(03-24-2022 07:00 AM)TheWoodenNickle Wrote:  The comments on this thread are cryptic and seem to be based on rumor and speculation. If you know a FACT, then say it. If you suspect something then preface your statement as speculation. Otherwise you sound like a politician.

I didn’t want to come out and say it until it was official because kids change minds. Mo will be gone.

(03-23-2022 08:21 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(03-23-2022 08:02 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  Stan brought in, what, 5 transfers last offseason? Not sure where you’re going with that, Jerry. He had a huge reconstruction project, and still does. But he’s clearly embraced the transfer portal.

I am half way in between Jerry and Sam. Heath seemed to take a hybrid approach with true freshman (Njie, Luka, Randle, and Rice) and transfers (Monty, Noah, NScott, Golson, and Jihad). I think Heath understood the opportunities of portal when he stated something to the effect, “It is not going to take as long to rebuild as people think” when he was hired.

But I don’t think he thought he would have to hit it so hard again in year 2. Or at least I didn’t. The nice thing is he already got the home run find last year- to continue with Tru’s baseball terms. Finding the “replacement-level” players is a much easier task.

I said Heath would regret that rebuilding comment the day after he made it. Well back to the drawing board.

(03-24-2022 09:45 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(03-23-2022 08:21 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(03-23-2022 08:02 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  Stan brought in, what, 5 transfers last offseason? Not sure where you’re going with that, Jerry. He had a huge reconstruction project, and still does. But he’s clearly embraced the transfer portal.

I am half way in between Jerry and Sam. Heath seemed to take a hybrid approach with true freshman (Njie, Luka, Randle, and Rice) and transfers (Monty, Noah, NScott, Golson, and Jihad). I think Heath understood the opportunities of portal when he stated something to the effect, “It is not going to take as long to rebuild as people think” when he was hired.

But I don’t think he thought he would have to hit it so hard again in year 2. Or at least I didn’t. The nice thing is he already got the home run find last year- to continue with Tru’s baseball terms. Finding the “replacement-level” players is a much easier task.

I said Heath would regret that rebuilding comment the day after he made it. Well back to the drawing board.

The old adage is to "under promise, over deliver," unfortunately Stan did the opposite of that. Judging from what I've heard and seen across the web (here included), expectations are high for Heath to turn it around and rather quickly. I feel like the heat is starting to ratchet up a bit.

(03-24-2022 12:48 PM)EMU78 Wrote:  

(03-24-2022 09:45 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(03-23-2022 08:21 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(03-23-2022 08:02 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  Stan brought in, what, 5 transfers last offseason? Not sure where you’re going with that, Jerry. He had a huge reconstruction project, and still does. But he’s clearly embraced the transfer portal.

I am half way in between Jerry and Sam. Heath seemed to take a hybrid approach with true freshman (Njie, Luka, Randle, and Rice) and transfers (Monty, Noah, NScott, Golson, and Jihad). I think Heath understood the opportunities of portal when he stated something to the effect, “It is not going to take as long to rebuild as people think” when he was hired.

But I don’t think he thought he would have to hit it so hard again in year 2. Or at least I didn’t. The nice thing is he already got the home run find last year- to continue with Tru’s baseball terms. Finding the “replacement-level” players is a much easier task.

I said Heath would regret that rebuilding comment the day after he made it. Well back to the drawing board.

The old adage is to "under promise, over deliver," unfortunately Stan did the opposite of that. Judging from what I've heard and seen across the web (here included), expectations are high for Heath to turn it around and rather quickly. I feel like the heat is starting to ratchet up a bit.

Yep but I for one will allow Stan years 2 and 3. Can he get Michigan Mr Basketball? Another transfer guard, a nice small forward and now a center.
If he has another recruiting class like his first one I would be extremely happy. Let’s wait and see….I would like to comment on season one another time.

(03-23-2022 08:02 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  Stan brought in, what, 5 transfers last offseason? Not sure where you’re going with that, Jerry. He had a huge reconstruction project, and still does. But he’s clearly embraced the transfer portal.

Sam, you make an EXTEMELY valid point once again. You are spot-on, Stan did bring in five transfers.

Three, however, were freshman with four years of eligibility left. None of them had remarkable seasons at their former schools so their procurement was hardly noteworthy. As we found out, Noah was a homerun and I think Golson will be as well. Stan did a very good job in the portal, it was frankly amazing!

My point is this, a HUGE reconstruction project is not as HUGE as it once was due to the new transfer rules. We have just lost two players to the portal and I have heard of no new additions to our roster. Just wondering what Stan is up to...

