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Offline Today is Coach K.'s day, for sure. Five national champships, 10 finals appearances, one of the all time best, one of the classiest, one of the most respected coaches ever. Offline I have a ton of respect for Bo Ryan. However, his complaining about the officials after the game last night was about as class-less as I've seen in some time om a stage like that. You win with class, you lose with class. I have a ton of respect for Bo Ryan. However, his complaining about the officials after the game last night was about as class-less as I've seen in some time om a stage like that. You win with class, you lose with class. Offline I have a ton of respect for Bo Ryan. However, his complaining about the officials after the game last night was about as class-less as I've seen in some time om a stage like that. You win with class, you lose with class. Offline I have a ton of respect for Bo Ryan. However, his complaining about the officials after the game last night was about as class-less as I've seen in some time om a stage like that. You win with class, you lose with class. Web, I know you're referring to the postgame comments, but my observation for years has been that the most successful coaches are ref baiters from the moment the ball goes into the air. Those same coaches will also throw the refs under the bus afterwards. I'm sure they believe it helps their cause. Offline Bo Ryan kinda looks like he could have been a Pittsburger, I used to see many guys in my old home town of Carnegie with that W Pa look. And he can Coach and develop players. That used to happen at Duquesne when guys stayed for 4 years. Anyone recall Dwayne Rawls? After the alleged rape incident wiped out Satalins best recruiting class he was forced to play Rawls and Rick Suder. By the time Dwayne was a Sr. he was all conference at foward even though he was undersized, Suder was a great scorer and free throw shooter. Offline Phildog, I've been talking about his record and what he brings to the table as a coach. If it seems negative, then I can only suggest that I'm reporting fairly accurately what I see. Offline Phildog, I've been talking about his record and what he brings to the table as a coach. If it seems negative, then I can only suggest that I'm reporting fairly accurately what I see. We won 11 games this year, and we're losing one player of note, and he's not nearly the loss that Soko was. I can't understand why we should struggle to win 9 games. If I were being pessimistic, I'd peg us around 13-14 wins. If I'm being somewhat optimistic, I'd put us around where we were Ron's last year, which is 16 wins. As bad as we were, we won 7 games vs A 10 teams. I don't think Phil has a problem with you being somewhat negative, but you seem to be going overboard. Unless we have more defections, or get hit with major injuries, struggling to win 9 games just seems silly. Offline Phildog, I've been talking about his record and what he brings to the table as a coach. If it seems negative, then I can only suggest that I'm reporting fairly accurately what I see. Offline Phildog, I've been talking about his record and what he brings to the table as a coach. If it seems negative, then I can only suggest that I'm reporting fairly accurately what I see. We won 11 games this year, and we're losing one player of note, and he's not nearly the loss that Soko was. I can't understand why we should struggle to win 9 games. If I were being pessimistic, I'd peg us around 13-14 wins. If I'm being somewhat optimistic, I'd put us around where we were Ron's last year, which is 16 wins. As bad as we were, we won 7 games vs A 10 teams. I don't think Phil has a problem with you being somewhat negative, but you seem to be going overboard. Unless we have more defections, or get hit with major injuries, struggling to win 9 games just seems silly. Apologies to you, Phildog, I did not mean to offend you either. Offline Phildog, I've been talking about his record and what he brings to the table as a coach. If it seems negative, then I can only suggest that I'm reporting fairly accurately what I see. We won 11 games this year, and we're losing one player of note, and he's not nearly the loss that Soko was. I can't understand why we should struggle to win 9 games. If I were being pessimistic, I'd peg us around 13-14 wins. If I'm being somewhat optimistic, I'd put us around where we were Ron's last year, which is 16 wins. As bad as we were, we won 7 games vs A 10 teams. I don't think Phil has a problem with you being somewhat negative, but you seem to be going overboard. Unless we have more defections, or get hit with major injuries, struggling to win 9 games just seems silly. Apologies to you, Phildog, I did not mean to offend you either. There's a difference between saying you don't think they can win consistently, and predicting that they will struggle to win 9 games. They won 8 games, and were 1-15 in the A 10 Ferry's first year. You're basically saying that they are going to return to that. Other than injuries, or more defections, I just can't see them falling to that level. If you were predicting that they look like a 12 win team, I might not agree, but to me, that falls within the range of realistic possibilities, 8 wins doesn't. McCoy just wasn't that good this year, that on a team where 9 of the top 10 players are returning, that his loss is going to cause the team to totally fall apart. I liked some parts of his game, but how can you have a key player who is so dreadful from the line, that Wilt Chamberlain would be embarrased. Hey, I'm far from sold on Ferry, or the team's prospects next year, but I just don't think they're going to regress. I'm expecting them to end up right around 15 wins, which will leave us frustrated, because you know there will be 2 or 3 losses that should have ended up in the win column. I can't understand why they're not taking a summer trip this year. With nearly everyone back, this would have been the perfect time to use those extra games to figure out your rotation, and work some of the kinks out. Offline