Topic: Men's basketball

[Always THE HERD]

Let me start off by saying that I feel Danny D'Antoni is a very good coach. Next, I will say he is 70 (if I am not mistaken). There are NOT a lot of active MBB coaches his age or older (yes, I know there are some....but not "MANY"). I grew up in Mullens and want him to succeed. Yes, I know his dad and he was my principle all through high school and he is over 100 years old (very blessed to live this long).
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Many college teams lose players each year that move on for various reasons before graduation. The reason (IN THIS DISCUSSION) is not important to me. Since Danny has been our coach these are the players I know of who moved on before graduation (again, IF I am not mistaken) and this is very difficult for a school such as Marshall to overcome and become very competitive in or out of conference. IMO....it will take approx. 2 more years with our "current" situation to become VERY competitive (I hope I am wrong and that it will be sooner!!!)
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Jay Johnson
DeVince Boykins
Aleksa Nikolic
Tamron Manning
Brett Bowling
Terrence Thompson
Aleksander Dosic
Noah Frampton
Jacob Kilgore
Ky're Allison
Ot Elmore

[iherdya]

Let me start off by saying that I feel Danny D'Antoni is a very good coach. Next, I will say he is 70 (if I am not mistaken). There are NOT a lot of active MBB coaches his age or older (yes, I know there are some....but not "MANY"). I grew up in Mullens and want him to succeed. Yes, I know his dad and he was my principle all through high school and he is over 100 years old (very blessed to live this long).
~
Many college teams lose players each year that move on for various reasons before graduation. The reason (IN THIS DISCUSSION) is not important to me. Since Danny has been our coach these are the players I know of who moved on before graduation (again, IF I am not mistaken) and this is very difficult for a school such as Marshall to overcome and become very competitive in or out of conference. IMO....it will take approx. 2 more years with our "current" situation to become VERY competitive (I hope I am wrong and that it will be sooner!!!)
~
Jay Johnson
DeVince Boykins
Aleksa Nikolic
Tamron Manning
Brett Bowling
Terrence Thompson
Aleksander Dosic
Noah Frampton
Jacob Kilgore
Ky're Allison
Ot Elmore

several of those were walk-ons, none of them were really important pieces to our teams (terrence maybe so just because of our lack of depth).

[MUonium]

so is the point of the discussion to be that there were too many departures, too much turnover or
how many more years is it going to take to win championships and get to the ncaa tourney?

it all comes down to recruiting ability at a mid-major that hasn't made much noise over many years.  then, the human element complicates matters.  but i feel if DD went wrong in any aspect of his tenure so far, it was that he didn't hire assistant coaches in the beginning with above avg recruiting chops/insiders.

it's obvious that the majority of his best basketball players so far are not HS/Prep players who have sound academic aspects.

if he wanted, as was the stated goal, to build a program the right way, with as many state/regional players as possible, is he succeeding?  should he have stayed away from Watson, possibly others?  should he stay away from any potential transfer who is in a "gray area of eligibility"? should he consider only academically/characteristically sound transfers such as Grad and Juco transfers along with sound HS/Prep recruits?  should he stay away from recruits at "second chance" institutions?

[Bison87]

I believe 4 were walk-ons and Boykins did graduate and was then a grad transfer. Walk-ons leave most programs on a very regular basis. Most of the rest were not as good as had been hoped for, most not all. Allison and Thompson were surprisingly to me a little bit.

[herdman22]

I don't find these overly concerning.  As mentioned, some were walk-ons and they come and go all the time.  Some were brought in by a previous coach and did not fit the new system, which also happens all the time with coaching changes.  Some had graduated and realized there was no future in basketball and they needed to move on to the next stage in life.  I always heard Thompson planned to go to medical school.  I think we will see fewer of these, but it will happen. 

I remain much more excited about basketball than football.  But, that might not be fair for me to say because I've always been basketball first.  However, the future is brighter in basketball than it has been for quite a while.

[svherd]

I don't find these overly concerning.  As mentioned, some were walk-ons and they come and go all the time.  Some were brought in by a previous coach and did not fit the new system, which also happens all the time with coaching changes.  Some had graduated and realized there was no future in basketball and they needed to move on to the next stage in life.  I always heard Thompson planned to go to medical school.  I think we will see fewer of these, but it will happen. 

I remain much more excited about basketball than football.  But, that might not be fair for me to say because I've always been basketball first.  However, the future is brighter in basketball than it has been for quite a while.

It will be if Bennett can play well in the paint and we hold onto Jon for the 18-19 season. jmo. Two big pieces of the puzzle.

[Herd2believe]

SV you keep saying "hold on to Jon" for 2018/19. Are you afraid of him going pro next year, or graduating and transferring to a blue blood-Duke, UK, etc., or both?

[Thundering In MD]

I think you are mixing up football and basketball.  Two totally different paradigms under NCAA regulations.  MBB programs typically cut players in spring, and help find places for them to land.  (Remember the Baylor MBB murder) 

[Herdmeister]

I believe 4 were walk-ons and Boykins did graduate and was then a grad transfer. Walk-ons leave most programs on a very regular basis. Most of the rest were not as good as had been hoped for, most not all. Allison and Thompson were surprisingly to me a little bit.

Allison would have been an academic casualty. He had very little choice but to leave.

[HoPPy785]

SV you keep saying "hold on to Jon" for 2018/19. Are you afraid of him going pro next year, or graduating and transferring to a blue blood-Duke, UK, etc., or both?

