Transferring?
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Transferring?
Not a week since we ended the season. I'll admit I'm surprised and didn't think we'd have anyone looking to transfer out. Begs the question are we looking at others leaving? I hope not.
Can our coach leave?
I expected Duruji and Bracey to transfer to Seton Hall where ex-bulldog assistant coach Tony Skinn is now an assistant coach,Quote:
Originally Posted by tenacious_dog
Let em all leave and shut the waste of money down.
Ladies y’all are next
Well, ain't that a fine howdy-do? I can't say as I am really surprised though. I don't know any of the players on a personal level, but the team didn't seem to have an "all for one, one for all" attitude about it. AD seemed to have an Xavian Stapleton air about him. I wish him well, although I'd rather him hang around than leave.
Langston gone too http://verbalcommits.com/schools/louisiana-tech
So, what’s the deal? Do they not want to play for our coach? Do they want to be in a league that gets more than 1 bid? Are they tired of playing a SWAC and Southland schedule in front of 500 people?
When Tech lost to LSU back in Nov, I quickly identified Duruji as the best athlete on the floor.....for either side. He played 37 minutes and scored 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. But Tech had no inside game that night, and was badly outscored in the paint (44-22). Oliver Powell played 32m min and only scored 5 points. There should be a law against that.
Whatever his reason for considering a transfer, it's not for a lack of playing time at LA Tech. Duruji averaged 30 minutes of playing time per game this season. He'll have a hard time going somewhere else and getting that.
I hope he DOESN'T transfer. Konkol desperately needs to keep talent like Duruji.
XXX 0 Ra'Shawn Langston Guard 6-3 200 Jr.
1 Derric Jean Guard 6-2 190 Sr.
2 Kalob Ledoux Guard 6-3 190 Jr
3 Amorie Archibald Guard 6-3 185 So.
4 DaQuan Bracey Guard 5-11 175 Jr.
XXX 10 Anthony Duruji Forward 6-7 215 So.
11 JaColby Pemberton Guard 6-5 190 R-So
13 Stacey Thomas Forward 6-8 220 Fr.
21 Exavian Christon Guard 6-4 200 So.
23 Mubarak Muhammed Forward 6-7 220 Jr.
25 Kyle McKinley Center 6-10 250 R-Jr
35 Oliver Powell Forward 6-8 240 Jr.
Walkon?
40 Kale Walters Forward 6-7 190 Fr. Lindale, Texas / Lindale HS
Incoming
PG Lance Erving http://verbalcommits.com/players/lance-erving
PG Cobe Williams http://verbalcommits.com/players/cobe-williams-tx
Barring anytone else leaving, my count shows 1 scholarship open. Gotta get another Forward
You think Kyle McKinley is back next year ?
I'll be surprised if he is back, but maybe he is at Tech for the education. Crazy thought I know. I don't think he'll see much playing time at Tech.Quote:
Originally Posted by tech70
Duruji is a major loss imo. Somebody was in his ear, no doubt.
Agreed on both counts. I thought for sure he and/or Bracey were gone when Skinn left, but I also thought one of the DFW kids were going to leave when Barker left though.Quote:
Originally Posted by boxerdog
Definitely could see Duriji ending up at Seton Hall. Bracey probably couldn't reinvent himself somewhere else at this point. Barker got implicated in the crap at TCU right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawg-n-Pony
I think Bracey has too much pride in repping Tech to do that, tbh. But maybe Im just going off his tweet after the loss the other night. He said he felt he let the whole city of Ruston down. He was very upset with himself after the game, cried on his way off the court.
I don’t think he would up and leave with that kind of emotion.
This at least opens some spots for us, so thats positive. I will miss AD if he leaves though.
We also signed SG Xaiver Armstead (JUCO) so we should be full. Which is bad because we need some BIGS.
My count we have 9 guards; 3 Forwards + 1 walkon & 1 Center who never plays.
