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Post by letsgoeagles on Feb 4, 2024 7:27:01 GMT -6
We have a lot of veterans as assistant coaches and that’s good for experience but I think it’s probably not great for recruiting. We need a young coach for recruiting that recently came from a big program that has connections. It seems to me like Stan is doing most of the recruiting now. He mentioned the other night that he drove 10 hours to watch some kids, and offered 2 of them. Maybe he wants to see recruits in person after this past class. He might be taking matters into his own hands to ensure he gets want he wants. Hope it works. I will say I think some have really stepped up as the season has gone on. They are giving as much as their limited talent can, but it’s just a little short. Is this now the 8th game that came down to final 30 seconds to decide the outcome.? It really sucks the life out of a person when you are even with a minute left and lose 7 of the 8. Those are interesting observations. I would have to agree about Stan taking matters into his own hands. At this level you will take some risks with kids with the hope they turn out well, particularly when you are in transition. Obviously there were some players who just did not pan out. Hasson, at least for me, was the biggest disappointment. The question I ponder is Hasson a guy who could still develop? As we all know most kids at the midmajor level need a year or two to get better. Even in this time of the portal, I think you can still do "some" developing of players who have the patience to "wait their turn". In the case of Hasson, for sure he lacks lateral quickness, and his shot (at least when I see him during warmups) is nothing to get overly excited about. He also appears weak physically. For a guy like Luther Smith the game was way too fast for him...but that is true for most freshman when they come in. But for sure, he did not distinguish himself at all with is shot, but he did not play much either. I do like our assistants, and all of them have recruited good players before. But a proven big time recruiter would be a big boost, but does USI have the money to pay a guy like that. Probably not. But for sure, I think you are right about Stan. He wants to be very sure he is getting the guys he wants. I credit him for that....this recuriting season, I doubt he will be home much. Let's see who he can bring in.
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Post by eagle87 on Feb 4, 2024 8:45:19 GMT -6
Good post with valid points. Imo, I think Hason is not ever going to be a great D1 player. The tools are just not there. The only thing he has going for him from a basketball perspective is that he is 6-10. That to me is where it ends though. He is slow, not a great shot,physically weak,little basketball IQ, lacks aggression and is not a great defender. I just honestly don’t see him ever being good at the D1 level. Luther to me was a huge disappointment because all preseason he was touted as being the best pure shooter on the team…but that is far from reality in the limited time he has played. With the need for guard play we have had this year, if he couldn’t get minutes this year, he must be pretty bad. I’m not trying to be an ass about these two but just stating what I think is pretty obvious from watching them play. They would both be better off going D2 and getting some decent minutes at that level. One thing I have noticed in the offers we have made is that Stan seems to be going after some taller guards. I think he is seeing that other teams are posting up our smaller guards or just simply shooting over them. As much as we all know the need for guards, I think we really need a big that is a difference maker. The better teams in our league all have 6-11 or 7-0 foot bruiser at center. KP is just not getting it done most games imo. He is not physically strong enough to play against the top centers in the conference or against most centers in the non conference. His stats are generally not very good and he barely scores at all in many games. So I guess what I think we need to recruit is…well, everything lol. I just hope we get impactful players early so they can be here for the entire summer for strength training and get some chemistry playing together before the season starts.
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Post by shorthaircut on Feb 4, 2024 8:55:03 GMT -6
Good post with valid points. Imo, I think Hason is not ever going to be a great D1 player. The tools are just not there. The only thing he has going for him from a basketball perspective is that he is 6-10. That to me is where it ends though. He is slow, not a great shot,physically weak,little basketball IQ, lacks aggression and is not a great defender. I just honestly don’t see him ever being good at the D1 level. Luther to me was a huge disappointment because all preseason he was touted as being the best pure shooter on the team…but that is far from reality in the limited time he has played. With the need for guard play we have had this year, if he couldn’t get minutes this year, he must be pretty bad. I’m not trying to be an ass about these two but just stating what I think is pretty obvious from watching them play. They would both be better off going D2 and getting some decent minutes at that level. One thing I have noticed in the offers we have made is that Stan seems to be going after some taller guards. I think he is seeing that other teams are posting up our smaller guards or just simply shooting over them. As much as we all know the need for guards, I think we really need a big that is a difference maker. The better teams in our league all have 6-11 or 7-0 foot bruiser at center. KP is just not getting it done most games imo. He is not physically strong enough to play against the top centers in the conference or against most centers in the non conference. His stats are generally not very good and he barely scores at all in many games. So I guess what I think we need to recruit is…well, everything lol. I just hope we get impactful players early so they can be here for the entire summer for strength training and get some chemistry playing together before the season starts. Definitely have to clean house to free up as many scholarships as possible. Coming to USI Stan’s strength was his recruiting and his Xs and Os were a bit lacking. Now it’s completely flip flopped as this year’s team I truly believe they are getting everything they possible can from this team. Hopefully he is taking a more active role and can get better kids here. I think Spru gives a solid effort recruiting, the other coaches I am not near as confident in. This off season will be highly entertaining. But this year I’m taking a wait and see approach to recruiting. Last year I was pretty fired up by what looked like some really good recruits based on their videos. None of them however have been good.
