You sir, are guilty of incredibly rational thought...are you sure you're on the right message board...?

If there were a trophy on this fan board for posting rambling nonsense, you'd be in the running for the championship. Congrats!

Most players want to play professional ball, thousands go overseas. NCAA athletes do value academics, 72% of athletes pick schools for academic reasons, most would love to go to the NBA. That is why kids transfer for playing time. We have to stop speaking off the cuff to ourselves or being fake authorities on stuff. It is not delusional to have dreams and goals, it is MEDIOCRE not to dream or have goals. I am not going to say in my 90 years of recruiting to trump you, I am going to present facts. From the attached article, not an emotional opinion or a get Allen narrative.

Men's hoops players are the most unrealistic. More than three-quarters of men’s basketball players in Division I say they believe it is at least “somewhat likely” they will play professionally. More than half of Division II players say the same, as do 21 percent of Division III players. Only 1.2 percent of college basketball players will be drafted by a National Basketball Association team.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/27/college-at...

Your 51% vs. 60% again misses a major aspect ... scheduling. Go look at the schedules in the early 70's. We were playing a much stronger schedule ... OSU, Purdue, Wisconsin, Va. Tech, etc. I saw a lot of those games and playing stronger competition, even when we lost was more enjoyable that playing Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Alcorn State, etc. So comparing the 51% to 60% I think is comparing oranges to apples.

Maybe I'm missing what you mean relative to Danny Nee. Yes, he left for a better job. But he lasted 14 years at Nebraska with 5 trips to the NCAA and another 5 to the NIT. Groce was let go after 5 at Illinois and Christian's days are probably numbered. So I see Nee as more successful in taking the next step up, especially since Nebraska was football country. Being in the shadows of Tom Osborne had to be a challenge but he did quite well.

Basketball in the winter of 1969 was awesome. The Convo was packed and fans were jumping out of their seats. (No O Zone back then)
Hope this freshman class can compliment the returning starters from last year.

Winner Winner!!!!

(Guitar solo)

I don't have fake agent friends and I don't say anything that a normal fan would not say. We all know that we pay coaches big money to win. We don't pay to participate. We see coaches like Groce get fired when they don't win. I happen to be in a land where if you talk about improvement and optimism, the medi's throw stones and some people use lies about fake subject matter experts to support their mediocre beliefs. For example, in the case of Tarell Basham, it was suggested that he could be more marketable if he could also be a 3-4 backer. One poster said he could not do it, he wanted to see him play DE, he said a 3-4 was too complex for Basham. Me and four other posters noted that he could and many have made that transition successfully. The person with no truth in him, PM's me and said he knows his agent and he said it. This person was willing to go any length to establish his mediocre opinions. I am glad that Tarell Basham worked hard and got drafted to play linebacker. The person who said that he could not achieve this and lied about contacts should examine himself and you should question his nonsense. Not me saying, we need to improve certain players field goal percentage and add to their games. My original post was meant to open your eyes. We pay our coaches more than our school president to win, not to participate. The president has over 20,000 people under his watch, our football and basketball coaches have 120 and 15 respectively. Who is real and who is living in an imaginary world?

I have to laugh....I heard my kid introducing me to y a coach saying..."if this guy hears a ball bouncing a mile away in a gym full of 3 rd graders the truck just turns around and follows the sound..." I do not think I quite that bad but there is a joy in watching grass roots and how coaches at all levels teach...

Apologies for the a lengthy reply.

In defense of Allen, he's also known for his "+1" replies. Can't get much more brief than that, no?

I don't know if he got his fake agent friend off of ebay, but he has them.
BillyTheCat [Block User]
Subject: Basham
Message: My best friend is on the team that signed Basham, Priority Sports & Entertainment. Quality outfit out of Chicago, who does not sign projected UDFA's. Basham is in good hands and they are not wanting him to have to make a position change.
About a week later guess who is doing linebacker workouts at the combine? Who got drafted to play 3-4 OLB? Who said there friend quit last week, lol? Guess what agency has signed undrafted free agents? If this persons claim was true it could warrant an NCAA investigation (a guy who says he is a friend of the staff and the best friend of an agent). Thank God the NCAA know's a wannabe when they see one, lol.
I don't make stuff up, other people do, but I don't.
Now you are mad that my post is over 200 words, lol.

Funny thing about this place....you never know who you are talking to...or what their connections are....

I ALWAYS assume the folks reading this are much smarter than I...(must be otherwise they would be posting with the rest of us) and I ALWAYS assume whomever I get introduced to knows something that I can learn from.... so before I post I ALWAYS reread it and consider who might be reading it.

You never know who might be sitting at the scorer's table, who might be dealing with the OHSAA, who might be the agent of or president of an agency be representing athletes, who might be a business owner in Athens, who might be a coach or staff sitting there monitoring the board, who might be a very esteemed lawyer in an high profile position, who might be in the TV industry or ESPN.... so it is always fun and prudent to measure words and statements because there is usually someone reading who knows way more than I.


Luckily, I have met or talked to each of those listed above and more because they are not sitting behind a screen name (well some are but that is more out of professional considerations) and feeling empowered by anonymity. THey own their statements and they discuss them freely and readily over a beer. SOme of the best entertainment here is watching guys critique things when you know the guy they are taking to task may be an expert or have inside knowledge and he is smart enough to just chuckle and let the person rambling dig a deeper hole while we watch.

This is a fantastic board with an exceptionally bright bunch of guys from many walks of life with a common passion for a great place. I have learned a ton and will continue to....just by continuing to come. My kid left and I still came because of the people. He is back and he will leave again. I don't know if I will still be here then but I will continue to exercise the same restraint when I am here...there will always be someone out there who knows way more than I reading the words here...humility is key...and those who look to put targets on your back probably don't have much to offer anyway. There is no doubt in my mind that people here know more and are smarter than they let on.... and there is no doubt that the really smart ones go silent when they are confronted with aberrant behaviour.