(03-24-2022 06:20 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(03-23-2022 08:02 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  Stan brought in, what, 5 transfers last offseason? Not sure where you’re going with that, Jerry. He had a huge reconstruction project, and still does. But he’s clearly embraced the transfer portal.

Sam, you make an EXTEMELY valid point once again. You are spot-on, Stan did bring in five transfers.

Three, however, were freshman with four years of eligibility left. None of them had remarkable seasons at their former schools so their procurement was hardly noteworthy. As we found out, Noah was a homerun and I think Golson will be as well. Stan did a very good job in the portal, it was frankly amazing!

My point is this, a HUGE reconstruction project is not as HUGE as it once was due to the new transfer rules. We have just lost two players to the portal and I have heard of no new additions to our roster. Just wondering what Stan is up to...

Texas Tech is in the sweet 16! 4 of their 5 starters are transfers! This's today's college basketball! Texas Tech's coach is in his 1st year as head coach! Heath needs to recruit like this.......

The fall signings were most JUCOs and true frosh for MAC schools. I still see that trend so far this spring. In terms of Ball St. some of the transfer activity may change once a new coach is announced. I'm not sure I've seen a lot of transfer activity from WMU who also let their coach go.

(03-24-2022 09:27 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(03-24-2022 08:00 AM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(03-24-2022 06:03 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(03-24-2022 04:24 AM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(03-24-2022 04:14 AM)emu79 Wrote:  Okay so now we have a destination for Njie? Penn State. Curious as to the source of this information?

I was starting to hope Luckey caught wind of a false rumor since it is not up on verbal commits. But somehow having a detail like where he is transferring to leads me to believe it is legit. This is definitely bad news as Njie will be a lot harder to replace than McBride…

EDIT: Nothing on Mo’s Twitter feed yet. Verbal commits does not have him in the transfer portal. So no official indication as of yet- perhaps my wishful thinking…
https://mobile.twitter.com/monjie_5?lang=en

Kebba Njie committed to Penn State in Sept 2021. Kebba and Mo are brothers.

OMG, is that wher you got it, Luckey?!?!?
Nice find and thank you, ‘79! You are amazing with this recruiting info!!

(I AM ONLY SPECULATING: maybe Kebba discussed his brother with the coach, which is why it is not registering formally on the Transfer portal? But Luckey may be correct after all?? In any case, I am moving on until someone shares formal word)

Verbal commits just confirmed Mo is transferring.

Mo Njie rising?

In retrospect, looking at how well Rice played down the stretch (shooting 69.2 percent on 2’s, and 33 percent on three’s) in conference play, it appears he should have played far more than he did.

EMU now needs to add other good players. Although Noah, Rice, and Golson, and Randle lack experience, they provide EMU with a foundation to build upon.

(04-07-2022 09:51 AM)Miggy Wrote:  In retrospect, looking at how well Rice played down the stretch in conference play, it appears he should have played far more than he did.

EMU now needs to add other good players. Although Noah, Rice, and Golson, and Randle lack experience, they provide EMU with a foundation to build upon.

Golson reminds me of a young Brandon Bowdry.
Those who remember know that Bowdry came in as a rough/gritty/big-body forward who was a little short for the four. He eventually worked on his body and became a much more dynamic/explosive 3 who finished his career strong at EMU and played professionally for a long time.

It would be awesome to see a similar transition for Golson.

(04-07-2022 09:57 AM)KPJ Wrote:  

(04-07-2022 09:51 AM)Miggy Wrote:  In retrospect, looking at how well Rice played down the stretch in conference play, it appears he should have played far more than he did.

EMU now needs to add other good players. Although Noah, Rice, and Golson, and Randle lack experience, they provide EMU with a foundation to build upon.

Golson reminds me of a young Brandon Bowdry.
Those who remember know that Bowdry came in as a rough/gritty/big-body forward who was a little short for the four. He eventually worked on his body and became a much more dynamic/explosive 3 who finished his career strong at EMU and played professionally for a long time.

It would be awesome to see a similar transition for Golson.

I was going to post the same thing as you and others. Golson might want to lose 10-15 LBs and play the small forward position.

(04-07-2022 10:00 AM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(04-07-2022 09:57 AM)KPJ Wrote:  

(04-07-2022 09:51 AM)Miggy Wrote:  In retrospect, looking at how well Rice played down the stretch in conference play, it appears he should have played far more than he did.

EMU needs to add good players. Although Noah, Rice, and Golson, and Randle all lack experience, they do provide EMU with a foundation to build upon.

