A lot of recruiting is your assistants, and your connections. RE had great connections when he got here, but as time went on, those broke down, and the new connections were not as productive. As of now, I'm not as familiar with Ferry's connections, but I like the caliber of recruit he's landed, and has been involved with. Most coaches do fairly well early on, but recruiting can become difficult after a coach has been there for a while, and has not won big. Opposing coaches can then use negative tactics, as the coach now has a track record at the school to attack. Something that we may see as a positive, like playing in the CBI, can be used as a negative by opposing coaches. "Hey kid, Duquesne plays in the CBI. Here at Xavier, we play in the real tournament. Is that what you want to do, play in the CBI, or do you want to play on national tv with the big dogs?" This, along with uncertainty about the coach's future, can make it tough when a coach gets into his 4th or 5th year.

NapaDuke wrote:

Recruiting is a tough game at mid-major.  Even Xavier, Butler, VCU, can't compete with NC, Duke, even Pitt, for those muscular half-court players.  Ron knew this and like VCU, or Memphis(when Calipari was there)  you recruit the player that can, and run and not go toe to toe with the Big Schools, half-court game.  Ferry (like many DU coaches of the past)  looks to play toe to toe half-court with the Big Schools. This just means we will lose 56 to 52 each game (at our best) and he will say (post-game)" we were just so close"??  But the fact remains, he will never out-recruit the Big Schools for this style ofgame. Period.

Memphis? You're actually comparing us to Memphis? Gee, and I thought that Cal outrecruited every team in the country for Derrick Rose. My bad! I must have missed the press release where they announced that Rose had chosen Memphis over Rider, and St. Francis (Pa.).

I don't know how anyone can read Zeise's piece of drivel. "I'm not going to beat a dead horse," he says, but that is exactly what he should be doing: pointing out their deficiencies.

Don't talk to me about pie-in-the-sky scenarios such as bringing in this guy or bringing in that guy. It ain't happening, This program is in the garbage again, another Darelle Porter era. Next year, you'll have three first-year starters and two sophomores mostly in the starting lineup.

The conference will suck next year with so many teams leaving, so even if they go .500 - a miracle from heaven, no less - it still won't mean much. I just can't believe how bad we are, . . again.

FAM wrote:

Also, I do believe that the assistants Ferry has have been with him for a while which is an excellent sign.  

Only Coach Glesmann has been with Coach Ferry for a while.

Last edited by DUMgr (3/12/2013 10:33 am)

Prince, I think Zeise has done a very good job covering the Dukes this season, a heck of a lot better than the Trib coverage don't you agree?  I have to say that I agree with much of what Zeise said in his article, especially this comment:

"Greg Amodio and by extension Jim Ferry knew this was going to be an awful year and knew the team was going to struggle. There is no doubt about that and the expectations were low. But this low? I’m not sure I buy that."

I have a little different view on recruiting from Zeise (not much).  IMHO the next two recruits will be key for next season and beyond.  As I said in my posts on Reflections, Datt & D-Mart do not seem to factor in to Ferry's future for this team.  If they did they would have seen more PT this year to try to develop them.  If that is the case it would be best for this team if either or both would transfer which would open up an additional scholarship(s).  With the open scholarships I think the priority needs to be:

1) For Ferry land either Severe or Notice. It looks like Severe has gone postal with numerous BCS teams after him including Pitt. I think he is a very long shot at this point. More likely is Duane Notice. He is visiting SBU this weekend, and will visit DU next weekend. This is one we have to win.
2) If one transfers we need another PG with a great handle who can run an uptempo offense. We are recruiting a couple JUCO points in this regard.
3) If both D-Mart and Datt transfer I would go for the best JUCO PF/C that I could recruit. This would take some pressure off of Watkins & Robinson as freshman. It would also even out the classes.

Next year we most likely will only have one senior starter Soko, with a various combination of freshman and sophs as the remaining starters.  Still a young team, but if Ferry is any kind of coach we should be a better team.  Again, as I said before, I would expect that we should move up and finish closer to the middle of the pack than the bottom of the pack, with noticable improvement in the team from the beginning of the year to the end of the season. If we finish in the bottom of the League again next year Amoldio should be fired, period, as it will never happen.  

