(05-24-2014 11:22 PM)CougarRed Wrote:  

(05-24-2014 11:06 PM)BigHouston Wrote:  On your last sentence... Houston won't be a step up, with Sampson now at helm, expect Houston to be a regular and right in the middle of everything.

I'm so excited. Just look at Sampson's coaching profile his last seven years in college (below). Six times, he had a Top 35 offense. Five times, he had a Top 26 defense.

Looking at the four factors, his teams were consistently good in all phases of the game on both sides of the court except medicore at getting to the FT line and preventing foes from getting to the FT line.

It's hard to find a coach with a significantly better statistical profile than this. And Sampson should only be a better coach now with five years in the NBA and exposure to Morey's basketball sabremetrics theories.

Right now, today, Houston has a better head coach than Memphis, Cincy and Temple. Cronin, Pastner and Dunphy have never made an Elite 8 or Final Four. Sampson has (one of each).

The coaches at Tulsa, UCF, USF, ECU and Tulane aren't in the same league with Sampson.

Among American coaches, I would only rate Larry Brown and Kevin Ollie ahead of Sampson.

Fran Dunphy is a better coach. Recruiter absolutely not but there are few coaches in America better than Dunph.

Dunphy and Cronin are very good coaches, and Pastner is developing into one as well.

Dunphy has taken Penn and Temple to 15 NCAA tournaments. He gets the most out of his talent during the regular season. He's obviously good at figuring out how to beat his opponent.

But he's 3-15 in the Dance. He's never made it to the Sweet 16.

In college, recruiting is part of coaching. If recruiting is part of the reason why he hasn't had more postseason success, then that's on him.

(05-24-2014 11:46 PM)CougarRed Wrote:  Dunphy and Cronin are very good coaches, and Pastner is developing into one as well.

Dunphy has taken Penn and Temple to 15 NCAA tournaments. He gets the most out of his talent during the regular season. He's obviously good at figuring out how to beat his opponent.

But he's 3-15 in the Dance. He's never made it to the Sweet 16.

In college, recruiting is part of coaching. If recruiting is part of the reason why he hasn't had more postseason success, then that's on him.

When your coach has been caught for recruiting violations, you probably should be a bit more quiet.

(05-24-2014 11:54 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  

(05-24-2014 11:46 PM)CougarRed Wrote:  Dunphy and Cronin are very good coaches, and Pastner is developing into one as well.

Dunphy has taken Penn and Temple to 15 NCAA tournaments. He gets the most out of his talent during the regular season. He's obviously good at figuring out how to beat his opponent.

But he's 3-15 in the Dance. He's never made it to the Sweet 16.

In college, recruiting is part of coaching. If recruiting is part of the reason why he hasn't had more postseason success, then that's on him.

When your coach has been caught for recruiting violations, you probably should be a bit more quiet.

New ERA, new rules... Yesterday is long gone.

(05-24-2014 06:15 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  

(05-24-2014 03:56 AM)fishpro1098 Wrote:  

(05-23-2014 12:44 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  Temple is about to hire Temple alum and former NBA player and assistant coach Rick Brunson, which will better position us for his son, 5* PG Jalen Brunson.

Are you sure about that?

That's the word.

I would call it the speculation.

(05-23-2014 12:20 PM)NBPirate Wrote:  ECU brought in an ESPN100,

2014 or 2015 class?

(05-24-2014 11:06 PM)BigHouston Wrote:  

(05-24-2014 08:09 PM)KNIGHTTIME Wrote:  

(05-23-2014 12:04 PM)SMUfrat Wrote:  General question: Do y'all feel that the basketball focus is solid across the board in the AAC? I have seen some strong recruiting efforts and hires, so I thought I would share some thoughts:

UCF - ??? not sure

Do you feel like we will continue to be a top conference going forward?

I think we remain a top conference as long as Memphis, Cincy, and Uconn remain in the league. This recent SMU surge is just a plus for the AAC. We are going to have others step up from year to year like a UCF/USF/Houston/Temple/ etc

I kindly disagree.

No one is going anywhere... The AAC will remain intact and build solid equity for the next six years, if not, longer.

On your last sentence... Houston won't be a step up, with Sampson now at helm, expect Houston to be a regular and right in the middle of everything.

That will be great if it happens for Houston. We have to see it happen though before we make a comment that we are a top tier conference b/c Houston is in the mix.

(05-23-2014 12:22 PM)nomad2u2001 Wrote:  ECU has recruited better. Two 24/7 3 stars. Oh yeah, that practice facility.

