might have developed the way they have. Foley took a program that was at rock bottom. And he told Chris that he was going to build the program with graduating high school players, and it would take a few years to get where he wanted to be. And since the program was already so far down, we had nothing to lose, and we see now that Coach Foley's strategy has turned out to be a winning strategy.

On the other hand, Steve took over a program that had won 18 games the past three seasons under Porter, so he felt it necessary to keep winning right away. I'm sure he felt that if he started recruiting mainly high school seniors, we might have a drop off for a few years, and that would look bad after the program had been winning a decent number of games. So he took the route of filling the roster with transfers and jucos


That works in some years, but it normally doesn't work well in the long run. I'll admit that Pappy has advocated the high school strategy from the beginning, and although at one time I felt that jucos might be our answer, I have come to the conclusion that we have made a serious mistake in the past, and that's why our program has continously been rebuilding and having three bad seasons out of the past five.

We signed three high school players in the early signing this year, which is a good sign, but we're probably two or three years away for those players to have a huge impact on the program. Maybe Chris has assured Steve he'll have the time to develop those players. So I'm guessing that unless we have another disastrous season next year, which I don't think we will have, because I feel with what's coming back, we'll be good enough to at least have a .500 season, that Steve will have the opportunity to be here at least another three or four years or longer. So as someone said, if we're really Trojan fans, which I consider that I am, I will support the team, no matter who the coach is. If Steve is the coach, he'll have my full support. If it becomes someone else, I'll feel the same. I do worry that we're not increasing our fan base, but that's not my problem to solve. That falls on Chris's shoulders. I'll be there rooting for the kids, and stop worrying about things I can't control. I believe MJS and ynocpirt had it figured out from the beginning. The old serenity prayer. "Give me the courage to change the things I can change; the strength to accept the those things that I can't; and the wisdom to know the difference between the two". Probably a wise way to live one's life.

(04-03-2010 09:58 AM)outsideualr Wrote:  We signed three high school players in the early signing this year, which is a good sign, but we're probably two or three years away for those players to have a huge impact on the program.

I think so. I think this is a solid class that will be an impact class down the road. But they won't rescue the team next season. I'm glad Steve went that route, regardless of the coaching situation.

(04-03-2010 11:04 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  

(04-03-2010 09:58 AM)outsideualr Wrote:  We signed three high school players in the early signing this year, which is a good sign, but we're probably two or three years away for those players to have a huge impact on the program.

I think so. I think this is a solid class that will be an impact class down the road. But they won't rescue the team next season. I'm glad Steve went that route, regardless of the coaching situation.

I think if we can find a good Juco big man we will be fine next season. The freshman will hopefully get some quality minutes next year and be able to play a major role as sophomores. Certainly signing good high school players should be the goal of any program. I still think it is harder to do that at a commuter school like UALR. Maybe our current staff his figured out how to do it. I like what I have been reading about our 3 signees- hopefully they'll live up to their press clippings.

(04-03-2010 11:27 AM)mjs Wrote:  

(04-03-2010 11:04 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  

(04-03-2010 09:58 AM)outsideualr Wrote:  We signed three high school players in the early signing this year, which is a good sign, but we're probably two or three years away for those players to have a huge impact on the program.

I think so. I think this is a solid class that will be an impact class down the road. But they won't rescue the team next season. I'm glad Steve went that route, regardless of the coaching situation.

I think if we can find a good Juco big man we will be fine next season. The freshman will hopefully get some quality minutes next year and be able to play a major role as sophomores. Certainly signing good high school players should be the goal of any program. I still think it is harder to do that at a commuter school like UALR. Maybe our current staff his figured out how to do it. I like what I have been reading about our 3 signees- hopefully they'll live up to their press clippings.

Personally I'd rather sign another good high school big man, along the lines of Gus Leeper. That would give us two for the long term. We have Marlo, Montrelle, and possibly Bails coming back, along with Gus. Any big man we will sign from Juco would probably be one of those supposedly 6'7" wide bodies who is probably actually 6'5". At least a taller kid, although younger and less skilled, can alter shots just by his size alone. And you know there are some kids who haven't developed yet, but are in the 6'9" or taller range who aren't ready for the big time, but that we might have a chance to sign. That would be my hope, but then I'm not the one making the decisions upon which my job depends, so let's see what happens this next month during signing time.

(04-03-2010 12:13 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  

(04-03-2010 11:27 AM)mjs Wrote:  

(04-03-2010 11:04 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  

(04-03-2010 09:58 AM)outsideualr Wrote:  We signed three high school players in the early signing this year, which is a good sign, but we're probably two or three years away for those players to have a huge impact on the program.

I think so. I think this is a solid class that will be an impact class down the road. But they won't rescue the team next season. I'm glad Steve went that route, regardless of the coaching situation.

I think if we can find a good Juco big man we will be fine next season. The freshman will hopefully get some quality minutes next year and be able to play a major role as sophomores. Certainly signing good high school players should be the goal of any program. I still think it is harder to do that at a commuter school like UALR. Maybe our current staff his figured out how to do it. I like what I have been reading about our 3 signees- hopefully they'll live up to their press clippings.

