A little off topic, but what's going on with UVA basketball?

[DanvilleSportsHead]

Why the dislike of him in Tx?

I'm a message boards spy lol...I peep the Texas boards and they dislike him big time...Why?? I couldn't tell you. Some people on the VCU Ram Nation boards, who actually lives down in Texas, says that the folks down there don't like him so it's not just "message board talk". All I can say is that the grass isn't always greener. As much as I would love for him to still be here in Richmond, he is on to bigger pastures. If he was still here I think we would get the opportunity to go to another Final 4 and maybe even win the whole thing...I also think the same if he was to go to Georgetown. He's that good of a coach and recruiter. He sold himself short with that Texas job.

 

[DanvilleSportsHead]

DSH Good Gauuud... 25 wins though?? LOL if that is the case he should have high tailed it out of there and went to GT for sure. I was gonna say at the very least a sweet 16 appearance. Given his conference and the recruiting class he had anything less would be insufficient. But you may be right. He was hired to turn TX into a basketball power. Not a bubble team.

He was responsible for five 26 win seasons here at VCU. 20 wins in the Big 12 more than likely gives you a 5-7 seed in the conference tourney. You have to factor in a non conference schedule in which he needs to at least win 9-10 games, at least 12-14 games in conference to get an acceptable 1-4 seed in the conference tourney and steal a couple of Big 12 tournament games (I'll compromise and say at least 23-24 total wins lol). Very thin ice for Shaka. If he misses out on the NCAA's, he's gone

 

[uvacavs1]

You do realize how young Texas was this year for Shaka right? Top 2 leading scorers were Freshmen, next 2 were sophomores. Young team. And currently Shaka has the #8 recruiting class according to the list I saw last night on ESPN at the McDonald's All-American game. Another year or two and they can compete for the Big 12. So whoever said he'll be fired next March......doubt it.

gtownfencecrew, good to hear from you. We used have some great (rational) discussions concerning Gretna v Essex football in their glory days in the old Group A...

Concerning Shaka, you may be right and I hope you are about his chances at Texas. You are, my friend, again thinking rationally. We are talking about Texans and their madness for sports. I'm afraid Danville and mbonape1 are closer to what may happen.

IMO, Shaka f----- up when he left what he had built at VCU. I would also expect he knows it. He and, more importantly, his family loved it in the Richmond area. He went against his mentor's wisdom who had advised - why run away from happiness?

Now VT's Buzz Williams has really turned it around by his third year. However, Blacksburg is a place that will love you and support you. Where Shaka went - hmmm... I'm surprised someone as Smart as him - would not have seen this possibility on the horizon.

Sometimes a man's confidence surpasses his wisdom....(Chip Kelly again comes to mind). I hope Shaka can turn it around soon.

 

[YeahRightLOL]

Bottom line it's TIME 4 TONY BENNETT TO GO!!!!!!!

Not yet.
Bennett went 17-16 his last year at Washington State.
Things have not gotten that bad at UVa.
But I think he won with his father's players at Washington State.
Can he recruit against Duke and North Carolina with his cautious offensive style of play? That is the question in my mind.

 

[YeahRightLOL]

Youtube Zion Williamson who will no doubt go to Duke, NC or kent. Do we really want to pin our competitve hopes on Jay huff developing?

I say we go for it. The window is small and its gotta start now!

You're saying that you do want Bennett replaced.

 

[uvacavs1]

Just a few more thoughts on VCU and the recent coaching turnover. I am definitely a fan of capitalism and success.

I think Shaka is a superb coach and am definitely pulling for him. He is a student of History as am I. He is good man and an honorable one as well who loves his players.

Now, Will Wade may be a different story. I tried to like him and he is definitely very intelligent, I like his crazy attention to detail and routine etc. However, Wade appears to me to be in coaching for just the money and power.

Again, nothing wrong with wanting more money. I wish all hard working dedicated high school coaches in Virginia were paid more.

But Wade rode another's coat tails to achieve a quick success, planned to use his players, ADs and University as a stepping stone and left in what I would call a disgraceful manner.

I think of him as kinda a vile carpetbagger within the coaching ranks. I certainly could be wrong though...