I don't necessarily think we should've extended Lebo at the moment, but we did. From where we started, we're showing the right things as far as improvement is concerned.

The extension was as much to show recruits that the administration has confidence in Lebo as anything else, so that they see that he will be their coach the entire time they are in school, hypothetically. Don't read too much else into it.

Everyone is down on Lebo but the guy needs time. He inherited a program that has been an afterthought and neglected for decades. He's started from scratch. He's been given the tools he needs. I'd say now he's on the clock.

(05-24-2014 08:09 PM)KNIGHTTIME Wrote:  

(05-23-2014 12:04 PM)SMUfrat Wrote:  General question: Do y'all feel that the basketball focus is solid across the board in the AAC? I have seen some strong recruiting efforts and hires, so I thought I would share some thoughts:

UCF - ??? not sure

Do you feel like we will continue to be a top conference going forward?

UCF is getting the best rated talent ever for us. We have our 1st parade all-american coming in this year (BJ Taylor) who could be the best player in FL. He joins a former 4 star SG that was a commitment from Miami. In 2015, we have verbals from some of the best Florida talent and we are still trying to add a few more 4* which is a real possibility since the group are all buddies.

I don't see anything new on the facilities front since our basketball facilities are solid.

I think we remain a top conference as long as Memphis, Cincy, and Uconn remain in the league. This recent SMU surge is just a plus for the AAC. We are going to have others step up from year to year like a UCF/USF/Houston/Temple/ etc

UCF is still down 2 scholarships for this upcoming season as when UCF gets back to 13 scholarships, full number of official visits and no more off campus recruiting restrictions for a coaches, UCF will have a chance to compete in this very good hoop conf.

UCF gets studs to commit but can't get them on campus. Hopefully the 2014 & 2015 guys get on campus and we can will again.

(05-25-2014 06:45 AM)PuddlePirate Wrote:  

(05-23-2014 12:22 PM)nomad2u2001 Wrote:  ECU has recruited better. Two 24/7 3 stars. Oh yeah, that practice facility.

I don't necessarily think we should've extended Lebo at the moment, but we did. From where we started, we're showing the right things as far as improvement is concerned.

The extension was as much to show recruits that the administration has confidence in Lebo as anything else, so that they see that he will be their coach the entire time they are in school, hypothetically. Don't read too much else into it.

Everyone is down on Lebo but the guy needs time. He inherited a program that has been an afterthought and neglected for decades. He's started from scratch. He's been given the tools he needs. I'd say now he's on the clock.

I am Lebo supporter, but the extension was unnecessary. He isn't going anywhere anytime and why go that long with a coach that isn't in demand?

(05-25-2014 09:04 AM)firmbizzle Wrote:  UCF gets studs to commit but can't get them on campus. Hopefully the 2014 & 2015 guys get on campus and we can will again.

We had some decommitments but we have some that stuck too. We have our 1st parade all American. Chad Brown is a lock for 2015. He wears ucf stuff all the time and trying to get all his 4 star buddies to come along. Possible to have recommitments for 2015.

My guess is 2014-15 will be 6-9 standing range of the aac and the following year we start climbing.

(05-25-2014 09:33 AM)oasispirate Wrote:  

(05-25-2014 06:45 AM)PuddlePirate Wrote:  

(05-23-2014 12:22 PM)nomad2u2001 Wrote:  ECU has recruited better. Two 24/7 3 stars. Oh yeah, that practice facility.

I don't necessarily think we should've extended Lebo at the moment, but we did. From where we started, we're showing the right things as far as improvement is concerned.

The extension was as much to show recruits that the administration has confidence in Lebo as anything else, so that they see that he will be their coach the entire time they are in school, hypothetically. Don't read too much else into it.

Everyone is down on Lebo but the guy needs time. He inherited a program that has been an afterthought and neglected for decades. He's started from scratch. He's been given the tools he needs. I'd say now he's on the clock.

I am Lebo supporter, but the extension was unnecessary. He isn't going anywhere anytime and why go that long with a coach that isn't in demand?

I'm not strongly invested in it either way honestly, but my opinion is that it was for the reasons I stated above. The program was a blank canvass when he inherited it. I just think the guy needs time and support and the extension helps show that. Good, bad, or indifferent, only time will tell because it's done.

