BASKETBALL 2018 Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis

[sWiley]

Kingaling42, When we play Ole Miss you will see Kermit's offense. It's already working at a very high pace in Oxford. He utilizes tons of motion and wants to get the best shot on the offensive end regardless of when it comes in the shot clock. You'll see guards running the baseline all-game with multiple screens being set. His offenses at MT IMO evolved greatly over the last 6-7 years once he started getting better players. To me he appears to be a %'s guy. He wants his players taking the best and easiest shots possible (uncontested is always nice, isn't it?) because you're obviously most likely to make those baskets. His offenses always seemed to change based on the strength of his players. He really started to shine IMO the last 4-5 years because offensively we were very versatile and could beat teams in many different ways. Of course, having talent like Giddy Potts, Reggie Upshaw, LaRon Dendy, JaCorey Williams, Nick King, etc. makes offensive execution much easier.

Defensively, it was the kitchen sink. Literally everything. Man2man, multiple zone looks, traps, full court press (sometimes). Most well known defense was probably the 1-3-1 half court set where we would trap, trap, and trap some more. Tons of turnovers caused and offenses could never get into rhythm. He demanded perfection. Out of position players or players taking ill-advised shots would QUICKLY find themselves on the bench and being cussed out. This was difficult to stomach early in his career but as the success came and the light bulbs started to come on, he didn't have to blow a fuse nearly as often.

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

And we fouled a lot...and our players look frustrated some and it required a coach to be play good cop...just wanted to add some color to the information shared thus far.

 

[MT-PAIN]

F Kermit

 

[sWiley]

F Kermit

I have taken an interest to his team and venture in Oxford. I don't care if he succeeds or falls completely flat on his face. Just very interested to see if he can turn an SEC bottom feeder into a contender.

Early on, he appears to have already made vast improvements with the team. Don't be surprised if Ole Miss wins several games it shouldn't this year.

 

[kingaling42]

And we fouled a lot...and our players look frustrated some and it required a coach to be play good cop...just wanted to add some color to the information shared thus far.

Aside from specific X’s & O’s on offense/defense I think that the main difference in styles is simply their personalities... CKD sounds like a disciplinarian and used fear (playing time) to various degrees to obtain outcomes.. CNM is more of a players coach- trying to obtain results through individual and collective relationships.. you’ll see him get into his players some during games but it likely won’t be frequent. I’ve seen Nick pull the patented Roy Williams move & sub 5 new guys in/5 out but again it’s infrequent as he’s opting for different gears, buttons for different situations.. playing time is still the ultimate prize or punishment for both styles it’s just that CNMs style is less in-your-face.. it’s not all that different from the various parenting styles- these are after all 18-23 year olds..

I’ve played for both styles and most players will respond to either style through convention- we all know playing time is on the line.. some kids need firm discipline which will come from CNM & his staff but usually on an individual basis, film sessions, or in practice (ie not showing kids up/in public for the most part).. I think CNM wants guys to learn over time what is a good shot vs a bad shot without losing confidence or aggressiveness by wondering if a missed shot is going to land them on the bench right away. Most good and all great offensive players had similar latitude (green lights) in HS which is why they were successful and why they were being recruited..

 

[kingaling42]

... Is recruiting big strong physical frontcourt players in CNM wheelhouse? Has CNM had success in recruiting good frontcourt size over the years?

Yes and No.. It's definitely in CNMs and his staff's wheelhouse- quick example is that Wes Long was formerly on VCU's staff before joining CNM in Avl and obviously recruited that athletic, strong mold of player.

However at Avl there's a number of other factors against actually landing those strong, athletic, skilled kids-

Strike 1: The diversity & number of minority students within the student population at UNCA is minimal outside of athletes.
Strike 2: Academic/admission requirements at UNCA are high and while there are some exceptions you can't set kids up for academic failure for 1 year of performance- APR implications as well.
Strike 3: That skilled BIG is rare enough in the college landscape and you're getting offers from bigger/better programs than UNCA and the Big South. You just don't stick at that level regardless of how well you may like the staff/players/program history.