Golson reminds me of a young Brandon Bowdry.
Those who remember know that Bowdry came in as a rough/gritty/big-body forward who was a little short for the four. He eventually worked on his body and became a much more dynamic/explosive 3 who finished his career strong at EMU and played professionally for a long time.

It would be awesome to see a similar transition for Golson.

I was going to post the same thing as you and others. Golson might want to lose 10-15 LBs and play the small forward position.

Agree. The knock on Rice is that he has a slow release on his jump shot.

Guys, I truly want to share your structural analysis regarding position classifications as we have done so for the past 20 years or so. That said, our "shooting forward" last season was usually Darion Spottsville as Stan seemed committed to playing three guards. Three guards as well for the regular season champ Toledo who also had a "center" JT Shumate, that was focused more on hitting three balls than on paint play. He was their leading rebounder but had only a razor thin margin over ALL three of their guards! The game has changed, longer shots produce long rebounds where quickness trumps length. Remember how we dominated the boards when lengthy JT4, Minnie and Toure all played together on our frontline? I don't either as we certainly did not.

PLEASE MARK THIS DOWN. I think Colin Golson could be very special at EMU. If he got the ball on the block, it was going in the basket as he has strength that Njie dreams about. Sparks had far more problems when defended by him than Mo. He has great hops as well. With Stan's coaching, I truly believe this guy could be a conference player of the year. Three years from now, please disparage me if I am wrong.

(04-07-2022 06:06 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  Guys, I truly want to share your structural analysis regarding position classifications as we have done so for the past 20 years or so. That said, our "shooting forward" last season was usually Darion Spottsville as Stan seemed committed to playing three guards. Three guards as well for the regular season champ Toledo who also had a "center" JT Shumate, that was focused more on hitting three balls than on paint play. He was their leading rebounder but had only a razor thin margin over ALL three of their guards! The game has changed, longer shots produce long rebounds where quickness trumps length. Remember how we dominated the boards when lengthy JT4, Minnie and Toure all played together on our frontline? I don't either as we certainly did not.

PLEASE MARK THIS DOWN. I think Colin Golson could be very special at EMU. If he got the ball on the block, it was going in the basket as he has strength that Njie dreams about. Sparks had far more problems when defended by him than Mo. He has great hops as well. With Stan's coaching, I truly believe this guy could be a conference player of the year. Three years from now, please disparage me if I am wrong.

Golson does make a few good plays in the low-block. But that’s a rare occurrence. No one questions Golson’s athletic and shooting ability.

But as one knowledgeable bb observer told me: “ Never saw a player so clueless on the court.” Can’t ever see him playing the PF position. Truly believe he can be a very good SF. EMU needs his length defensively on the perimeter to stop opponent’s three-ball.

(04-07-2022 06:25 PM)Miggy Wrote:  

(04-07-2022 06:06 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  Guys, I truly want to share your structural analysis regarding position classifications as we have done so for the past 20 years or so. That said, our "shooting forward" last season was usually Darion Spottsville as Stan seemed committed to playing three guards. Three guards as well for the regular season champ Toledo who also had a "center" JT Shumate, that was focused more on hitting three balls than on paint play. He was their leading rebounder but had only a razor thin margin over ALL three of their guards! The game has changed, longer shots produce long rebounds where quickness trumps length. Remember how we dominated the boards when lengthy JT4, Minnie and Toure all played together on our frontline? I don't either as we certainly did not.

PLEASE MARK THIS DOWN. I think Colin Golson could be very special at EMU. If he got the ball on the block, it was going in the basket as he has strength that Njie dreams about. Sparks had far more problems when defended by him than Mo. He has great hops as well. With Stan's coaching, I truly believe this guy could be a conference player of the year. Three years from now, please disparage me if I am wrong.

Golson does make a few good plays in the low-block. But that’s a rare occurrence. No one questions Golson’s athletic and shooting ability.

But as one knowledgeable bb observer told me: “ Never saw a player so clueless on the court.” Can’t ever see him playing the PF position. Truly believe he can be a very good SF.

Migs, your points are well taken, yet I still find the difference between a PF and SF fuzzy to say the least in today's game.

My post was MY take and opinion only.

I suppose I was putting a stake in the ground, declaring that someone WILL be a star, much like the "mouth from Iowa", good ole Bob, I "welch on my bets" Weaslesham. I not betting $ on him but rest assured if I did, I would pay them. I'm more than a "nose to chin" kind of guy, I actually have the money and the self respect to honor any commitments I might make.

Please, please KICK MY ASS if I am wrong about Golson. It will require some waiting time, that is why I implored everyone to MARK THIS DOWN!

