Georgia Tech guard transferring to Tulsa

[seniorgolfer]

We found out with our 2018 recruiting class that all 3*s don't merit the rating...
They simply aren't vetted nearly as much as are the 4*s and 5*s.....When you
are picking off of the top like Penny, Calipari, Self and Coach K do, the ratings
tend to be much more accurate.....

Penny's problem won't be talent....It will be suppressing a bunch of big egos,
and getting them to play as a team, and as TU4ever2 points out, his own
inexperience....However, I think he learned quite a bit last season, as his team
looked a lot better toward the end....

Haith's problems will not only be the 7 or eight new players, but the 2 new
assistant coaches.....AND, his own tendency to over substitute....Last season,
while it was disappointing in the W/L record, Haith was almost forced to go with
a smaller rotation because of the limitations off of the bench....Once he got past
Horne, Jackson (later in the season), and Joiner, there wasn't much to choose
from.....

 

[UofMemphis]

You haven't played a game yet under Penny's plan, how'd LSU do with Ben Simmons?

It's a good class, but don't count your chickens yet, you still have to play games with an inexperienced coach and players which can cause their own issues as they all figure it out.

Penny picked his staff well.

2007 NBA Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell handles the Xs and Os...Mike Miller is 'the recruiter'...former Ole Miss Assoc HC/Interim HC Tony Madlock handles the day to day running of a college basketball program. Also, as a former NBA head coach Sam knows how to deal with a team full of superstar egos

that allows Penny time to be the face of the program, run practice, and recruit Memphis kids.

 

[TU_BLA]

Penny picked his staff well.

2007 NBA Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell handles the Xs and Os...Mike Miller is 'the recruiter'...former Ole Miss Assoc HC/Interim HC Tony Madlock handles the day to day running of a college basketball program. Also, as a former NBA head coach Sam knows how to deal with a team full of superstar egos

that allows Penny time to be the face of the program, run practice, and recruit Memphis kids.

We'll see how long this lasts. Lots of shiny things on the shelf right now...but how many parts are tarnished that no one has seen just yet.

 

[tupatsfan]

There is absolutely ZERO way penny and staff are clean. LOL if Memphis fans think so, but they probably don’t care either way.

 

[seniorgolfer]

We'll see how long this lasts. Lots of shiny things on the shelf right now...but how
many parts are tarnished that no one has seen just yet.

There is absolutely ZERO way penny and staff are clean. LOL if Memphis fans think
so, but they probably don’t care either way.

All of this makes you wonder...On the other hand, many of these recruits are so high
profile (including the #1 player in the country?) that you know that their recruitment will
be examined closely....Particularly given the on-going FBI probe into exactly that....The
NCAA doesn't seem to do much of that anymore, at least effectively....Especially to the
BIG boys.....

Sometimes, at least to some extent, good players beget good players...beget good
players, etal......We won't know immediately, but in three or four years....?

 

[UofMemphis]

All of this makes you wonder...On the other hand, many of these recruits are so high
profile (including the #1 player in the country?) that you know that their recruitment will
be examined closely....Particularly given the on-going FBI probe into exactly that....The
NCAA doesn't seem to do much of that anymore, at least effectively....Especially to the
BIG boys.....

Sometimes, at least to some extent, good players beget good players...beget good
players, etal......We won't know immediately, but in three or four years....?

Wiseman, DJ Jeffries, and Dandridge played for Penny on the AAU circuit and are from Memphis. the local kids were his first dominoes to fall which made recruiting outside kids easier.

'come play for Penny with a couple of top 50 kids' that got Lester Q...which lead to Boogie...and will end with Precious.

 

[TU_BLA]

Wiseman, DJ Jeffries, and Dandridge played for Penny on the AAU circuit and are from Memphis. the local kids were his first dominoes to fall which made recruiting outside kids easier.

'come play for Penny with a couple of top 50 kids' that got Lester Q...which lead to Boogie...and will end with PROBATION.

FIFY

 

[seniorgolfer]

Regardless of how they got there, Penny has loaded up his roster with some
incredible talent....Like some monster out of Greek Mythology, it seems our
conference keeps growing more heads....Not many BB conferences has a
top four (Houston, followed by WSU, Memphis, and Cincy in whatever order)
and a second four of CFU, SFU, Tulsa, and Temple (in whatever order)....Who
ever finishes fifth in the AAC is going to have a pretty darn good ball club....

When you look at rosters, and I think ours is the most promising in several
seasons, you realize the recruiting effort it will take for us to really challenge
for any of the top three spots in the conference....

