ACE

I am a fan of Thames potential. I agree that he would fit with Schertz. His versatility coming off the bench would be valuable. Even though he didn't shoot a ton of 3s, his percentage was very solid. His shot looked a lot better than I expected. In the Schertz offense, since they are all good passers, they don't just get 3 attempts, they are often quality WIDE open 3 attempts. As a point of comparison, this is Jayson Kent's 3% percentage, year by year 28 26 27 36% this season

Yep, I have always been concerned that free agency would disproportionately hurt non-P6 schools. I was told by some that with the players transferring "down" from P6 schools, that it would all even out. I kept an open mind to that argument, but my first instinct was correct. There were so many former low and mid-major players playing key roles for P6 teams in the Sweet 16 teams. One of many reasons why there are a dearth of non-P6 at large bids. And then when you get a team like ISU that defies the odds, they get screwed by the dreaded "eye test."

I didn't mean to suggest they were "powerful" as in going to be effective or even get close to making it happen, just that they were able to at least interject his name into the conversation. It wasn't just media friends, we had some on this board taking it seriously.

In fairness, apparently the Ahearn lobbyists are extremely powerful. We even had someone on this board convinced that he was likely going to get the job. They must have been working people all around town.

Agreed, but this last part has me worried about getting some of those players here.

The Bens certainly drift into Mizzou fanboy territory quite often - guys like them and Frank on radio share opinions... they are not going to cover a team the way a journalist is supposed to. They perform different roles.

We ***** when we don't get coverage, we ***** when we do get coverage... ah yes, *****.

Wade and Beard seem about right.

I don't see Schertz being a cultural fit at Arkansas.

It could turn out that way, but I'm going on the premise of the IndyStar report: It’s an open secret in the Sycamores’ locker room that four of their five starters would most likely follow him to Saint Louis. The one player not going? Julian Larry.

Conwell is the combo guard.

A very interesting report about all of the starters except Julian Larry coming over (BTW, Larry is from Texas, my thoughts on recruiting there are well documented and this would only reinforce it ). Time to revisit this... Larry is the most like a PG, but Conwell and Swope have some playmaking ability - they are all excellent passers led by Avilla. Would Gibby make sense for the 5th starting spot or is it more important to get a player with more PG skills to replace Larry? Conwell and Swope are excellent scorers, but are also willing to share the ball, so maybe a backcourt of those two plus Gibby would work? Avilla and Conwell are the two most important to get, not only are they the best, they have two remaining years of eligibility. Conwell is a dynamic player, it would be awesome to have him.

This is a comprehensive recap of the coaching carousel: https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/college-basketball-coaching-changes-tracker-2024-andy-enfield-flees-usc-for-smu-oklahoma-state-hires-lutz/

As I mentioned, yes he had the Sweet 16 at his second year at Gulf Coast - it very quickly catapulted him to a P6 job. This is a recap of his time at USC Year 1) Losing record, which is understandable 2) No improvement, 12-20 3) Broke through, made the Dance, lost in the first round 4) Another step forward, made the Dance and advanced to the 2nd round 5) Missed the Dance 6) Missed the Dance, had a losing record 7) They were on the Bubble (right along with SLU) with a NET of 45 when the season was cancelled 8 This was his big breakthrough with an Elite 9 Run 9) Made Dance, lost in the first round 10) Made Dance, lost in the first round 11) Had a losing record Had a 106-100 record in the Pac-12. He brought in some talent and not a terrible tenure, but kind of ho-hum. It will be interesting to see what he does at SMU. He may change my perception. He should be able to recruit better than SMU has had in the past because they are now in the ACC, but then again, he will be swimming with sharks. Also, a Texas school in the ACC is curious. The league will lag behind the Big 12 and SEC in regards to interest in that area. I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

Other than his fantastic wife, I've never understood the fascination with Andy Enfield. The jump to SMU seems like him bolting before USC closed the door. He's a classic example of kind of a one-hit wonder - wins a couple of games in the Tourney and all of the sudden is the flavor of the month for P6 jobs.

We really got lucky that they got screwed. If they get in the Tourney, win a game and especially two (which would have been quite possible), then he's suddenly a national darling.

Utah is extremely experienced. Their top five players are all seniors.

The official line is ISU by 3.5. I hope the Utah bigs can get Avilla in foul trouble. The wait has been long enough. Let's start a new era tomorrow. A lot of work to do.

It depends. Frank is very tight with Corey Tate and has been a very good source of recruiting news - often breaking it. If Tate is no longer in the picture, who knows if he'll be able to develop other good sources. The Ahearn stuff is silly, but it's really more editorializing on his radio show, rather than providing "news." He's probably connected with the Ahearn family and got wrapped up in that nonsense. He is a media member who actually gives SLU a lot of coverage and catches a lot of crap from fans of other teams for giving us too much coverage. I expect he'll provide a lot of positive coverage on the Schertz hire.

Gabriel was pushing back on some who thought Vice would be a contributor at Creighton, The moment he red shirted, it became pretty clear that his career was likely done there. I agree, that strategy makes sense for a big, but I really wonder how many kids enter a situation thinking that way, though. It would be smart if they did.

I never said there was a downside... at the time, gabriel and myself suggested that the redshirt meant that he likely wouldn't continue his career at Creighton - and that's exactly what happened. He may go on to have a fine career elsewhere, but it was never likely to be at Creighton.

You were spot on with this. Amusing to see some of the push back you got.

Not a surprise at all - what a tool.

So Doc Chaifetz is involved with the presumed Schertz hire, but he was not involved with the Crews and Ford hires?

Oh how the mighty have fallen.