BASKETBALL Is the 2018 class done?
- Thread starter TrueBlue147
- Start date
There has been no confirmation from the school that Crump has signed, unless I missed it. The school has only confirmed Scurry and Jones.
Currently only have 8 or 9 scholarship players listed on roster for next year depending on if Donovan Sims is put on scholarship. Along with the 4 seniors, David Simmons is no longer listed on the roster on goblueraiders.com. Current roster for next year shows
Tyrik Dixon 6'1" G
Antwain Johnson 6'2" G
James Hawthorne 6'7" F
Therren Shelton-Szmidt 6'5" G
TJ Massenburg 6'8" F
Karl Gamble 6'9" F
Davion Thomas 6'9" F
Antonio Green 6'2" G
Donovan Sims 6'0" G
If Donovan is now on scholarship that leaves 4 spots. We have announced the signing of 2 players
CJ Jones 6'5" G Transfer to sit out a year
Reggie Scurry 6'5" F Transfer - yet to be seen if must sit out
Supposedly the former signee at UNC Ashville, Anthony Crump (6'7" PG), will be coming but no official acknowledgement has been made. Only his announcement on twitter about that...
This leaves one more and possibly two more signings available depending on Sims schollie situation.
Tyrik Dixon 6'1" G
Antwain Johnson 6'2" G
James Hawthorne 6'7" F
Therren Shelton-Szmidt 6'5" G
TJ Massenburg 6'8" F
Karl Gamble 6'9" F
Davion Thomas 6'9" F
Antonio Green 6'2" G
Donovan Sims 6'0" G
If Donovan is now on scholarship that leaves 4 spots. We have announced the signing of 2 players
CJ Jones 6'5" G Transfer to sit out a year
Reggie Scurry 6'5" F Transfer - yet to be seen if must sit out
Supposedly the former signee at UNC Ashville, Anthony Crump (6'7" PG), will be coming but no official acknowledgement has been made. Only his announcement on twitter about that...
This leaves one more and possibly two more signings available depending on Sims schollie situation.
Simmons gone as a rising Sr.??? I have seen or heard nothing about any issues. Don't like this M. O. and didn't under the previous staff.
I assume he hasn't used a red-shirt year as a JUCO so he can transfer anywhere. Wish him well. He was an exciting player when he was "on".
As for the one (or two) slot(s) open: If you followed the previous staff's recruiting philosophy it appeared that they used the "shotgun" approach. That is they gave many offers if prospect's tweets and some recruiting sites are to be believed. Last year at one time we allegedly had over 25 offers out. We have no way of knowing how many were contingency offers and how many had been withdrawn but regardless Davis gave the appearance of not being too selective in just which players were offered.
Now, with this new staff it appears we have an entirely different approach in that there have been no offers mentioned anywhere except the two signees, Crump who is still a question mark, and Johnson(?) who chose Auburn IIRC.
Can any poster give any information about offers out and just what the present staff's philosophy is on giving offers?
I assume he hasn't used a red-shirt year as a JUCO so he can transfer anywhere. Wish him well. He was an exciting player when he was "on".
As for the one (or two) slot(s) open: If you followed the previous staff's recruiting philosophy it appeared that they used the "shotgun" approach. That is they gave many offers if prospect's tweets and some recruiting sites are to be believed. Last year at one time we allegedly had over 25 offers out. We have no way of knowing how many were contingency offers and how many had been withdrawn but regardless Davis gave the appearance of not being too selective in just which players were offered.
Now, with this new staff it appears we have an entirely different approach in that there have been no offers mentioned anywhere except the two signees, Crump who is still a question mark, and Johnson(?) who chose Auburn IIRC.
Can any poster give any information about offers out and just what the present staff's philosophy is on giving offers?
Simmons was suspended the last game of the year against Louisville for missing class.
The new coaches aren't really active on twitter, so it's hard to find out who they are going after or what they are even up to.
Simmons lands at Univ Southern Indiana (Bruce Pearl coached there when he was offered the MT job in the mid nineties)
https://www.thegleaner.com/story/sp...-middle-tennessee-southern-indiana/818505002/
https://www.thegleaner.com/story/sp...-middle-tennessee-southern-indiana/818505002/
Scurry may not have to sit, but probably will knowing the NCAA.
Eligible Next Year
Returning Players
Karl Gamble
James Hawthorne
TJ Massenberg
Antonio Green
Donovan Sims
Therein Shelton-Schmidt
Chase Miller
New Players
Darnell Butler Jr.
Anthony Crump
Junior Farquhar
Possibly Eligible
Reggie Scurry
Not Eligible (Transfers)
Deandra Dishman
C.J. Jones
We should have one more scholarship available (Two if Donovan did not get one). We need to get a Forward who can contribute right away. 6'8" or taller should be the goal.
I would doubt that Miller will be ever be on scholarship (McDevitt may have an other idea) but would hope Sims is although I've seen no reports of him being placed on scholarship (another issue possibly caused by inconsistent media coverage).
If I've counted correctly we have two to give (with Sims among the 11 on scholarship) and like you we need at least one contributing "Big" in order for next year to not be a complete bust. Still hoping we can find one and I, personally, don't care if he's high school, JUCO, or Grad. transfer if he can give some help next year.
If I've counted correctly we have two to give (with Sims among the 11 on scholarship) and like you we need at least one contributing "Big" in order for next year to not be a complete bust. Still hoping we can find one and I, personally, don't care if he's high school, JUCO, or Grad. transfer if he can give some help next year.
Why is everyone stuck on getting a big? You get whoever can help you at this point. If we have to play small ball I am fine it for a year or two. McDevitt seems to like players who can score at all three levels. Imagine there are no bigs out there still who can do that.
