Chris Barnes
- Thread starter kickballpro
- Start date
6-3 180 lbs 12 ppg 5.6 rpg in only 16 games. Portland State was his other offer. Portland State??? Obviously, we welcome him but not sure this is the impact player we desperately need and he definitely does not fill the power forward spot. My assumption is that Clyburn is not coming.
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He will probably sign with Oregon State.
Last time UTEP went head to head against OSU for a top recruit, that recruit actually chose UTEP over the Beavers, but Haskins blew the scholi on a recruit who didn't even last a year at UTEP. That OSU player went on to help Oregon State reach the NCAA's and became a NBA legend as well. His name was Gary Payton (Seattle Super Sonics). Yup, can you imagine that UTEP was this incy-wincy close to having a Hardaway/Payton backcourt!
Last time UTEP went head to head against OSU for a top recruit, that recruit actually chose UTEP over the Beavers, but Haskins blew the scholi on a recruit who didn't even last a year at UTEP. That OSU player went on to help Oregon State reach the NCAA's and became a NBA legend as well. His name was Gary Payton (Seattle Super Sonics). Yup, can you imagine that UTEP was this incy-wincy close to having a Hardaway/Payton backcourt!
Portland State not Oregon State unless they offered him today?
I can only imagine having both guards that would have been amazing!
I can only imagine having both guards that would have been amazing!
I was hoping that we landed Clyburn too. He tweeted that he will announce his decision tomorrow.
2step may have him confused with Carlos Johnson, who does have an Oregon State offer.
The thing is we don't need a project we need an immediate impact guard and power forward and Floyd either stubbornly believes he can make due with what's coming back or he simply could not pull the impact transfers or recruits he needed to! No one coming in will be a starter or impact player from the looks of it and if we lose Harris that means we lose 3 of our 4 top guards! Mc Swiggan is capable of replacing Mooris, but then who replaces Moore and Harris? In the front court Floyd is apparently gonna ride Paul Thomas, Buddah and hope that Kelvin and Mat Willms add a boost at the 5! All in all it was a disappointing season, with hope towards the end for next season,but now its a ship wreck and the crew is scattering to piece it together with green horns who aren't ready to lead a D-1 team. Unless something amazing happens in the off season this is a 15 win team, but hey at least we have Football lol Who thought we'd say that as Miner Fans!
Yes thank you.
I also think Floyd is noticing the writing on the wall and wants to leave the next coach with something to work with and not pull a Doc Sadler when he left UTEP.
This recruiting class makes little sense, other than the expectation that we're losing more players.
I'd like to see us lose some coaches this time around. This continuous pattern is getting old. In fact, it was already getting old a few years ago...
I'd like to see us lose some coaches this time around. This continuous pattern is getting old. In fact, it was already getting old a few years ago...
My strong suspicion is the latter: the staff struck out on their high priority recruits, and are having to settle with whom they can actually bring in.
Does anyone remember the chatter on these boards during the last offseason? I've seen multiple people on here since the season ended stating that it was obvious that this past season was going to be a rebuilding year, but the truth is that most on here were extremely optimistic coming into the season. The feeling was that our "Top 12 recruiting class" would help us compete for a CUSA title and an NCAA Tournament bid. Some of us did warn about trusting in players whom had never played a second of Div 1 basketball. While Moore and Winn did come through, the rest of the newcomers didn't. Even the one new player with plenty of Div 1 experience, Artis, had his ups and downs this season.
I say this because I want to point out that it's far from a sure thing that McSwiggan will be able to step in and take over for Morris. Not that it can't happen, but it is not always wise to place such stock on a kid that we haven't seen on the court yet. If we lose Omega as well, then we will be relying on a whole bunch of newcomers to play alongside Artis in the backcourt, and that was supposed to be our strength next season. I don't think that it's necessary to say how scary it is that we have to hope for big things from Willms, K. Jones, Buddha Jones, and Thomas in order to even have a chance at a decent season next year.
You're right, barring some miracles next season looks pretty grim for Miner hoops. Let's hope that the football team produces; if they don't next year is going to be a long one.
Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
I'm now a Missourian -- show me.
Those of you that are basketball experts can tell me if I'm wrong but it looks to me that this coming basketball season, in order to be successful, has to include a healthy Wilms along with Winn, Artis and hopefully Harris. Also we need McSwiggan to be as good or better than advertised. Add to that Touchet, the 2 Jones, and an improved Thomas. If all that comes together then maybe we can have a good season.
You sound like Bernie Sanders trying to find a path to victory.
A couple of thoughts.
