No inside info here but what better time than New Year's to make some predictions for 2017 Tribe athletics...I'm sure my cohorts on this board will have their own comments and ideas. The following is just one man's
guesses.

FOOTBALL
*Jimmy will retire after the 2017 season. He's back for one more year for two solid reasons: (1) he would never leave after a disappointing losing season, (2) with the arrival of our heralded young freshman quarterback, Shon Mitchell, Laycock, a former qb, wants to coach him for his inaugural season.

*The qb battle between Mitchell (who is entering W&M later this month)
and the also-heralded Dean Rotger will be the much-watched story this spring practice.

*If his knee is ok and he stays healthy, running back Albert Funderburke will establish himself as a great W&M player.

MENS BASKETBALL
*The direction of men's basketball for the next four or five years will be decided by how Tony allocates his seven open scholarships. Transfers?
Eligible graduate student transfer? Additions to 2017 entering class?
All seven for 2018 entering class?

*Next several years schedules will pick up rotating home and homes with old rivals Richmond, VCU, George Mason and George Washington.

*If one of Tony's staff leaves I'd look for Tony to pick up an assistant
with experience developing big men to focus on Nathan Knight.

BASEBALL
*Look for a very good Tribe team this spring if some of the young pitchers develop as hoped and one or two of the very good incoming freshman hurlers can make it. Infielder Kevin Large is one of the nation's best. Team faces perhaps the most difficult schedule in
memory.

ATHLETIC PROGRAM:

*Incoming athletic director, whomever it is, faces the following:
-hiring successor to Laycock, perhaps as soon as after next season
-getting funding for much-anticipated basketball building
-countering the ODU media advantage with emphasis on media
relations, pr and advertising, and communications
-Looking at 1.2 million we spend on consistently bad women's volleyball
program and seeing if it can be spent elsewhere within Prop 9 rules,
or eliminating it altogether with a similar men's sport to save the
money.

There isn't anyone who would love to see a QB come out of spring who is ready for the demands of CAA defenses. It will be a great competition. He will have experienced receivers, a solid line and hopefully a couple healthy RB'S.

This spring will test our coaches as much as the players. Albert will no doubt miss the spring, leaving Dunn, Britt and Giles to fight it out. A lot of pressure will be put on the development of a QB. If I were a QB in this situation, I'd live in the film room from now until spring. Go to class, the weight room and the film room and get player run one on one drills going as much as the weather allows.

If Laycock and the offensive coaches do develop a productive QB, I don't see the HC retiring after 2017. If it ends up being a true freshman or a redshirt freshman and they have success why not stay.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using CSNbbs mobile app

(01-02-2017 12:10 PM)tribefbfan Wrote:  This spring will test our coaches as much as the players. Albert will no doubt miss the spring, leaving Dunn, Britt and Giles to fight it out.

**** really? That's a real shame. Hopefully Funderburke gets back to 100%. He looked like an absolute monster


Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

(01-02-2017 07:51 AM)BigTribe3 Wrote:  No inside info here but what better time than New Year's to make some predictions for 2017 Tribe athletics...I'm sure my cohorts on this board will have their own comments and ideas. The following is just one man's
guesses.

FOOTBALL
*Jimmy will retire after the 2017 season. He's back for one more year for two solid reasons: (1) he would never leave after a disappointing losing season, (2) with the arrival of our heralded young freshman quarterback, Shon Mitchell, Laycock, a former qb, wants to coach him for his inaugural season.

*The qb battle between Mitchell (who is entering W&M later this month)
and the also-heralded Dean Rotger will be the much-watched story this spring practice.

*If his knee is ok and he stays healthy, running back Albert Funderburke will establish himself as a great W&M player.

MENS BASKETBALL
*The direction of men's basketball for the next four or five years will be decided by how Tony allocates his seven open scholarships. Transfers?
Eligible graduate student transfer? Additions to 2017 entering class?
All seven for 2018 entering class?

*Next several years schedules will pick up rotating home and homes with old rivals Richmond, VCU, George Mason and George Washington.

*If one of Tony's staff leaves I'd look for Tony to pick up an assistant
with experience developing big men to focus on Nathan Knight.

