All in all, I think the consensus of giving a first year mulligan is warranted; but the results re: the recruited class #1 in no way, shape, or form give any form of positive push towards Pera being a viable coach. Had this not been his first year the 'frosh wipeout' would be an absolutely huge negative......

Just checking in after a night watching a great Game 1 Stanley Cup Finals to see if anyone has blamed Pera for the Rockets inability to hit 3’s since he coached Harden in HS.

(05-29-2018 10:11 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Just checking in after a night watching a great Game 1 Stanley Cup Finals to see if anyone has blamed Pera for the Rockets inability to hit 3’s since he coached Harden in HS.

Watched a bit of both games. Vegas-Washington was a lot better game than Rockets-Warriors. Part of that is that I find the NBA hard to watch. Throwing the ball around the perimeter until somebody jacks it up is boring. No penetration, no movement without the ball, no offensive continuity. Nobody runs an offense.

(05-29-2018 11:13 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(05-29-2018 10:11 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Just checking in after a night watching a great Game 1 Stanley Cup Finals to see if anyone has blamed Pera for the Rockets inability to hit 3’s since he coached Harden in HS.

Watched a bit of both games. Vegas-Washington was a lot better game than Rockets-Warriors. Part of that is that I find the NBA hard to watch. Throwing the ball around the perimeter until somebody jacks it up is boring. No penetration, no movement without the ball, no offensive continuity. Nobody runs an offense.

Chip, are you sure you were watching the Warriors when they are on offense. True, they don't move quite as much with Iguodala out of the lineup, but they still run an offense based on constant movement and maximizing the passing game.

Updated my top post to reflect Hunter's transfer and Williams' commitment.

Still 1-2 open scholarships (depending on whether Dylan Jones is back, anyone know about him?). Seems highly unlikely the coaching staff would want another true freshman. In terms of balancing recruiting classes, it would be great to either add a transfer that would end up in the same class as Parrish, or another grad transfer. Still a lot of uncommitted transfers, including quite a few guys coming out of Ivy League schools and a few that hard Rice offers in high school.

(05-29-2018 11:30 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(05-29-2018 11:13 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(05-29-2018 10:11 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Just checking in after a night watching a great Game 1 Stanley Cup Finals to see if anyone has blamed Pera for the Rockets inability to hit 3’s since he coached Harden in HS.

Watched a bit of both games. Vegas-Washington was a lot better game than Rockets-Warriors. Part of that is that I find the NBA hard to watch. Throwing the ball around the perimeter until somebody jacks it up is boring. No penetration, no movement without the ball, no offensive continuity. Nobody runs an offense.

Chip, are you sure you were watching the Warriors when they are on offense. True, they don't move quite as much with Iguodala out of the lineup, but they still run an offense based on constant movement and maximizing the passing game.

Absolutely. The way the Warriors consistently isolated Curry on Ryan Anderson to create a no contest situation was painful to watch as a Rockets fan, but a thing of beauty from a play calling to take advantage of your opponent standpoint. The Warriors were just better than the Rockets ex CP3, and probably with CP3.

(05-29-2018 11:30 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(05-29-2018 11:13 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(05-29-2018 10:11 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Just checking in after a night watching a great Game 1 Stanley Cup Finals to see if anyone has blamed Pera for the Rockets inability to hit 3’s since he coached Harden in HS.

Watched a bit of both games. Vegas-Washington was a lot better game than Rockets-Warriors. Part of that is that I find the NBA hard to watch. Throwing the ball around the perimeter until somebody jacks it up is boring. No penetration, no movement without the ball, no offensive continuity. Nobody runs an offense.

Chip, are you sure you were watching the Warriors when they are on offense. True, they don't move quite as much with Iguodala out of the lineup, but they still run an offense based on constant movement and maximizing the passing game.

Well they move more than the Rockets, to be sure. Statues do. But it’s clearly not the Magic v Bird era. And I’ve been a big fan of Iggy Pop for years.

(05-28-2018 05:00 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I don't think that, under the circumstances, the 2017-18 frosh class was ever regarded as much more than warm bodies so that we had enough numbers to field a team. The 2018-19 freshman class has been recruited under what was clearly a more organized effort. Let's see what happens to them.