According to Verbal Commits - we are recruiting JUCO SF & PF.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportdawg
Could easily replace McKinley.Quote:
Originally Posted by sportdawg
Thanks for doing this because I think I am done with this program. The apathy and incompetence from President, Biggest Booster, AD and the coaching staff has finally beaten me down. There are a lot more important things in life I can invest my time and money in.
Keep up the good fight.
So, over the course of 5 years, we have lost
Xavian Stapleton
Omar Sherman
Jalen Harris
Jy’lan Washington
Merrill Holden
Dayon Griffin
Langston
Duruji
Something ain’t right at the circle K.
Did I miss anyone?
Stapleton transferred to go to NBA. Worked out well.Quote:
Originally Posted by techman05
Sherman flunked out.
Harris got yelled at in practice to be a team player and quit. Gave up 1.5 years on the court. Maybe it works out.
Washington transferred to MEAC for more PT.
Holden scored 2 PPG in 11 min at Iowa State.
Griffin scored 4.6 PPG in 17 min a game as a senior at UCF. He's in Big Dance this year.
Langston will end up going to lesser program.
Duruji is following Skinn to Seton Hall.
Those are the results of all those guys.
How does our situation stack up to other schools?
TCU has had 5 this year. I think the national average is around 3 per team each year.Quote:
Originally Posted by techman05
Last I checked, not everybody finished 8th in the conference. I know you mean how many other players are schools losing. My point is, everybody has to operate in this transfer rich environment and most schools are doing better than us.Quote:
Originally Posted by techman05
http://verbalcommits.com/schools/louisiana-techQuote:
Originally Posted by techman05
Harrison Curry
Jeremiah Taylor (walkon)
Luke Walker (walkon)
Branden Sheppard
Qiydar Davis
Yep. I believe his firing was official yesterday. Good guy. Tough situation. I know the rules are the rules...but the rules are antiquated. Amateurism is a myth created by the NCAA to maintain its monopoly.Quote:
Originally Posted by boxerdog
http://verbalcommits.com/transfers/2019Quote:
Originally Posted by techman05
212 players have already announced they are transferring
# of transfer for notable teams
2 Charlotte
1 FIU
2 LSU
3 Little Rock
3 McNeese State
5 TCU
2 aTm
3 UTEP
1 UTSA
2 WKU
konkol is probably carefully studying that transfer list to identify short guards who have no offers (as we speak).
goldQuote:
Originally Posted by nadB
Instead of a bunch of half-truths, itd be better served to talk about what might be the underlying cause in all of those xfers. But lets assume all of what you say is true, either the coaches have a terrible method to evaluating recruits...or there is something happening internally causing a greater than average exodus. Stick your head in the sand...or search for the truth?Quote:
Originally Posted by TrueBulldog1962
It's the way it works now, not a reflection on Tech. https://watchstadium.com/news/compre...ng-12-29-2018/Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawg-n-Pony
Quote:
750-800 that have transferred the last two years.
It is definitely not exclusive to Tech. I track a lot of the DFW guys and many are or have been on the move. Its been a huge issue at TCU...and the streets are quick to point to Dixon (even though media wont).Quote:
Originally Posted by sportdawg
I personally dont have a problem with xfers. Im very vocal advocate that there shouldnt even be a xfer penalty. Im a free market guy in everything, and think that the market will work itself out. If a coach is having a hard time recruiting and/or keeping players...then the coach will have to adjust his service. Just like a restaurant would have to adjust their menu/service if business declined.
If we had social media and thousands of instant connections back in our day, we would have had 700-800 xfers per year too. The problem back then was you had to know somebody. Now...you just need twitter.
Alex Hamilton defends these moves as not a result of Konkol. Seems to think players like him just fine. Indicates Ruston is not the easiest place to adjust to for all the players, many of which do come from far different areas.
This is a reason I hope we try to go after a few talented local guys in the future. I want our players to feel at home, not just miss their home. Some just cant adjust. He made the point a few went back to their home state.
