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Men's Basketball Recruiting ??

sWiley

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Are we recruiting anybody? Most of the other teams in the conference have commits dating back all the way to last year for the most part. I've always hated the silence and secretiveness of men's CBB recruiting. Football coaches are not shy at all when it comes to letting the right people know who they're after and then that information get's relayed back to the message boards. But not basketball apparently.

We have at least 3 ships open now with the departures. Anyone that looks like a good fit in the portal? I see Rudi Williams is available again. Seems difficult to recruit for the PG position with Shuler's status a big question mark. I guess Sims can be there as a fall back plan but I'd still like to see another PG signed, like a Rudi Williams who is a slasher and can actually drive to the basket and create some havoc.

We have three 5 position players on the roster if Dishman returns so I suppose we are good there. Would be nice to find a star stretch 4 for us like a Nick King or something similar....

Basically anyone who knows how to put the ball in the basket we'll take since we were awful last year when it came to scoring.....
 
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I've been wondering the same thing. I wouldn't be surprised to see us take 3 transfers.
 
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Been keeping up with MT mens' BkB recruiting to the extent possible since I became a fan. The signing period (only one in the spring during the time before early signing periods) was like Christmas where you unwrap your presents.

It seems like years ago since we were so excited that all of our transfers were granted eligibility and we were going to have two 4 star and three 3 star players on the roster. Such high expectations. Was it only a few months ago?

Presently I just don't care anymore. Impossible for me to see what positions we need filling. Hard to imagine any signees making a difference. Doubt beating out some blue-bloods for recruits would excite me.

In the words of B. B. King: "The Thrill is Gone"
 
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Been keeping up with MT mens' BkB recruiting to the extent possible since I became a fan. The signing period (only one in the spring during the time before early signing periods) was like Christmas where you unwrap your presents.

It seems like years ago since we were so excited that all of our transfers were granted eligibility and we were going to have two 4 star and three 3 star players on the roster. Such high expectations. Was it only a few months ago?

Presently I just don't care anymore. Impossible for me to see what positions we need filling. Hard to imagine any signees making a difference. Doubt beating out some blue-bloods for recruits would excite me.

In the words of B. B. King: "The Thrill is Gone"


My thoughts exactly. What's crazy is how well WKU has been recruiting lately. Looking like Charles Bassey is not going to be a 1 off. They currently have the #1 JUCO player in the country committed to them. A 7'2 monster. They also have one of the best point guards in the country committed. #57 overall in the country, #12 PG. Offers to play basically anywhere in the country but he chooses WKU.......

Meanwhile in Murfreesboro.......
 
My thoughts exactly. What's crazy is how well WKU has been recruiting lately. Looking like Charles Bassey is not going to be a 1 off. They currently have the #1 JUCO player in the country committed to them. A 7'2 monster. They also have one of the best point guards in the country committed. #57 overall in the country, #12 PG. Offers to play basically anywhere in the country but he chooses WKU.......

Meanwhile in Murfreesboro.......

Crickets............from Murphy Center.
 
Are we recruiting anybody? Most of the other teams in the conference have commits dating back all the way to last year for the most part. I've always hated the silence and secretiveness of men's CBB recruiting. Football coaches are not shy at all when it comes to letting the right people know who they're after and then that information get's relayed back to the message boards. But not basketball apparently.

We have at least 3 ships open now with the departures. Anyone that looks like a good fit in the portal? I see Rudi Williams is available again. Seems difficult to recruit for the PG position with Shuler's status a big question mark. I guess Sims can be there as a fall back plan but I'd still like to see another PG signed, like a Rudi Williams who is a slasher and can actually drive to the basket and create some havoc.

We have three 5 position players on the roster if Dishman returns so I suppose we are good there. Would be nice to find a star stretch 4 for us like a Nick King or something similar....

Basically anyone who knows how to put the ball in the basket we'll take since we were awful last year when it came to scoring.....
Sims told me he was graduating and moving on.
 
It is just amazing to me that we don't know anything at all about recruiting right now. Jordan Davis signed with Jacksonville University. Is there really no one that knows anything about who are are going after or what we are doing?
 
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Besides Alex Anderson, we have 4 offers out to people who have not committed yet for 2021. Randy Brady, Nate Johnson, Donte Houston and Corey Thomas.
 
