Why I hope they stay

[MineroFanatico]

Gilyard - He’s become that fearless floor leader that this team has needed. As a freshman he put this team on his back last night. He is just now stepping into the role he could fill for the next 3 years.

Magee - We need a guy who can step in and facilitate. Gilyard can’t play all 40, and Magee is a heady player that can distribute well. Plus he hits the 3 at a 43% clip, which I will take all day long.

Smith - The kid has a great attitude and work ethic. Good size in the paint. Goes hard to get boards, whether off the glass or on the floor. He already looks much more fit than when he got here.

Wade - He just has all the tools in the world if he can bring his whole self to the court. He has that multiple year all-conference type potential, imo. We’ve had glimpses of his offense and ability to rebound. Also has great length to be a nightmare for whoever he is guarding at the 2 or 3.

Osborne - Because he’s not a freshman, like the other newcomers, it’s easy to forget he is only a sophomore playing his first year of cbb in the states. Love his athleticism. Can get really hot at times. Seems to also go cold on occasion, but still fairly consistent and will only get better. Would like to see a little more emotion outta him, tho.

Thomas - Perhaps he hasn’t lived up to the hype that his sophomore year generated, but he is a solid CUSA player. As a senior, he’ll bring that leadership that a young team needs. I have a feeling that PT will take another big leap and surprise us again next year. Seems to me like his confidence was shaken hard, also. As a senior, he’ll be playing against a lot of kids basically.

Touchet - A team needs a Touchet type of player. High character, hard working, loyal kind of kid. He’s your typical glue guy. The kid has it in him. Maybe he’ll feel that nothing-to-lose feeling and start letting it fly. Would be great if he can finally fill his role as that “role” player left all alone in the corner in crunch time and hits a couple game winners. One can dream, right?

 

[miner1liner]

Gilyard - He’s become that fearless floor leader that this team has needed. As a freshman he put this team on his back last night. He is just now stepping into the role he could fill for the next 3 years.

Magee - We need a guy who can step in and facilitate. Gilyard can’t play all 40, and Magee is a heady player that can distribute well. Plus he hits the 3 at a 43% clip, which I will take all day long.

Smith - The kid has a great attitude and work ethic. Good size in the paint. Goes hard to get boards, whether off the glass or on the floor. He already looks much more fit than when he got here.

Wade - He just has all the tools in the world if he can bring his whole self to the court. He has that multiple year all-conference type potential, imo. We’ve had glimpses of his offense and ability to rebound. Also has great length to be a nightmare for whoever he is guarding at the 2 or 3.

Osborne - Because he’s not a freshman, like the other newcomers, it’s easy to forget he is only a sophomore playing his first year of cbb in the states. Love his athleticism. Can get really hot at times. Seems to also go cold on occasion, but still fairly consistent and will only get better. Would like to see a little more emotion outta him, tho.

Thomas - Perhaps he hasn’t lived up to the hype that his sophomore year generated, but he is a solid CUSA player. As a senior, he’ll bring that leadership that a young team needs. I have a feeling that PT will take another big leap and surprise us again next year. Seems to me like his confidence was shaken hard, also. As a senior, he’ll be playing against a lot of kids basically.

Touchet - A team needs a Touchet type of player. High character, hard working, loyal kind of kid. He’s your typical glue guy. The kid has it in him. Maybe he’ll feel that nothing-to-lose feeling and start letting it fly. Would be great if he can finally fill his role as that “role” player left all alone in the corner in crunch time and hits a couple game winners. One can dream, right?

Well stated amigo. Right on.

 

[axingfools1]

Gilyard - He’s become that fearless floor leader that this team has needed. As a freshman he put this team on his back last night. He is just now stepping into the role he could fill for the next 3 years.

Magee - We need a guy who can step in and facilitate. Gilyard can’t play all 40, and Magee is a heady player that can distribute well. Plus he hits the 3 at a 43% clip, which I will take all day long.

Smith - The kid has a great attitude and work ethic. Good size in the paint. Goes hard to get boards, whether off the glass or on the floor. He already looks much more fit than when he got here.

Wade - He just has all the tools in the world if he can bring his whole self to the court. He has that multiple year all-conference type potential, imo. We’ve had glimpses of his offense and ability to rebound. Also has great length to be a nightmare for whoever he is guarding at the 2 or 3.

Osborne - Because he’s not a freshman, like the other newcomers, it’s easy to forget he is only a sophomore playing his first year of cbb in the states. Love his athleticism. Can get really hot at times. Seems to also go cold on occasion, but still fairly consistent and will only get better. Would like to see a little more emotion outta him, tho.

