They moved Ruffin to D Line and the D Line coach to inside linebackers. Pretty sure that's what it was.
So remember what I said I wasn't worried about Iowa State? I lied. But I still think we win. But I'm worried.
Also I'm totally gay for Bronco. I'll admit that I bought into London at first too until he definitively proved I was wrong. I'm a little hesitant to get hurt again. But I love this pic of the O-Line in their black shirts because they haven't earned the team gear yet. And I love hearing that they're not being whiny little bitches about it. Seems like these guys wanted to get it right, London just never forced them to.
Luckily its one of my good friend's/coworker's last day before changing jobs so we're knocking off early after his exit interview. Gonna get a solid 3-4 hours of beers in me.
Just looked at Syracuse's profile on KenPom and its legitimately baffling how they've made it this far. Did not realize they lost 5 of their last 6 of the regular season/ACCT. Carolina looks legitimately terrifying right now. Will be pulling for ND.
It probably means absolutely nothing but interesting that Virginia football's twitter account's banner is Johns, Matteo, Oz(not Smoke) and Kiser with Mendenhall.
Stoked for Sanchez as a JMU alum. Confident Tony can replace him and very cool to see Tony's coaching tree grow. The Game Which Shall Not Be Mentioned aside, this program is in such a good place right now. Hope that can help make JMU relevant again too.
Yeah. I understand Kenny was a good coach, we were always decent in WBB. But I can't say I necessarily care. My understanding is they fired Brady not because he wasn't an okay coach, but he didn't really buy in to the University. Lived in Charlottesville, sent his kids to school there, never did any community outreach stuff. And its not like his results were amazing, although I'm not sure what we're expecting. Sanchez would be a big upgrade, and we're building a new arena soon I think. Would be nice to be perennial CAA contenders, even if that doesn't mean much.
Spot on. Brady underachieved in many areas despite posting decent records in the majority of his seasons as HC. Bad relationships with many players, terrible post-season record, not engaged in the community, etc. Sucks to lose Brooks to VT since he's had so much success at JMU (top 30 RPI the past 3 years) and he's an alum but can't blame him for taking a 300K pay increase. Link to the new arena. Will be a very nice facility if it happens. http://jmuconvo.com/
I was just browsing that website and thinking about how badly JMU needs to redesign the athletics logo. Obviously you shouldn't be doing that every couple years, but the current one they have plastered all over the place just screams 1991. Use the Madison head one or even the Duke Dog one. But the slanted letter-mark JMU one is horribly dated and makes the new convo look dated as well.
I bet this is great but I read the title and my heart broke all over again so I'm not ready to watch it yet. Success really is so bittersweet. Gone are the seasons where we could make the tourney as an 8 seed and hope for the best. Every season is going to be a little disappointing until we get that Natty. And it really puts into perspective all the shit that happens in the season. None of it matters until March.
I'm enjoying the fuck out these 30 second clips UVA football tweets out. More coaching in those videos than in the past 5 years.
Yeah that's a bummer. We're recruiting nationally for a system now so I don't feel the need to lock down the state. But the kinds of kids from Virginia who are committing to Duke should be committing to UVA.
So at this point I should be looking ahead to football. I'm excited for football season and to see a sound, disciplined team in under Bronco. We will be improved but I'm not expecting much. A bowl would be gravy to me but I'm just staying open minded at this point and letting the program develop. Let's talk next basketball season. My anticipated starters: Perrantes - Excited for him to be the lone senior and leader of this team. Now that the 3 point shot is there, I'm hoping he can improve his dribble-drive and his defense. Hall - Think he's the next one to take the big leap. He's shown flashes of athleticism and basketball IQ, and I think he's finally falling into the system to become the player we need him to be. Need to improve his outside shot and decision making, but I'm a huge Hall fan. Shayok - Another player we need to break out and, probably more than that, to become a lock-down defender. Brogdon's presence will be missed, as he was the first player that could slow down the quick cutting guards that used to carve us up. If Shayok can bring "3 and D" and some athleticism next year, we'll be in good shape. Needs to work on ball control and learning the right times to be assertive. Wilkins - Honestly surprised by him this year, not because of how good he was but because of the style of player he became. Gained a ton of weight and became more of a force inside. If he can develop a solid post game, watch out. Also need him to be an aggressive rebounder, especially on offense. Nichols - Couldn't be more excited for him in this system. Will almost definitely be the best player on the team next year. Not much else to say about him except that I wish we had him this year. A perfect packline player. Bench (in order of expected use): 1. Guy - Will bring some needed firepower of the bench, but I don't expect him to start like a lot of people. Very rare that a freshman can come in, learn the packline, and be reliable enough on defense to get major minutes. I still think he'll be a key piece during scoring droughts. 2. Thompson - I have no idea what to make of this guy. He brings a piece to the team that is sorely needed, but I'm not certain where he fits. He's great in transition but still raw in the halfcourt. Could also be a guy that turns into our lockdown perimeter defender. Just not sure where he fits as a piece and if I had to pick a transfer candidate, he'd be up there (more on that later). 3. Reuter- I have the next three guys tied because there's too many question marks to accurately predict them now, but I have them tentatively listed in order. In any other system, Reuter would be far and away the last post player here. I'm worried about his size, but his basketball IQ and footwork are off the charts. He's a player I'm excited to see develop, but its entirely possible the height disadvantage becomes too much for him. He's my #2 transfer candidate, if I had to pick one. 3. Diakite - I personally believe expectations are too high for him at this point. I loved him as a commit. I love that he got the RS year. I love his athleticism. But I think he's still too raw. Give him another year. In the meantime, 5-10 minutes of relief a game is more than enough to ask. 3. Salt - Like Diakite, too much to predict here, but he gives us size and aggression. I think he'll slide in nicely for Nichols' minutes when Nichols leaves, although with a much lower ceiling. Like with any of the guys above, he could develop quickly and move into major minutes. But that remains to be seen. 6. Hunter - Exciting player but I don't expect major minutes next year. Glad to have him in the program and can't wait to see what he can do. 7. Jerome - "Milk" is the heir apparent to London and I'm excited about him as a floor general (although Coleman or Barcello would be ideal). But, given the double hip surgery, I wouldn't be surprised to see a redshirt here. We're guard heavy and don't think this would hurt us, and is probably best for him. 8. Huff - Expected redshirt, but that kid can play. He's going to be giving opponents fits for years. I'm okay with it.
I like it. I'm a Diakite believer though and think Hunter is the real deal. His offer list was legit.
I think between the 3 reserve bigs, we'll get 2 serviceable ones next year (Diakite will be a great player but not necessarily next year). Wish we could put Reuter's basketball skill in Salt's body.
Whitey tweeted out a Soderberg quote on Diakite back in January when he filled in for TB for the coach's show. Said Diakite had more blocks in practice than the team had all season. Also, Malcolm was quoted in a recent article calling Diakite an offensive player. He's definitely the X factor from a good season to a great one, IMO.
I salivate at the idea of having 3 bigs on the team who can hedge on ball screens and defend to the perimeter. Diakite is probably my favorite recruit of the TB era so far. He was a huge get. Just think going from picking up basketball to major ACC minutes in 4-5 years is a stretch.