Golson’s drives to the basket were really solid actually. Not sure if it would be considered having “moves” versus pure strength and agility. But he made those at a high percentage. He seemed to make mid range jumpers at a good clip as well. Conversely, his three pointers actually angered me somehow. And I think he never passed the ball either. Hopefully Heath can work with him on those two downsides, and then I would agree he could be special.

Defensively, at times Golson actually looked very strong as Jerry is suggesting- both in the post and on the perimeter. But other times he would do things like sky on pump fakes- almost embarrassingly so. But I think that got better as the season went on.

(04-07-2022 06:58 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(04-07-2022 06:25 PM)Miggy Wrote:  

(04-07-2022 06:06 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  Guys, I truly want to share your structural analysis regarding position classifications as we have done so for the past 20 years or so. That said, our "shooting forward" last season was usually Darion Spottsville as Stan seemed committed to playing three guards. Three guards as well for the regular season champ Toledo who also had a "center" JT Shumate, that was focused more on hitting three balls than on paint play. He was their leading rebounder but had only a razor thin margin over ALL three of their guards! The game has changed, longer shots produce long rebounds where quickness trumps length. Remember how we dominated the boards when lengthy JT4, Minnie and Toure all played together on our frontline? I don't either as we certainly did not.

PLEASE MARK THIS DOWN. I think Colin Golson could be very special at EMU. If he got the ball on the block, it was going in the basket as he has strength that Njie dreams about. Sparks had far more problems when defended by him than Mo. He has great hops as well. With Stan's coaching, I truly believe this guy could be a conference player of the year. Three years from now, please disparage me if I am wrong.

Golson does make a few good plays in the low-block. But that’s a rare occurrence. No one questions Golson’s athletic and shooting ability.

But as one knowledgeable bb observer told me: “ Never saw a player so clueless on the court.” Can’t ever see him playing the PF position. Truly believe he can be a very good SF.

Migs, your points are well taken, yet I still find the difference between a PF and SF fuzzy to say the least in today's game.

My post was MY take and opinion only.

I suppose I was putting a stake in the ground, declaring that someone WILL be a star, much like the "mouth from Iowa", good ole Bob, I "welch on my bets" Weaslesham. I not betting $ on him but rest assured if I did, I would pay them. I'm more than a "nose to chin" kind of guy, I actually have the money and the self respect to honor any commitments I might make.

Please, please KICK MY ASS if I am wrong about Golson. It will require some waiting time, that is why I implored everyone to MARK THIS DOWN!

I just want to see Golson do well. We’re just disagreeing on what position he should play. I prefer seeing Golson driving and shooting from the perimeter and also defending on the perimeter.

EMU plays better when they spread the floor
and with Golson playing in the low post, EMU’s guards have no clear path to the hoop.

Golson is a poor decision-maker assessing whether he should pass, shoot a jumper or drive. it appears that without thinking, he just shoots or goes to the hoop.

He often gets lost defending inside. Also, doesn’t block-out his opponent on the defensive boards. He commits far too many shooting fouls defending inside. Also, he doesn’t provide weakside help. Hopefully, he’ll play better defense defending the perimeter.

I don’t question his offensive skills as he shot 59 percent at the rim and 44 percent on two-point jump shots. He has good arc on his jump shots. Thankfully, he took few three’s as he shot three’s poorly. Since it’s highly unlikely he’ll improve his 3-point shooting to 40 percent ( the equivalent of shooting 60 percent on two’s), he should eliminate shooting three’s altogether, as his 2-point shooting percentage is excellent.

Golson turns the ball over 19 percent of his possessions. A turnover rate of 12 percent or less is good. Not sure if Golson commits more turnovers off passes or crashing and burning on drives to the hoop.

Stats back-up Ramy’s observations in prior post of Golson’s offense.

(04-07-2022 07:52 PM)Miggy Wrote:  

(04-07-2022 06:58 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(04-07-2022 06:25 PM)Miggy Wrote:  

(04-07-2022 06:06 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  Guys, I truly want to share your structural analysis regarding position classifications as we have done so for the past 20 years or so. That said, our "shooting forward" last season was usually Darion Spottsville as Stan seemed committed to playing three guards. Three guards as well for the regular season champ Toledo who also had a "center" JT Shumate, that was focused more on hitting three balls than on paint play. He was their leading rebounder but had only a razor thin margin over ALL three of their guards! The game has changed, longer shots produce long rebounds where quickness trumps length. Remember how we dominated the boards when lengthy JT4, Minnie and Toure all played together on our frontline? I don't either as we certainly did not.

