Fans tend to be inpatient. SP had an 11-18 record in his third year at NDSU, believe, so what do you think this board would say about that if it were to happen here?

I would almost think we would have to sign a couple of JUCO's if we want to be competitive.  Right now we have only 1 junior on the team and a glaring hole for a scorer at either the 2 or the 3.

they wouldn't be his guys exactly, since he wasn't the head coach. Granted he may have helped recruit them. Anyway, our fans still would have a very short memory if we were 11-18

BG's new coach inherited a similar situation, he was left with 9 scholarship players-

4 seniors
2 juniors
3 sophomores
0 freshmen

He's had an extra two weeks compared to Phillips but in the last week he's managed to fill their 4 open scholarships with 3 jucos and 1 freshman. Now they'll look like this next year-

4 seniors
5 juniors
3 sophomores
1 freshman

Big difference. Getting a little nervous but I hope SP can deliver some magic.

Breaking News: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/michael-mckean-cast-better-call-saul-article-1.1775564

Considering the mess that our most recent coach got us in, Saul gets a pass this year.  You can't rely on juco's and transfers and that's the route we were headed.  If we are truly a fine academic institution, then we should be bringing in kids who are students.  Harvard and Yale win with students and they don't even give scholarships.

I'm going to take a stab at this, and assume that Alan meant that you can't win with ONLY transfers and JUCO's, and that I can agree with.  The reason I can is simple - there needs to be continuity in the roster and the way the team plays. Comprising half a roster that way could jeopardize that and make recruiting tougher.  That said, finding 1-2 kids a year who can be a very good player from either the transfer or JUCO ranks can really bolster a roster.  I've never been against JUCO kids for any reason, and have never understood why they have been perceived negatively by some folks or the media.  I just don't want to see the whole roster made from JUCO kids for the sake of stability.  On the other hand, I WANT kids like Maurice and Travis on our squad - JUCO or not.

Man, that new BG coach works fast doesn't he.  I could see a big rise from them next year now that they got rid of that lame duck coach Orr.  With their top notch facilities there, all they really needed was a better coach.

I'll be patient and give Saul at least a full year of recruiting before I make any real judgements.  I mean with his personality I don't see any reason why Saul can't at least match or improve upon the type of talent that Christian has brought in here.

I hope your right Jeff.





GO BOBCATS

First off, I understand that comparing the ACC and the MAC is not "Apples to Apples" in terms of the ability to recruit.  Basketball is more of a secondary sport for me, so while I follow Ohio Basketball from a distance, I won't pretend to be an expert on the X's and O's of basketball.

With that said, the development of the Virginia Basketball program under Tony Bennett seems to mirror the approach it appears that Saul wants to utilize at Ohio.

Bennett took over a program that had really fallen under Pete Gillen and then Dave Leito. People liked Gillen, but he was not the same coach without Skip Prosser next to him. Leito was someone with a horrible personality and everybody was happy when he left.

Like Phillip's, Bennett is young with Wisconsin roots.  Bennett is also very focused on developing a team comprised mostly of 4/5 year student athletes.  This season Anthony Gill who transferred in from South Carolina was the only player who did not come straight to UVA out of high school.

Bennett won 15 games his first year at UVA which improved on 10 wins Leito's last season.  It was a slow building process the first 4 years and Bennett recruited several players out of high school who transferred out of UVA, so he had some early misses on recruits.  On the other hand he was able to recruit some better players so some left on their own.

Yes UVA won the ACC this year, but even UVA fans would admit that Duke and UNC were not the teams they normally are. However, UVA took advantage and won the regular season and conference tourney.

UVA had not in the past or probably in the future recruit the high number of elite "McDonalds All-Americans" like Duke or UNC.  With an emphasis on defense and a disciplined approach on offense, Bennett tries to control the pace of the game.

Like Bennett, the key for Phillips is to find players that might be under the radar a bit, but who have some skill, can accept coaching and do well in the classroom.  Joe Harris was a basic Rivals 3-Star player who looked like a 4-Star Player in the highlights.  With his leadership, Harris had the impact of a 5-Star player on the program.

Starting freshman point guard London Perrantes of Los Angeles was not recruited by either UCLA or USC and only had about four offers from D-1 Schools.  One of Bennett's contacts told him about Perrantes who earned 1st team ALL-ACC Freshman honors.  Perrantes is not flashy, just very solid and understands his role.

Bennett's seat was beginning to get a bit warm this year after loosing to Old Dominion at home (a year ago) and loosing to VCU at home and his own Alma Mater Wisconsin Green Bay this season.  UVA was then blown out by nearly 40 points at Tennessee and the program hit rock bottom.  Harris went to Bennett's home to ask what he needed to do as a leader and it led to a dramatic turnaround.

In short, it appears Bennett had a plan and stuck to his plan without taking a lot of shortcuts that might have added an extra win or two a few years ago but not develop the continuity he now has.  The administration and the fans for the most part stayed pretty positive during the slow development of the program the past four years and it appears the wait was well worth it.  Beating Duke and UNC was great, but the best part was the fact it was accomplished by players who were overlooked by those schools and by student/athletes who will earn their degree's from UVA.

the article in the athens messenger talked about jeff mc kinney ..