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Post by cpico on Nov 20, 2014 16:16:58 GMT -5
Well, the signing period is now over. I'm glad Karl Harris signed and will be on campus next year. Seems like someone who will help our program. Nice pick up by the coaching staff.
But the fact we did not get a big man (a forward/center) is extremely, extremely disappointing. We had one major need - to get a big who would give us help/depth next season - and we got nothing in that area. It's actually mind boggling that a big wasn't signed. How we could not get a big man from the transfer market last season who would already have Division I experience, sit out this year and be ready to go next year, or get a quality big in the 2015 class is beyond me. I can't believe many are not talking about this, because it's really bad. I really like Coach Giannini and I think he is an asset to our University, but he really has dropped the ball so far by not getting a big. Our bigs next year are Wasington and Eugene - we need more than two bigs especially since both are inexperienced.
I know we have the spring signing period, but it is very difficult for a school like us to get a quality big in the spring. I'm just frustrated that we did not fill our biggest need. I think the performance on the court last season hurt us in recruiting.
Hoping Coach has something up his sleeve, not sure how he could justify not getting a big.
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Post by explorer88 on Nov 20, 2014 16:19:42 GMT -5
We have two needs. Add a shooter to our wish list. I am really disappointed we couldn't grab Oliva. I heard he was visiting Halloween weekend and I don't think he ever made it on campus. Not sure what happened. I really worry about recruiting for La Salle when it gets into the spring because it is very tough to find talent normally. I think G will be active in the mid-year transfer market next month.
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MisterD
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Post by MisterD on Nov 20, 2014 16:27:17 GMT -5
I really like Coach Giannini and I think he is an asset to our University, but he really has dropped the ball so far by not getting a big. What do you think should have been done differently?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2014 16:37:52 GMT -5
I'd rather end up with nothing then take someone like Jermaine Davis or Matt Lopez who will be here for 2 years and do essentially nothing for the program. Harris sounds to be a more athletic, more talented DJ... which I like. And a starting lineup with Yevegen, Washington, Price and then Roberts/Lewis/Stukes/Shuler that isn't awful. Rohan should also be back and I'd expect G to get someone in the spring/transfer.
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Post by cpico on Nov 20, 2014 16:50:50 GMT -5
I really like Coach Giannini and I think he is an asset to our University, but he really has dropped the ball so far by not getting a big. What do you think should have been done differently? I think my post was clear - it's coach's job to recruit and he didn't fill our biggest need. Not really sure what your comment even means.
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Post by explorerman on Nov 20, 2014 16:53:44 GMT -5
Like 88 said you aren't going to find much talent in the front court in the spring... I am shocked they weren't able to land one especially with all of the playing time that is there waiting for any incoming player..
A player like Bunch (if he qualifies) is only going to have his stock rise in the spring as teams get desperate for big men.
Oh Brimah....
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Post by cpico on Nov 20, 2014 17:01:06 GMT -5
We have two needs. Add a shooter to our wish list. I am really disappointed we couldn't grab Oliva. I heard he was visiting Halloween weekend and I don't think he ever made it on campus. Not sure what happened. I really worry about recruiting for La Salle when it gets into the spring because it is very tough to find talent normally. I think G will be active in the mid-year transfer market next month. Definitely agree with you about signing a big in the spring - odds are against us there. If he can pick up a mid year transfer that would be eligible after the first semester next season that would be great. If I'm not mistaken, as of right now we only have 9 scholarship players on the roster for next year.
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Post by lasalle89 on Nov 20, 2014 17:04:05 GMT -5
G needs to give the Big he wants the Tyreek Duren speech... "Other teams may want you... But WE NEED YOU!" We NEED a real big man that can step in and START next year. No more stiffs. We are past that. Besides Bunch who else is left?
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MisterD
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Post by MisterD on Nov 20, 2014 17:04:58 GMT -5
Do you think Giannini recruited bad or do you think other factors played a role in no one signing?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2014 17:05:12 GMT -5
89... Maurice is left. Olivia, I'm sure theres some others. always late bloomers.