It does seem to me that in this day of one-and-done, a reasonable strategy might be to focus on recruits whose academic and personal makeups suggest they will stay for four, and count on coaching them up. That's not an easy strategy to implement, and it would take time to realize positive results. But it might be the way we have to go.

I agree. Given how little time he had, and the Rhoades departure and the cannibalization of the roster which was very disappointing to see from Rhoades, (who I though had a bit more class than that), I don't think you can start the clock on Pera until this season, much as I dislike that apparent reality.

Pera's resume includes some decent successes in coaching. He might not be as exciting at the moment, but I'd like to see what he does the next year or two before I entrench my feelings about him.

That said, the current situation in NCAA basketball is atrocious and makes being a fan of the college game much harder than in the past, especially at our school. Any new recruits are highly suspect until they prove some talent on the court and loyalty to getting their degrees here. Such a shame they cannot see what a superior value a Rice degree is than at Directional State U or at P5 Benchwarmer U.

I guess you could argue Obie made a reasonable trade, as a Duke degree is well-regarded, and they have superior numbers of alumni and connections to us. Still, was he "really" a part fo their championship beyond just sizing his ring? I suppose it will be interesting to see how Evans rebounds at VCU from his injury year. At Rice, he would almost assuredly left as Rice's all-time near-everything if he had stayed the full 4 seasons, and perhaps finally broken us through to the NCAAs. I just think that is such a superior path for a talented player to take than just be another name in a list at another school with more "tradition."

I don't have any blame or fault for Egor Kulechov. He transferred here, after all, finished his degree, helped us a lot, and wanted to go to a more visible and opportunistic school as a grad. Hope he catches on in the NBA--he was a fun player to watch and root for and the pro game is so bad nowadays, they need more players like Egor for me to be interested again.

3¢.

https://www.google.com/amp/pilotonline.c...a.amp.html

(05-31-2018 10:23 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(05-28-2018 05:00 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I don't think that, under the circumstances, the 2017-18 frosh class was ever regarded as much more than warm bodies so that we had enough numbers to field a team. The 2018-19 freshman class has been recruited under what was clearly a more organized effort. Let's see what happens to them.

It does seem to me that in this day of one-and-done, a reasonable strategy might be to focus on recruits whose academic and personal makeups suggest they will stay for four, and count on coaching them up. That's not an easy strategy to implement, and it would take time to realize positive results. But it might be the way we have to go.

I agree. Given how little time he had, and the Rhoades departure and the cannibalization of the roster which was very disappointing to see from Rhoades, (who I though had a bit more class than that), I don't think you can start the clock on Pera until this season, much as I dislike that apparent reality.

Pera's resume includes some decent successes in coaching. He might not be as exciting at the moment, but I'd like to see what he does the next year or two before I entrench my feelings about him.

That said, the current situation in NCAA basketball is atrocious and makes being a fan of the college game much harder than in the past, especially at our school. Any new recruits are highly suspect until they prove some talent on the court and loyalty to getting their degrees here. Such a shame they cannot see what a superior value a Rice degree is than at Directional State U or at P5 Benchwarmer U.

I guess you could argue Obie made a reasonable trade, as a Duke degree is well-regarded, and they have superior numbers of alumni and connections to us. Still, was he "really" a part fo their championship beyond just sizing his ring? I suppose it will be interesting to see how Evans rebounds at VCU from his injury year. At Rice, he would almost assuredly left as Rice's all-time near-everything if he had stayed the full 4 seasons, and perhaps finally broken us through to the NCAAs. I just think that is such a superior path for a talented player to take than just be another name in a list at another school with more "tradition."

I don't have any blame or fault for Egor Kulechov. He transferred here, after all, finished his degree, helped us a lot, and wanted to go to a more visible and opportunistic school as a grad. Hope he catches on in the NBA--he was a fun player to watch and root for and the pro game is so bad nowadays, they need more players like Egor for me to be interested again.

3¢.

I agree with pretty much everything you said, though the only thing I would bring up about Obi is that I'm not sure if playing 5 min at Duke is better for him than being an All Conference CUSA player(which I believe he could have been) in terms of future professional basketball prospects. Maybe not NBA, but surely other opportunities like what Seth Gearhart got. It's hard to see how not playing at Duke is going to lead to any professional opportunities.