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Post by letsgoeagles on Feb 4, 2024 13:14:53 GMT -6
Good post with valid points. Imo, I think Hason is not ever going to be a great D1 player. The tools are just not there. The only thing he has going for him from a basketball perspective is that he is 6-10. That to me is where it ends though. He is slow, not a great shot,physically weak,little basketball IQ, lacks aggression and is not a great defender. I just honestly don’t see him ever being good at the D1 level. Luther to me was a huge disappointment because all preseason he was touted as being the best pure shooter on the team…but that is far from reality in the limited time he has played. With the need for guard play we have had this year, if he couldn’t get minutes this year, he must be pretty bad. I’m not trying to be an ass about these two but just stating what I think is pretty obvious from watching them play. They would both be better off going D2 and getting some decent minutes at that level. One thing I have noticed in the offers we have made is that Stan seems to be going after some taller guards. I think he is seeing that other teams are posting up our smaller guards or just simply shooting over them. As much as we all know the need for guards, I think we really need a big that is a difference maker. The better teams in our league all have 6-11 or 7-0 foot bruiser at center. KP is just not getting it done most games imo. He is not physically strong enough to play against the top centers in the conference or against most centers in the non conference. His stats are generally not very good and he barely scores at all in many games. So I guess what I think we need to recruit is…well, everything lol. I just hope we get impactful players early so they can be here for the entire summer for strength training and get some chemistry playing together before the season starts. Very good points...can't disagree on a word you wrote. It is sad KP does not have enough girth to be a legit center. He still alters a lot of shots, which I feel is his biggest strength. But it doesn't help he has no shot, and to make matters worse he may be the worst free throw shooter I have ever seen play for USI....that covers a lot of years. Hittle needs to give him some lessons.
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Post by eagle87 on Feb 4, 2024 13:53:57 GMT -6
Never imagined in a million years I would say it, but at this point Hittle is our best big man. KP is 2nd best. Causewell is 3rd. Wow, what a contrast from what we all thought would be the case over the summer. I’d say 99% of us thought it would be reversed. Causewell the best, then KP and Hittle not even getting minutes in meaningful games. If Hittle can continue to improve even a little, he will be a solid 10-15 minute back up center if we get a real inside threat in the off season.
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Post by letsgoeagles on Feb 4, 2024 18:39:55 GMT -6
I had been thinking about that as well concerning Hittle....would have never imagined him playing much at all, let alone being a starter. Biggest surprise for me this season. It may take quite a player coming in to take his starting position.
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Post by eagle87 on Feb 4, 2024 18:51:51 GMT -6
I had been thinking about that as well concerning Hittle....would have never imagined him playing much at all, let alone being a starter. Biggest surprise for me this season. It may take quite a player coming in to take his starting position. I could see Stan letting a Hittle start next year out of loyalty but maybe playing 3-4 minutes and then putting in our new center…if we can get a good one. His big boy body is why I think he is having some success. The centers in theOVC are shaq- like in size and KP and Causewell just get pushed around too much. Hittle can muscle them back. Wish Hittle could jump more than 6 inches because he would be a real threat if he could. But, he is keeping the opponents center in check at least. And he can hit free throws.
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Post by letsgoeagles on Feb 4, 2024 19:07:01 GMT -6
I agree. I will say it is quite a tribute to Hittle's hard work, and the coaching staff that he at least a serviceable center in the OVC. The fact he makes free throws is a big deal. As he learns to take the ball to the hoop more it makes him that much more a valuable player.
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Post by shorthaircut on Feb 4, 2024 19:46:50 GMT -6
I had been thinking about that as well concerning Hittle....would have never imagined him playing much at all, let alone being a starter. Biggest surprise for me this season. It may take quite a player coming in to take his starting position. I could see Stan letting a Hittle start next year out of loyalty but maybe playing 3-4 minutes and then putting in our new center…if we can get a good one. His big boy body is why I think he is having some success. The centers in theOVC are shaq- like in size and KP and Causewell just get pushed around too much. Hittle can muscle them back. Wish Hittle could jump more than 6 inches because he would be a real threat if he could. But, he is keeping the opponents center in check at least. And he can hit free throws. There is a good shot Hittle is the starting center next year too and logging significant minutes. This is the position of least concern of mine. We need an elite PG, another guard who can get his own shot and someone who can knock down outside shots.
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Post by letsgoeagles on Feb 4, 2024 20:06:01 GMT -6
Impact players needed for sure. Hittle can just "bang", as long as the team got a couple of legit scorers and a guy who can play the point and defend. It will be a most interesting off season. Coach Gouard will be aggressive - he doesn't want to go through next year what he is going through now.
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Post by eaglefan on Feb 4, 2024 20:34:03 GMT -6
Hittle has surprised the last few weeks, and I’m loving it. Didn’t have the best game against TSU, then again, they would call a foul if he even breathed.
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