As a comparison: Gregg Marshall when at Winthrop and with years of NCAA appearances had trouble landing those same types of players in the BigSouth- when he did in 2004-2007 those WU teams were really good as painful as it is for me to say it publicly..

So what we saw at UNCA in the PF/C mold is a choice between the undersized guy with the ideal skillset.. or the kid that has 1 gear (not the quickest) but good physical size and you live with some deficiency.. CNM while in Avl would rather sign the best recruit available regardless of position/size.. so he utilized the stretch 4 with some talented kids (i.e. 6'9" Johnathan Baehre who just transferred to Clemson, 6'6" Dwayne Sutton, who transferred to Louisville and had 13pts/6 boards tonight over MSU).. and he patched the center spot with another forward or a lumbering 6'9" type guy..

UNCA would never land Scurry, Gamble, or Hawthorne as an example... they would have better offers and likely be more comfortable off-the-court and it would have nothing to do with the coaches.

 

[crposton]

I saw this quote from Mack Brown during his press conference as the new UNC football coach. Thought it fits us in basketball right now.

"You've got to be the cool place to be," Brown said. "We were the cool place to be before, and I think we can be again. And we've got to get people back in the stands. You want to help us win? Come buy tickets. Not after we win."

Also I love the style of play discussion. Kingaling42 I would like to say thank you for the insight. I think all of us here at MTSU are just shell shocked with all the departures and changes this year. I think CNM will be a better coach than Kermit was for us. I really hope I am right.

 

[dukewayne]

No doubt. I am really enjoying the good basketball discussion.

It is completely understandable that recruiting post players would be difficult at UNC-A. That is what I was trying to get at in trying to describe that lack of size when MT was in the OVC. A similar situation in that it is a similar "smaller" conference where teams had difficulty landing big post players.

Fortunately, MT and in C-USA that is not as much of a problem. Matter of fact, in order to be competitive in C-USA it is my opinion that you really need a couple of those frontcourt players that are not only strong and big but also athletic with good skills. Granted, landing those elite big post players is still incredibly difficult as they are scooped by the big national programs competing for the Final 4 year in and year out. Although just this year our chief rival WKU landed a 5 star post player. I imagine that around here on this board there is likely a consensus that Stansbury up at WKU might just have a little funny business going on.

On contrasting styles of coaching such as CNM and our former coach here, I am eager to see what kind of results CNM will yield in recruiting. While I liked and enjoyed the physical tough nature of play under Kermit, only certain types of players could make it in his demanding system. It took a lot of years for Kermit and his staff to finally start landing the recruits that matched his style. For years, Kermit was running off many a decent looking prospect within months of them arriving on campus. Even when Kermit became really successful, his recruiting classes weren't highly ranked as he had to bring in players who were matches for his system.....and not necessarily the best overall skilled athletes. Although don't get me wrong, many were strong and athletic, but usually overlooked in recruiting or needing development.

I happen to think CNM's approach of investing in long term relationships is likely the best approach, in my humble opinion. The downside is that it does take time to build those relationships. So even though MT is rebuilding, I fully expect it to take a couple of years for CNM approach to really start yielding excellent results. Genuinely establishing those relationships has real potential to pull off big recruiting coups. Also, in an age when so many players are up and leaving each year, that approach of investing in relationships should help in developing loyalty in those players to have a better chance of sticking around for 4 or 5 years.

 

[sWiley]

I think all of us here at MTSU are just shell shocked with all the departures and changes this year.

Understatement of the century.