See ya Cashaw.

Fire Pera.

Looks like CC is Creighton bound.

(06-07-2018 11:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  See ya Cashaw.

Fire Pera.

He is a grad transfer, so not as bad as all of the freshmen leaving.

But I'm starting to realize how awful the timing of Rhoades' departure was... Absolutely brutal.

(06-07-2018 11:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  See ya Cashaw.

Fire Pera.

Obviously not working kids hard enough if they’re graduating in 3 years...

I mean, I certainly harbor no ill will towards Connor (he certainly put in his time and more), but I had no clue he was even considering transferring. And I think we really might be worse next year. I don't think Connor's departure hurts us defensively, but it'll take a massive toll on us in terms of leadership and offense. Our passing better be near the top of the NCAA because there isn't one proven player on this roster right now that can go 1v1. Maybe one or two of the freshmen will step up, but golly, this program is in a desolate place right now.

(06-07-2018 11:27 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(06-07-2018 11:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  See ya Cashaw.

Fire Pera.

He is a grad transfer, so not as bad as all of the freshmen leaving.

But I'm starting to realize how awful the timing of Rhoades' departure was... Absolutely brutal.

It wasnt the timing that was brutal. It was the (continued) diaspora that followed that (is) was brutal. Rhoades leaving was the trigger. The timing of that departure really didnt have an impact on the results. Pera cant seem to keep shells in the chamber....

(06-07-2018 11:35 AM)elw4796 Wrote:  I mean, I certainly harbor no ill will towards Connor (he certainly put in his time and more), but I had no clue he was even considering transferring. And I think we really might be worse next year. I don't think Connor's departure hurts us defensively, but it'll take a massive toll on us in terms of leadership and offense. Our passing better be near the top of the NCAA because there isn't one proven player on this roster right now that can go 1v1. Maybe one or two of the freshmen will step up, but golly, this program is in a desolate place right now.

Two years to 13 freshmen?

(06-07-2018 11:29 AM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(06-07-2018 11:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  See ya Cashaw.

Fire Pera.

Obviously not working kids hard enough if they’re graduating in 3 years...

I think it’s a Cole Hunt style transfer in that he’s finishing over the summer.

(06-07-2018 11:39 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(06-07-2018 11:29 AM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(06-07-2018 11:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  See ya Cashaw.

Fire Pera.

Obviously not working kids hard enough if they’re graduating in 3 years...

I think it’s a Cole Hunt style transfer in that he’s finishing over the summer.

It is. I wonder if we make him pay for the summer hours or if it counts towards this year. Pretty lousy to wait this long when I’m sure Pera is counting on him for next season. Definitely going to have to take some walkons that won’t be able to contribute just to fill out our roster.

All these guys say how they wish Pera and the staff the best but they’ve all signed his ticket to unemployment. No way we have a winning record next year with the pieces we have... and since some donors don’t like Pera I doubt he makes it to season 3.

To add onto that I don’t think a single player that’s left Rice before graduating has ended up in a better position. They have to sit a year, then they either ride the bench or play at a school that has the same level of attention as Rice. Plus they lose out on a decent degree...

(06-07-2018 11:35 AM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(06-07-2018 11:27 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(06-07-2018 11:10 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  See ya Cashaw.

Fire Pera.

He is a grad transfer, so not as bad as all of the freshmen leaving.

But I'm starting to realize how awful the timing of Rhoades' departure was... Absolutely brutal.

It wasnt the timing that was brutal. It was the (continued) diaspora that followed that (is) was brutal. Rhoades leaving was the trigger. The timing of that departure really didnt have an impact on the results. Pera cant seem to keep shells in the chamber....

I said timing because I think, had he waited a year longer, or left a year earlier, the exodus may not have been as great.

One year longer and our program is in the NCAA tourney potentially, which is a hugeeeeee recruiting tool, so we could either reload, or the players on board could see that there was a future at Rice.

A year earlier, and Evans isn't such a proven commodity and maybe doesn't transfer back? And from an emotional perspective, at least we wouldn't have had the rug pulled out after a decent season.