How’s it going down there?

Just to explain why Fanof49 is trolling...

It’s so rare that we get to troll….especially during baseball season. Had to try it out

It’s really an indication on the state of the program. We’ve lost our 3 best returning players to programs that we are traditionally better than and whom which we have a long rivalry…McNeese and stAte.

For real what is going on at UL? Had a solid team last year and now some unusual defections.

Nobody seemed to make a fuss that the SBC’s worst MBB team lost 4 of their best players.

(04-22-2024 08:25 PM)Big Buds Wrote:  It’s really an indication on the state of the program. We’ve lost our 3 best returning players to programs that we are traditionally better than and whom which we have a long rivalry…McNeese and stAte.

My read has always been that Bob Marlin is approaching Cliff Ellis territory rapidly, winning enough that he wouldn't be fired, but not enough to grow the program/

All signs point to stAte having a chance to run through the Sun Belt next year.

(04-23-2024 04:25 AM)BurlingtonApp Wrote:  All signs point to stAte having a chance to run through the Sun Belt next year.

I wouldn’t go that far.

I will say it would be great fun to see the kind of enthusiasm for basketball that I knew return to Jonesboro. I have a feeling it will next year and then we will be looking for our next coach. But I love how he's turned it around in his short tenure.

(04-23-2024 06:47 AM)stAteNation Wrote:  

(04-23-2024 04:25 AM)BurlingtonApp Wrote:  All signs point to stAte having a chance to run through the Sun Belt next year.

I wouldn’t go that far.

Yeah. We are likely to be the preseason favorite, but once the season starts, anything can happen.

It’s a strange feeling. Even though we’ve been down in football recently, we’ve been a football school for over a decade now, but people in this part of the state love basketball. Jonesboro is surrounded by a bunch of small towns that don’t play high school football. It’s cool to see the enthusiasm for the program come back.

Players are leaving the program almost as fast as fans. Fear is that we will sell <500 season tickets next year. This at a program that is nearly always near the top in attendance numbers in whatever conference it has been in. Old school fans are tired of Bob Marlin, and there aren't any new school fans to speak of.

My take is Marlin hasn't adjusted to the concept of having to recruit guys already on the team.

The NIL values aren't known for the most part. There's some hustlers/reps/agents out there claiming to have pulled in bigger numbers than they actually have in order to rep kids and get a piece of the action.

Look at Fredi Hicks, he had someone close to him telling him A-State was insulting and disrespecting him by under valuing his NIL. From what I hear he departed on very bad terms because he believed what a hustler told him. Doesn't sound like anyone else has offered him what he was getting at A-State. He was a 16pt 6 rebound a game guy at Tarleton and almost 12pt and 5.4 rebound guy at AState, production decline moving up to Sun Belt isn't likely to spur big offers.

No reason to believe that UL isn't fighting that same battle.

Difference is Hodgson is high energy young guy who spends a great deal of time drumming up NIL money. He's not looking for a raise from A-State, so not fundraising to get a bigger operating budget. He wants to move up the food chain and get paid much more serious money, best way to get there is having a big NIL budget so that's his focus.

A good player hits the portal because he thinks he can make more, well if you can help him achieve that, you can upgrade the roster.