Besides Alex Anderson, we have 4 offers out to people who have not committed yet for 2021. Randy Brady, Nate Johnson, Donte Houston and Corey Thomas.

Wasn’t Alex Anderson the HS freshman that Kermit got “committed” in his last year? That ship has most certainly sailed.

Same for Donte Houston.

I’d venture to say McDevitt is solely looking at the portal this cycle.
 
Sorry for the late response fellas.


This is a point guard that MT has coveted for a while. Offers from: MT, App state, mercer, Presbyterian, Stetson UAB.
 
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I'm going to speak with Forrest. Worth mentioning he’s former teammates with Christian Fussell...
 
Wasn’t Alex Anderson the HS freshman that Kermit got “committed” in his last year? That ship has most certainly sailed.

Same for Donte Houston.

I’d venture to say McDevitt is solely looking at the portal this cycle.
I’d agree with this. He’s a man with hair on fire.
 
Besides Alex Anderson, we have 4 offers out to people who have not committed yet for 2021. Randy Brady, Nate Johnson, Donte Houston and Corey Thomas.

Looks like Donte Houston is going to APSU, and we don't need any more Center's to begin with so I doubt they're wanting Houston.

We need quality guards and people who can score, run an offense, keep the flow going, defend the 3, and not fold in the last 5 minutes of a half. We need leadership, toughness, and talent. And we need it in bulk.

Watching the NCAA tournament and some of these high quality teams play really just affirms how far we are from really having a team.
 
Maybe McDevitt can get MaCio Teague to take his free year as a grad transfer at MTSU?
 
Maybe McDevitt can get MaCio Teague to take his free year as a grad transfer at MTSU?


I don't know what the answer is and not sure who would even want to play at MT at this point. 2-3 years ago I could understand why a kid would want to come to Murfreesboro. Now, I have no idea. With regards to the transfer portal, signing a bunch of transfers just to try and reach .500 next year seems pretty futile. We need to build something with quality players that are gonna be here a while.

Hopefully we bring in a good mix of transfers and high school kids. Going the all transfer route isn't the way to build a program. Once you have an established program it's okay to rely on transfers a bit more but in our shoes we need to have a recruiting strategy to help manifest the culture and identity that our coaching staff is aiming for.

At least that's what I hope they're going to do.
 
Scott Drew won 24 games his first 3 years at Baylor..
8-21 in 2003
9-19 in 2004
4-13 in 2005
Baylor should’ve fired him..

This might be the worst take I’ve seen on this board in years.

Scott Drew took over a program that was on the cusp of the death penalty after a player literally murdered another player and then coach Bliss was found complicit in numerous NCAA violations plus tried to frame a player as a drug dealer to shift blame from himself. Plus Baylor was barely .500 prior in the 4 years prior to the scandal & could not play OOC games in Drew’s third year due to probation. The probation lasted until 2010. Drew’s clock didn’t start until year 4 and he was winning while on probation in year 5.

Nick McDevitt took over after the most successful run in MT history and preceded to take our school through the worst 3 year run in program history.

Just an awful attempt to compare coaches given the night and day difference in what they inherited.
 
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This might be the worst take I’ve seen on this board in years.

Scott Drew took over a program that was on the cusp of the death penalty after a player literally murdered another player and then coach Bliss was found complicit in numerous NCAA violations plus tried to frame a player as a drug dealer to shift blame from himself. Plus Baylor was barely .500 prior in the 4 years prior to the scandal & could not play OOC games in Drew’s third year due to probation. The probation lasted until 2010. Drew’s clock didn’t start until year 4 and he was winning while on probation in year 5.

Nick McDevitt took over after the most successful run in MT history and preceded to take our school through the worst 3 year run in program history.

Just an awful attempt to compare coaches given the night and day difference in what they inherited.
I made a simple statement of facts based on previous conversations of results- simply results, not all the "why's" that go into the results and NO ONE here has been interested in the why's- YOU made the comparison- I didn't..

But if you're going there then don't kid yourself.. CNM didn't inherit more than a brand name when he actually arrived- those great players graduated, the previous staff submarined the incoming commits and he got the extra year for mopping up the off-court issues.. and no- none of that is comparable to the Baylor situation and CNM hasn't done much to warrant your support but lots of coaches have seen similar adversity and pulled through- but again you're the only one who attempted a comparison.
 
