Ummm not so fast my friend.

Two points to make here. As "Tae" is very opinionated and often times tells things how he sees it, the word around campus before summer was that first he is having knee surgery. he says its an acl surgery, the other guys thought it was just a scope. so if its an acl...will he be ready or even the same player? I think he will be the main scoring threat next year. from my conversations with him, he says he has given up being a point guard, and will move to the wing to help his scoring avg and get more plays run for him. therefore it looks like we need that new point guard. with a new point guard look at our 3 guards....1) the new pg 2) waters 3) calvin.........that is a very very solid starting combination in this conference. about as athletic as i've seen out of mercer and close to anybody else lately.(unless of course waters knee doesn't hold up)

The only problem with that is I think Alacqua is locked in at the 2 guard.

alacqua is still playing next year? isnt he a senior this year. we went to the same highschool and he was a couple years older then me. and i'm a softmore. i guess he redshirted.

yep, he still has a year of ncaa eligibility.

he does have a year left. i don't think he will be starting. i think he is a great role player for us, not exactly a starter. first he might be a little bit of a defensive liability...not a knock on him i think he has gotten everything he can out of being 5'9 and not exactly the fastest player. second i think he will actually be more effective off the bench. he only has to come in worrying about shooting. if he plays too much his effectiveness goes down as defenses can focus on guarding him at the 3 point line. when he only plays maybe 15 min a game he won't be considered a key in opposing teams defenses. this year i felt defenses were able to key on him a little more and he didnt' get as many open looks.

now just to have a little friendly argument, i think waters would be a better option at 2 than alacqua like you think. waters is a great athlete. if he improves his shooting %, and gets to the basket...then i like him better to start and play a few more minutes. and alacqua can be the yin to his yang. complete opposite type of players. i think that could be effective...not to mention waters is a heck of a defensive player. you can't keep those guys off the court. and the pg spot is not for him as discussed earlier.

I love discussing hoops in May. I'm ready to go for next year. Lets just hope something crazy doesn't happen in August again to ruin the season like last year. But right now my hopes are high.

That doesn't sound like a bad plan, but I would go a different direction. Here's who I would start next year as of right now..

PG - Waters (assuming he's healthy and ready; he's clearly our best ball handler, and a freshman starter at point guard would be a slap to some older guys)
SG - Alacqua (he's earned it, and the reward is worth the risk)
3G - Aaron
F - A J.C. Transfer that we've picked up.
F - Dolan

My first man off the bench - AJ Martin

alacqua should start. he's never been that fast, but he's always had that steve nash ability to find a way to get the defender off balance, plus his shooting range extends to the parking lot.

Your defending league champions should be a little stronger next year. The only major loss was Collins. Oliver was a great role player as a starter, but only played around 15 minutes a game. Anyway, Will Peeples (redshirt), who was an all-freshman selection 2 years ago, will start in Oliver's spot and Dotson, will back him up. Both players will get around 20 minutes a game. Peeples is a Wes Burtner clone for those of you old-time A-Sun folks that are familiar with the Bruins. Herndon and Preston are back to patrol the paint for Belmont. Hare is back as a 2-guard and Goodwin will also return. Both of those guys can play the point but are better in a scoring role than as a distributer. Henry Harris is likely the point. He is extremely quick but very inexperienced and not the best shooter. Belmont also has a few newcomers that can contribute right away. Jordan Campbell, a big athletic guard, is also a likely candidate for Freshman of the year. Shane Dansby redshirted last season after spending a year at Murry State. He is a tremendous athlete. The Bruins also signed a 6-11 Aussie, who should be like Simon Conn, he could also redshirt this season because of the depth inside. It is always time to talk hoops. Good luck to the league this year.

Mercer actually signed 7 guys including 4 transfers. I figured they would look to some transfers to help out with their drastic lack of experience and scoring for next year.

I agree that Waters and Dolan are the best returning players we have. I think Waters will get lots of minutes at either the 1 or the 2. But this guy Florence sounds good. #2 rated PG in GA behind only Javaris Crittenton, the McDonalds All-American who signed with Tech.

I think the Bears will play several of these guys right away (whether they start or not). I possibly see a post rotation including Dolan, Corley, and Henry and a guard rotation of Waters, Florence, and Walker. Then toss in the shooters Alacqua and Youmans. I say give Alacqua the minutes if he's the best player, but if he's not, you've got to play the best talent at this point. I'd rather have a more experienced backcourt along with Ellis for the following year than play Alacqua just because he's a senior. By the way, there's no way he's 5'9''.

