Yes please tell me which conference is better than the big 12?
They are also looking at adding Gonzaga
NMSU vs UTEP
- Thread starter utep2step
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They are also looking at adding Gonzaga
Really? I'm not one that thinks various rating systems, and or net rankings are the end all be all, however they are decent indicators. Probably the best indicators we have at this point. Definitely more accurate than the eye test.
The Big 12 has four teams in the top 15, and 5 teams in the top 16, and occupy the top 2 spots for net rankings. Again, I know it's not a perfect science, and there will be movement over the next couple months, but its what we got.
What conference is the best, in your opinion?
I think the issues you mentioned are all valid. There are multiple issues, of course, but I would like to focus on some specifics of Golding's recruiting;
First off, at ACU, Golding was able to keep and develop more guys and build better roster depth to sustain his pressure defense. His philosophy offensively relies on forcing turnovers on the defensive end consistently in order to score. At UTEP, he has not been able to recruit enough quality depth to implement his philosophy.
Second, aside from not being able recruit true depth guys, Golding's roster is flawed in two main critical areas: PG and an interior scoring big man. Powell was never going to be the answer at the point, and we see the results. Same for Kalu on the inside offensively.
Third, another roster flaw is obviously the lack of shooters. Camper and Hebb were brought in specifically to help in this area, and have been terrible. Bottom line, Golding just hasn't been able to recruit well enough at UTEP, and that was the main question many of had when he was hired. He's fighting an uphill battle at this point heading into next year.
When he was hired, I wasn't convinced that the style of play would translate well at a higher level. Shaka ran the press successfully at VCU and not so successfully at Texas. Nolan had the 40 minutes of hell at Arkansas. But you don't really see the press work a lot. You might be able to get away with it in the Southland, but maybe not elsewhere.
I follow baylor basketball and the reason Shaka wasn’t successful at Texas in my opinion is because he got away from what he did at Vcu he never had that style of pressure with Texas at least not when I watched him play
Good coaches pummel good press defense.
Haskins press was basic but successful…..if run efficiently, consistently and correctly!
I agree with all that you said, but I have to question why he hasn't he been able to recruit the type of athletes here that he was at ACU. Did he have better recruiters on his staff? Is he the type that liked to find diamond in the rough high schoolers and develop them, something he can't really do in the days of the NIL and transfer portal. I used to think that this was a strong possibility, but he hasnt done much to develop Terrell and Jone so far. Did he get just get lucky with a class or two? Or is it something I haven't thought of? Here he hasn't been able to recruit a decent PG, shooters, big men - hell, any position.
The other two questions that I have:
1. I get that this defense is similar to what he ran at ACU, is it the same? Did he really have big men on the perimeter playing passing lanes instead of defending the paint there, too? We do force a ton of turnovers, but we also give up a lot of layups. It doesn't seem to me that this defense would be sustainable anywhere.
2. Any offense looks better when you have guys that can actually hit shots, but still, this offense just looks like a mess most of the time. Is this what he ran at ACU?
My understanding is he lost his longtime bench coach; who replaced him at ACU.
My fellow Miner fans. To me it seems our team has quit. There is no fire, energy or passion.
Looking forward to your opinions.
Looking forward to your opinions.
Fool’s Golding has definitely lost this team. Expect another mass exodus at the end of the season, even if Senter does the right thing.
1. I think "Fool's Golding" has the "Bronzing" name from Nowins beat. It sounds better and there's no way this team is good enough for bronze.
2. There will be a mass exodus no matter what as this the norm now.
He is our bronze medal, as we could have hired Tang or Kimani Young.
Good post as usual from LT.
I would add that ACU played in the Southland when Golding was there. He can recruit that level of talent but he cannot recruit good enough talent to compete in the CUSA or the WAC.
Right. That was the question when Golding was hired. He had never recruited at a higher level school, and did not bring in legacy connections like Terry and Floyd, for example. That was a different time, but those connections are important. You then look at a guy like Hooten, who was able to piecemeal a roster with comparable talent, in a very short time, and it is even a worse look for Golding. I think Golding's loyalty/misevaluation to some of his players has also hurt. There are obviously some spots on the roster that should have been upgraded.