We've been the bully with the big stick for the last 6-7 years. Shelling everyone in the conference and winning multiple big OOC games each and every year. NCAA tournament success, NIT tournament success, massive success over rivals WKU, Vanderbilt, and whipping Tennessee in the NIT. MT basketball had swag, skill, and it backed it up nearly every time we hit the hardwood. We didn't win every game, but nobody ever blew us out. Ever. I literally couldn't tell you the last time we lost to our hated rival WKU. We've won, what, 10 games straight over them? LOL. That's 100% coming to an end this season.

In the matter of a few months, we lost our superstar head coach, nearly our ENTIRE ROSTER (WTF?????), and have to start from scratch with a young coach who utilizes different offensive and defensive philosophies.

It is a complete and total rebuild of the program. And as a fan it's very disheartening because we were just starting to consistently attract that national media attention as we made our case to try and be the next mid-major darling. We were just starting to sign those players that can truly elevate us to the next level (Curry, Fagan, Buffen)...and BAM. Back to square 1. Oh what could have been....

We can ill afford to disappear off the CBB landscape with big losing seasons, but it looks like we don't have a choice at this point. All of that goodwill, respect, and clout we worked so hard to attain over the last 6-7 years will be pissed down the drain.

I'm sure CNM knew these things when he took the job. At least I hope he realized it would be a complete and total rebuild. I know he also understands the expectations here, as he has mentioned as much when speaking publicly. Personally, I think he is a good enough coach to help us win championships and win a tournament game or two. The big X factor to me, and what remains to be seen, is the talent he can sign. Basketball, much more so than any other sport in my opinion, is reliant on having star players. You're just not going to have a lot of success without great players. I want to see Nick sign some great talent, unprecedented talent to be quite honest. With all of the success we've had in the tournament, our budget and commitment to basketball, there's no reason we shouldn't be bringing in great talent moving forward.

 

[abarnett]

sWiley. I agree 100%. We r all disappointed but we all new it was coming. Hard. To handle present results. It’s brutal. Not solely anybody’s fault. It will take the new coach more than one year but hope we see improvement.

 

[RandallThomason]

Understatement of the century.

I literally couldn't tell you the last time we lost to our hated rival WKU. We've won, what, 10 games straight over them? LOL. That's 100% coming to an end this season.

13-2 vs. WKU since 2010, with a current winning streak of 4 games. It's easy to forget because of how the 2016 season ended with the C-USA Tournament championship and NCAA win over Michigan State, but we stumbled in our final regular season homestand that year. We dropped home games to UAB and WKU before ending the homestand with a win over Marshall.

 

[blueraiderJT]

I don't like our look now. I don't like even watching us play. No defense and no control. It's like we're a deer in the headlights when it comes to ball possession. Maybe it will get better but right now, it's awful. I'm not going to spin it or sugarcoat it. It's painful to watch. I'll let time either prove me right or wrong at this point but we are not in a good place. I'm sure it's expected but isn't fun to go through when we had Kermit and knew what we would get with him.

 

[MTLynn]

I seems like it usually takes until January for most guys to learn a new system so I'm expecting inconsistent play until then

 

[abarnett]

No doubt very painful terrible to watch. I’m sure painful for coach also. It’s a mess no one anticipated. As of now not all coaches fault. Have to see how it plays out I don’t want to go over 20 years again without a sniff of ncaa tournament. If we want to lay blame put it on Kermit right now but now it nicks job to straight it out. Go blue raiders

 

[kingaling42]

Even the best programs in the country go through down cycles based on expectations (including blue bloods in UNC, Kentucky)... there are very few that have long sustained consistency without noticeable dips (Gonzaga, Duke, Kansas)... so good programs struggle even when there's no coaching changes, great recruiting classes, and experienced returners.. at least everyone knows why this is a rebuild- it's not a secret. It's CNM's job to correct but it'll take time. It took Gregg Marshall at Wichita St 3 years to produce a better than .500 season and 5 years to get to the NCAA's..

 

[MTFNBY5]

As for being painful to watch for the first 10 +/- years watching Kermit's teams was often as painful as getting a root canal.