Not sure about others, but I am very concerned he goes Pro.

[MUonium]

Not sure about others, but I am very concerned he goes Pro.

that would be acceptable and a good reason to lose him.  the only shame, and i'm not knocking anyone in particular is that it would be a blessing if he could have/could have had a supporting cast as good as him.  has has been said a good/great point guard is essential and we may be set for years to come if/when the full supporting cast lines up 

[svherd]

SV you keep saying "hold on to Jon" for 2018/19. Are you afraid of him going pro next year, or graduating and transferring to a blue blood-Duke, UK, etc., or both?

Both. But more so transferring as a graduate student.

[herdorbust]

I would be shocked if Jon went pro after this year. And I would be even more shocked if he went as GT. Jon has a really level head and he loves DD's system that allows him the freedom to play his game. He also loves the coaching staff and he really works close with C. Jackson. He knows he can make it to the pros with DD as well as anywhere else. I just think Jon would be very loyal to DD and Marshall, especially being from here.

[2xBison]

I would be shocked if Jon went pro after this year. And I would be even more shocked if he went as GT. Jon has a really level head and he loves DD's system that allows him the freedom to play his game. He also loves the coaching staff and he really works close with C. Jackson. He knows he can make it to the pros with DD as well as anywhere else. I just think Jon would be very loyal to DD and Marshall, especially being from here.

I tend to agree...but, not sure Gay shares that line of thinking

[herdorbust]

I think that is water under the bridge. JMO

[DC01HERD]

The state of Marshall basketball is not good. 10 scholarship players is a joke. Any other school Dan would be facing serious heat for his recruiting.

[2xBison]

I think that is water under the bridge. JMO

I'm not talking about the 80s and his college days....I'm talking about his active management of his boys bball careers and what he thinks might be best.

[lovetheherd2]

The state of Marshall basketball is not good.

10 scholarship players is a joke. Any other school Dan would be facing serious heat for his recruiting.

???? WTF... where did this come from?

The team has played more fun to watch than in the last 8 to 10 years, the kids for the most part are strong character & hard workers, the results have improved in the last two years.

Team progress and potential better than previous 10 year from my perspective.

Maybe bring back Herrion, Jirsa, Benedict Donald, .....

[DC01HERD]

???? WTF... where did this come from?

The team has played more fun to watch than in the last 8 to 10 years, the kids for the most part are strong character & hard workers, the results have improved in the last two years.

Team progress and potential better than previous 10 year from my perspective.

Maybe bring back Herrion, Jirsa, Benedict Donald, .....

Thought they would be much further along under Dan. It's pretty much Elmore and Burks with a bunch of question marks.

These high impact in-state players aren't going to come here if we aren't winning.

[chris88]

37-25 since losing first 6 in 2015-2016 season
22-14 in CUSA reg season last 2 years and 4-2 in CUSA tourney last 2 years with both losses coming vs MTSU (winners in NCAA's each year)
Even in first year MU was competitive in CUSA going 7-11 (and then 0-1 in CUSA tourney)

Not sure what your expectations were but most people would disagree with your view. MU was picked to finish 9th in 2015-16 and finished 4th.  Not sure where MU was picked last year.

We may not win as many this year, but if the younger bigs progress enough we could be a factor in CUSA with potential to be in top 4 IMO. LT, UTEP, MTSU, WKY, UAB will have more talent but all have flaws and don't think there will be a team the caliber that MTSU was last 2 years.

[herdorbust]

All I know is i'm excited as ever watching this group develop and grow. I don't know how anyone can't see how bright the future is. We have a guy Bennett that will be able to play against any center in the country. We have very talented guys that are freshman in George and Williams. Those 3 alone are the future front line at 6'10"-6'7" and 6'8". West is a freshman and is going to be really really good from day one. And then we still have the rest of the team for at least 2 more years, Burks, Watson, Peneva, etc.... I'm going to enjoy it and that is all that matters to me. Everyone else can try and damp done enthusiasm but it won't work on me. Bring on the Herd!!!!!

[herd2win]

Danny=good coach....

Danny=bad recruiter....

With this formula we will always be an average team..not bad but not great.  Whoever takes over after Danny will struggle because the talent will not be there and they will not be able to teach and coach as well as Danny.

[herdorbust]

Wrong. Our front line next year will bas as g9od as we have had here in many years. And most of th3m will just be fresh and sophmores. Most people just don't realize how good this last class will be. There are going to be some real shift in opinion about this once it plays out.

[lovetheherd2]

Danny=good coach....

Danny=bad recruiter....

With this formula we will always be an average team..not bad but not great.  Whoever takes over after Danny will struggle because the talent will not be there and they will not be able to teach and coach as well as Danny.

We disagree by about 100%.

As Danny was hired I was very apprehensive... mainly due to recruiting at D1 level.

I have been extremely pleased with his successes. Sure there were a couple of misfits, especially first year or two.

But exceeded my expectations as of this team.

So, Danny = Great Coach

Danny = very good recruiter for a specific type player to get to come to a geographic location not necessarily a dream for some players.

That's my take....We'll have more data by the end of the year.

I doubt anyone Marshall could afford could have done nearly as well.

JMHO......

[chris88]

For a guy who hadn't recruited a college player in his life he has caught on pretty quick i'd say.

And don't sleep on Robinette either for next year