I, too, have been hoping to see some immediate help for the frontcourt. MT is really lacking any depth in the frontcourt with unrealized potential as the only shot for improvement. Would be a great time for Gamble to suddenly put everything together for an outstanding Sr campaign. Gamble has the physical tools, but can he put skills and aggressiveness together to be a force?
Read recently how at the end of this last season ODU was losing a lot and looking at a long upcoming season. Then their coach landed TWO 7-footers and now ODU is suddenly upbeat about the upcoming season.
If MT were still playing in the OVC, the current frontcourt lineup on the roster would be sufficient. MT is way beyond that these days. The strong and tough C-USA schedule pretty much requires good depth and size in the frontcourt to be a competitor. Same goes for playing typical P5 and tournament type teams.
As incredible as King was this past season for MT, it was the true big man Walters that really made MT perform at a whole other level when Walters brought his A game.
Read recently how at the end of this last season ODU was losing a lot and looking at a long upcoming season. Then their coach landed TWO 7-footers and now ODU is suddenly upbeat about the upcoming season.
If MT were still playing in the OVC, the current frontcourt lineup on the roster would be sufficient. MT is way beyond that these days. The strong and tough C-USA schedule pretty much requires good depth and size in the frontcourt to be a competitor. Same goes for playing typical P5 and tournament type teams.
As incredible as King was this past season for MT, it was the true big man Walters that really made MT perform at a whole other level when Walters brought his A game.
A recurring theme seems to be emerging. That is, it seems CNM may not have caught on to the PR, media & communication element of the MT program. At this level, the base of support does require a little more communication and updates on direction and developments with the various aspects of the team. In my opinion, CNM has some improving to do in the media and communication dept.
He's probably too busy right now to really be worried about appeasing a handful of fans who follow recruiting in the off-season.
I've already accepted that were gonna be rolling with 1 big man and 4 guards for a large chunk of the season. It'll work against some teams but I fear that the better teams who have size and athleticism will absolutely dominate us. For example, WKU and Bassey are going to have a field day against us. I can literally already see the 20+ point beat down in Bowling Green coming.
I think Gamble will step up. He will not be as good as Walters when Walters was on, but I think he can be a solid contributor. The bigger question is can we find another guy to play the post that can play 12-15 mins per game and just rebound and play D.
Oh really? That is obvious but I don’t think you realize how late we are in the recruiting process. You get whoever can play for this class. I would rather have a guard who can play than a Josh Phillips player who is just a body.
It’s interesting, an SI article last year showed that 4 of the 5 tallest teams made the NCAA tournament, but so did 2 of the 5 shortest.
Not sure what that really means because you could have a team full of 6’6” players or a team of 6’ and 7’ players and both teams have the same average height. But interesting based on the discussion.
Not sure what that really means because you could have a team full of 6’6” players or a team of 6’ and 7’ players and both teams have the same average height. But interesting based on the discussion.
From those attending practice, Gamble is a beast during practice but does not carry that intensity into game situations. He needs to step it up.
And it could have been the way Davis handled him. CNM may be coaching him up differently. I don't think CNM will yank our a player on one mistake. Sometime you need to let guys play through their rough patches.
The irony here is not lost on me. Usually these comments are flipped flopped.
I'm not throwing CNM under the bus on this. Especially the first month or two, no doubt CNM has been beyond busy. I'm sure he still is with a young family, relocating his young family, finding the bulk of a new roster just on recruiting in the summer, etc. All that can't be too easy.
What I'm suggesting is not anything tremendously demanding of time. Something like Twitter could be helpful in supplementing PR and communication with the fanbase. OK, CNM is apparently not a twitter guy. I get that, no problem. A 10-15 min phone in sports radio interview every couple of weeks would be sufficient to get the word out to the fanbase. Most of the HCs including Massaro do that anyways. Having someone in the athletic dept to come by CNM's office with a video camera, which includes most any decent smartphone these days, could easily get some basic info out to the fanbase with a few Q&As for a video to post on goblueraiders. All of these things could be done with 10-15 mins of time. In such a manner, CNM could relay, for example:
current players are in summer school. New players arriving this summer and working out. On the recruiting front, all capable and healthy big men are taken. None left at this late date. We will have to make a go of it with Gamble leading. He is working hard to learn the new system this summer. The coaches are working hard to try to land a good wing player.
And that would be it. A few minutes that most of us could find online and even post on this board would go a long way toward helping the season ticket buying fanbase stay in the know on direction and developments with the team.
No doubt about it, Gamble has the physical tools and athleticism. With his length, he has tons of potential he has yet to realize. I suspect for Gamble, there might be some aggressive attitude that is needed. Some guys take a little more effort and time to get themselves in that mode mentally to attack and dominate with a tough fighting attitude.
That sort of presents a problem, they almost do just need a big body in there if for nothing else than for opposition during practice.
You are touching upon something that is really interesting in my opinion.
I'm not going to suggest that a team must have players exactly matching some size on a formulaic chart. I imagine no one exact lineup yields all the championships. I do think it is more about being well balanced and versatile. Credit CNM for insisting on his backcourt players having the type of size that really helps with that versatility. It sounds like a good approach to me.
I would expect that reasonable depth is needed on your roster. That is sort of in keeping with a balanced roster as well. It would also seem prudent that your roster balance and versatility are present and can match various situations and opponents who present various challenges when playing a long and challenging season. A couple of conference opponents might have a couple of trees in the frontcourt. Having good size to match up well likely would help. Some games might require a smaller lineup, say 4 Gs and 1 F. Other obvious challenges effecting depth include injuries or foul trouble. Again, it would seem that a well balanced roster would help position your team to deal with the various situations and challenges of a long season.
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
-
UNIVERSITY NEWS Trustees to Vote on Proposed Tuition and Fee Hike- Latest: MidTennMtneer
-
-
-