BASEBALL
*Look for a very good Tribe team this spring if some of the young pitchers develop as hoped and one or two of the very good incoming freshman hurlers can make it. Infielder Kevin Large is one of the nation's best. Team faces perhaps the most difficult schedule in
memory.

ATHLETIC PROGRAM:

*Incoming athletic director, whomever it is, faces the following:
-hiring successor to Laycock, perhaps as soon as after next season
-getting funding for much-anticipated basketball building
-countering the ODU media advantage with emphasis on media
relations, pr and advertising, and communications
-Looking at 1.2 million we spend on consistently bad women's volleyball
program and seeing if it can be spent elsewhere within Prop 9 rules,
or eliminating it altogether with a similar men's sport to save the
money.

Great post with a lot of interesting insight!
Brings to mind the following questions & comments ...

* If/when Laycock retires, is anyone on the current staff even a candidate? Kevin Rogers has the background but he admits to being/feeling a bit long in the tooth these days.

* Hearing lots of Shon Mitchell-Russell Wilson comparisons. Besides both being 5-11, seems like the same physical package, smarts & savvy.

* Tommy McKee (a soph) was the backup QB on the depth chart this past season. Is the consensus around the program that Mitchell will likely beat him out this Spring?

* Great point about the men's basketball program's scholarships in the coming year (7? Wow). Shaver has set the bar high with back-to-back 20 win seasons and seems to have raised everyone's expectations around the program.

* Men's Basketball has added 2 impact transfers over the last 3 yrs -- Cohn & Millon (eligible next season). Let's hope that trend continues.

*Yes, would be great to see Richmond, VCU & GMU on the men's hoops schedule.

* Tribe baseball season Opening Day is only 7 weeks away. W&M returns their weekend pitching rotation (Powers, Brown & Sheehan) and have a LHP transfer from UNC -- Nick Raquet -- who red-shirted last year. Raquet was ranked as the 32nd best LHP in the country out of high school by Perfect Game & was recruited heavily by UVA before signing with UNC 3 yrs ago.

* Cullen Large, who you mentioned, is a pre-season All-America pick by Collegiate Baseball (3rd team). A switch-hitter, Large could be the top hitter in the CAA this year. If he plays all 4 years at W&M (as a junior, he is likely to be drafted this year), he's on pace to end up in the Tribe's all-time career top 5 in hits, doubles, runs & RBI.

* I respectfully challenge your comment about "countering the ODU media advantage with emphasis on media relations, pr and advertising, and communications".
While I agree there is significant opportunity for improvement, I have observed that W&M's sports information & promotions folks do a superior job to ODU. The Tribe Athletics website is much more informative, robust & timely than ODU's.
As for ODU athletics getting more media exposure, I think that's a fair case of the Hampton Roads media giving the people what they want. ODU has 3x the enrollment of W&M (25,000 to 8,600), so that means 3x more ODU alumni eyeballs seeking media content.

* Interesting comment about Volleyball. I'm wondering if that would produce a similar result to what happened in 1991, when W&M announced that 4 sports were being cut -- women's basketball, men's & women's swimming, and wrestling. The W&M community & alumni stepped up, with an anonymous donor pledging to match every dollar of endowment for each sport, up to $750,000 for each sport. As a result, women's basketball and the men's & women's swimming programs were saved. Today, women's basketball is in the midst of a big upswing, while men's & women's swimming programs are defending CAA champions.
(*Sad postscript is that the Tribe wrestling program was cut for good, along with fencing, four years later in 1995).

* Regarding Terry Driscoll's replacement as AD, anyone hearing news of any specific candidates? Ideal candidate in my book would be a W&M alum who has worked 10+ years as an Assistant AD, with current experience at a Division 1 college with similar academic priorities as W&M (i.e Ivy League, Public Ivy, Patriot League, or other top-notch academic D1 schools like Vandy/Stanford/Northwestern/Notre Dame/etc.). Is that wishful thinking? (Not a big Wood Selig/ODU fan, but when he was hired as AD at Western Kentucky he was Associate AD at UVA, where he served 10 yrs. Seems like W&M could/should attract that kind of candidate.)