I cant see ADs issue being playing time. He can only blame himself for lack of #s. He had as many opportunities as anyone on the floor to score points rebound, etc.... He's a good athlete, an avg scorer and not a NBA talent at the moment. However these kids have a much greater entitlement mindset than 20 years ago. I think youth basketball is one of the worst forms of youth sports today. Too much individualization and self-promotion. None of that increases a kids chances of making it in the NBA. No greater percentage are making it today than in the past. It's got to be very difficult coaching college sports today and I think basketball has to be one of the most difficult. AAU ball has ruined the team sport concept. Remember Ginos rant concerning the selfish mindset and he will not recruit kids (and he gets the best every year) that do not demonstrate willingness to play as part of a team. Not sure if any of this applies to AD, it simply may be other issues but I would hate to be a college coach in today's environment.
Looks like we will have plenty of scholarships available. Bring in some BIGS that can score the rock!!
Had a local kid literally beg to come to Tech out of Summerfield - wasn't good enough for us, but he signed with UMassQuote:
Originally Posted by Tech52
John (J B) Buggs
Great student, good family - we didn't want him
We are currently FULL. Assumes Jean receives a medial redshirt and Christon is medically cleared to play.Quote:
Originally Posted by BruceWillisDawg
I'm glad Tech took a chance on the other kid from Summerfield back in the day - Karl "Mailman" Malone.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
Ridiculous. Dude can put the ball in the hoop. PeriodQuote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
That's just not true. Everybody is losing players every year. Even the really good mid-major schools lose players to bigger schools. The bigger schools lose players to smaller schools every year. It's just the nature of the beast these days. Everyone is looking for what's next.Quote:
Originally Posted by touchdown123
It doesn’t make me feel any better that it seems to be a national epidemic.
Yeah, it's not even like a college sport now, but then neither is football for that matter.Quote:
Originally Posted by techman05
Best team I have ever witnessed at Tech was all home grown. 1984 dawgs - Malone (Summerfield), Willie Simmons (NOLA), Wayne Smith (Shreveport), Reenie Baily (Minden), cant remember 5th starter.
Back then there was no need to build a program on all "out of state" recruits so adjusting to N La was not really an issue.
Was it Godbolt or Bland?
Looks like Alan Davis although I don't know where he was from. I was a student at Tech then - those were some good times at the TAC for both the Bulldogs and the Lady Techsters.Quote:
Originally Posted by BruceWillisDawg
Things don't work that way now -Quote:
Originally Posted by BruceWillisDawg
You have to have a coach who can recruit regionally to be successful
The mentality of these kids has changed a lot. I remember being in the locker room all the time when TJE was here. A good number of his players chose Tech because they had never been on a plane or even crossed state lines. They were not comfortable being that far away from family.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
5th Starter: Guard - Alan Davis. Man were they fun to watch. Godbolt was a freshman.Quote:
Originally Posted by BruceWillisDawg
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb...tech/1984.html
We are in the midst of a major recruiting epidemic in our basketball program. It predates Konkol. The guys from Louisiana who can play at the C-USA level or higher aren't picking us. They're mostly choosing to go out of state. Several of them ended up in the greater northeast only to since transfer back closer to home. (Houston has been a good landing spot.) You can look at the in-state offers every year and we are going after the best guys in the state. We are just missing on them. Mike White missed on them, too. I'm sure being a one-bid conference and not playing in the tournament for nearly 30 years play a major factor in that. This year was a down year for in-state recruiting, and the guy we should have gotten signed with ULL instead. That was a major miss. Mylik Wilson didn't sign with a major conference. He didn't choose to leave the state. He just rejected us for the Cajuns instead. That is concerning.
Cajuns are offering the full "cost-of-attendance" stipend and we are not -Quote:
Originally Posted by theprofessor
Some of our fans say that it does not matter - it does BIG TIME -
Just missed out on the Northwood down lineman also - and the lower stipend we offered played a role in his decision
Having a little more pocket money counts to these kids
It should be noted that LaTech isn't quite the school it was back in the TJE era. More than a couple of those guys probably couldn't get/stay eligible nowadays. I have personally talked to a few who STRUGGLED to pass (even with tutors). This is a regional issue no doubt. Mike White took a risk with Massey as did Konkol with Sherman. Most of our current players are not academic risks. Aside from that, the stipend is a BIG deal to many of the athletes we recruit.
