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.
5th Starter: Guard - Alan Davis. Man were they fun to watch. Godbolt was a freshman.
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.
the bold, the beautiful, theprofessor
Cajuns are offering the full "cost-of-attendance" stipend and we are not -
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
''Don't be a bad dagh..."
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.
Have you considered those Dogs?
UKMC currently has 9 players listed as transferring They recently fired the head coach.
Division I college basketball is just a real mess now.
Good old Memorial Gym
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.
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
''Don't be a bad dagh..."
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.
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.
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.
the bold, the beautiful, theprofessor
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...
Just saying -
BTW - Dumars chose McNeese over us because we couldn't supply the car and the cash that he wanted and got...
''Don't be a bad dagh..."