I thought that one of the giant red flags from last year was that neither Jones or Thomas earned any PT. The fact that they were both highly touted yet couldn't steal any of Hooper's minutes by the end of the year is worrisome.
On McSwiggan, he's going to have to prove it to me. The coaches said he's been great in practice, which is a good sign. But remember he's playing against our defense, which has a habit of making mediocre players look like first round picks.
Is what you said possible? Yes, but likely is another story.
A lot now hinges on Omega Staying, Willms being healthy, freshman developing, McSiggan being as good as advertised, Aliens taking over the body of our players like Space Jam..... etc....
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Positive Spin- Maybe a team with many highly regarded players doesn't respond to Floyd's coaching and he is changing his philosophy. He had too many players playing for themselves and not the team and were not here for the long term. He is reloading with players who place team above their own performance and who need to be coached up. He is shifting from a talent based mentality to more coaching and sustainability model.
Negative Spin- Our current conference situation, program visibility and management are taking a toll on Floyd and he is losing his edge as UTEP has become a much harder sell to top recruits. He is being forced to take lower tier recruits each time we are unable to land the big fish. His recruiting pipelines have aged and he is unable to entice players to UTEP. He is patching a team together year to year.
Negative Spin- Our current conference situation, program visibility and management are taking a toll on Floyd and he is losing his edge as UTEP has become a much harder sell to top recruits. He is being forced to take lower tier recruits each time we are unable to land the big fish. His recruiting pipelines have aged and he is unable to entice players to UTEP. He is patching a team together year to year.
Here is what I think it will take for us to be good next year:
1. Omega has to return. If he doesn't we have exactly one backcourt player, Artis, who has any appreciable experience at this level.
2. We need Artis to play much better next year. Last season he played well in his first four games, then went through a long stretch where he was mediocre at best. He was then fantastic during our six game winning streak. We need him to play like he did in that win streak all season long.
3. McSwiggan has to be the stud that some people think he is.
4. We need at least one of our young guards, preferably two, to really step up to provide depth in the backcourt.
5. Winn needs to continue to improve. I take this as the one given on this list.
6. Willms needs to provide us much more than he has in the past.
7. We need at least two of K. Jones, Buddha, and Thomas to really step up. Given the K. Jones is a frosh and we really didn't see much at all from the other two last season, this is asking a lot.
If all of the above happens then we should be really good next year. However, while that's not impossible, it certainly isn't likely. If Omega doesn't return, McSwiggan and K. Jones play like freshmen, and Buddha and Thomas don't make miraculous strides in the offseason, we will really struggle. Badly.
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I think its a bad sign that we have playing time available for guys to walk right in and make an impact and no one is coming. I'm specifically talking about JUCO's and transfers. We offered a number of them and have signed none.
Agree on all points Maniac. Barring an unforeseen late signing, we already have a good idea of the makeup of next years team. One thing that is also very clear is that we need to somehow get better defensively. McSwiggan, by all accounts, will help make up for some of the losses on the offensive side of the ball; but can he defend and rebound? As it stands right now, I would project the following starting lineup:
Artis
Omega*
McSwiggan
Winn
B. Jones
As you mentioned, without Omega, we are in huge trouble right off of the bat. The hope is that Bhudda is able to make that leap from his freshman to sophomore season. We need one of the big guys to step up to allow Winn to slide over to his more natural position as the undersized four. It would be really nice for Winn to also develop some type of mid-range game. All in all, a ton of question marks.
I still believe that in the final analysis Touchet is going to be a big time player. Gatorade player of the year, 2 consecutive years, of Louisiana! That is chosen from all classifications including 5A, Touchet played in 4A. He is a very smart player, has guts, can take it to the hole, good outside shooter, lest we mention free throw shooter, and posses a 40" vertical leap and is an excellent student!!! Plus his Grandmother bought a house here so that she could watch her Grandson play!!! Take that sorry ass Hamilton!!!
Plus remember the age old adage that it Usually takes 1 yr for a JUCO to adjust! That being said, what about freshmen and people new to the system! We are NOT getting 5 star recruits, OK!!! Even some of them do not pan out the 1st. year!!!
http://www.theprospectordaily.com/2014/06/18/getting-to-know-trey-touchet/
Plus remember the age old adage that it Usually takes 1 yr for a JUCO to adjust! That being said, what about freshmen and people new to the system! We are NOT getting 5 star recruits, OK!!! Even some of them do not pan out the 1st. year!!! http://www.theprospectordaily.com/2014/06/18/getting-to-know-trey-touchet/
Knowing our luck Floyd will go after the LJ, Barkley aliens and we're stuck settling for the Sean Bradley alien.