Nine of the top 10? Are you counting walk-ons? Stevens was the third leading scorer on the team (PPG). Down the stretch, James got nailed to the bench and the only guard who saw any minutes that didn't go to the core three was Ridenour, albeit he got limited minutes. It really was a 7-man rotation, with Ridenour spotted in. Powell and Robinson lost a lot of minutes at the end of the season too. McKoy led the team in rebounding, and still shot well from the floor. His FT shooting was really poor, but that was a big issue with the whole team most of the year. With Jones, Mason and Colter playing so many minutes, players that Ferry KNEW he was going to have to depend on next year didn't have the opportunity to develop. One of next year's excuses will be: "Well, they're still inexperienced." But what was the sense in not playing them? We weren't going anywhere anyway, and if you're going to bench Stevens and Ridenour to drive them out, why not play the freshment more? Hell, some of those guys were starters when the year began. Offline I tend to agree with ElDuque that the Dukes will struggle again next year when viewed by the quality of returning players (without speculating on what kind of impact Castro and Jackson will have). But there are variables and this discussion may be best had when we know the schedule (I would hate to play those giants St. Francis of Loretto or UMES AGAIN), and who else Ferry recruits. If he can get an immediate quality transfer eligible that can help our front court it could make a big difference. Not saying that is will happen, but possible. Last season knocked what little hope I had for this program out of me. I want Ferry to succeed but at this point I am not leading any cheers, or going to fall into that stage in the lifecycle of DU fans where we drink the off season Kool Aid. Other teams in this league have proven that even if they lose players they can rebuild quickly. So at this point despite the optimism of Craig Myers I am skepyical we will have a winning season next year. Last edited by CLK (4/08/2015 5:24 pm) Offline I don't count Stevens because he got kicked off the team, and they played a bunch of games without him (and played better too). I have to think he didn't give the other guards any run because he considered it a waste, as he has Castro penciled in to split the minutes with Colter, and Mason. I think we'll know very quickly if Ferry has come to his senses after the first few games. If his rotation makes sense early, and he's not jerking guys in and out of the lineup, then the team might develop some chemistry, and be better than we think. If he's running guys in and out in a crazy fashion, your disaster scenario might well come true. Read Craig Meyer's column in the other thread. He's more on my side of the fence. Offline He is, but his analysis is based simply on body numbers, so I don't put anything into it at all.
Bo Ryan
But I saw this article in the NY Times, and want to give Bo Ryan some props:
The amazing thing abou Ryan's career is that Wisconsin hired him after he spent two years at Milwaukee (if I'm not mistaken, it's what us oldtimers knew as UW-M) and compiled a 30-27 record, finishing fourth in his conference the first year and fifth the second.
Prior to that, he spent 15 years at Wisconsin-Platteville, guiding a program that transitioned from NAIA to NCAA Division III. He won 353 games, finished first in his conference eight times, finished second three times, and finished third once. That's a top 3 finish in 12 of 15 seasons. He went to NAIA and DIII postseason 13 times, including his final 12 seasons. He was the coach of the NCAA DIII champions four times.
Wow.
It's easy to see why UW-M hired him; I imagine he was a harder sell for the UW AD who presented his President and whoever else was involved in the decision making process with an older guy with two years of DI coaching experience at a low-level league, never mind the track record at DIII and NAIA. We're talking about the Big 10 Conference, which has a lot of great basketball schools, a history of HOF coaches, and a track record of players who marched through on their way to the NBA.
All Bo Ryan has done since he started coaching Wisconsin is make 14 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. He's won more than 350 games, more than 170 in the conference, never finished lower than fourth. He's been to two Final Fours, an Elite Eight, and Four Sweet 16s. He recruits a bunch of local kids, teaches them a system that works EVERY YEAR at a very high level (not twice in 13 years at a get-lucky level).
Let's send Jimmy Ferry to Bo Ryan's camp and see if he can't bring back a little mojo.
Re: Bo Ryan
Re: Bo Ryan
WEB wrote:
For once I agree with you Duquesne does indeed lose with class! Many times over.
Re: Bo Ryan
WEB wrote:
Disagree,
Wisconsin got jobbed by the refs in the last ten minutes of the game. Duke could do no wrong from the time they fell behind and looked on the brink of cracking until they took control. The officiating was very one-sided and atrocious! Seriously, I'm not a Duke hater either. I pulled for Duke many times in the past, before they went the rent-a-player route.
Re: Bo Ryan
WEB wrote:
•Thread Starter
Re: Bo Ryan
Maybe a few of this crop can stay 4 years and get better, I remember how BJ Monterio was unstoppable on the base line in his Sr. year even though he had to spent time at the post.
I hope I don't read anymore Ferry bashing until we play again next fall, it has got tiresome like there is nothing else to say to follow this team.....
A diehard fan since 1961
Re: Bo Ryan
In fairness, give me a reason to be optimistic for next year. What I'm looking at right now is a team that, if things break right and we have an even weaker non-con schedule, might win nine games all year. Why should I believe otherwise? •Thread Starter
Re: Bo Ryan
ElDuque wrote:
In fairness, give me a reason to be optimistic for next year. What I'm looking at right now is a team that, if things break right and we have an even weaker non-con schedule, might win nine games all year. Why should I believe otherwise?
