Quote :

"Nothing happens unless first a dream"

3/10/2009 4:56:56 PM

Quote :

"Wasn't the Costner/McCauley/Fells class ranked in the top 20? Great, so Lowe can finish 10/12/10 in the ACC with a top 20 class. I'm so excited about the next 3 years."

Yes, that's extremely logical. B/c we have a top 20 class, and we've had a top 20 class, we can predict how well the team will do by looking at our previous top 20 class's accomplishments. Yep.

3/10/2009 5:09:31 PM

I'll go out on a limb here and predict that Lorenzo Brown will come close to doubling the production we've gotten from Fells if he stays for 4 years and plays most of it while healthy.


Lorenzo is a guy who makes everyone around him better. Fells is just a good basketball player with a ton of potential that he never lived up to. I think one of the recruiting gurus like Daniels or DT said that Fells had more potential, but Brown was the better player. I think it pretty much came down to Fells being more athletic and having a better outside shot, but Brown can score with anyone, he's a ball handler, he understands the game, he gets his teammates involved, and he brings it on D.

Then in this class you also have a big guy who can shoot the lights out of the ball, who also brings it 100% every night, and big who fits the tracy smith mold with a better outside shot but a little less of a post up game.

I'll take my chances on this class being better than the 05 class. Brown fills the point guard/leader role that was missing from that class...and all 3 of them are winners.

3/10/2009 5:19:08 PM

The 2005 class was ranked 11th, actually. And we basically got all the guys we targeted.


And that was by a coach who had been here 8 years, had an established program, and the team had just made the Sweet 16 and the ACC title game, and the year before finished second in the conference and also been in the tourney.

Now we've got the 20th class coming off of a NIT season followed by a nothing at all season, and this class might be the first time Coach Lowe got an even start with the rest of the coaches, and we might/did miss on three of the top guys out there.

It's not the same thing.

3/10/2009 5:22:36 PM

i really can't help but feel like we're losing the wheels here.

speculation that brown won't qualify. speculation that howell's back is out again. rumors that leslie wants more attention.

it's a perfect storm of state basketball insecurity.

3/10/2009 5:40:42 PM

Where is that?

3/10/2009 5:48:35 PM

Quote :

"The only good from it is that maybe our coaches are getting experience in recruiting the top talent??? And I say "maybe", because they don't seem to be too successful at landing them. Right now I'd rather land 4-star guys, then recruit 5-star guys for two years, have them commit somewhere else, and then have to settle for 3-star guys. That being said, I haven't followed recruiting as much the past few years, so I don't know exactly how great our class is shaping out (it does seem to be doing okay), but it looks like the fallbacks listed above are the of the general "fallback" variety."

Hey, there's this guy who would be perfect for our offense and team, but everyone thinks he's amazing and everyone is involved so I think we shouldn't offer him and instead find someone who isn't as good and isn't as good of a fit for what we are trying to do!

3/10/2009 5:56:44 PM

^Bingo.

Plus, Lowe was recruiting Wall long before he became a superstar.

3/10/2009 5:58:20 PM

Lowe was recruiting Wall when he was just a guy with good speed and size that a lot of people thought was alright, but Lowe was the first major coach to believe he was great.

3/10/2009 6:00:03 PM

Wall will basically be giving Lowe a big "fuck you" if he doesn't commit here. It may be more from the Clifton's end, but Lowe has invested a such a retarded amount of time recruiting him that it would really be disappointing.

Lowe and the staff should be rewarded for the work they have put in on this class. They've been working on it for 3 years. Fortunately, we got Brown, and 2 other guys we really wanted. We didn't get 1 guy we really really wanted, and we missed on another who we took a late stab at. If we get wall, it will basically be a 3 for 4 effort on the guys we went after really hard.

Quote :

"i really can't help but feel like we're losing the wheels here. speculation that brown won't qualify. speculation that howell's back is out again. rumors that leslie wants more attention. it's a perfect storm of state basketball insecurity."

Thats only natural. I'm more worried about Leslie than anything, but we only have to make it until november if he stays committed. If he stays committed that long and doesn't sign, well he can eat a piece of poo.

Regarding brown, I've heard just as many rumors that he's doing fine in school as I have that he's not. and its 1 each way. That one guy on the georgia board started spouting off that he wouldn't qualify last summer, the same guy who claimed that someone got paid for Brown, Howell, JJ, and Harrow, and that we attempted to pay for favors.

3/10/2009 6:19:30 PM

Quote :

"If he stays committed that long and doesn't sign, well he can eat a piece of poo."

Poo happens unfortunately, I wouldn't hold my breath with stars these days until they are actually sitting in class.

3/10/2009 6:25:44 PM

page 76

Quote :

" NEEDS MORE WALL"

3/10/2009 6:33:54 PM

Quote :

"Wall will basically be giving Lowe a big "fuck you" if he doesn't commit here. It may be more from the Clifton's end, but Lowe has invested a such a retarded amount of time recruiting him that it would really be disappointing."

