sports than we have . What about indoor practice facility ? Baseball stadium? Give credit where credit is due .
Does Ga State have a better basketball facility ? WKU ? Mid Ten ? LSU ?
Who has a better baseball stadium in Sun Belt ?
Coach picks assistants, Coach picks players . Coach has a lot of resources in ALL SPORTS .

I think maybe at this level, it may be more of the players pick the university/coach more than the coach picks the players. If the coach picked the players, each sport would be loaded with only 5 star players. I think you have tremendously oversold the general concept that "the coach picks players."

[tank]

Ok, they pick each other . A lot of players that want to pick a certain university aren’t picked by the coach . And certain players the coach picks , the kid goes somewhere else.

Point of conversation, EXPECTATIONS ,
Be at the top of the conference, an NCAA tournament qualifier on a consistent basis ,No excuses ,WIN.

[Just1More]

People need to get over this idea of “big” wins.

ULM beat Alabama a few years ago. Their program still sucks ___.

Nope. There's a lot of outcomes in between. The ULM / Alabama football analogy is nonsense. That was a fluke. We aren't talking about beating a giant only to return to losing to scrubs. There's no such thing as preparing a team to beat great programs... and somehow going under .500 in your own average conference. In Hud's UL world... he literally coached our program to compete to edge out crappy teams. He never had the team prepared to challenge (or even marginally compete with) a good program. That can be done. He viewed "money games" as "show up, take the beat down, take the check". No one is suggesting we beat good teams and then lose to lesser programs.

My biggest problem with Hud was that I could see his operation. He literally coached a program to use a few really good athletes, very unsophisticated coaching, and a load of hype... to barely beat average and bad football programs. He looked at his schedule and said, "I can win 6 to 8 games with my philosophy... make quite a few of these stupid football fans happy... and get to a bowl". He never used any of the capital his first few successes brought him to start coaching up a team that was actually better than the year before. If Napier plans to do the same thing... we need to run him out of town right now. But luckily, if he read your comment about "big wins"... he said, "BS. I'm out to compete with the best on the schedule... the rest will fall as a result". And he will take down a big program in doing so. Hud got slaughtered by the big boys. I wasn't even begging him to beat them. I just begged him to run a program that didn't get slapped around like we were standing still. Hud literally sucked when we faced a good football team. His most hyped year ever was the Broadway year when we blew Southern off the map... then invited Tech to a showdown on our property... and absolutely got dismantled. It wasn't just a lopsided win. We were beaten by every single player and coach on the Tech sideline on every snap. The disparity in coaching skill was massive. The system planning differential was ungodly. Never speak of ULM / Alabama. Focus on UL at our pinnacle... and Tech... at Cajun Field... in front of their recruits... invited by our HC. It defined Hud. The fall with Coach Saunders hadn't occurred. Losing the locker room hadn't occurred. The reality of our coach versus other good coaches... that was definition day.

PS Napier isn't a proven commodity at UL. But he displays no similarities to our prior coach. He isn't seeking out one or two athletes and a simplified scheme to barely beat mediocre to poor programs... to carry him to a lackluster trophy ceremony.

[Cajunsmike]

Ok, they pick each other . A lot of players that want to pick a certain university aren’t picked by the coach . And certain players the coach picks , the kid goes somewhere else.

Point of conversation, EXPECTATIONS ,
Be at the top of the conference, an NCAA tournament qualifier on a consistent basis ,No excuses ,WIN.

I will not argue that our basketball Resources compete very well in our league. However, nationally we have two main issues. One is that all the big boys play 90 percent of their non conference games at home while we play less than 40 of our D1 non conference tilts at home. 2nd, many of the major schools have their games televised over major networks while we are lucky to get on ESPN 3. Both pf those are factors in recruiting, especially the TV pArt. Softball does not have to worry about the TV comparison which works in their favor. Comparing our program to Gonzaga or Loyola of Chicago is not realistic as those are private schools that don’t play football. If you don’t understand how some of these financial issues affect collegiate athletics, just look at data in more detail when you get time. All that being said, i agree that basketball should be at the top more often in our league. I actually understand the view of some that we should dominate the SBC. Until the late season health issues popped up we did last season. This coming season will tell us if we can do that consistently. As far as the coaching staff is concerned, regardless of your concerns or others, Dr. Maggard has made the decision an extension is warranted. Does not matter how many times you or anyone else posts that is a mistake, he will not change his mind. That means Bob Marlin be coach here for the next 3 to 5 years. Therefore I will focus on other aspects of the program as we have no impact on the staff. That does not mean it is not appropriate to question their decisions or competency as that is a reason message boards exist.

