kidd082000 wrote:

You guys are all crazy. Eli Wilborn was recruited by the worst conference in Division I, transferred to us and averaged 5ppg and 3.5rpg in 12 mins. You all are acting like we are losing Cooper Flagg.

John Hugley was a 4 star recruit, who was Honorable Mention All-ACC a couple of years ago. Yes, he has not been the same player since he got hurt, but he still averaged 8.4 ppg and 3.8 rpg in 24 games last year at OKLAHOMA and played 34 games at XAVIER this year, where he just wasn't a fit. This is one of the biggest signings we have ever had! Do you guys know what Eli Wilborn would average in the Big East or the Big XII?? O.O and 0.0 because he would never even see the floor. If Hugley stays healthy he could be the A-10 Player of the Year. We NEVER get players from power 5 teams, this is beyond exciting and a game changer from Coach Dru.

I think a lot of you often think too small or have some sort of power conference bias. I would trade EVERY single player on our roster for the 10th-12th men from power conference teams. That's how VCU wins. That's how Dayton wins. These are the types of guys we need to be getting! Everyone should change their mindset and realize that transfers from St. Francis and Chicago St. and Canisius, regardless of how good their stats look, are NOT good signings in the A-10.

I came here to say much of the same as this, although I do think Cam Crawford is a nice wing player. That being said, this team was not good enough last year. Keeping these guys and just hoping they develop significantly is unrealistic. Rozier played a lot and he transferred way down. Dinkins was the leading scorer and moved to a team in our conference I would hope we see as inferior to our program. None of these guys are real difference makers in my opinion.

Wilborn was undersized, couldn’t shoot at all, and got in foul trouble quickly in many cases. He had some raw athleticism and you would see a dunk or block here or there (Tysean Powell any

What a disaster. Listening on radio and watching game cast. Choke the game away and Dinkins throws up all over himself at the end. Glad I didn’t pay the 15 bucks to watch. Sucks the season is all but over at this point.

College Insider does a mid major top 25, the account has almost 50k followers on Twitter for what that’s worth. Here is a link:

https://collegeinsider.com/mens-mid-major-top-25

According to them, our non conference schedule looks like this from a mid majors ranking perspective:

-Lipscomb #24
-Princeton #3
-DePaul (Power 5)
-Milwaukee #18
-South Dakota St (#50 based on other receiving votes)
-UC Irvine #12

One interesting note is they don’t have the A10 included in these rankings.

I still give Joyce and the staff a lot of credit here. It was ambitious, and we made a legit 4 star recruit’s top 3 choices. That in itself is an accomplishment, as I can’t remember the last time we were there that late with that high level of a player.

We are in another 4 stars top 4. Being in the conversation with this level of recruit often is how you eventually end up landing one. The investment in facilities and on court success coupled with Dru’s report and stature in the game is making this an attractive proposition for higher level players, that is the definition of progression in my eyes.

Joyce did a great job in the portal after the tourney run, and he is hitting the ground running on the recruiting trail which is highly encouraging. A good start to this season will undoubtedly help with getting more high level guys interested and on visits. I think there is more to come on this front!

Pgh sports now guys, if you are reading these posts, the recruiting board is great. Two columns I would add to your spreadsheet/pivot table-highest star rating, and what service is providing that rating. Seeing that list sorted by star ranking would be a nice way to digest the data.

No need for sour grapes in my opinion. Maybe I’m biased because we were in the same freshman class (TJ was a nice kid), but I have no hard feeling towards him.

He gave us two excellent seasons that were fun to watch and then did what was best for him. I truly believe he would not be where he is today in terms of being a 9 year NBA vet with about $45mm in career earnings through this year if he stayed and didn’t go to Arizona. That is where he was able to prove he could play and run a team at the power 5 level, which undoubtedly got him a shot at the NBA combine and summer league.

I enjoyed watching him play the two years of power 5 ball with NBA guys around him and the runs they made in the tourney, as well as his NBA career to this point which has been ridiculously successful for an undrafted and undersized point guard for that league. He was even an alternate invite to the combine.

The story of his career has been a guy who was never thought to be good enough for the “next level” and time and again he has proved he can work hard enough and be heady enough to keep proving people wrong. This playoff run has been another elevation of his game from NBA rotation guy to 6th man big time contributor in an NBA playoff run. I love the way he plays the game, seemingly making the correct decision almost every time.

He is still a Pittsburgh guy, and he is still a former Duquesne player. Do we not like any of the guys who were good and transferred before graduating? If so I guess we don’t like almost any of our former players??

If anything TJ was slightly ahead of his time. While not the first or only player to “transfer up” back then, it was a more rare occurrence. Fast forward to today and that is literally the year to year landscape of college basketball (that we are also benefitting from as a program). By the same logic, every guy we brought in this off season was a “transfer up” situation. Does that mean we can’t consider them players for thei

Just saw these recent transfers:

Quincy McGriff-Alabama A&M
Jackie Johnson III-Fordham
Toby Okani-West Virginia!!!

Accidentally just posted the same in the every thing else thread, surely this has to mean he is coming!

Also, if this happens I think we see another few big boys come in in short order as well.

More smoke for the-fire?

https://x.com/zachgelb/status/1775624768638861806?s=46&t=zESGqqM3fFqt8AkqllKT-A

With you on everything you stated Phil. Objective facts aren’t negative. Hell, a few months ago I was wondering if we should fire KD. Some people thought we should before the A10 tourney started. Spot on with RE too. People are confusing a couple bright spots for a “highly successful” tenure. The NCAA run and dates back to when we last made it and then last won a game prove that no one has been successful here in a very long time.

Until the A10 tourney, and I don’t know if this would have been my opinion, but I think you could make a legitimate argument that Dambrot had failed here. I think it’s ok to admit that, things can change quickly in sports.

One thing for me is sure, the consistent level of talent that has been brought in under Dambrot was light years ahead of what we say from Ferry and especially RE. I am hopeful that can take an additional step under Joyce.

This program now has an identity. It’s exciting to think about what’s next.

Got my ticket through the athletic department allotment and got that package that includes the Friday watch party with food and drinks. Can’t really tell if that watch party is DU only or other fans. Didn’t see any emails about events. Anything going on this weekend in Omaha!

Not to try to tell anyone “how it is”, but I don’t think older posters may realize the impact Joyce can have on this program. All of the recruiting draws and interest the Lebron relationship has garnered for Keith (exclusive Nike deal, new arena, credibility etc) will be doubled or tripled with Joyce. This is Lebrons childhood best friend. He is young, was a great player, and ran teams in the ncaa tourney and professionally in Europe. I don’t know if he can coach yet, but I expect the recruiting to take another significant jump under him and with this years success.

Kd loves him and seems to want to give him the platform. I think if Joyce becomes coach, we will see Lebron at a game. His ceiling to me is enormous and he has been here, knows the system and current players. If anyone will get the young guys to stay it’s him. Joyce is the obvious choice for me and I think he gets the job. Leaving Vegas up a lot of money and booking Omaha! Go Dukes!