Seriously?? Wall doesn't owe Sidney shit. Plenty of coaches put a lot of time into recruits all the time only for the kid to pick someone else. These kids are teenagers and are trying to make probably the biggest decision of their life at the time...they should care less about how its going to affect the other coaches. John Wall is a kid and Sidney Low is a man...Wall doesn't owe Lowe anything.

Quote :

"Hey, there's this guy who would be perfect for our offense and team, but everyone thinks he's amazing and everyone is involved so I think we shouldn't offer him and instead find someone who isn't as good and isn't as good of a fit for what we are trying to do!"

Hey...I know recruiting is tough, but I'm just saying that striking out with the best in the nation and settling for lesser players might not always be the best idea. Although I'll let it drop, because coaches can never predict who they are going to get...just don't want to waste scholarships on Mike O'Donnel type of players.

3/10/2009 7:18:49 PM

Quote :

"speculation that brown won't qualify. speculation that howell's back is out again. rumors that leslie wants more attention."

what have we all learned lately about speculation

3/10/2009 7:20:25 PM

^That if its bad, and it concerns State, then it usually turns out to be true.

3/10/2009 7:25:54 PM

when the speculation is about something positive, it falls through

when the speculation is about something negative, it soon becomes fact

3/10/2009 7:26:49 PM

hahaha^,^^ you guys are some nc state fans

3/10/2009 7:36:57 PM

Quote :

"Hey...I know recruiting is tough, but I'm just saying that striking out with the best in the nation and settling for lesser players might not always be the best idea. Although I'll let it drop, because coaches can never predict who they are going to get...just don't want to waste scholarships on Mike O'Donnel type of players."

The plan is to get the best players that are interested in going to your school. When 3 of the best 4 players in the nation are interested in your school, you don't exactly stop recruiting them. If they don't come, oh well

3/10/2009 9:00:03 PM

don't get me started on Mike O'Donnell

3/10/2009 9:04:59 PM

justin flatt can flat out shoot

3/10/2009 9:17:25 PM

Mike O'Donnell's claim to fame is being in the background of the "OH WE BACK!!11" picture

3/10/2009 9:21:15 PM

i'll defend that scrappy son of a bitch til the day I die

http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=463884

[Edited on March 10, 2009 at 9:28 PM. Reason : 3]

3/10/2009 9:26:20 PM

i'll defend my last post

photos/00387337.jpg

3/10/2009 10:01:50 PM

Quote :

"Seriously?? Wall doesn't owe Sidney shit. Plenty of coaches put a lot of time into recruits all the time only for the kid to pick someone else. These kids are teenagers and are trying to make probably the biggest decision of their life at the time...they should care less about how its going to affect the other coaches. John Wall is a kid and Sidney Low is a man...Wall doesn't owe Lowe anything."

I think he owes Lowe the common courtesy to tell him he's not interested. I mean if Lowe has been told by Wall a while ago that he is fighting an uphill battle and he's probably not coming to state, thats one thing, but to drag this thing out for almost a year and a half after Lowe wanted him to commit only to go to memphis if he keeps acting like he's interested is a little much. I mean, maybe he really wants to come here but he's torn, who knows. I'm sure Lowe can handle it, but i'm just saying.


Regardless, I think Wall ends up here for a couple of reasons. Mainly, we're the only school thats been on his list since day 1. Baylor has been there since Clifton's hire, Memphis has been there since his ranking shot up, but other than that, who is at the top besides us? Then there's his mom, who, regardless of being sick, wants him to stay here.

But then on the other hand, if he's a big UNC fan, he could think this whole thing with State is hillarious and he'll just go to memphis. I can certianly understand why, although I don't get whats so attractive to recruits about playing in that shit conference for a mediocre coach. He certianly has a formula for making the tournament every year. So I guess he just needs to get hot at the right time and he'll have a national championship.

3/10/2009 10:05:26 PM

Quote :

"I don't get whats so attractive to recruits about playing in that shit conference for a mediocre coach"

Like I said



There are more where that came from if you're not getting it

3/10/2009 10:07:30 PM

calipari is far from mediocre, but c-usa is garbage.

3/10/2009 10:24:36 PM

easy route

3/10/2009 10:29:21 PM

Say what you want, but Calipari is a charismatic motherfucker.

Watching some old Jimmy V interviews and then seeing Cal I can't help but draw some comparisons.

I'm pissed as shit that Cal is fucking is in recruiting, but he is a very, very good coach.

3/10/2009 10:29:57 PM

3/11/2009 8:32:15 AM

^^He is a really good coach, and you're right about the charisma. Conf USA may be a joke, but Cal has his team ready to play every game. Their crazylong winning streak is evidence of that. Since their talent level is higher than every other team, it'd be easy for them to take a night off ... but they don't.

I guess that's what makes Cal even more annoying ... the fact he seems content to stay in Conf USA and beat up on teams. It's obvious he could have success in a major conference ... possibly even the NBA

3/11/2009 9:18:10 AM

Bob Gibbons new 2009 rankings top 150.