Thomas - Perhaps he hasn’t lived up to the hype that his sophomore year generated, but he is a solid CUSA player. As a senior, he’ll bring that leadership that a young team needs. I have a feeling that PT will take another big leap and surprise us again next year. Seems to me like his confidence was shaken hard, also. As a senior, he’ll be playing against a lot of kids basically.

Touchet - A team needs a Touchet type of player. High character, hard working, loyal kind of kid. He’s your typical glue guy. The kid has it in him. Maybe he’ll feel that nothing-to-lose feeling and start letting it fly. Would be great if he can finally fill his role as that “role” player left all alone in the corner in crunch time and hits a couple game winners. One can dream, right?

Well said Fanaticoog. I agree 100% on your assesments. I hope they all stay as long as they want to be here. This group is the closest we've had to Barbee's 1st class. I still wish we had Jones in there too but Royster may be a nice suprise if he wants to stay. 2 years from now they can be a dominant core.

 

[Miner Dawgma]

I feel very similar to what you've stated Coog! Much of the excitement we've seen this year were from the young'uns. It's probably fantasy to believe we could keep the whole team together. And some of those runs of non-scoring might be corrected by a different coach or different style of play.

I really like Phil Johnson and Bobby Braswell, and both came into a pretty impossible situation, but sometimes just a tweak in leadership might help the team turn direction...change of scenery and all that...

 

[minermx07]

Very true. A lot of the players from Gillispie's 6-24 team became a part of the back to back tournament teams.

Hopefully, the new staff could bring kids like Fili and OT, who could make a difference right away.

 

[MineroFanatico]

Well said Fanaticoog. I agree 100% on your assesments. I hope they all stay as long as they want to be here. This group is the closest we've had to Barbee's 1st class. I still wish we had Jones in there too but Royster may be a nice suprise if he wants to stay. 2 years from now they can be a dominant core.

Exactly! That’s the way I’m looking at it. And with a coach adept at recruiting, he can fill the gaps accordingly.

 

[Lil_Train]

I agree with your assessment as well FanatiCoog. There is not one player listed that I feel would not offer some level of contribution down the road. At this point, I could see Gilyard and Osborne as potential all conference type guys down the line. Wade also has some potential, but my gut feeling is that he will be moving on. For the immediate future of the program, it is best if all these guys return. This year has been tough, but many of these young guys have gained a ton of D1 experience. Taking advantage of that experience is critical, and that is why bringing the new coach in as soon as possible to re-recruit some of these guys is so important.

In regard to Taj Royster, I haven't heard anything on him. I wasn't super impressed with his video, but as we know, that doesn't always translate to reality.

 

[utep2step]

Gilyard - He’s become that fearless floor leader that this team has needed. As a freshman he put this team on his back last night. He is just now stepping into the role he could fill for the next 3 years.

Magee - We need a guy who can step in and facilitate. Gilyard can’t play all 40, and Magee is a heady player that can distribute well. Plus he hits the 3 at a 43% clip, which I will take all day long.

Smith - The kid has a great attitude and work ethic. Good size in the paint. Goes hard to get boards, whether off the glass or on the floor. He already looks much more fit than when he got here.

Wade - He just has all the tools in the world if he can bring his whole self to the court. He has that multiple year all-conference type potential, imo. We’ve had glimpses of his offense and ability to rebound. Also has great length to be a nightmare for whoever he is guarding at the 2 or 3.

Osborne - Because he’s not a freshman, like the other newcomers, it’s easy to forget he is only a sophomore playing his first year of cbb in the states. Love his athleticism. Can get really hot at times. Seems to also go cold on occasion, but still fairly consistent and will only get better. Would like to see a little more emotion outta him, tho.

Thomas - Perhaps he hasn’t lived up to the hype that his sophomore year generated, but he is a solid CUSA player. As a senior, he’ll bring that leadership that a young team needs. I have a feeling that PT will take another big leap and surprise us again next year. Seems to me like his confidence was shaken hard, also. As a senior, he’ll be playing against a lot of kids basically.

Touchet - A team needs a Touchet type of player. High character, hard working, loyal kind of kid. He’s your typical glue guy. The kid has it in him. Maybe he’ll feel that nothing-to-lose feeling and start letting it fly. Would be great if he can finally fill his role as that “role” player left all alone in the corner in crunch time and hits a couple game winners. One can dream, right?