[Esqueleto]

My expectations for basketball next season are quite low.

I think losing the leadership of Bryce, Stove, and Bartley will be too much to overcome.

Although the 3 transfers are very good players, they don't have the fire that Stove and Bryce had. I hope someone steps up and becomes that leader.

[VObserver]

I will not argue that our basketball Resources compete very well in our league. However, nationally we have two main issues. One is that all the big boys play 90 percent of their non conference games at home while we play less than 40 of our D1 non conference tilts at home. 2nd, many of the major schools have their games televised over major networks while we are lucky to get on ESPN 3. Both pf those are factors in recruiting, especially the TV pArt. Softball does not have to worry about the TV comparison which works in their favor. Comparing our program to Gonzaga or Loyola of Chicago is not realistic as those are private schools that don’t play football. If you don’t understand how some of these financial issues affect collegiate athletics, just look at data in more detail when you get time. All that being said, i agree that basketball should be at the top more often in our league. I actually understand the view of some that we should dominate the SBC. Until the late season health issues popped up we did last season. This coming season will tell us if we can do that consistently. As far as the coaching staff is concerned, regardless of your concerns or others, Dr. Maggard has made the decision an extension is warranted. Does not matter how many times you or anyone else posts that is a mistake, he will not change his mind. That means Bob Marlin be coach here for the next 3 to 5 years. Therefore I will focus on other aspects of the program as we have no impact on the staff. That does not mean it is not appropriate to question their decisions or competency as that is a reason message boards exist.

Mike, the extension is meaningless insofar as determining Marlins future here. If he does not win, he will be gone. Now, he certainly has the opportunity to stay for as long as he wants; but in order to do that he will have to win at the same or better level as in the past 8 years. And he will have to do so against a significantly improved schedule.

The days of it being enough to run a clean program and be mediocre are over. I think you may be right about him being here 3 more years, as the new scheduling initiative is not fully in effect next season and it will take at least 1 or 2 seasons to evaluate his performance against a better schedule.

[tank]

CajunMike, thanks for the info . I want ALL SPORTS at UL to do well . My EXPECTATIONS are tops in the league yearly not occasionally. Get into tournament consistently not once or twice in 10 years .
You didn’t answer my questions about facilities. How do we rank amongst our Sun Belt foes? What about coaches pay in basketball?

[Cajunsmike]

CajunMike, thanks for the info . I want ALL SPORTS at UL to do well . My EXPECTATIONS are tops in the league yearly not occasionally. Get into tournament consistently not once or twice in 10 years .
You didn’t answer my questions about facilities. How do we rank amongst our Sun Belt foes? What about coaches pay in basketball?

Our basketball playing facility is best in league. Our practice facility is nowhere near that however as they generally use the Moncla facility. That may be worst situation in league. Coaching salary situation will likely be near top of league following extension. I am not sure of that however. VO is right in that extension does not guarantee the long term as a coach can always be bought out if success does not occur. I am not as confident as he however that the current staff cannot make that happen. Schedule should be more difficult but some of those games will be at home which will be different. Truth is none of us can predict the future for sure. We can say with confidence the staff will remain largely intact for the next three years so focus should be on something else for now.

[CajunJeaux]

Our basketball playing facility is best in league. Our practice facility is nowhere near that however as they generally use the Moncla facility. That may be worst situation in league. Coaching salary situation will likely be near top of league following extension. I am not sure of that however. VO is right in that extension does not guarantee the long term as a coach can always be bought out if success does not occur. I am not as confident as he however that the current staff cannot make that happen. Schedule should be more difficult but some of those games will be at home which will be different. Truth is none of us can predict the future for sure. We can say with confidence the staff will remain largely intact for the next three years so focus should be on something else for now.

Out of curiosity...what makes a practice basketball gym top notch?...Moncla is full court...several goals...locker room...what else is needed?...