 

[shauntclair]

Not yet.
Bennett went 17-16 his last year at Washington State.
Things have not gotten that bad at UVa.
But I think he won with his father's players at Washington State.
Can he recruit against Duke and North Carolina with his cautious offensive style of play? That is the question in my mind.

Do you actually expect him to recruit well against a Dule or NC State or Kentucky? You'd have to fire 90% of the Coachs in the Country by that philosophy. Then you have a Mike London come along to UVA who gives the Cavs heAd and shoulders better guys than in the past. Excitement permeated the Campus. But London got nothing out of them. Instead of resurrection, there was steady decline.

Point here is that recruiting is important but it's the entire program that determines success.

 

[mbonape1]

You're saying that you do want Bennett replaced.

Noooo I love Tony B def keep him. But I think we need to pivot a little and start trying to be more offensive minded. Actually trying to score before 20 secs ran off the shot clock every once and a while

 

[DanvilleSportsHead]

Do you actually expect him to recruit well against a Dule or NC State or Kentucky? You'd have to fire 90% of the Coachs in the Country by that philosophy. Then you have a Mike London come along to UVA who gives the Cavs heAd and shoulders better guys than in the past. Excitement permeated the Campus. But London got nothing out of them. Instead of resurrection, there was steady decline.

Point here is that recruiting is important but it's the entire program that determines success.

100% correct on London Shaunty!

 

[YeahRightLOL]

To keep employed as a coach, it doesn't matter how good a job you do: it just matters how good a job the fans THINK you're doing.

 

[YeahRightLOL]

Virginia will still have the same glaring weakness in the low post next year. However, if they get a lot of development from Jack Salt and Diakite, much of that weakness will be ameliorated.

I hate to say this, but I have thrown in the towel on both Salt and Diakite. I'm sure they're nice young men and they represent UVa with class.

But the ACC is the toughest league in college basketball, year in and year out, and they are not good enough to win BIG with in the ACC.

Why? Because they are constantly in foul trouble, and either have no low-post scoring ability, or Bennett doesn't think they have any, because he never tries to get the ball inside to them.

I'd like to know what college coaches think, if they are unbiased and speak off the record, about Jay Huff.

 

[SalemPride]

I hate to say this, but I have thrown in the towel on both Salt and Diakite. I'm sure they're nice young men and they represent UVa with class.

But the ACC is the toughest league in college basketball, year in and year out, and they are not good enough to win BIG with in the ACC.

Why? Because they are constantly in foul trouble, and either have no low-post scoring ability, or Bennett doesn't think they have any, because he never tries to get the ball inside to them.

I'd like to know what college coaches think, if they are unbiased and speak off the record, about Jay Huff.

Way way too early to say that about Diakite in my opinion. Everyone needs to keep in mind he is a 1st year in the program and has been playing organized basketball for less than 10 years. He has shown glimpses of an inside game and processes high end athleticism and coordination that you just can't teach. He will be just fine and will be a big force in the ACC in a year or two. Bigs have been known to developed very well in Tony's system... Do the names Tunji Soroye and Jerome Meyinsse ring a bell?

 

[mbonape1]

Way way too early to say that about Diakite in my opinion. Everyone needs to keep in mind he is a 1st year in the program and has been playing organized basketball for less than 10 years. He has shown glimpses of an inside game and processes high end athleticism and coordination that you just can't teach. He will be just fine and will be a big force in the ACC in a year or two. Bigs have been known to developed very well in Tony's system... Do the names Tunji Soroye and Jerome Meyinsse ring a bell?

Agree with you on Daikete... but your gonna have to sell me on Mr. Salt. I really like him but when he is in the game it is scary! I can't take my eyes off the train wreck. Just not seeing it!

 

[SalemPride]

Agree with you on Daikete... but your gonna have to sell me on Mr. Salt. I really like him but when he is in the game it is scary! I can't take my eyes off the train wreck. Just not seeing it!

Not going to try to sell you on Salt. He is a big body, rim protector that brings a high motor and strength to the team. He is not going to become a reliable back to the basket offensive threat. However, he is a great teammate willing to do a lot of the dirty work and valueable things that don't show up on a stat sheet.. That's fine as long as someone like Diakite or Huff can fill the other role.

