Basketball

[SisyphusMiner]

Agree on the need for a big man.  However, I think the game has transitioned a bit, at least for the mid-majors.  Pretty nearly every mid major that has made a deep run in recent years has done it by having a crap ton of three point shooters on their team that force the game to spread out and be wide open.  On those teams, 1-4 can all shoot the three.  You have lots of gunners so if someone's cold, you keep sticking other guys in until you find who has the hot hand on that day.

Also, I would say that's the one area that has sucked most consistently under CTF.  If we found a top shooter I'd take him.  But I wouldn't just sign a warm body that's just OK from 3.  A guy that was 39% from 3 in Div II is a warm body.

[Chanson]

Reading more on tweets that Bryson Williams is being courted by Oregon, Arizona, & UTEP. I with we have a 10% shot in getting the kid at best. He must really be a stud. The kid would take over Thomas's position right away. Like I said before, we move on.
I was also looking at clips of the Canadian kid and Odigie. I really like them both, but they are going to get in early foul trouble often. If Terry plays 3 good shooters, it will take off a lot of pressure from the paint.
Osborne, Hawkins, and Gilyard are OK shooters. Not good. I think the 1st year will be as interesting as the football team.

[stanman505]

I have seen some stuff tying UTEP to 6'11" Nick Marshall.  He played a year at Memphis then transferred to a JUCO.  When he first came out of high school he was a top 100 recruit with 4*.  Would be a great late pick up if we get him.

[liebestraum]

Agree on the need for a big man.  However, I think the game has transitioned a bit, at least for the mid-majors.  Pretty nearly every mid major that has made a deep run in recent years has done it by having a crap ton of three point shooters on their team that force the game to spread out and be wide open.  On those teams, 1-4 can all shoot the three.  You have lots of gunners so if someone's cold, you keep sticking other guys in until you find who has the hot hand on that day.

Also, I would say that's the one area that has sucked most consistently under CTF.  If we found a top shooter I'd take him.  But I wouldn't just sign a warm body that's just OK from 3.  A guy that was 39% from 3 in Div II is a warm body.

Getting decent 3-point shooters at UTEP has always puzzled me.  My university never seemed to have any problem getting those guys.  In fact, one year SHSU played Kentucky (there, of course) and one of the SHSU guards set a Rupp Arena record for most 3-pointers made in a game.  Yeah, they lost of course, but UK could not guard the guy.

lieb

[kyyote]

I agree with you, lieb.  It seems like forever since we had a kid that could just drop bombs at will when needed.

[Chanson]

To respond to Stan, that Marshall kid was being recruited by Floyd last year. All has dropped since. Nothing from Terry or staff on working this kid.
I'm also with Lieb on the shooter issue. Those kid of kids are a dime a dozen, but they end up everywhere else. I would actually take a scorer over a shooter all day long. Antoine Gillespie, Omar Thomas, & Stefon Jackson come to mind. Those guys could put up points whenever they wanted. We haven't had that guy since Stefon.

[Minermojo]

I blame the coach. How many times did we lose the ball to the time clock just because Floyd didn't want to shoot before most of the clock had disappeared. How many times did I yell at them to shoot because it was at the 10 second mark. I just hope Terry doesn't have that stupid mindset that used to drive me crazy. A shooter cannot wait until the last seconds to take a good shot, all he'll really do it chuck it towards the basket like my grandson used to do in peewee basketball.

[SisyphusMiner]

I agree with you, lieb.  It seems like forever since we had a kid that could just drop bombs at will when needed.

I would actually take a scorer over a shooter all day long.

Not disagreeing with Chanson, but who would you guys say was the last one that fits Kyyote's description? 

[Chanson]

I just remembered Lee Moore. He could have been magnificent here, but didn't want to put up with the Floyd old school bull crap.

[Chanson]

I'm just thinking out loud here, but a lot more SG are being sought after right now. Could it be because Stroud will not make it to UTEP? Just a reminder, he is the only kid who has not signed a LOI.

[SisyphusMiner]

Not disagreeing with Chanson, but who would you guys say was the last one that fits Kyyote's description?

To answer my own question, I think the last player we could really count on nailing a 3 was Christian Polk.  Before him, you have to go back to 04-05 season with St. Amant and Ayala, and the previous year with Chris Craig.

If you can't make the other team fear the 3, it's tough to make anything work.

[kyyote]

Culpepper was close.  With the threat to shoot and hit he forced the defender to get close enough to drive on.  A nice mix.  But, I was thinking like a Chris Craig.

[SisyphusMiner]

That's going a long way back.  Funny, i don't remember us having a lot of conversations about it throughout the CTF era, but looking back on it now it was a glaring weakness that had a huge effect on our results.  Look at W/L over the last 15 yrs vs us having a quality SG.  Obviously not the whole picture, but clearly an important factor.

[liebestraum]

That's going a long way back.  Funny, i don't remember us having a lot of conversations about it throughout the CTF era, but looking back on it now it was a glaring weakness that had a huge effect on our results.  Look at W/L over the last 15 yrs vs us having a quality SG.  Obviously not the whole picture, but clearly an important factor.

Which makes me wonder if Floyd considered 3-point shooting some sort of passing fad.  But that might be unfair on my part as I have not been able to see too many UTEP games in the past 10 - 15 years.  The one or two I did see on TV had UTEP players taking 3’s but not being very successful at making them.

My hope is that the new head coach can make watching Miner basketball fun again.

lieb

[SisyphusMiner]

I think SG was that position that Floyde was always trying to fill with a 4-5 star recruit and could never get on campus.

Personally, I thought it was important, but not the be-all and end-all.  If you live by the three you die by the three.  I thought living by the three was how the 3rd tier of schools had a chance to win.  However, I am reconsidering the possibility that in today's NCAA skewing heavily towards a spread offense with lots of 3s might be the only way for a mid-major to make a splash.  You can get 25+ wins and not get an invitation unless you win your conference tourney. 

It's still high-risk / high-reward, but it is beginning to seem like your only chance of moving up in the world is to make the tourney, then make a deep run in the tourney by beating cartel schools from the 3.  You're certainly not going to do it by pounding the ball inside.