ElDuque wrote:

And they're doing so with a coach entering his fourth season, typically a point where signs of progress are expected, regardless of how big of a rebuild they faced."

This is the key! That said, I really don't need to read a thousand posts between now and October telling me that Ferry sucks. Everyone has made it clear that they're disatisfied  with what's happened so far, but the constant "Ferry is horrible" posts make the board pretty unreadable. Once the season starts, he's fair game though.



 

ElDuque wrote:

If he's smart, he'll figure out that the stuff that worked at lower levels won't work here. He'll also upgrade at the three, and force Gill to live in the paint, and, if Castro proves he can be "the man," insert him at the point and sit Colter. This means bumping two of his own, but winning should be the priority.

And I'm not saying he's not smart. I'm saying that my concern is that he's stubborn.

He's not going to sit Colter, nor should he, but if Castro is the real deal, he needs to eat substantially into the minutes of both Colter, and Mason. A three way rotation, with all three getting 25-28 minutes a game will leave all three fresh, and at their best. I'd love to see Jackson eat into Jones' minutes as the season goes on, but he has to earn it. Take care of business during the ooc part of the schedule. They were 6-6 vs the A10 over the last 12 games. Can they improve enough to at least maintain that? A .500 record in the league would be very acceptable, provided that they do well ooc (9-4 would be solid).
 

Colter improved as a shooter this past season, but he's still not a top tier point guard, and I think if you want to be a top 4 team in the A-10 you need a top 4 point guard. Colter can't handle pressure, and too often when he attacks the lane and finds himself in traffic his best result is a missed shot. Two years ago, there were times when the team played much better with the now-departed Ridenour in the lineup. So I think we need to improve at the position, and that will mean sitting Colter for more than a couple of minutes. Of course, you need to have someone better at the position, and right now we have nothing. Castro is  an unknown, and as I've said before, my fear is that he's another Stevens. Let's hope not.

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

Just throwing this out there...
Would you take a shot at Durand Johnson? I would think he could be a nice fit at the 3 position for a year; it certainly seems to be our primary position of weakness. Certainly due diligence would need to be done regarding his issues at ESP.

Would Pitt release him to us though. They haven't forgotten that we wouldn't release TJ to them.
 

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

I wonder if the release rules still apply to a graduate transfer?

I recall a story that was widely circulated a few years ago about how Martelli refused to sign the release for a fifth year senior that wanted to leave St Joe's. So it would seem that 5th year guys still need the release.