Jesse Zarzuela just posted on his Twitter account that he is leaving UTEP to explore other opportunities that will fit what’s best for him.
Jesse Zarzuela
- Thread starter mikesarabia
- Start date
I want Gilyard back. This was an awful trade.
Wenzel, Zaruela, McGee, Gilyard...????? This looks like a bigger mass exodus than his predecessor ever had. I think we are at eleven scholarship players for 2019.
Can't blame Floyd for this. All the players saw what Terry did with Gilyard. They saw he had no loyalty to Gilyard, which doesn't inspire loyalty in them.
Not good that we don't have ANY freshman from this class to build on.
I appreciate a quick fix strategy, but our coaches need to look at the long game as well, assuming they plan to be around more than 2 seasons...
I appreciate a quick fix strategy, but our coaches need to look at the long game as well, assuming they plan to be around more than 2 seasons...
There are no scholarship seniors on the team, Terry can get more freshmen during this year's recruiting cycle. Remember that Deon is a freshman this year. .
Exactly! We all want to win, but not at the cost of the whole team in 2-3 years when we may need a new coach.
Terry also picked up Keonte Kennedy, who will only be a sophomore next after sitting out this year. I think that a plus with bringing in a bunch of transfers is that it could provide roster stability/limit defections if Terry were to leave in a couple of years. Those transfer players would lose a year of eligibility if they decided to transfer again, unless they have graduated. This would likely deter them from leaving. Terry now has two spots available for next year, and it will be interesting to see if he decides to bring in a couple of high school recruits. I have no issue with him bringing in the best player available even if that means continuing to use the transfer route.
The reason Zarzuela left the program was because he was not going to get any playing time. A friend of mine that coaches high school in El Paso was invited to watch practice and Zarzuela was working with the 3s and in his opinion would not have been able to contribute with the depth of this years team and would have been asked to red shirt. He mentioned to me how strong this team was. I asked him about Williams and he said that he was an absolute beast. He also was super impressed with Deon Stroud and he said that he was just an incredible athlete. My friend has lived in El Paso for the past 10 years and he said this is the best team he has seen at UTEP in that time.
Really don't care if RT has 13 grad-students, 13 freshman or the intramural squad from Memorial Gym. I want wins and for UTEP to get off the floor. The last eight to ten years has been some of the most pitiful basketball ever played in the DSC. Win now, I will worry about the rest later.
Welp, the transfer market is so lucrative now, especially for a recruiter like CRT, that he can go out and get a player with experience rather than build one through development. Floyd tried to do it the old fashioned way and lost out. We'll see what CRT can do in todays environment but so far he's getting way better recruits that CTF.
From the looks of things Zarzuela was going to spend a lot of time sitting in the seat formerly occupied by Jeff Deal, Merle Heimer and Fernie Hernandez
Yes and I would like to think that he probably knew that coming in. I mean I doubt he was told he was starting from Day 1. Maybe he realized that he is just not going to be on the same level as the guys in front of him and decided to move on.
I'm trying to use events like this to reenforce how strong our new group is,i.e. all of the exodus. Only time will tell.
In the end we traded an upperclassman guard with D1 experience for a JC transfer.
While on face value that is fundamentally true, but in reality not surprising what happened to Gilyard. CRT likes tall guards and there is nothing at all wrong with that and is a good approach to a fast tempo game. UTEP did the small guard thang with Floyd and the results were so-so. We will never fully know because of the revolving door under Floyd and you could point out Fili Rivera, Eddie Rivera, Gym Bice, Prince Stewart, Tim Hardaway or Pony Goodwin but Tim Hardaway and the combo of Eddie and Prince took UTEP beyond the first round of the NCAA. I have expectations for CRT not to be settled with just an invite, I don't see it in him but I could be wrong.
As much as I like Gilyard, he is a 5'10" shooting guard. That spot is loaded with guys with the likes of Boum, Stroud, and Hawkins. Based on the guys Terry has recruited at that position, it is tough to see a guy like Gilyard fitting in (length), especially at the defensive end. That said, I thought Gilyard was tough as nails, and will hate seeing him play up the road.