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Post by explorer88 on Nov 20, 2014 17:10:50 GMT -5
No doubt in my mind G turned every stone in recruiting. Sometimes it just doesn't work out as you hoped. Charlie Thomas was a huge miss for us. I think G believed he had him but other factors sometimes don't go your way and you lose kids you thought you had.
I always give G an A+ for effort in recruiting. The problem is never effort. I think adding another shooter is a disagreement in philosophy. I don't think G sees it as a need but after the first couple of games I am not sure he thinks that way right now.
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Post by cpico on Nov 20, 2014 17:12:33 GMT -5
Do you think Giannini recruited bad or do you think other factors played a role in no one signing? Not sure what you're getting at. It's coach's job to recruit here at La Salle just like it's always been. So whatever the reason is, he didn't do what was needed yet. A huge period just passed and no big man. As I said I hope he has something up his sleeve.
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MisterD
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Post by MisterD on Nov 20, 2014 17:33:47 GMT -5
I'm getting at "we needed it so he should have gotten it and I can't understand the other factors involved" as being an unreasonable statement from an intelligent adult.
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Post by cpico on Nov 20, 2014 17:45:06 GMT -5
I'm getting at "we needed it so he should have gotten it and I can't understand the other factors involved" as being an unreasonable statement from an intelligent adult. Let me explain this like you are a 7 year old - maybe you are. Team needs a big man; coach did not get a big man. It's coach's job to fill a roster here at La Salle. Why do I bother responding to you it's pointless - you're overly sarcastic most of the time and add nothing to the discussion most of the time. As I said in prior posts, I hope he has something up his sleeve.
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Post by virginia61 on Nov 20, 2014 18:11:30 GMT -5
Unfortunately, recruiting has not been a strong suit for some time, particularly coming out of HS. Tyreek Duren was an exception. Most everyone else has been low-to-mid level talent for the A10 - more low than mid. Helped by impact transfers, program caught lightning in a bottle two years ago with the NCAA trip and had a pretty good campaign the prior year. I have no doubt the coach is working hard but he has generally not been successful on this front. I think a .500 season this year would be a pretty good result, helped by a weak OOC schedule. Next year looks to be even more of a struggle. Not trying to trash the program, team or coach at all. I think that's just reality. We need to squeak past the Colgates and Quinnipiacs of the college b-ball world. Wins certainly better than losses, of course. But we're not attracting the players needed to compete for an NCAA tourney spot, at least every couple years.
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MisterD
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Post by MisterD on Nov 20, 2014 18:19:57 GMT -5
Let me explain this like you are a 7 year old - maybe you are. Team needs a big man; coach did not get a big man. It's coach's job to fill a roster here at La Salle. Why do I bother responding to you it's pointless - you're overly sarcastic most of the time and add nothing to the discussion most of the time. Sarcasm is my defense mechanism against logic-void tantrums. Wanting something does not make something attainable. Especially when that something is a finite resource with objectively better surface options.
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Post by belfieldhappyhour on Nov 20, 2014 18:20:06 GMT -5
I've said this in the past, and I know it's not easy to get the right people, but I think we have a fairly weak group of assistant coaches, and that doesn't help. Everyone talks about G doing this and G doing that, why are the assistants never pointed out as being the point person for recruiting X player? We hear it once in a while, but not very often. I wish we could upgrade that position, which will then help upgrade our recruiting.
That's my two cents.
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Post by cpico on Nov 20, 2014 18:36:36 GMT -5
Let me explain this like you are a 7 year old - maybe you are. Team needs a big man; coach did not get a big man. It's coach's job to fill a roster here at La Salle. Why do I bother responding to you it's pointless - you're overly sarcastic most of the time and add nothing to the discussion most of the time. Sarcasm is my defense mechanism against logic-void tantrums. Wanting something does not make something attainable. Especially when that something is a finite resource with objectively better surface options. Sarcasm is a weak defense when the facts are that the team needed a big and coach didn't get one. Not a tantrum it's stating fact. That's coach's job, not mine. He had immediate playing time at the A-10 level to offer and good academic support and graduating his players to offer. He has other limitations at La Salle but there also selling points - especially playing time which means a lot to the guys coming in. Also, you seem too intelligent to be posting with us neanderthals on this board. Looks like you have taken a philosophy course or two, that's great - so have other people on this board. It's a shame you can't see your own arrogance.
