By my count at least. I don't think we went over yet. Hoffman has decided to not bring BJ Corley back. He graduated this year, but had one year left b/c he received a medical redshirt this past season. He could have started his masters and played this season. There is a lot of animosity toward Hoffman from BJ. From facebook postings it seems he was led on to believe he was going to start his masters and then it was yanked from him(Probably for someone Coach Hoffman feels is an upgrade this late). BJ put on facebook today that he going to Univ of Tampa which I believe is a division 2 school.

Also in some good news, Paul Larsen from Lake Norman made it academicaly this summer and is on campus for summer school 2nd session. He an undersized 4 with high motor.

damn that would be sad to see BJ go. He's listed on the 2010-11 roster so if this is happening it's a late move.

I have been saying right along that I did not think that Hoffman wanted to rely on Corley, based on the people that he was recruiting and Corley's modest past statistics. My guess as an outside observer is that Hoffman waited until he knew that Larsen had qualified, then gave Corley the ax.

It's a pretty cold business, done this way. Is it surprising that B.J. is bitter?

How do you balance loyalty to a hardworking kid with modest statistics, with the need to improve the program and further your own coaching career?

Is a scholarship from Hoffman good only until someone better comes along? And if so, do you think that this is made clear to a prospect and his parents when he is recruited?

Every program makes hard choices along these lines. But it is possible to carry it too far.

Well since your scenario is speculative it's hard to say for sure. You make the most important point, which is the permanent need for a coach to improve the program and secure his job and future. I'll add another point to consider, which is the always increasing cost to attend Mercer. A scholarship means a LOT of $$$. Especially over 4 years.

Just curious what the cost of a scholarship has to do with it? It is actually the cheapest thing for a college. They know they have 13 basketball players every year no matter what. Those players aren't taking away from a paying student. They are already built in to the operating cost. The only real money they cost is taking a dorm away and paying food expenses. If Mercer cost 12 grand it would be the same as if it cost 30 grand to the basketball program.

Lets say Mercer is 30 grand right now. They aren't really investing 120k in a kid over 4 years. They are just giving a kid a chance at a high quality education. Education would be the same no matter what they price the tuition at.

I understand the need to protect your own job. I'm actually fine with that to a certain degree. Bejay has graduated so at least he didn't screw him out of that. But the turnover is high. I like the win at all cost mentality. Gosh knows Mercer needed it(something Underwood has definitly brought, where Godsey did everything he could to make sure things were done the right way even if it put Mercer at competitive disadvantage). I don't like the practice of running kids off you have recruited though. If you made the mistake of misevaluating talent on the recruiting trail, then you should be stuck with it. If one kid a year leaves b/c of playing time(its impossible to have 13 man rotation), then that is fine. But yanking them for below talent expecations becomes the coachs fault, not the kid.(This is not the Corley situation, this is the other 3 he dismissed). My fear is that word gets out, you screw over enough high school coaches and aau coaches kid's, that you stop getting quality players on recruiting trail. You don't want that reputation. Just a fear, we will see how it plays out.

(07-19-2010 08:43 PM)MercerFan Wrote:  Well since your scenario is speculative it's hard to say for sure. You make the most important point, which is the permanent need for a coach to improve the program and secure his job and future. I'll add another point to consider, which is the always increasing cost to attend Mercer. A scholarship means a LOT of $$$. Especially over 4 years.