I made a simple statement of facts based on previous conversations of results- simply results, not all the "why's" that go into the results and NO ONE here has been interested in the why's- YOU made the comparison- I didn't..

But if you're going there then don't kid yourself.. CNM didn't inherit more than a brand name when he actually arrived- those great players graduated, the previous staff submarined the incoming commits and he got the extra year for mopping up the off-court issues.. and no- none of that is comparable to the Baylor situation and CNM hasn't done much to warrant your support but lots of coaches have seen similar adversity and pulled through- but again you're the only one who attempted a comparison.

Your comment was Scott Drew won 24 games at Baylor in his first 3 years so they should have fired him. By saying that on this board, you are 100% implying a comparison to the CNM’s first 3 years at MT. Any reasonable person would acknowledge the intent was to draw a comparison to the comments about firing CNM after year 3 on this board. It was a good troll and I bit.

In all fairness, do you believe CNM is doing a good job at MT as coach based on the adversity you are aware of? Do you believe CNM’s record is what most coach’s record would be given what he inherited?

I want CNM to succeed. I want someone to explain the results and give me hope that CNM will have us competitive in conference. I am not asking for championships at this point. I want hope that CNM can win 15-20 games at MT. I believe that sometimes coaches and schools are not good matches. At this point, this looks like a poor match. I am sincerely looking for a reason to hope for any success under CNM.
 
The cupboard was bare when CNM arrived in Murfreesboro. The problem is, there has been very little, if any, improvement since year 1.

This...I'm not defending the state of our men's bball program. I'm as disappointed as the rest of you. But CNM didn't inherit an NCAA tournament caliber team. Not even close. And then had to kick off his best returning player. He has been behind the 8 ball his entire tenure, and has had terrible luck with injuries, etc.

I don't pretend to be an X's and O's expert. Because of that, I have always appreciated Kingaling's perspective. He doesn't have the blue tinted shades the rest of us do. But I will say, I have not seen anything from this staff that makes me think Year 4 will be any different.
 
I made a simple statement of facts based on previous conversations of results- simply results, not all the "why's" that go into the results and NO ONE here has been interested in the why's- YOU made the comparison- I didn't..

But if you're going there then don't kid yourself.. CNM didn't inherit more than a brand name when he actually arrived- those great players graduated, the previous staff submarined the incoming commits and he got the extra year for mopping up the off-court issues.. and no- none of that is comparable to the Baylor situation and CNM hasn't done much to warrant your support but lots of coaches have seen similar adversity and pulled through- but again you're the only one who attempted a comparison.
I have discussed the why's previously and that is the reason I have been more patient than most. It is obvious CNM inherited a better situation than Drew, but he did not inherit a great situation. It was going to be a rebuilding year regardless, and then his best returning player and a very solid contributor are dismissed. I get all of that. I just expected more improvement than we have seen and I know you have to.

The best post player Kermit left here was Gamble. Hawthorne was good, but not really a true post player imo. Thomas was dismissed and did nothing at Troy. Massenburg was a good kid, but complete bust. CNM had to scramble to get post players and anytime Gamble wasn't in the game we were undersized. The fan in me was really hoping this would be the year we get past all of that, but it didn't work out for a number of reasons. I think we can all agree if CNM does not get this team to .500 or better in year 4 it is most likely just not going to happen.

I think we can all agree that CNM was not left with a great situation while at the same time agreeing the results so far are not acceptable. I don't think there was really anything CNM could have done to keep the three signees here when Kermit left. Some people may disagree with the dismissal of Johnson and Dixon, but it is something CNM felt he needed to do.

All of that is in the past now and I want to see some results fast. The players CNM brings in this offseason need to make a huge impact right away or we will be discussing this again in a year.
 
I think we can all agree that CNM was not left with a great situation while at the same time agreeing the results so far are not acceptable.
This is the point.

In year 3, he cannot blame the the way CKD left for 5-18 in year 3 of His tenure. There may be reasons he is failing, but he is failing. Sometimes good coaches are not the right fit.

The fact is, most FBS sized schools would fire a coach with CNM’s results after this season unless he inherited a team going onto NCAA probation like Scott Drew did.