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Post by SICguy84 on Nov 20, 2014 18:38:05 GMT -5
I've said this in the past, and I know it's not easy to get the right people, but I think we have a fairly weak group of assistant coaches, and that doesn't help. Everyone talks about G doing this and G doing that, why are the assistants never pointed out as being the point person for recruiting X player? We hear it once in a while, but not very often. I wish we could upgrade that position, which will then help upgrade our recruiting. That's my two cents. Was Harris Adler heavily involved in talent mining?
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Post by las71 on Nov 20, 2014 19:06:22 GMT -5
I think we sometimes over value our attractiveness to big time recruits. We have a subpar facility and have been to the NCAA tourney once in 21 years. Despite our recent sweet 16 appearance I suspect we remain a hard sell especially to big men of whom there are so few real prospects. We all love La Salle but we lack some of the bells and whistles that other schools have. Generally I think G has upgraded the overall talent but bigs are and remain difficult for us to land.
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Post by lwc4591 on Nov 20, 2014 19:14:51 GMT -5
The number one thing that will help recruiting doesn't exist and we all know what that is. G is not going to sign a player that is not A10 caliber and why would he. His job is next to impossible when every player he goes after sees much nicer facilities and in many cases better programs. It is nearly a miracle that he can continue to put .500 or better teams year in a year out over the past few seasons and this season will be no different. If school doesn't move soon (2 or 3 years) it will be to late to salvage program and A10 will probably ask us to leave.
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Post by lasallescreamer on Nov 20, 2014 19:42:31 GMT -5
A historical view might help. Dr G tries very hard. We did not get a BIG. Why? Its not his fault. We have had trouble recruiting, by and large, under Lefty, Speedy, B.H. and G.We have had more than our share of great players, even superstars, but we have not had great fortune in bringing in players who were good but not great; instead we have been able to recruit many high quality kids who had average BB talents.It has become harder to bring in a superstar in the recent college landscape and it is more necessary than ever to recruit good and not average players. Then, if u get a superstar and have good players, u make a Tourney and maybe make some noise. We all know what the problem is. Fixing the problem can only happen in the long term. Meantime, maybe we can make further in- roads in the foreign markets, where, through different eyes and culture, our campus and facilities look OK.Lastly, and if we don't have a facility to sell, we still have La Salle itself-a wonderful , almost magical destination for young people who want a tremendous education and a chance to develop into community leaders both because of their academic background and sound spiritual compass. I know its hard to sell that to kids who think they are going to the NBA , but so, so many successful people have come out of LSU, that its not a point that should be overlooked.Short of that we can try to sell the fact that many of our players have played pro-maybe not NBA but in Europe where there is still money to be earned.God Bless La Salle!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2014 20:22:15 GMT -5
Coach G is a tireless recruiter. However, he can't do it alone. Horace Owens is supposed to be the guy with the Philly high school connections, having run the Sonny Hill league. But his time has passed, and he needs to be replaced. His only key recruit for us was Jerrell Wright. And that was because he played ball with Wright's father. For quite some time, LaSalle hasn't landed a single urban Philly player! We need a new, younger assistant coach with AAU connections. Maybe even one with an NBA background that can connect with the kids looking to go pro long term. G will burn out if he doesn't get help.
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Post by thehawkisdead on Nov 20, 2014 21:44:56 GMT -5
I do love the "G needs to bring in an athletic, polished big man who can dominate at both ends of the floor" mentality of certain posters, like those kinds of players grow on trees and aren't immediately snapped up by the power conferences.
I am not taking a potshot at any one poster with my "certain posters" comment, since this is a somewhat common lament around here.