PLEASE MARK THIS DOWN. I think Colin Golson could be very special at EMU. If he got the ball on the block, it was going in the basket as he has strength that Njie dreams about. Sparks had far more problems when defended by him than Mo. He has great hops as well. With Stan's coaching, I truly believe this guy could be a conference player of the year. Three years from now, please disparage me if I am wrong.

Golson does make a few good plays in the low-block. But that’s a rare occurrence. No one questions Golson’s athletic and shooting ability.

But as one knowledgeable bb observer told me: “ Never saw a player so clueless on the court.” Can’t ever see him playing the PF position. Truly believe he can be a very good SF.

Migs, your points are well taken, yet I still find the difference between a PF and SF fuzzy to say the least in today's game.

My post was MY take and opinion only.

I suppose I was putting a stake in the ground, declaring that someone WILL be a star, much like the "mouth from Iowa", good ole Bob, I "welch on my bets" Weaslesham. I not betting $ on him but rest assured if I did, I would pay them. I'm more than a "nose to chin" kind of guy, I actually have the money and the self respect to honor any commitments I might make.

Please, please KICK MY ASS if I am wrong about Golson. It will require some waiting time, that is why I implored everyone to MARK THIS DOWN!

I just want to see Golson do well. We’re just disagreeing on what position he should play. I prefer seeing Golson driving and shooting from the perimeter, and also defending on the perimeter.

EMU plays better when they spread the floor, and with Golson playing in the low post, EMU’s guards have no clear path to the hoop.

Golson does not make decisions in assessing whether he should pass, shoot a jumper or drive. Without thinking, it appears that he just shoots or goes to the hoop.

He often gets lost defending inside. Also, doesn’t block-out his opponent on the defensive boards. He commits far to many shooting fouls defending inside. Also, doesn’t see that he needs fto provide weakside help. Hopefully, he’ll commit far less defending the perimeter.

I don’t question his offensive skills as he shot 59 percent at the rim and 44 percent on two-point jump shots. Has good arc on his jump shots. Thankfully he took few three’s as he shoots them poorly. Since it’s highly unlikely he’ll improve his 3-point shooting to 40 percent ( the equivalent of shooting 60 percent on two’s), he should eliminate shooting three’s altogether, as his 2-point shooting percentage is excellent.

Golson turns the ball over 19 percent of his possessions. A turnover rate of 12 percent or less is good. Not sure if Golson commits more turnovers off passes or crashing and burning on drives to the hoop.

Stats back-up Ramy’s observations in prior post of Golson’s offense.

Guys, please feel free to dunk all over me in the future if Golson flames out. He has many faults for sure, but he is after all a freshman.

I saw what I saw this year and this kid in my mind had more potential than Mo Njie. I am also the guy who thought Ty Groce might be playing in the NBA. Kick my butt if I am proven wrong, please.

So… when are we going to stop analyzing the quality of the guys that have left, and start analyzing the quality of the guys that are coming in. I have a feeling that Heath isn’t going to get anyone until the big boys had their pick- who was it that suggested this?

Anyway, a strategy that worked wonders for Murphy. All the successful mid-majors get decent guys who are clearly not good enough for the P6 to sign early and fill up their roster. Then those with P6 potential who did not land anywhere have no where else to go but to EMU who did not get any early commits. That is what I am hoping anyway.

(04-08-2022 09:23 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  So… when are we going to stop analyzing the quality of the guys that have left, and start analyzing the quality of the guys that are coming in. I have a feeling that Heath isn’t going to get anyone until the big boys had their pick- who was it that suggested this?

Anyway, a strategy that worked wonders for Murphy. All the successful mid-majors get decent guys who are clearly not good enough for the P6 to sign early and fill up their roster. Then those with P6 potential who did not land anywhere have no where else to go but to EMU who did not get any early commits. That is what I am hoping anyway.

We are in uncharted territory indeed. Your post is solid.

The ONLY schools that can continue business as usual are those like Duke and Kentucky who reload with McDonald's All Americans when their frosh and sophs head off to the NBA or those like Texas Tech who have already been building teams of transfers.

I've been perplexed at our lack of signees but I am applying old logic. Who knows what is the most effective strategy today? I would bet that Stan thought Njie might have been his biggest prize in frosh recruiting, instead he proved to be an abject failure. Upon arrival he really sucked and he soaked up a lot of coaching and playing time that could have been invested elsewhere. Jihad, for example does not have Mo's upside but I can guarantee that he will return a far better return on investment the next three years than Mo Njie.