UKMC currently has 9 players listed as transferring :shocked2: They recently fired the head coach.
Division I college basketball is just a real mess now.
On average, how many basketball scholarships do we have annually (3-4)? Has the recruiting game changed so much that we can’t find that number of players in a 250 mile radius? The game hasn’t changed...it’s still about putting the ball through the hoop.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
How many stars did Malone,Simmons,Smith , Bailey have? Any 5 star guys. Oh wait recruiting stars didn’t exist back then and a coach actually had to evaluate talent..... I would be willing to bet there are 12 players currently in the state that could get us back to the tournament.....Smith came from a small private school, Malone was from Summerfield, Bailey from Minden. Similar caliber players still exist in those areas. Somebody just has to get off their ass and find them.Quote:
Originally Posted by BruceWillisDawg
Unfortunately in today's world - the high school basketball or baseball coach has very little input or influence in most instances of where a kid lands or getting him recruited -
It's the AAU and travel ball coaches in basketball, baseball and wbb...
That's the rub
It varies from situation to situation. Some HS coaches play a prominent role...some dont. Depends on their relationship. NCAA recruiting rules force coaches to interact with grassroots coaches more because thats where the talent is funneled. That said...not all HS coaches are worth a damn. I grew up in an era where the coach would withhold your college letters if he was unhappy or HE thought you were not worthy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
But aside from that...the number 1 reason for the amount of xfers is FALSE EXPECTATIONS. Coaches tell these kids whatever they think they want to hear to get them on campus. And once theyre on campus, they deliver very little of the expectations THEY THEMSELVES set...and the kid bounces. Then everyone blames the kids for being quitters, when really you only get ONE shot at college hoops. Why would you want to waste it a place where you are unhappy/unfulfilled? If coaches were honest and upfront, sure theyd miss out on some...but the ones you got would be YOURS!
Fletcher Magee, who just set the NCAA record for 3s, was asked why he picked Wofford over the Big 12 and AAC..."Because they would sent me handwritten notes and not those mass mailings."
If they did Exit Interviews for xferring players...I would bet a house this would be the top reason.
But if those guys were playing now, they'd be in the system. They would have a lot of stars, they would be on the AAU/camp circuit. They'd have had offers (and cash under the table) coming out of their ears. So we would likely have lost some of them.Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle2180
You do realize that those players are now playing AAU ball regionally and nationally during the summer and are being seen by more schools? In the past, schools like UMass and Rhode Island couldn't recruit kids from Louisiana unless there was an assistant on staff with ties to that area. It just didn't make financial sense. Now those coaches can see players from all across the country play in the shoe summer leagues. It's just a different world in 2019 than it was in 1989.Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle2180
And even in 1982 Karl went from driving an old beat up red rusty Ford pick-up that wouldn't start half the time to a shiny new blue trans-am when he showed up on campus...Quote:
Originally Posted by inudesu
Just saying -
BTW - Dumars chose McNeese over us because we couldn't supply the car and the cash that he wanted and got...
AAU existed then too. I believe Malone played on a team with Dumars, Hot Rod Williams, and Benny Anders, a member of Phi Slama Jama... if you believe kids weren’t recruited back in the day.Quote:
Originally Posted by theprofessor
He’s just saying it different. It is. Our best wing who’s from Maryland and gets all the PT he wants, wants out.Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle2180
I don't know about Hot Rod - but I do know it was Malone from Summerfield, Bailey from Minden, and Benny Anders from Bernice and Dumars with Jack Thigpen as head coachQuote:
Originally Posted by eagle2180
article from 2 years ago re: Greatest AAU team you've never heard of
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/amazin...125052144.html
Wow! GREAT ARTICLE!! Thanks for posting that.Quote:
Originally Posted by sportdawg
Maryland is a long way from Louisiana. Any chance he got homesick? Atmosphere at Tech b’ball games isn’t always great. I think the biggest key for Tech success is regional recruiting. Maybe we need to take a chance on the kids from Summerfield, Simsboro, Zwolle, Minden, Bossier, Shreveport....it has worked for us before.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dixonfor6
I agree. Get the best players available first, but we have to get some local guys. Duruji is probably better than anyone we could get regionally, same for Daquan. Could we find a local Oliver Powell?Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle2180
Thinking about our team, I feel like we actually have some good players. I couldn’t say Archibald, Christon, Jean, or Pemberton in that paragraph.