 

[DanvilleSportsHead]

Question for all of the UVA hoops fans! What do you guys think of Darius Thompson? Today he took his 2nd visit here at VCU in 3 weeks and I hear (from very reliable sources) that he will more than likely choose VCU over Butler to play next year. Other than the game winning three he had over Wake in the 2015-16 season, I don't know a lot about this guy but I'm certainly happy if he chooses to be a Ram.

 

[mbonape1]

IMO he is not going to be a game changer for you. Can force offense sometimes for the good. Also can get hot shooting but consistancy is a problem and he plays a little akward to me. Needs more percision. Does play hard and could be a good addition in the rotation for the havoc press.

 

[DanvilleSportsHead]

IMO he is not going to be a game changer for you. Can force offense sometimes for the good. Also can get hot shooting but consistancy is a problem and he plays a little akward to me. Needs more percision. Does play hard and could be a good addition in the rotation for the havoc press.

Thank you. When you've had a bunch of defense only guys for the past 2 seasons then any type of offense is good even with consistency issues lol.. Good thing is, we have some really really good players in ESPN top 100 Deriante Jenkins who will be a rising sophomore and Issac Vann who was Maine's best player in a long time before he transferred here and sat out last year. Darius will bring valuable game experience and leadership. He'll definitely be in the rotation. VCU will be very young for the next 2 years so any older guys will help.

 

[SpartanOfYore]

Final destinations for the three transfers from Virginia:

Marial Shayok - Iowa State
Jared Reuter - George Mason
Darius Thompson - Western Kentucky

In my mind, this seals it that their decisions were almost solely based on getting more playing time - as seems to be the case with the vast majority of transfers. Reuter and Thompson also seem to be settling at a more appropriate level of competition (more true with Reuter).

 

[southbottomU]

De Andre Hunter had a lot to do with it. Red shirt 67 freshman who is just a lot better and more versatile than those three along with 7 0 huff was going to eat up all playing time

 

[DanvilleSportsHead]

Final destinations for the three transfers from Virginia:

Marial Shayok - Iowa State
Jared Reuter - George Mason
Darius Thompson - Western Kentucky

In my mind, this seals it that their decisions were almost solely based on getting more playing time - as seems to be the case with the vast majority of transfers. Reuter and Thompson also seem to be settling at a more appropriate level of competition (more true with Reuter).

I was surprised when DT signed with Western Kentucky. VCU was his favorite the whole spring and he visited here 3 times before his commitment to WKU. I've heard everything from the graduate school admissions at VCU had questions about his degree and I've heard that one of his old AAU/high school's coaches influenced his decision. He definitely took a huge step back. Butler/VCU/and Middle Tennessee were definitely way better options.

 

[SpartanOfYore]

I was surprised when DT signed with Western Kentucky. VCU was his favorite the hole spring and he visited here 3 times before his commitment to WKU. I've heard everything from the graduate school admissions at VCU had questions about his degree and I've heard that one of his old AAU/high school's coaches influenced his decision. He definitely took a huge step back. Butler/VCU/and Middle Tennessee were definitely way better options.

I also read an article last night that quoted Thompson's father, who is a college coach, as saying that he thought Darius was "a little bit homesick." Apparently WKU is not too far from Thompson's home in Tennessee. So that might have been a factor as well.

 

[SpartanOfYore]

Just a quick update on what’s going on with UVa basketball -

 

[colonel 72]

Just a quick update on what’s going on with UVa basketball -

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL. Include me with some negative remarks about coach Bennett and his style of play. It only shows how stupid I was. What a donk. I have met the enemy and he is ME!

 

[SpartanOfYore]

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL. Include me with some negative remarks about coach Bennett and his style of play. It only shows how stupid I was. What a donk. I have met the enemy and he is ME!

LOL Embrace the pace, my friend. Embrace the pace. Resistance is futile.

Having doubts and making negative remarks just makes you a typical fan. All sports fans have been there at one time or another (I certainly have). And these lovely things known as internet message boards make it really easy to serve oneself a heaping helping of crow.

 

[wikki]

Just a quick update on what’s going on with UVa basketball -

I am a die hard UVA fan. I am so happy with this National Championship.

 

[SpartanOfYore]

I am a die hard UVA fan. I am so happy with this National Championship.

Well, we have that small patch of ground in common, anyway. LOL

 

[wikki]

Well, we have that small patch of ground in common, anyway. LOL

I like you better now, lol

 

[southbottomU]

Redemption