In response to some of Maniac's questions, I think Golding runs alot of the same schemes he did at ACU, like the big men high hedging, etc. To me, those successful ACU teams relied on having more depth, and not individual star power. I recommend checking out the Texas game on YouTube. Obviously, that is a small sample size, but it looks eerily similar to Golding's UTEP teams offensively. One difference is that Golding did have an all-conference big in Kolton Kohl, who was able to provide some interior options offensively. I guess Golding is hoping to use big man Moreno next year in a similar role. FWIW, I am not impressed with Moreno.
I don’t have a problem at all with CG’s defense. They are in their opponents face, they are rotating and fighting thru screens. Yes it has gaps. Teams scored against Haskins defenses easily too back in the days.
Kalu is out of it sometimes. Something’s up because this should be his breakout year but then at times is unbelievable strength does come thru.
Opponents are now locking down on Zidd with a shadow ready to double him. Reminds me of Rice defense against Vince Hunter who even drew triple teams at times. ZP is finding the open player but the open player needs to finish at the rim.
Stop, jump, pop.
UTEP lacks this fundamental. For some reason anything 15 feet on in is tough. Hardy is streaky in this manner but gets ice cold, too.
Kalu is out of it sometimes. Something’s up because this should be his breakout year but then at times is unbelievable strength does come thru.
Opponents are now locking down on Zidd with a shadow ready to double him. Reminds me of Rice defense against Vince Hunter who even drew triple teams at times. ZP is finding the open player but the open player needs to finish at the rim.
Stop, jump, pop.
UTEP lacks this fundamental. For some reason anything 15 feet on in is tough. Hardy is streaky in this manner but gets ice cold, too.
2step, are we watching the same games? Dudes are giving him so much space just daring him to shoot anything outside of 3-4 feet.
Perhaps they’re not letting him post up, so easily, but outside of that, nobody sees him as a legit threat.
Yep, Zid is a very right hand dominated driver, with an inconsistent jumper. Once the struggles happen on offense, it carries over to his defense. Playing him at the point is a mistake. Terrell is probably the best option out of the rest of the guys. The best thing about Terrell is his consistent effort/impact on defense, which is not the case with some of the other guys.
I've heard this said before, but it is my belief that his last three ACU would beat his last two UTEP teams, and soundly. Hell, this year's ACU team, which isn't near as good as his last three teams, beat us. If he was recruiting the same level of talent here that he was there we would be better than this. The man has become worse at recruiting since he got here. The question is why?
That would be my guess as well. However, the staff has brought in some good recruits on OVs, that Golding was not able to seal the deal on for whatever reason. In contrast, Terry was solid closing once they were brought on campus...not counting Likekele 😉
Why do you think the recruiting of Walden will be significantly better than Golding? He can recruit guys to win a league ranked #21 out #25. Southland is normally ranked around 27 out of 33. Both very weak conferences.
Just based on the ratings, really. He brought in a bunch of 3 star players that other FBS schools were after. Like Martavious Collins. Kam Thomas, Jevon Jackson, Ashten Emory, etc.
Huge improvement over Dimel. He got some of the best returners from the FCS level. There is no reason they shouldn't do well at UTEP too. I like what i see from Michael Ray and Trace Meadows too. Kam Herring was a good get. The best thing is he was winning recruiting battles for players from Texas and the southeast. The most talent rich parts of the country.
We will see how good he is as a coach, but I like the recruiting this far.
I appreciate Walden is actually going for sought after players. It was exhausting to see a Dimel recruit only receiving FCS and lower level FBS offers but Walden doesn’t mind fighting for higher level recruits even if it may or may not. Dimel probably never even tries to go for Collins as an example.
We had a bunch of all conference players and a couple of guys transferring up to P5. I don’t think Dimel’s problem was recruiting.
Well, Walden has picked up atleast one potentially good QB prospect (Shay Smith). Something dimel couldn't do. Jury is out on the other two QBs though (Locklear and Pickles).
UNLV commit Gael Ochoa was committed to UTEP when Dimel was the coach and was re-offered by Walden
Yep and changed his mind due to other commits UTEP got I'm assuming. Funnily enough, UNLV just got another QB committed yesterday.
And Austin Peay just dominated the uac this past season, which rates 18th. Not great but one of the better fcs conferences.
Interesting. Any info I found has UAC as one of the worst conferences in not only FCs but all of college football.