While yes, everything has ups and downs it is so hard to gain $#&-major relevancy in D-1 BkB and so easy to lose it. With all that has happened we have not just lost it, we have fallen off of a cliff. Will we suffer through another 2 decades (or more) of mediocrity or will we recover? More to the point: Will we recover quickly under McDevitt?

By this time next year we will have a much clearer indication of the trajectory of McDevitt's tenure. We will know how much this team (and individual players) have improved during the year. We will see just how much immediate impact the 6 +/- new players (red-shirts and signees) offer. And after next years' early signing period we will see just how much recruiting improves after a full year to evaluate and go after prospects.

Time will tell, and one year will tell a great deal.

 

[rcodeman]

Hard to pass judgment yet. I just look at this year as a mulligan. I don't think they handled the hiring process great, but what's done is done. I think they could have at least let future recruits and current players know who they were targeting as coach and let them think they had some input on the process.

I could go through the departures which I won't believe its as "bad" as every one on here says.

We aren't FSU or Penn St where there is almost a systematic cover up of any time athletes do anything wrong. Yeah one catches a DUI or minor possession charge that could go away, but this big deal stuff everyone keeps speculating on I simply don't believe it. Especially in today's time.

Like Wiley said its about getting the players. Basketball is about Jimmy's and Joe's more than X's and O's. We have to get players in here and that's what you hope he can do.

What's done is done, just keep looking towards the future. Nobody can really predict if McDevitt will be good or not yet. It's just hard to step away and accept the fact we will be lucky to win about 10 games this season. I am so glad I was incorrect on Football being all doom and gloom, but I fear basketball season may be different.

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

I think it will take at least 2 years to get a feel. And the 3rd year to see real progress. I thought the point on Wich State (3 years to get above .500 and 5 years to the NCAAs) is spot on and in a perfect situation is what we can expect.

 

[dukewayne]

Just when I thought this thread had turned the corner, bleakness again. No doubt, the last 6-7 years has been one whale of a fun ride for MT basketball fans. For long suffering MT bball fans, the last 6-7 years was a dream come true. The thought of all that fun ending was dreadful thought. Now it is here. As with anything in life, there are high spots and low spots on most any journey in life. Circumstances currently have MT in a rebuilding situation. Sure it can seem like a drag, esp at thought of losing to WKU! But hey, that's life sometimes. Just because MT is having to rebuild the team, I'm certainly not entertaining thoughts of a worst case scenario. Realistically, MT can be back making noise within 2-3 years. Heck, hopefully this young team will improve over the course of this season. Next year, there is some reason to think that MT bball just might be making good progress and strong improvements. The name and reputation of MT is not going to disappear after just a couple of years. Heck, the brand and overall univ name of MT present far more problems for MT's name and reputation then a couple years of rebuilding. That is, branding overall is MT's real problem, has been for a long time.

A couple of reminders for those waxing nostalgic for the heady days of Kermit bball:

It took about 10 long years for Kermit to finally refine his recruiting approach that started to keep players around the program and finally obtain big success.

Even with the years of big success, Kermit was not ever really able to make a big splash in recruiting due to the limited few who could match with the demands of a Kermit run program.

Despite all the success, each year was a mini-rebuild job particularly after losing 1 year transfers. Those early weeks in OOC play were not always pretty. Despite all the success, Kermit still never established any dominance over Belmont. I remember an ugly loss to a not very good TSU team early in the season that haunted MT all that season.

Let's not forget how the final weeks of Kermit's tenure came to unimpressive end. Despite the team playing well and handily winning the reg season conf race, MT choked at the end of the season. 10,000+ were turning out for MT basketball in the Murphy Center, and MT stumbled. That does not even get into the ugly early exit from the conf tourney. The one type of loss MT could ill afford for NCAA tournament chances.

I'm not bringing any of that up to bash Kermit. I'm just saying that things weren't perfect with Kermit. Improvements could have been made. Now, who knows? Perhaps the next couple of years could bring about some huge success and big fun and enjoyment in MT land.