Mercer University 2006 Recruiting Class

Bejay Corley F 6-7 Marietta, Ga./Wheeler HS
*Michael Ellis G 6-5 Statesville, N.C./UNC-Asheville
James Florence G 6-1 Marietta, Ga./Wheeler HS
Calvin Henry F 6-6 Orlando, Fla./Miami-Dade
Lionel Saban F 6-7 Paris, France/Cowley College
Brendan Walker G 6-2 Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kinney HS
Ervin Youmans G 5-11 Hobbs, N.M./Eastern Arizona

* Will sit out 2006-07 season.

Camels Ink another:

Jonathan Rodriguez, the leading scorer in Florida's Class 1A, is going to sign Thursday with Campbell University, the Division I program that was second in the nation last year in points per game.

To call that a good fit is an understatement. Nothing has fit this good since Jessica Alba's bikini in the movie "Into The Blue."

Besides Campbell, Rodriguez also had scholarship offers from Hofstra, Duquesne, Drexel, Southern Utah and Montana State.

But Rodriguez, who led Calusa Prep to its first-ever state championship this past season, said the Campbell coaches showed him a video of their offense - and that sold him.

"I loved it," said J-Rod, who averaged 25.5 points per game last season. "They like to run and gun just like we did at Calusa. They told me that their players have the green light to shoot whenever they are open - even if they miss."

Rodriguez doesn't miss often. He led all of Miami-Dade County in scoring and was named The Herald's Class 3A-1A Player of the Year. He was also the state's Player of the Year for 1A. And he was a second-team Christian Schools All-American.

At state, Rodriguez was even better than he was in the regular season, earning MVP honors after putting up great numbers - 27 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.5 steals.

Last summer, he also set the single-game scoring record for his AAU team, putting up 48 points for the Miami Tropics.

"I'm very proud of Jonathan," Tropics Coach Art Alvarez said. "He has worked hard to earn his scholarship."

Rodriguez is the sixth Tropics player to sign a Division I scholarship this school year, an incredible accomplishment for the program. The list includes Josue Soto (Florida State), Franck Ndongo (Virginia Commonwealth), Stuard Baldonado (Duquesne), Jason Bennett (Kansas State) and Luis Colon (Kansas State).

Alvarez said he expects Rodriguez to have a big-time career at a Mid-Major school like Campbell - much like his former Miami Christian point guard Jose Juan Barea had at Mid-Major Northeastern.

"Jonathan had a great senior year at Calusa," Alvarez said, "and I think he will make an immediate impact at Campbell."

Located in Buies, N.C., the Campbell Fighting Camels averaged 82.8 points last year, second only to Long Beach State (83.3).

Besides their offense, Rodriguez also loved Campbell's relatively warm climate and the location of the school. It also helps that Campbell plays in the Atlantic Sun, a conference that includes three Florida schools - Jacksonville, Stetson and North Florida.

"That was very important to me," Rodriguez said. "It has always been my dream for my mom and dad to come watch me play in college."

the Big Camel Wrote:To call that a good fit is an understatement. Nothing has fit this good since Jessica Alba's bikini in the movie "Into The Blue."

Nice imagery!

Who cares. Now that we're in the ASun, we won't be recruiting anyone of any significance anyway.

Regarding future realignments, there are rumors that ETSU is looking at joining the Mountain East Conference with University School, Unaka, Chuckey Doak, Cloudland and a few other smaller schools in Northeast Tennessee. Confident they can make a run for the conference championship, ETSU President Stanton said, "This is a good move for our institution. I know many of these schools are moving up from a smaller division, but they all have a solid future."

Though not eligible for the NCAA or NIT tournaments, ETSU would be eligible for the 1A state basketball tournament.

worst attempt at humor I have seen in awhile there buddy

Amen 'Camel, and what's worse, this joker is poorly reflecting the vast majority of classy Buc fans.

It's a reflection of the frustration of the fans for where we are right now, and that's in a conference where ten years ago the majority of the schools currently in it were D-2 and under, hell, one school didn't even EXIST!
It's like the scene in the movie Major League when the GM and owner are going over the invitees, and the G.M. looks at the owner and says: "Most of these guys I've never even heard of, and the ones I do know.....and look! This guy here is DEAD!" She just replies: "Well cross him off, then."
I think ETSU fans feel as though their university might be getting crossed off the list.