(05-25-2014 01:09 AM)fishpro1098 Wrote:  

(05-24-2014 06:15 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  

(05-24-2014 03:56 AM)fishpro1098 Wrote:  

(05-23-2014 12:44 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  Temple is about to hire Temple alum and former NBA player and assistant coach Rick Brunson, which will better position us for his son, 5* PG Jalen Brunson.

Are you sure about that?

That's the word.

I would call it the speculation.

Helluva coincidental timing with the new job posting and Jalen cutting his list to 8.

As much as ECU has deserved criticism in the past....I believe we will be competitive within a couple of seasons. I think this may be the best class ECU has ever signed and that should improve as we go forward. I think people underestimate Lebo's potential. He learned from one of the best...like him or not. If he can recruit in the AAC? We will be fine. I have always maintained that CUSA did nothing to help us recruit. This new situation should improve that problem. It is going to be a challenge. It is also going to be fun.

(05-26-2014 04:31 PM)Fo Shizzle Wrote:  As much as ECU has deserved criticism in the past....I believe we will be competitive within a couple of seasons. I think this may be the best class ECU has ever signed and that should improve as we go forward. I think people underestimate Lebo's potential. He learned from one of the best...like him or not. If he can recruit in the AAC? We will be fine. I have always maintained that CUSA did nothing to help us recruit. This new situation should improve that problem. It is going to be a challenge. It is also going to be fun.

I very much agree with what you said. I don't think most of our conference brethren realize how completely the ACC dominates our state. We have 4 ACC successful basketball in-state schools that have pounded their brand into the media and recruits in our area for decades. No other state in the ACC has more basketball schools than North Carolina. Only Virginia and Florida are the closest in numbers and they have 2 each. It's ACC or nothing here for recruits. Even UNC@Charlotte that has had some limited success in basketball years ago can't make a living recruiting from NC. We have made some significant inroads with football in eastern NC, but the ACC basketball mentality rules here. Players like Montrezl Harrell and Rodney Purvis grew up less than 25 minutes from campus, but we don't even get a look. The ACC has been very successful keeping us down on the farm. CUSA has done nothing to help us in basketball even when it was CUSA 1.0. We are going to have recruit from Florida or out-of-state with the success of the AAC brand to get a foothold.

(05-26-2014 05:38 PM)Xbones Wrote:  

(05-26-2014 04:31 PM)Fo Shizzle Wrote:  As much as ECU has deserved criticism in the past....I believe we will be competitive within a couple of seasons. I think this may be the best class ECU has ever signed and that should improve as we go forward. I think people underestimate Lebo's potential. He learned from one of the best...like him or not. If he can recruit in the AAC? We will be fine. I have always maintained that CUSA did nothing to help us recruit. This new situation should improve that problem. It is going to be a challenge. It is also going to be fun.

I very much agree with what you said. I don't think most of our conference brethren realize how completely the ACC dominates our state. We have 4 ACC successful basketball in-state schools that have pounded their brand into the media and recruits in our area for decades. No other state in the ACC has more basketball schools than North Carolina. Only Virginia and Florida are the closest in numbers and they have 2 each. It's ACC or nothing here for recruits. Even UNC@Charlotte that has had some limited success in basketball years ago can't make a living recruiting from NC. We have made some significant inroads with football in eastern NC, but the ACC basketball mentality rules here. Players like Montrezl Harrell and Rodney Purvis grew up less than 25 minutes from campus, but we don't even get a look. The ACC has been very successful keeping us down on the farm. CUSA has done nothing to help us in basketball even when it was CUSA 1.0. We are going to have recruit from Florida or out-of-state with the success of the AAC brand to get a foothold.

Just remember...We did recruit some decent players in CUSA 1.0 and won some games over good teams in Minges. That went away quickly in CUSA 2.0. It seems to already have shifted with this first class in the AAC. We will see how much the "bump" in recruiting will be.
One of the things I have preached for years is more recruiting abroad. It is the one place to recruit a solid player or two. They usually are hard workers and team players also.

ECU doesn't recruit at a high level to be any threat. Houston assembled a better class with a new coach. Lebo settled

(05-26-2014 06:00 PM)Geotag Wrote:  ECU doesn't recruit at a high level to be any threat. Houston assembled a better class with a new coach. Lebo settled

Houston recruited some high risk players that could give them high rewards. Lebo doesn't recruit those type of kids, but until they play next season we really don't know who has the better class.

UC has a really good class coming in and we should have the most depth and talent as any under Cronin...albeit young and so I expect bumps in the road early and things to come together as the season progresses