 

[rcodeman]

J
Let's not forget how the final weeks of Kermit's tenure came to unimpressive end. Despite the team playing well and handily winning the reg season conf race, MT choked at the end of the season. 10,000+ were turning out for MT basketball in the Murphy Center, and MT stumbled. That does not even get into the ugly early exit from the conf tourney. The one type of loss MT could ill afford for NCAA tournament chances.

Conspiracy Theory: I think Kermit told team he was leaving for Ole Miss job. That's why they played as bad as they did.

 

[BRaiderDave]

Conspiracy Theory: I think Kermit told team he was leaving for Ole Miss job. That's why they played as bad as they did.

I had a player tell me that they all knew on Monday, March 12 but were "officially" told on Thursday, March 15.

 

[MT01]

It's funny that I see people say we need to stop talking about Kermit. But then bring up how long it took Kermit to be successful. Well, here's the fact. In spite a difficult year one roster situation, CNM inherited a different program with a culture of winning. Kermit inherited a dumpster fire. A complete and utter dumpster fire of a program. If you want to see the difference look at what Kermit's year one recruiting budget was vs. today. When Kermit was hired there might have been a few hundred people attending games. When CNM was hired we were leading the league in attendance. And for all the talk about Kermit's first 10 years he had one losing season in 17 years. CNM will achieve that in year one.

So, that all said I totally get the situation. No one should expect us to pick up where we left off. And I don't think anyone does. I think the comparison with Wichita State is a fair one with the exception that Wichita - at that time - played in a more difficult conference than C-USA. So, my hope is that he gets above .500 in year 2 and we're in the hunt for the league by year three.

If we aren't at least contending in year four we will know the hire was a miss.

 

[kingaling42]

Conspiracy Theory: IF... it's a loss to WKU this year will it really count when they have to vacate their wins?

 

[MTBig Blue]

It's funny that I see people say we need to stop talking about Kermit. But then bring up how long it took Kermit to be successful. Well, here's the fact. In spite a difficult year one roster situation, CNM inherited a different program with a culture of winning. Kermit inherited a dumpster fire. A complete and utter dumpster fire of a program. If you want to see the difference look at what Kermit's year one recruiting budget was vs. today. When Kermit was hired there might have been a few hundred people attending games. When CNM was hired we were leading the league in attendance. And for all the talk about Kermit's first 10 years he had one losing season in 17 years. CNM will achieve that in year one.

So, that all said I totally get the situation. No one should expect us to pick up where we left off. And I don't think anyone does. I think the comparison with Wichita State is a fair one with the exception that Wichita - at that time - played in a more difficult conference than C-USA. So, my hope is that he gets above .500 in year 2 and we're in the hunt for the league by year three.

If we aren't at least contending in year four we will know the hire was a miss.

I don't know how much of a "winning culture" this program had when our coach left, and we returned only three players that saw any playing time at all. I would say that the culture had completely dissolved and we are seeing Nick trying to build it back up.

Look, we suck right now. All of us saw this coming so it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Is it frustrating? Absolutely. But let's give Nick some time before we sound the alarm. Now if we are playing this way in the middle of next year, then we may have a problem.

 

[MT01]

I don't know how much of a "winning culture" this program had when our coach left, and we returned only three players that saw any playing time at all. I would say that the culture had completely dissolved and we are seeing Nick trying to build it back up.

Look, we suck right now. All of us saw this coming so it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Is it frustrating? Absolutely. But let's give Nick some time before we sound the alarm. Now if we are playing this way in the middle of next year, then we may have a problem.

