Ironduke81 wrote:

PistolPete wrote:

As KD has said many time, he came here to win "championships" and that is great, but to do so we need better play and talent at the PG and 2 guard - which many on this Board have noted.  I agree with CLK and others that KD has to really play the portal game and get an experienced, A-10 level talent PG as a priority, a lock down shooter and possibly a big.  Acuff has size, length and has shown an ability to score, defend and pass - his upside is way above Belechek (as Iron Duke calls him) - but he isn't ready for prime time yet.  The only question I have with him is his quickness.  Nod to Professor 1099......."time will tell" on that front.  I also find it interesting that KD seems to frequently go out of his way to praise MB, we "just win when he plays", but I am not sold on that reasoning, maybe it is just the other guys who need to step up doing so (ie. Weathers against RI), which brings me back to KD's statement of coming here to win championships.  I'm sorry, when you see all the PG's of upper level A-10 teams are you going to tell me Belechek is even remotely close to that level....pleaseeeeee.  Look, the kid gives his all, plays reasonably good D and generally doesn't turn the ball over, but guys he is a ZERO threat offensively and he is just not athletic enough.  He is the PG version of Rotroff in my mind.  Again, this is purely a question of talent necessary to "win championships", that is all I am saying.  As the GMan said, it would be nice to see a 6'2" PG from Philly, NYC or DC migrate to the Coop.  We'll see what happens in the Spring signing period and what the seniors decide to do - it will be interesting.  

Pistol my friend a point guard and scoring two guard are more plentiful out of High School rather then a 4 or 5 with the talent level of Hughes & Weathers. This is why this current situation is so puzzling. Dambrot does a hell of a job with recruiting 3 thru 5. 

No doubt Irondukes81. This is a definite head-scratcher. For decades, the A-10 has been the home to dozens & dozens of high-quality 1s & 2s that are just a little too slow or too small or not quite there academically to get snatched up by the perennial top 30 schools. This has been particularly true of point guards. Even in Ferry's worst days, he had at least some solid guards.

Sin was an absolute longshot due to the uncertainty of his knees. He was not, in any way, what could be called a quality PG recruit. Acuff is a very solid recruit but will need lots of reps & offseason work to figure out his best college role. 

With the exception of Norman working out reasonably well,  (until he didn't), the other guards recruited by this staff mostly had no possibility of cutting it at either position in the A-10. None of them could ever have been so much as a respectable starter as upperclassmen. 

I don't count Roesing or TDM in this evaluation because the jury is completely out on the first while the second was sort of a package deal with the coach.

I used to think more attractive PG prospects were staying away because Sin seemed such a foundational piece for the program. Now that 4+ classes are known to fans, I don't think Sin casting a large shadow meant anything. For me, it is telling that the only recruit committed for 2022 is yet another 6'5"-6'7" wing. ( I am excited that he is known as a very good shooter. Has anyone followed his season well enough to have a progress report?)

Last edited by phil95 (3/01/2021 6:26 pm)

Just watched Dayton beat the Bonnies. Wow-close game and both teams looked good. 

levon1975 wrote:

Funny, but I only caught the last 4-minutes and it looked like neither team wanted to win; terrible shot selection down the stretch. Offensively it was ugly!

Both teams looked pretty average to me throughout the game. If the Bonnies are the A-10's best the Dukes have a shot to win this tourney especially if they can avoid USL until the final.