Personally I'd rather sign another good high school big man, along the lines of Gus Leeper. That would give us two for the long term. We have Marlo, Montrelle, and possibly Bails coming back, along with Gus. Any big man we will sign from Juco would probably be one of those supposedly 6'7" wide bodies who is probably actually 6'5". At least a taller kid, although younger and less skilled, can alter shots just by his size alone. And you know there are some kids who haven't developed yet, but are in the 6'9" or taller range who aren't ready for the big time, but that we might have a chance to sign. That would be my hope, but then I'm not the one making the decisions upon which my job depends, so let's see what happens this next month during signing time.

If we could know for sure that Bails is back, I'd agree with you. But I don't think we'll know that until August. I think after we signed Leeper our focus has been on recruiting a Juco big, but I have no inside info on that.

(04-03-2010 09:58 AM)outsideualr Wrote:  might have developed the way they have. Foley took a program that was at rock bottom. And he told Chris that he was going to build the program with graduating high school players, and it would take a few years to get where he wanted to be. And since the program was already so far down, we had nothing to lose, and we see now that Coach Foley's strategy has turned out to be a winning strategy.

On the other hand, Steve took over a program that had won 18 games the past three seasons under Porter, so he felt it necessary to keep winning right away. I'm sure he felt that if he started recruiting mainly high school seniors, we might have a drop off for a few years, and that would look bad after the program had been winning a decent number of games. So he took the route of filling the roster with transfers and jucos


That works in some years, but it normally doesn't work well in the long run. I'll admit that Pappy has advocated the high school strategy from the beginning, and although at one time I felt that jucos might be our answer, I have come to the conclusion that we have made a serious mistake in the past, and that's why our program has continously been rebuilding and having three bad seasons out of the past five.

We signed three high school players in the early signing this year, which is a good sign, but we're probably two or three years away for those players to have a huge impact on the program. Maybe Chris has assured Steve he'll have the time to develop those players. So I'm guessing that unless we have another disastrous season next year, which I don't think we will have, because I feel with what's coming back, we'll be good enough to at least have a .500 season, that Steve will have the opportunity to be here at least another three or four years or longer. So as someone said, if we're really Trojan fans, which I consider that I am, I will support the team, no matter who the coach is. If Steve is the coach, he'll have my full support. If it becomes someone else, I'll feel the same. I do worry that we're not increasing our fan base, but that's not my problem to solve. That falls on Chris's shoulders. I'll be there rooting for the kids, and stop worrying about things I can't control. I believe MJS and ynocpirt had it figured out from the beginning. The old serenity prayer. "Give me the courage to change the things I can change; the strength to accept the those things that I can't; and the wisdom to know the difference between the two". Probably a wise way to live one's life.

No doubt Foley is a very good coach. He did have a little "luck" which our men's team hasn't had in a good while. Specifically, Chas was all set to go to UT-Arlington until they made a coaching change and she switched to UALR. Without Chas we probably are a good team, but no way we are NCAA at-large material without her.

(04-03-2010 01:58 PM)mjs Wrote:  No doubt Foley is a very good coach. He did have a little "luck" which our men's team hasn't had in a good while. Specifically, Chas was all set to go to UT-Arlington until they made a coaching change and she switched to UALR. Without Chas we probably are a good team, but no way we are NCAA at-large material without her.

Steve had a little "luck" when Mousy walked on too. Regardless of how you feel about Matt, he has been responsible for several of the wins over the past three years. I know he's no Chastity Reed, but he's been a very valuable player for us. Much better than many of the guards Steve has given scholarships to.

(04-03-2010 01:58 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(04-03-2010 09:58 AM)outsideualr Wrote:  might have developed the way they have. Foley took a program that was at rock bottom. And he told Chris that he was going to build the program with graduating high school players, and it would take a few years to get where he wanted to be. And since the program was already so far down, we had nothing to lose, and we see now that Coach Foley's strategy has turned out to be a winning strategy.

On the other hand, Steve took over a program that had won 18 games the past three seasons under Porter, so he felt it necessary to keep winning right away. I'm sure he felt that if he started recruiting mainly high school seniors, we might have a drop off for a few years, and that would look bad after the program had been winning a decent number of games. So he took the route of filling the roster with transfers and jucos


That works in some years, but it normally doesn't work well in the long run. I'll admit that Pappy has advocated the high school strategy from the beginning, and although at one time I felt that jucos might be our answer, I have come to the conclusion that we have made a serious mistake in the past, and that's why our program has continously been rebuilding and having three bad seasons out of the past five.

We signed three high school players in the early signing this year, which is a good sign, but we're probably two or three years away for those players to have a huge impact on the program. Maybe Chris has assured Steve he'll have the time to develop those players. So I'm guessing that unless we have another disastrous season next year, which I don't think we will have, because I feel with what's coming back, we'll be good enough to at least have a .500 season, that Steve will have the opportunity to be here at least another three or four years or longer. So as someone said, if we're really Trojan fans, which I consider that I am, I will support the team, no matter who the coach is. If Steve is the coach, he'll have my full support. If it becomes someone else, I'll feel the same. I do worry that we're not increasing our fan base, but that's not my problem to solve. That falls on Chris's shoulders. I'll be there rooting for the kids, and stop worrying about things I can't control. I believe MJS and ynocpirt had it figured out from the beginning. The old serenity prayer. "Give me the courage to change the things I can change; the strength to accept the those things that I can't; and the wisdom to know the difference between the two". Probably a wise way to live one's life.