Did you even read what I wrote in the second paragraph? I get really irritated when people say oh chill out. Don't sound the alarm. gotta give more time. Blah blah blah. I haven't seen a single person do what you just said here. I haven't seen a single person sound any alarms. If everyone "shouldn't be surprised" with the current state of things then why are we not allowed to talk about the struggles this current team is going through? I just don't get it. As soon as someone says one negative that happens to be a fact it's oh everybody needs to chill and be more patient. It's like we can't talk about the reality of the current state because somehow that is an indictment and judgment on Nick's entire tenure here however long that will be. It's ridiculous.

 

[MTBig Blue]

Did you even read what I wrote in the second paragraph? I get really irritated when people say oh chill out. Don't sound the alarm. gotta give more time. Blah blah blah. I haven't seen a single person do what you just said here. I haven't seen a single person sound any alarms. If everyone "shouldn't be surprised" with the current state of things then why are we not allowed to talk about the struggles this current team is going through? I just don't get it. As soon as someone says one negative that happens to be a fact it's oh everybody needs to chill and be more patient. It's like we can't talk about the reality of the current state because somehow that is an indictment and judgment on Nick's entire tenure here however long that will be. It's ridiculous.

Be sure to let us all know once that bug up your ass dies.

 

[MT01]

Ditto

 

[kingaling42]

It's funny that I see people say we need to stop talking about Kermit. But then bring up how long it took Kermit to be successful. Well, here's the fact. In spite a difficult year one roster situation, CNM inherited a different program with a culture of winning. Kermit inherited a dumpster fire. A complete and utter dumpster fire of a program. If you want to see the difference look at what Kermit's year one recruiting budget was vs. today. When Kermit was hired there might have been a few hundred people attending games. When CNM was hired we were leading the league in attendance. And for all the talk about Kermit's first 10 years he had one losing season in 17 years. CNM will achieve that in year one.

So, that all said I totally get the situation. No one should expect us to pick up where we left off. And I don't think anyone does. I think the comparison with Wichita State is a fair one with the exception that Wichita - at that time - played in a more difficult conference than C-USA. So, my hope is that he gets above .500 in year 2 and we're in the hunt for the league by year three.

If we aren't at least contending in year four we will know the hire was a miss.

Fair point about Wichita St being in a tougher conference.. however you omit that same detail about MTSU in your post.. MTSU was in a lower conference (Sun Belt) when CKD inherited that "dumpster fire" so by that logic and all things otherwise being equal it will be just as difficult (if not more difficult) for CNM to right the ship immediately despite the increased resources.. in other words CKD had lower resources but played in a lower conference- just because CNM has resources that are higher/better today they are still on par with CUSA opponents which is similar challenge..

In the SunBelt MTSU required fewer impact recruits to turn things around as well- I mean that's why everyone here is so interested in the recruiting trail and the impact that CNMs recruits will have on team results- particularly those PF/SF/C target recruits..

I would argue it's far easier for any coach to turn a program around that has low expectations/poor track record than it is for CNM to get MTSU back to the new expectations- that's not to take anything away from CKD, he deserves all the credit and respect that many of you still have for the man. I'm just saying he didn't have the same pressure- but that's why CNM makes the $$ he does.

I mentioned Wichita St because it has similar team results/qualities as MTSU at the point of the coaching change... Turgeon left Wichita St one year removed from a 1st place league finish and an NCAA appearance, 3 of 4 years with 20+ wins, and somewhat similar program qualities at that time... Gregg Marshall & CNM both came from top Big South programs and both have very similar winning percentages through their first 5 years coaching in that league.. Obviously that doesn't mean that results will translate but it's the most similar comparison that I think could be made as I thought about what reasonable expectations should be going forward...

 

[dukewayne]

This thread has to be pushing for one of the longest in this forum.

As for me, I'm just trying to encourage my Blue Raider brethren with some various points and counterpoints so that things won't seem so bleak during this difficult season of rebuilding. It's about keeping some healthy perspective. Look, I would be the last person to be telling people not to be critical or to complain. My history of posts on this board are full of countless rants of criticism and complaining.