I predict / hope that Mike Leach becomes involved in the W&M football program, as he and his family now live in Williamsburg.

Thought crossed my mind last week that with the quality of players coming in with this football class, and the core players already in place on both sides of the ball, this potentially has the chance of being 2 years away from a team that could contend for Frisco. If any sense that it may materialize, I don't see Jimmye retiring until possibly riding out on a national championship. Would be a fitting storybook ending and final stamp on the program.

I hope we see significant growth in the play of this year's underclassmen through the remainder of the men's basketball season. My concern is, unless we pull in a real grad talent for next year, we may see another drop in program level of play.

Sent from my SM-N910V using CSNbbs mobile app

I sincerely hope Jimmye doesn't retire any time soon. He's a good coach and I worry about a successor. I actually think the team would benefit from him claiming a more active role in day to day operations. Plus if Mitchell is the real deal he should at least stay until he graduates

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

I think the following lineup for next year will be better than this year's lineup given another year of maturity and more time in the weight room.

Cohn
Milon
Malinowski
Rowley
Whitman/Knight

(01-02-2017 12:37 PM)Tribeheart Wrote:  I hope we see significant growth in the play of this year's underclassmen through the remainder of the men's basketball season. My concern is, unless we pull in a real grad talent for next year, we may see another drop in program level of play.

Sent from my SM-N910V using CSNbbs mobile app

(01-02-2017 12:55 PM)Tribe32 Wrote:  I think the following lineup for next year will be better than this year's lineup given another year of maturity and more time in the weight room.

Cohn
Milon
Malinowski
Rowley
Whitman/Knight

(01-02-2017 12:37 PM)Tribeheart Wrote:  I hope we see significant growth in the play of this year's underclassmen through the remainder of the men's basketball season. My concern is, unless we pull in a real grad talent for next year, we may see another drop in program level of play.

Sent from my SM-N910V using CSNbbs mobile app

Nobody in that lineup who is an All CAA level performer yet, offensively or defensively. Somebody in the returning lineup needs to show they can consistently take it to another level.

Sent from my SM-N910V using CSNbbs mobile app

(01-02-2017 12:21 PM)zablenoise Wrote:  

(01-02-2017 12:10 PM)tribefbfan Wrote:  This spring will test our coaches as much as the players. Albert will no doubt miss the spring, leaving Dunn, Britt and Giles to fight it out.

**** really? That's a real shame. Hopefully Funderburke gets back to 100%. He looked like an absolute monster


Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Purely speculation on my part. With the surgery this fall, players typically arent cleared by spring. I could be totally wrong. Hopefully I am, but if there's a question about his recovery, he could be held out till fall camp.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using CSNbbs mobile app

(01-02-2017 12:55 PM)Tribe32 Wrote:  I think the following lineup for next year will be better than this year's lineup given another year of maturity and more time in the weight room.

Cohn
Milon
Malinowski
Rowley
Whitman/Knight

(01-02-2017 12:37 PM)Tribeheart Wrote:  I hope we see significant growth in the play of this year's underclassmen through the remainder of the men's basketball season. My concern is, unless we pull in a real grad talent for next year, we may see another drop in program level of play.

Sent from my SM-N910V using CSNbbs mobile app

I would guess Burchfield over Malinowski

I don't think Burchfield will start over Malinowski and I don't see him starting over Milon. Milon would be a starter on this year's team.

(01-02-2017 01:29 PM)tribefbfan Wrote:  

(01-02-2017 12:21 PM)zablenoise Wrote:  

(01-02-2017 12:10 PM)tribefbfan Wrote:  This spring will test our coaches as much as the players. Albert will no doubt miss the spring, leaving Dunn, Britt and Giles to fight it out.

**** really? That's a real shame. Hopefully Funderburke gets back to 100%. He looked like an absolute monster


Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Purely speculation on my part. With the surgery this fall, players typically arent cleared by spring. I could be totally wrong. Hopefully I am, but if there's a question about his recovery, he could be held out till fall camp.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using CSNbbs mobile app

We will be fortunate if he is back in August. Long rehab for ACL surgery.