No doubt Foley is a very good coach. He did have a little "luck" which our men's team hasn't had in a good while. Specifically, Chas was all set to go to UT-Arlington until they made a coaching change and she switched to UALR. Without Chas we probably are a good team, but no way we are NCAA at-large material without her.

For the most part recruiting is about alot of luck. Someone had to recruit Reed to have her even luck to us. Didn't Shane Edwards luck to us because they fired the Colorado St coach and Kleine happen to know Edwards JUCO coach. If we didn't luck into him, we possibly would have 5 losing seasons in a row. I can think of countless cases of suppose luck of players going to school.

(04-03-2010 02:54 PM)LR Alum Wrote:  

(04-03-2010 01:58 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(04-03-2010 09:58 AM)outsideualr Wrote:  might have developed the way they have. Foley took a program that was at rock bottom. And he told Chris that he was going to build the program with graduating high school players, and it would take a few years to get where he wanted to be. And since the program was already so far down, we had nothing to lose, and we see now that Coach Foley's strategy has turned out to be a winning strategy.

On the other hand, Steve took over a program that had won 18 games the past three seasons under Porter, so he felt it necessary to keep winning right away. I'm sure he felt that if he started recruiting mainly high school seniors, we might have a drop off for a few years, and that would look bad after the program had been winning a decent number of games. So he took the route of filling the roster with transfers and jucos


That works in some years, but it normally doesn't work well in the long run. I'll admit that Pappy has advocated the high school strategy from the beginning, and although at one time I felt that jucos might be our answer, I have come to the conclusion that we have made a serious mistake in the past, and that's why our program has continously been rebuilding and having three bad seasons out of the past five.

We signed three high school players in the early signing this year, which is a good sign, but we're probably two or three years away for those players to have a huge impact on the program. Maybe Chris has assured Steve he'll have the time to develop those players. So I'm guessing that unless we have another disastrous season next year, which I don't think we will have, because I feel with what's coming back, we'll be good enough to at least have a .500 season, that Steve will have the opportunity to be here at least another three or four years or longer. So as someone said, if we're really Trojan fans, which I consider that I am, I will support the team, no matter who the coach is. If Steve is the coach, he'll have my full support. If it becomes someone else, I'll feel the same. I do worry that we're not increasing our fan base, but that's not my problem to solve. That falls on Chris's shoulders. I'll be there rooting for the kids, and stop worrying about things I can't control. I believe MJS and ynocpirt had it figured out from the beginning. The old serenity prayer. "Give me the courage to change the things I can change; the strength to accept the those things that I can't; and the wisdom to know the difference between the two". Probably a wise way to live one's life.

No doubt Foley is a very good coach. He did have a little "luck" which our men's team hasn't had in a good while. Specifically, Chas was all set to go to UT-Arlington until they made a coaching change and she switched to UALR. Without Chas we probably are a good team, but no way we are NCAA at-large material without her.

For the most part recruiting is about alot of luck. Someone had to recruit Reed to have her even luck to us. Didn't Shane Edwards luck to us because they fired the Colorado St coach and Kleine happen to know Edwards JUCO coach. If we didn't luck into him, we possibly would have 5 losing seasons in a row. I can think of countless cases of suppose luck of players going to school.

Of course we've also had some bad luck with Will Coleman and Will Neighbour. Think of what could have been if those two had made it to campus.

If Steve is the coach, he'll have my full support. . . I'll . . . stop worrying about things I can't control.

(04-03-2010 04:32 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  Of course we've also had some bad luck with Will Coleman and Will Neighbour. Think of what could have been if those two had made it to campus.

Ooh! Don't even remind me of that! Painful to remember.

Neighbour still sounds like a good poosibility to make it to us...don't lose hope

(04-04-2010 03:42 PM)eh9198 Wrote:  Neighbour still sounds like a good poosibility to make it to us...don't lose hope

I'm hoping, I'm hoping!

Who knows. I've moved on to other pursuits.

Of course, we should have all known it before. Joe Foley's success here has all been a matter of luck. Using Chastity as example. When there was a coaching change at UT-Arlington and she decided to go elsewhere, exactly why did she end up at UALR? Maybe she looked in the yellow pages, saw UALR and jumped on the bus for LR.

(04-06-2010 09:14 AM)DollarBill Wrote:  Of course, we should have all known it before. Joe Foley's success here has all been a matter of luck. Using Chastity as example. When there was a coaching change at UT-Arlington and she decided to go elsewhere, exactly why did she end up at UALR? Maybe she looked in the yellow pages, saw UALR and jumped on the bus for LR.

Exactly. I understand the bus fares from Ft. Worth to Little Rock are very reasonable.