During this difficult time of transition, I am also trying to offer hope that this is only a brief low spot on the road returning to success. Additional motivations are hopes of promoting healing in attitudes towards both CKD and CNM.

Short of Kermit staying and retiring from MT years down the road with Top 25 rankings and Sweet 16 appearances, there was no easy or painless way for the man to leave MT. That band-aid just had to be ripped off, so to speak. Hopefully after a few months, most people are able to put those things in perspective. I wasn't happy about the way a thing or two was handled with his departure, but after a few months it's much easier to put it in perspective while still fondly remembering all those great times of big wins and success. To also be fair to CNM, idealizing the years of CKD would not be of much help either.

I guess being fair to CNM is my final point. He is entering circumstances that will take some hard work and time to fight through. Again, I may criticize certain performances and outcomes, but I hope and think it is fair that CNM be given a couple/few years to see what he can do with MT bball. I think a supportive fanbase that expects big things and success while still being realistic about some work taking a little time would be beneficial when it comes to recruiting and future coaching hires.

 

[MTLynn]

I hope Nick can get similar results at MT - of course the results will be better if he can keep guys from transferring out


UNC Asheville Bulldogs (Big South Conference) (2013–2018)
2013–14 UNC Asheville 17–15 10–6 T–2nd (South)
2014–15 UNC Asheville 15–16 10–8 T–6th
2015–16 UNC Asheville 22–12 12–6 T–3rd NCAA First Round
2016–17 UNC Asheville 23–10 15–3 T–1st CIT First Round
2017–18 UNC Asheville 21–13 13–5 1st NIT First Round

 

[MTsumner92]

I don't understand why people are so surprised. It has been right there in front of us since Kermit left. Almost a total rebuild. However, when Kermit took over he didn't have a Donovan Sims. Thank God he is just a Sophomore. Our next recruiting class needs to have at least 4 jucos. Total rebuild of our inside game. Interesting to see what happens on that front.

 

[MTFNBY5]

MTsummer92: "Our next recruiting class needs to have at least 4 jucos."

Not trying to be a smart--s and I realize it's hard to keep up but next years class, barring losses, is full (all thirteen scholarships given) and only Green and Scurry will be seniors the next year meaning, once again barring losses, that the '19-'20 class will have only two to give. I do agree that the '19-'20 class, regardless of the numbers, is crucial to the program.

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

I don't understand why people are so surprised. It has been right there in front of us since Kermit left. Almost a total rebuild. However, when Kermit took over he didn't have a Donovan Sims. Thank God he is just a Sophomore. Our next recruiting class needs to have at least 4 jucos. Total rebuild of our inside game. Interesting to see what happens on that front.

I disagree on the 4 juco's...I'd like CNM to build with 4-5 year players. Kermit rolled the dice constantly and had to do mini rebuilds every year. The good news is it worked for those 6-7 years. I'd rather he recruit Freshman and fill holes with a Juco or Grad Transfer or transfers. We already have Dishman (EKU), Green (UTRG), CJ Jones (AR), Scurry (MO St.) - that's 4 guys that we didn't sign as first year players, all of them play next year. Obviously if you could find a really good player to transfer in then lets do it, otherwise sign a 4 year player.

 

[crposton]

I disagree on the 4 juco's...I'd like CNM to build with 4-5 year players. Kermit rolled the dice constantly and had to do mini rebuilds every year. The good news is it worked for those 6-7 years. I'd rather he recruit Freshman and fill holes with a Juco or Grad Transfer or transfers. We already have Dishman (EKU), Green (UTRG), CJ Jones (AR), Scurry (MO St.) - that's 4 guys that we didn't sign as first year players, all of them play next year. Obviously if you could find a really good player to transfer in then lets do it, otherwise sign a 4 year player.

Also Butler from the JUCO ranks.

 

[MTLynn]

With 3 freshmen on the team this year, and 2 freshmen signed for next year, if there are spots open, I'm expecting 2-3 freshmen to be signed the year after.