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Post by cpico on Nov 20, 2014 22:06:34 GMT -5
I do love the "G needs to bring in an athletic, polished big man who can dominate at both ends of the floor" mentality of certain posters, like those kinds of players grow on trees and aren't immediately snapped up by the power conferences. I am not taking a potshot at any one poster with my "certain posters" comment, since this is a somewhat common lament around here. FYI, I'm not saying I expect Coach to bring in a top 125 type recruit - that's very, very difficult for a school like us - and not realistic for the most part. I'm talking about a big who could play like 15 minutes as a freshman and contribute - I'm not talking about dominating in any way.
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Post by hideaway on Nov 20, 2014 22:20:22 GMT -5
G's job is to get us to the NCAA tournament. We didn't get there last year thus he should be fired.
Give me a break. Anyone who doesn't think G has done a very good overall job as a recruiter, coach and representative for our University clearly doesn't look at the big picture. Look in the mirror guys. Who do you think he should be beating out that he has been losing recruits to over the last 5 years and tell us why he should be beating them out? Because you want him to? He is punching way higher than La Salle's weight so to speak. If you don't understand that, you likely aren't ever going to. Also you likely aren't very old to have the perspective that La Salle was horrible for a very long time and was losing to Division 2 teams. G isn't perfect in any one category but collectively he is a very good coach for La Salle University.
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Post by calidelphia on Nov 21, 2014 2:18:11 GMT -5
I've said this in the past, and I know it's not easy to get the right people, but I think we have a fairly weak group of assistant coaches, and that doesn't help. Everyone talks about G doing this and G doing that, why are the assistants never pointed out as being the point person for recruiting X player? We hear it once in a while, but not very often. I wish we could upgrade that position, which will then help upgrade our recruiting. That's my two cents. Was Harris Adler heavily involved in talent mining? Damn cpico, you got petty quick there. Belfield and Sic seem to nail one of the key take aways that I believe is impacting the situation. We can look at Horace Spencer as a sign of this. He was at Auburn quick after Adler was there. We may have lost a point of contact with other recruits when Adler went to work with Pearl. I am not as close to the local recruiting or the coaching staff as others are but my understanding is that much of this scouting and early recruiting is done by assistants. G is the closer. That said, I am going to relax on this unless we are running with just two bigs. Currently Zack is 6'11 and looks to be the same size as washington. Wright at 6'8 is about the same "size" as Eugene. Davis never played in the past and we are better with 4 guards anyways. I am not going into a panic mode since I believe we will be surprised in the end considering we know literally nothing about the recruiting/ transfer conversations that are happening behind the scenes. I also refuse to argue about hypothetical situations and scenarios that do not exist at this point in time. I certainly won't start calling for heads on issues that don't exist yet...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2014 8:33:21 GMT -5
Unfortunately, recruiting has not been a strong suit for some time, particularly coming out of HS. Tyreek Duren was an exception. Most everyone else has been low-to-mid level talent for the A10 - more low than mid. Helped by impact transfers, program caught lightning in a bottle two years ago with the NCAA trip and had a pretty good campaign the prior year. I have no doubt the coach is working hard but he has generally not been successful on this front. I think a .500 season this year would be a pretty good result, helped by a weak OOC schedule. Next year looks to be even more of a struggle. Not trying to trash the program, team or coach at all. I think that's just reality. We need to squeak past the Colgates and Quinnipiacs of the college b-ball world. Wins certainly better than losses, of course. But we're not attracting the players needed to compete for an NCAA tourney spot, at least every couple years. Are we talking about the same coach G? Aaric Murray-Top 5 Center Sam Mills and Duren- La Salle and Duke were only team with 2 top 50 PGs in that class Jerrell Wright- Chose La Salle over Gtown and Rutgers Steve Zack- top 10 in the COUNTRY in double doubles Rodney Green Yves Mekongo ...there have been some pretty good guys he's gotten out of High school.
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Post by luhoopsfan on Nov 21, 2014 9:06:12 GMT -5
Johnnie Shuler...
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Post by MisterD on Nov 21, 2014 9:16:31 GMT -5
And how many of them were McDonald's All Americans? His job is to get the best players. The best players are McDonald's All Americans. Make whatever excuses you want, but he's not getting the best players which is his job.
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