Prince, BTW, I am sorry you did not enjoy your stay here and felt it necessary to lump all of the posters on this board into your disdain.  We will be sure to comp your room next time you decide to visit.
 

Last edited by CLK (3/12/2013 11:57 am)

CLK,
   Slight misunderstanding.  I have no problem with fans that are pi$$ed the way this season went.  I was in the stands every home game, and it was tough.  I really respect other poster opinions, and really value any inside infomation available.  But as I stated to you when this board had it's start up, I was hoping the obvious trolling would be kept to a minimum.  I do not have a problem with other opinions, it's just that the rants (real or otherwise) get a little tiresome after a while. Just like Duquesne's Basketball, it seems that everything returns to a losing situation, and this board has become just like the old Voy board.  It's probably no ones fault, it is just another reason why one gets turned off by the program.  I hate not to go to this board, because there are really a lot of really good posts, but the ranting gets a little much.  It's time to look forward, not dwell in the past glory or failure.  Thanks for your understanding of an old fan's complaint (just a grumpy old man).
 

PrinceOf Pilsner wrote:

CLK,
   Slight misunderstanding.  I have no problem with fans that are pi$$ed the way this season went.  I was in the stands every home game, and it was tough.  I really respect other poster opinions, and really value any inside infomation available.  But as I stated to you when this board had it's start up, I was hoping the obvious trolling would be kept to a minimum.  I do not have a problem with other opinions, it's just that the rants (real or otherwise) get a little tiresome after a while. Just like Duquesne's Basketball, it seems that everything returns to a losing situation, and this board has become just like the old Voy board.  It's probably no ones fault, it is just another reason why one gets turned off by the program.  I hate not to go to this board, because there are really a lot of really good posts, but the ranting gets a little much.  It's time to look forward, not dwell in the past glory or failure.  Thanks for your understanding of an old fan's complaint (just a grumpy old man).
 

It can be difficult to control the trolls on an open board. We could do what Steve does on the Yuku board, and require approval in order to be able to post, but then we would be accused of being lackeys for GA. Certain posters just continue to beat a dead horse, yet when someone puts forth a differing opinion, they get offended, and accuse them of being "disloyal". One obvious troll has been banned, and a second is on thin ice.

PrinceOf Pilsner wrote:

CLK,
   Slight misunderstanding.  I have no problem with fans that are pi$$ed the way this season went.  I was in the stands every home game, and it was tough.  I really respect other poster opinions, and really value any inside infomation available.  But as I stated to you when this board had it's start up, I was hoping the obvious trolling would be kept to a minimum.  I do not have a problem with other opinions, it's just that the rants (real or otherwise) get a little tiresome after a while. Just like Duquesne's Basketball, it seems that everything returns to a losing situation, and this board has become just like the old Voy board.  It's probably no ones fault, it is just another reason why one gets turned off by the program.  I hate not to go to this board, because there are really a lot of really good posts, but the ranting gets a little much.  It's time to look forward, not dwell in the past glory or failure.  Thanks for your understanding of an old fan's complaint (just a grumpy old man).
 

 
Not a problem Prince.  I probably also fit into the category you described yourself.  I can say, however, that as long as I am involved with this board posters will be allowed to express their opinions as long as the discourse is civil and not personal.  You may not agree with their views, just as I do not agree with your assessment of this board.  What some call a rant, others see as legitimate criticism.  What some call trolls, others may see as a passionate fan.  Some may think it would be a great world if everyone had the same opinion as they did, others would find it dull.  We are, for the most part, all DU grads and care enough about DU athletics to even read these boards.  I called myself a mutant in another thread for being crazy enough to still be a DU fan after the long suffering seasons since my days on the Bluff.  My advice to all, let's discuss DU athletics, and allow enough room to agree to disagree.

Last edited by CLK (3/12/2013 7:57 pm)