#27 L. Brown

#36 R. Howell

#102 S. Wood

3/11/2009 9:37:05 AM

Well as much as I hate Calipari stealing kick ass recruits from us. It makes perfect sense if you can get the recruits in, dominate your conference, consistently make it to the big dance, make some noise, get kids to the NBA, have a school where your king of the castle....it seems like Memphis and Gonzaga are building mini dynasties.

Yea playing in the bigger leagues, with bigger name coaches, who get larger salaries is great-but Gonzaga and Memphis games were televised as much as the big name schools. They each consistently get big name players, or unheard of gems who complete their teams, and for that as much as you may not like it-im sure most State fans would LOVE to be in that same situation-especially if it meant outshining Duke and UNC.

3/11/2009 9:41:07 AM

Quote :

"speculation that brown won't qualify. speculation that howell's back is out again. rumors that leslie wants more attention."

You are the most negative mother fucker ever.

3/11/2009 10:30:42 AM

i think calipari did coach in the nba for a bit before being fired/going back to coach college. i think it was one of those great college coaches goes to a horrible team only to get fired since they can't work miracles situations.

3/11/2009 10:56:37 AM

pretty sure he went from umass to being a celtics assistant then back to college.

3/11/2009 12:03:22 PM

From 1996–99, he was head coach and Executive VP of basketball operations for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. During the 1999–2000 season, he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers under coach Larry Brown, before moving on to his current position at the University of Memphis.

3/11/2009 12:05:40 PM

^what he said

[Edited on March 11, 2009 at 12:08 PM. Reason : ]

3/11/2009 12:08:00 PM

should be noted that he left umass with ncaa violations when he went to the nba and they vacated the their final four appearance the year prior over them

[Edited on March 11, 2009 at 12:19 PM. Reason : .]

3/11/2009 12:17:14 PM

I think I know what you're saying, but reading that post is making my brain bleed.

3/11/2009 12:28:38 PM

haha, i looked at it cross-eyed when i posted it too

3/11/2009 12:31:40 PM

Quote :

"State fans would LOVE to be in that same situation-especially if it meant outshining Duke and UNC."

If we're not playing d00k or UNC, then what the fuck would it matter?


And regarding my earlier statement "why do they want to go there"...I understand its the easy path....but my question is why do they all want the easy path? I guess thats a stupid question.

Playing in a better conference against better competition night in and night out makes you a better player. If you make it through and get drafted, you will probably make more money in the long run. Honestly, it wouldn't bother me to lose recruits to UNC, Texas, Kansas, UCLA. Basically, Memphis is where you can go artificially improve your teams rank, make the tournament as a high seed without playing anyone the entire season, and have a fairly easy path to the elite 8 without having to play anyone.


How fucking great of a coach does it take to beat the system like that? He has a formula, it works, guys go to the league, I see what attracts them. It doesn't make him a great coach. Great recruiter? yes. Coach? far from it.

3/11/2009 12:47:17 PM

I disagree with most of what you've said, but this

Quote :

"Great recruiter? yes. Coach? far from it."

this is spot-on.

3/11/2009 12:51:41 PM

Quote :

"pretty sure he went from umass to being a celtics assistant then back to college."

You're thinking of Pitino...and he was a head coach of the Celtics...and did a horrible job.

3/11/2009 1:14:03 PM

calipari coached the nets after umass and also did a horrible job

3/11/2009 1:23:36 PM

Quote :

"You're thinking of Pitino...and he was a head coach of the Celtics...and did a horrible job."

For what it's worth, Pitino did a damn good job as the Knicks head coach before going to UK...

3/11/2009 2:13:36 PM

I don't know why they would want the easy way out too. Maybe because they're under so much pressure to win their conferences that going to C-USA (i.e. Memphis) where it's inevitable that they're going to win any conf. game makes it more comfortable.

But I'd rather say after my college career that my team beat UNC or Duke once each than say that we beat UTEP or Tulsa every time we played

3/11/2009 2:48:56 PM

These guys don't care about college, they just want to get paid.

Calipari has shown that he can make that happen, both before and after their year in college.

3/11/2009 2:49:55 PM

maybe they don't want a mass of 18-21 year old kids getting mad at them when they lose. maybe?

3/11/2009 3:10:32 PM

Quote :

"I disagree with most of what you've said, but this"

well, that was pretty much the point of the entire post. The rest of it was just pointing out that his conference sucks, so you can't really consider him a great coach. I mean NC State could take our semi-blue chip talent and run thorugh C-USA these days. He's doing it with some of the best recruits in america.



^Thats what makes college ball so great. People live and die by their team. It should be looked at as a challenge. It happens everywhere....clearly not at memphis.


And by the way, I want to pass something on to you guys...

One thing that always makes me feel good about our situation when I'm feeling down on basketball: Kentucky. lol.

3/11/2009 3:23:21 PM

Bobby Knight is right. The NBA's mandatory one-year rule is terrible for college basketball.

3/11/2009 4:31:13 PM