I hope for improvement, I do my expect it. If CNM can’t assess his current team and honestly expect 15 or more wins next year, then I wish he would pull a Roy Williams.
 
Scott Drew won 24 games his first 3 years at Baylor..
8-21 in 2003
9-19 in 2004
4-13 in 2005
Baylor should’ve fired him..
Yawn.
Most of us in here have invested a lot of time in the classroom, with our wallets, and hang degrees on our walls from MTSU. We expect success just like other alums of their university. I get it that you appear to know CNM personally and want to see him succeed.
That said, I hope you have, at the very least, purchased a couple of season tickets since your pal landed here and you along with him. I also hope you aren’t one of those jock sniffing hangers on like the one who followed Pastner to Ga Tech from Memphis and got him in trouble with the NCAA. We don’t need any of that.
 
Yawn.
Most of us in here have invested a lot of time in the classroom, with our wallets, and hang degrees on our walls from MTSU. We expect success just like other alums of their university. I get it that you appear to know CNM personally and want to see him succeed.
That said, I hope you have, at the very least, purchased a couple of season tickets since your pal landed here and you along with him. I also hope you aren’t one of those jock sniffing hangers on like the one who followed Pastner to Ga Tech from Memphis and got him in trouble with the NCAA. We don’t need any of that.
Would NCAA probation be any worse than what we've seen since McDevitt got here? This entire athletics department needs to be completely blown up or just drop sports altogether. You've got a president who loves the CCP and an AD who rewards losers with contract extensions.
 
This...I'm not defending the state of our men's bball program. I'm as disappointed as the rest of you. But CNM didn't inherit an NCAA tournament caliber team. Not even close. And then had to kick off his best returning player. He has been behind the 8 ball his entire tenure, and has had terrible luck with injuries, etc.

I don't pretend to be an X's and O's expert. Because of that, I have always appreciated Kingaling's perspective. He doesn't have the blue tinted shades the rest of us do. But I will say, I have not seen anything from this staff that makes me think Year 4 will be any different.
I would agree that there hasn't been signs of life going into year 4 based on the previous 3 years results- after last off-season simply adding recruits on paper won't move the needle for me either- I need to see what the team does games 1-5 next year, regardless of whom the opponents might be..

My optimism is STRONGLY dependent on who lands at MTSU this off-season and how much time the players can get together both on and off the court.. if players weren't transferring I would be less than hopeful for anything different but the ability to recruit some missing pieces is now possible.. team desperately needs multi-dimensional guards, guys that are smart and that can both score and facilitate- this is 2021, there are plenty of kids that can do both at the D1 level and a stud needs to emerge. I think the staff went too far away from recruiting the types of guards that made them successful at Asheville..

As to some others' points- I don't think CNM blames anyone else for his record or the situation and I'm guessing he's learned a lot from his mistakes- the question is will he have time to correct them and get a better recruiting cycle/foundation in place going forward.. Wiley is right in that the transfer portal is a tempting option for a floundering program in need but it's tough to fill/replace continually at a high level with so many personalities that don't always work well together.
 
Yawn.
Most of us in here have invested a lot of time in the classroom, with our wallets, and hang degrees on our walls from MTSU. We expect success just like other alums of their university. I get it that you appear to know CNM personally and want to see him succeed.
That said, I hope you have, at the very least, purchased a couple of season tickets since your pal landed here and you along with him. I also hope you aren’t one of those jock sniffing hangers on like the one who followed Pastner to Ga Tech from Memphis and got him in trouble with the NCAA. We don’t need any of that.
What is with your final trailing thoughts here... Go home FR315- you're drunk..
 
With respect, the Scott Drew comparison is laughable. To be sure, both were hired as HC following a mass exodus (Baylor, for a murder, NCAA coverup, and one of the biggest penalties the NCAA has given out since the SMU death penalty; MT, for a few players leaving or getting kicked off when the new HC came on board).

Scot Drew endured probation, recruiting restrictions, limited schedule, and a roster devoid of Big12 level talent. And yet, once the punishments were over and the roster was HIS Players...the wins came.

Not so much with McD.

By this point, the roster is McD's. Sure, the MBB had a few CKD holdovers, but it's largely McD's roster. And McD has (allegedly) recruited well. He's brought in solid athletes but the development just isn't there.

He's a good guy, but it's abundantly clear that he likely won't get it done at MT. And that's fine.
 