(01-02-2017 10:16 PM)Tribe4SF Wrote:  

(01-02-2017 01:29 PM)tribefbfan Wrote:  

(01-02-2017 12:21 PM)zablenoise Wrote:  

(01-02-2017 12:10 PM)tribefbfan Wrote:  This spring will test our coaches as much as the players. Albert will no doubt miss the spring, leaving Dunn, Britt and Giles to fight it out.

**** really? That's a real shame. Hopefully Funderburke gets back to 100%. He looked like an absolute monster


Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Purely speculation on my part. With the surgery this fall, players typically arent cleared by spring. I could be totally wrong. Hopefully I am, but if there's a question about his recovery, he could be held out till fall camp.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using CSNbbs mobile app

We will be fortunate if he is back in August. Long rehab for ACL surgery.

Great post with a lot of interesting insight!



One Tribe. One Family.

Six months is a bare minimum for ACL rehab. It is more common for an athlete to take 9-12 months to get back to practice form. This is the kind of injury that rushing back from is usually counter productive.

While it is great to hope that Funderburke will be back for spring practice, it is more realistic to hope for him to be ready to take part in voluntary workouts this summer during the second session of summer school, and maybe not then.

9-12 months was the norm 3-5 years ago. It is now much faster in many cases. No two injuries are the same either. Torn ACL doesn't always mean ruptured or completely torn. Plus he didn't have any other ligament or cartilage damage from what I read. Kyle Schwarber tore his at the beginning of April and played (DH) in the World Series (about 6 months after the surgery) No chance Funderburk does any contact drills in spring practice no matter how far along he is. He should be ready to go when the season starts.

(01-03-2017 10:15 AM)Tribe32 Wrote:  9-12 months was the norm 3-5 years ago. It is now much faster in many cases. No two injuries are the same either. Torn ACL doesn't always mean ruptured or completely torn. Plus he didn't have any other ligament or cartilage damage from what I read. Kyle Schwarber tore his at the beginning of April and played (DH) in the World Series (about 6 months after the surgery) No chance Funderburk does any contact drills in spring practice no matter how far along he is. He should be ready to go when the season starts.

Playing DH in a few games when they explicitly said he could not play in the outfield is a far different animal from a running back where lateral motion is essential. I hope it's a quick heal, but definitely don't want to rush it; he has a chance to really be a great player for three more years here.

Spring game is meaningless. Even if he felt great, there is no point in putting him in full game speed situations at that point of rehab.

(01-03-2017 10:15 AM)Tribe32 Wrote:  9-12 months was the norm 3-5 years ago. It is now much faster in many cases. No two injuries are the same either. Torn ACL doesn't always mean ruptured or completely torn. Plus he didn't have any other ligament or cartilage damage from what I read. Kyle Schwarber tore his at the beginning of April and played (DH) in the World Series (about 6 months after the surgery) No chance Funderburk does any contact drills in spring practice no matter how far along he is. He should be ready to go when the season starts.

I believe he required two surgeries to repair multiple issues. Let's just hope for a full recovery however long it takes.

(01-03-2017 09:32 AM)Tribal Wrote:  

(01-02-2017 10:16 PM)Tribe4SF Wrote:  

(01-02-2017 01:29 PM)tribefbfan Wrote:  

(01-02-2017 12:21 PM)zablenoise Wrote:  

(01-02-2017 12:10 PM)tribefbfan Wrote:  This spring will test our coaches as much as the players. Albert will no doubt miss the spring, leaving Dunn, Britt and Giles to fight it out.

**** really? That's a real shame. Hopefully Funderburke gets back to 100%. He looked like an absolute monster


Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Purely speculation on my part. With the surgery this fall, players typically arent cleared by spring. I could be totally wrong. Hopefully I am, but if there's a question about his recovery, he could be held out till fall camp.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using CSNbbs mobile app

We will be fortunate if he is back in August. Long rehab for ACL surgery.

Great post with a lot of interesting insight!



One Tribe. One Family.

Thanks! Nice when someone other than ourselves offers praise!