If by chance you are right, and they end up winning 7-8 games, it will definitely be time to clean house.
Re: Bo Ryan
ElDuque wrote:
In fairness, give me a reason to be optimistic for next year. What I'm looking at right now is a team that, if things break right and we have an even weaker non-con schedule, might win nine games all year. Why should I believe otherwise?
Don't mean to offend, I just think Ferry will fail and be booted eventually never to coach D-1 again or for years. It is just the Duquesne Way.....
A diehard fan since 1961
Re: Bo Ryan
duq81 wrote:
ElDuque wrote:
In fairness, give me a reason to be optimistic for next year. What I'm looking at right now is a team that, if things break right and we have an even weaker non-con schedule, might win nine games all year. Why should I believe otherwise?
If by chance you are right, and they end up winning 7-8 games, it will definitely be time to clean house.
duq81, I don't think I've overdone anything. We never replaced Soko this year. Who do we have to replace McKoy? Lewis plays 10 minutes a game, Gill's afraid of the paint, and Robinson was overhyped. Powell is pretty much a one-dimensional player. I don't see any of these guys rebounding. So the frontcourt looks like a disaster to me. Until I see that Castro is not the second coming of Stevens, I'm not sold that he's going to make any kind of difference. Now you're depending on Jones, Mason and Colter, and we haven't seen in three years that this nucleus can win consistently.
Fact or not? •Thread Starter
Re: Bo Ryan
ElDuque wrote:
duq81 wrote:
ElDuque wrote:
In fairness, give me a reason to be optimistic for next year. What I'm looking at right now is a team that, if things break right and we have an even weaker non-con schedule, might win nine games all year. Why should I believe otherwise?
If by chance you are right, and they end up winning 7-8 games, it will definitely be time to clean house.
duq81, I don't think I've overdone anything. We never replaced Soko this year. Who do we have to replace McKoy? Lewis plays 10 minutes a game, Gill's afraid of the paint, and Robinson was overhyped. Powell is pretty much a one-dimensional player. I don't see any of these guys rebounding. So the frontcourt looks like a disaster to me. Until I see that Castro is not the second coming of Stevens, I'm not sold that he's going to make any kind of difference. Now you're depending on Jones, Mason and Colter, and we haven't seen in three years that this nucleus can win consistently.
Fact or not?
Re: Bo Ryan
So since Ferry has no faith in these guys, why should I? And again, what have I seen to tell me things will get better? Who's going to rebound for this team? Who's going to defend the post? These are huge, huge question marks, and in my mind, they do equate to a step back. Especially if we have a tougher non-con schedule next year. •Thread Starter
Re: Bo Ryan
Re: Bo Ryan
Re: Bo Ryan
You hit the nail on the head: Can Ferry actually coach? Not just round up a bunch of players, put them on a court, hand them a ball, and let them do what they want, but can he teach them fundamentals, develop their skills, put them in both offenses and defenses that blend their skills and strengths, and ultimately, can he do what he needs to to win at this level.
Because, to date, he has not proven that he can do this.
The big questions for next year:
1. Is Castro the next Stevens? If he is, then 9 wins is a reach. If he emerges as a solid ballplayer who is interested in doing more than hoisting shots as soon as the ball's in his hands, if he can be a ball hawk on defense, and a guy who can bring the ball upcourt against pressure, a guy who helps make his teammates a little better, then we have a piece that has been missing for 3 years here. To win in the A-10, you need an upper echelon PG, not just a serviceable player with noticeable defects.
2. If Castro is as good as advertised, does Ferry have the brains to play him over Colter? Or does Ferry stick to his promise when he recruited Colter that DC would be his guy? Coaches can kill themselves when they fall in love with guys who don't help them win. Ferry's loyalty ought to be to the program itself, and winning. Not sacrificing seasons to placate feelings.
3. Can you put something around Castro? We know Mason can shoot; we really don't know how well because I've never seen Ferry run a play designed to give him a good look. Maybe it's because he didn't have the goods at PG to do this before (hence the aborted Mason experiment this year), and maybe it's because there were too many players who were looking to show off their (lousy) 3-point shooting skills as soon as they touched the ball. We also know LG Gill ought not be a catch and launch guy. With his body, he ought to be living in the paint, using his athleticism to score, rebound, and score some more.
4. Can Ferry stop wasting a position with Jones playing 40 minutes a game? He can't defend, he has no useful offensive skills, he struggles at the FT line, and he goes through these funky periods every game where he strings together a bunch of bad shots, bad defense, and bad fouls. A big part of this, of course, is Ferry's insistence that you have to play four small to win ... when he doesn't have the right personnel to make it work.
5. Can we make the post work with the Lewis/Robinson combination? We honestly need a combined 10-12 rebounds, 8-10 points and 4 blocked shots from that position.
I'll skip the obvious questions about whether James, Jackson, Powell, Sanders, and the players-to-be-named later, because IMHO the heart of next year's team is either going to be Castro, Gill, Mason, Lewis/Robinson, a true wing at the 3, Colter and some extra backcourt help (which might help us finish near .500, or better) ... or it's going to be year 4 of Colter, Jones, Mason, and why the heck are we even doing this? •Thread Starter