Gilyard can be the next Giddy Potts of CUSA (based on no realignment which I don't expect) and perhaps the next Tim Hardaway. Potts was no Hardaway, but Potts was can run the point with linebacker mentality and leadership and that's what Gilyard has. Hardaway was an assassin. He studied his opponent's weaknesses and pounced when exposed with precision. That's is not easily coached and Gilyard is not there yet, but after the MTSU debacle, it appears he took that game to heart and learned from it and that's a good, good sign. I think he'll stay. However, I hope he stays healthy.

Wade. He'a a beast that needs unleashed. Major athleticism and gifts with the wrong staff. CTF/Johnson offense stifled this young man. If UTEP hires another type of coach along the lines of CTF, I really don't see Wade staying. He is major conference player caliber and you could see himself holding himself back on the floor so he didn't ride the bench. Barbee had Caracter to help win the 2010 conference title and Barbee kept on top of him, but, Barbee did not stifle his play because he was just too dominant down low. I see the same thing in Wade, but Wade was better because his play went beyond 10' to 15' feet.

Thomas is Thomas. Sometimes he plays like a potential NBA draft pick like he did last year or played this year without control and hurts the team with his silly fouls....every game. Every. Damn. Game. Unless our new coach lands some 6'10" to 7 footer who is at least mid major ready, Thomas is UTEP's main man down low next year and him sitting the bench for most of the game with three fouls is extremely detrimental. Stop reaching and set a pic right without the lean in. He does it every damn game.

Magee has moxy. Down side, he disappears. Played a lot this year and was nice back up for Gilyard and Omega, but he is no Omega nor a Gilyard. I don't see Magee staying. Coaches are like the new manager at the local branch or store where "the numbers are way down": They bring in and hire their own people. With basketball coaches, two critical positions are the center and point guard. The new coach would be stupid not to keep Gilyard as UTEP starting pg next year, his value is way too high. Please, I am not saying Magee doesn't deserve to be in ta UTEP uni. I'm just saying that's what coaches do. During this post-Haskins era, Rab did it. Billy did it. Barbee did it and Floyd did it. I can see Magee moving elsewhere.

Touchet is an enigma. The coaches dream of talent, smarts and courage. He does give valuable breather time for the starters and can nail the 3 from the nose bleed section when he's hot but he just didn't have the year I anticipated. I don't know what to think? I would like to think Haskins is watching from St. Peter's Bait and Tackle eating tacos with some beer saying "Keep him!".

Osborne. UTEP's best assassin next to Gilyard. UTEP would not have beat UNT if not for his "Cool hand Luke" shooting. Osborne doesn't need UTEP. UTEP needs Osborne. Only way for UTEP to win four straight this week is if Osborne is on his "A" game. It's as simple as that.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Yeah. I don’t see any reason why any player should leave. They all have their roles and it’s up to the new coach to bring it out of them.

 

[MinerManiac]

Tim Floyd endorses the following story from ESPN.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...owing-players-transfer-more-freely-teach-quit

In my opinion, if scholarships aren't guaranteed for four years, but are instead year-to-year, like they are now, then it shouldn't be difficult for players to transfer. Floyd's complaints of the "transfer epidemic", while at the same time over recruiting ever year and constantly releasing players as he saw fit, were hypocritical. In my perfect world scholarships would be guaranteed for four years, and players would be required to sit out a year for transferring unless they were released by their current school. But if you're going to make it easy for a coach to kick a player off of a team on a whim, then the players should be free to transfer without penalty.

 

[axingfools1]

In my opinion, if scholarships aren't guaranteed for four years, but are instead year-to-year, like they are now, then it shouldn't be difficult for players to transfer. Floyd's complaints of the "transfer epidemic", while at the same time over recruiting ever year and constantly releasing players as he saw fit, were hypocritical. In my perfect world scholarships be guaranteed for four years, and players would be required to sit out a year for transferring unless they were released by their current school. But if you're going to make it easy for a coach to kick a player off of a team on a whim, then the players should be free to transfer without penalty.

Sad but this makes sense. What do you think about 2 year scholarships? I can't imagine no penalties for transferring, but what Floyd did was crap. He stated that he wanted to build a team, but he acted like he was at USC and had to win now. He kept trading players like hot cakes. Maybe because he was always looking for another job.

 

[utep2step]

Sad but this makes sense. What do you think about 2 year scholarships? I can't imagine no penalties for transferring, but what Floyd did was crap. He stated that he wanted to build a team, but he acted like he was at USC and had to win now. He kept trading players like hot cakes. Maybe because he was always looking for another job.

He was trying to put quick fix puzzles at some positions every year and it blew up in his face.