So, you don’t think there are any 2-3 * 6’7” small forwards in a 250 mile radius of Ruston, La with similar athletic abilities to Duruji? I find that really hard to believe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dixonfor6
We offer lots of folks from Louisiana, but they don't come to Ruston. Maybe they don't like konkol ??Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle2180
Definitely could be a coaching problem. Tommy Joe got it done....Hire better people.Quote:
Originally Posted by nadB
Sorry, Andy Russo got it done.Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle2180
Similar probably. They’re going to major conferences. He had a very special athletic skill set. Konk’s east coast ties have to be the only reason we got him and Day dayQuote:
Originally Posted by eagle2180
I love when schools recruit regionally. There are quite a few Weeziana kids playing for 1 of our local EYBL teams the last few years...so there is definitely talent abound.
I wish DFW schools did a better job of it. Theyve improved, but far from where they should be.
Seeing the schools of interest for Duruji...what does it mean if he doesnt end up near home or on the east coast?
Coach Skinn was the reason we got both those players. I saw where Minnesota, Syracuse, and George Mason have all reached out to Duruji.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dixonfor6
Also, Kyle has officially transferred so we now have that spot we all assumed would be opening.
http://www.verbalcommits.com/schools/louisiana-tech
They didn't like Mike White either. Or Kerry Rupp. Richard actually recruited local high schools better than our latest crop of coaches. Of course, he also relied heavily on JUCO transfers, too. For the most part, the players who can play in CUSA either go to bigger schools or leave the state. The players who want to come play for us are Sun Belt/Southland players. That's why we head out of state. It's not a new problem, but it's one we have to solve.Quote:
Originally Posted by nadB
Well, apparently there aren't a lot of Louisiana players to go around (at least ranked players).
24/7 has 3 players on the composite rankings https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Ba...chool&State=LA
Only 3 kids? Unbelievable. Do they no longer play basketball in Louisiana High Schools? Why is this happening? Seems like the law of averages would dictate better results than this....without even trying.Quote:
Originally Posted by sportdawg
If our coaches are relying on rankings from 247 sports or any other ranking system to find players, we have a problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by sportdawg
More than one way to skin a cat. It can be local kids, or non locals with a decent head on their shoulder, or a team first kid, or an underrated kid who is happy to be here, or MAYBE JUST MAYBE a coach who can create a team first culture where the players wouldn't dream of transferring, or all of the above.
"But touchdown these kids are wired differently, they watching Lebron and AD." Yea nice excuse every loser has one.
Fact is every school lives in this transfer rich environment. Louisiana Tech is trending down.
Just curious. Do AAU peeps care about winning or show casing?
We actually haven't had to deal with this stuff as much as most schools have. You could argue that means we are "trending down." You could also argue the law of averages are catching up to us. Transfers are a two-way street. We are excited about what Kalob Ledoux can add to our program next year. He led McNeese in scoring as a freshman and averaging 15 ppg and 37% from 3 as a sophomore. He had to leave McNeese to end up here. For the most part, we have avoided losing our best players. Our transfers have been role players or guys looking for more playing time. Duruji was our second-leading scorer and leading rebounder. He's a big loss. But Langston likely knows his PT would decrease with the return of Christon and Jean, and McKinley needed to go somewhere else if he wanted to play. Every school deals with losses each year. Even Duke has students leave, either transferring or turning pro before originally thought. One of UNC's best players this year is a transfer from Pitt. Gonzaga loads up on transfers every year. Those players have to come from somewhere. Player movement in college basketball is out of control, and it's finally starting to hit us.Quote:
Originally Posted by touchdown123