I would agree that there hasn't been signs of life going into year 4 based on the previous 3 years results- after last off-season simply adding recruits on paper won't move the needle for me either- I need to see what the team does games 1-5 next year, regardless of whom the opponents might be..

My optimism is STRONGLY dependent on who lands at MTSU this off-season and how much time the players can get together both on and off the court.. if players weren't transferring I would be less than hopeful for anything different but the ability to recruit some missing pieces is now possible.. team desperately needs multi-dimensional guards, guys that are smart and that can both score and facilitate- this is 2021, there are plenty of kids that can do both at the D1 level and a stud needs to emerge. I think the staff went too far away from recruiting the types of guards that made them successful at Asheville..

As to some others' points- I don't think CNM blames anyone else for his record or the situation and I'm guessing he's learned a lot from his mistakes- the question is will he have time to correct them and get a better recruiting cycle/foundation in place going forward.. Wiley is right in that the transfer portal is a tempting option for a floundering program in need but it's tough to fill/replace continually at a high level with so many personalities that don't always work well together.
King no one has asked you before and you don’t have to answer, but what is your connection to CNM? Former player or a coach? Just curious. I really do enjoy your perspective and just would like to know.
 
CNM ain't Scott Drew. Not even close. Three seasons and we can't even pass the ball inbounds without committing a turnover half the time. We are lost at sea and the captain has no plan to right the ship. We will have a year 4 with this guy and probably even longer. Time will prove all of the points I've made in the past.

What wasn't brought up was year 4 and 5 for Scott Drew. Year 4 he had 15 wins. I'll bet $500.00 right now the McDevitt won't get 15 wins next year. He sure as hell won't get 21 in year 5. Yes, there will probably be a year 5 with this dude. We are meant to suffer.
 
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With respect, the Scott Drew comparison is laughable. To be sure, both were hired as HC following a mass exodus (Baylor, for a murder, NCAA coverup, and one of the biggest penalties the NCAA has given out since the SMU death penalty; MT, for a few players leaving or getting kicked off when the new HC came on board).

Scot Drew endured probation, recruiting restrictions, limited schedule, and a roster devoid of Big12 level talent. And yet, once the punishments were over and the roster was HIS Players...the wins came.

Not so much with McD.

By this point, the roster is McD's. Sure, the MBB had a few CKD holdovers, but it's largely McD's roster. And McD has (allegedly) recruited well. He's brought in solid athletes but the development just isn't there.

He's a good guy, but it's abundantly clear that he likely won't get it done at MT. And that's fine.
Some of you guys are funny jumping down rabbit holes.. Wasn't meant to be a comparison at every single level of the 2 programs and yes I was trolling some others here for sure as the lack of patience exhibited by a few in Years 1 & 2 (or Day 1 for a few)... and like it or not, nothing was normal last year and won't be until this pandemic is behind us.. I've brought up coaches that struggled their first few years multiple times in my time here and while I appreciate the context of Baylor's situation and how obviously different it is than MTSU's let me also note that you all are only looking at one side of that "worst example/comparison ever" as if I were serious about context..

So.. anyone here think MTSU is going to win a Nat'l Championship in men's bball? Not just 15 years from now but ever? I'll wait....

No need to wait actually since none of you seriously think that any coach at MTSU is going to ever win a Nat'l Championship in men's bball- perhaps y'all should take this "comparison" with the grain of salt that was intended..

Temper the expectations of what MTSU used to be with CKD in his last few years with the reality that CNM should show better results than he has thus far.. CNM is running out of time unless he immediately rights the ship or at least shows demonstrable signs of life/hope and I understand that you're mostly all out of patience but the firing of a coach based on results of these 3 years without respect to context is a bad look by many here since we're now focusing on context these days..
 
So.. anyone here think MTSU is going to win a Nat'l Championship in men's bball? Not just 15 years from now but ever? I'll wait...
I don't see any reason why MT can't have the same success as Gonzaga
Temper the expectations of what MTSU used to be with CKD in his last few years with the reality that CNM should show better results than he has thus far..
At the very least I expected Nick to have teams as good as he had at UNCA but I think those teams would kill any of the teams he has had here.

I WANT him to have great success here and move on to a better paying job if that is what he wants but it doesn't look promising.
 
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