I think we are in for an interesting season...The waiver decisions on Haywood
and KES will have a significant effect on the depth that Haith has available....
But if one, or even both have to red shirt, Haith will probably still have the best
roster of his tenure....

In recalling some really good teams and great games from our Mountain West
days, I still think we are in the best BB conference since I have been a fan...The
old MoValley was great also....WSU, Louisville, Bradley, Illinois St., Drake, and
Creighton were all good to very good at different times....Most of the time, for
that matter...

 

[TU4ever2]

The Super WAC was a pretty good league.

I agree this conference is now a monster and looks to only be growing. Finally feel like it is living up to the expectations. I expect five or six bids next year to be honest, not sure we have ever played some where with that many. Nine or ten in the post season also sounds a bit strange but is well in the realm of possibilities.

 

[GoldenCaneKC]

Anyone have a gauge on conference-wide non-conference scheduling for next year? Seems like the non-con wins and loses set the narrative for the perception of a league’s strength. Which teams in our conference have opportunities for big wins before the conference slate begins?

 

[I.I.]

I don’t think we have ever been in a conference where one of the teams had as good a recruiting year as Memphis. It helps the conference visibility but we still need to be able to compete with them.

 

[TU_BLA]

I don’t think we have ever been in a conference where one of the teams had as good a recruiting year as Memphis. It helps the conference visibility but we still need to be able to compete with them.

We played in C-USA when Memphis had Derrick Rose along with some other guys who had cups of coffee in the NBA. Remember, that team was a freaking made FT away from winning the national championship. We were also in the WAC when Utah had Keith Van Horn, Michael Doleac, Hanno Mottola, and some guard named Andre Miller. That team also played for a national championship.

 

[seniorgolfer]

We played in C-USA when Memphis had Derrick Rose along with some other guys
who had cups of coffee in the NBA. Remember, that team was a freaking made FT
away from winning the national championship.

Or less....Memphis had a three pt. lead with Ks. coming down the floor for one last
shot...A foul might well have done the trick....Trouble was, the Ks. player who brought
it down the court was flying...They couldn't catch him....Ks. hit the 3 and won in OT...

 

[seniorgolfer]

We were also in the WAC when Utah had Keith Van Horn, Michael Doleac, Hanno
Mottola, and some guard named Andre Miller. That team also played for a national
championship.

That conf. had some dandies....Remember that Hawaii team with that Blonde kid
who was really a complete player (English?), and another outside scorer whose name
I can't remember....And how about Tark's Fresno (oops!) team? A couple off that team
hung around the NBA for quite a while...I remember he thought he could "bake a cake"
with Harrington....In thinking back, who couldn't have??

 

[TU_BLA]

That conf. had some dandies....Remember that Hawaii team with that Blonde kid
who was really a complete player (English?), and another outside scorer whose name
I can't remember....And how about Tark's UNLV team? A couple off that team hung
around the NBA for quite a while...I remember he thought he could "bake a cake" with
Harrington....In thinking back, who couldn't have??

So Carl English and Predraj Savovic (who could catch and shoot quicker than any player I've ever seen; his brother played for Ohio State around the same time). The Fresno trio were Courtney Alexander, Melvin Ely, and Terrence Roberson. That doesn't include Larry Abney who played a lot like Gary Clark from the recent Cincinnati teams. Even after the split that damn conference was a freaking minefield to navigate each year between the travel and the number of good players.

 

[tupatsfan]

That Hawaii team had so many people you love to hate, but man they were tough and physical. I remember the little punk guard they had who would squeak his shoes during free throws to try to distract...Campbell I think was his name.

 

[TU_BLA]

That Hawaii team had so many people you love to hate, but man they were tough and physical. I remember the little punk guard they had who would squeak his shoes during free throws to try to distract...Campbell I think was his name.

yeah. If I recall he was a JUCO from Oklahoma too. I thought he was a better scorer than his stats actually show, but he was sure effective.

 

[TU4ever2]

Anyone have a gauge on conference-wide non-conference scheduling for next year? Seems like the non-con wins and loses set the narrative for the perception of a league’s strength. Which teams in our conference have opportunities for big wins before the conference slate begins?

We have the SEC/AAC scheduling alliance, which will add to a few teams. Per usual Cincy and Temple have tough schedules. WSU may be down a little from how they have traditionally schedule but will still be very good. Houston with an SEC game added should have a pretty strong ooc. Memphis' schedule is very tough as is UConn. Ours is probably middle of the pack in comparison, SMU probably a little weaker than us. USF and ECU have indicated their schedules will take steps forward but I wouldn't expect too much. Tulane is a bit of an unknown as is UCF.

Aresco has hinted that he was working on a deal with another conference similar to the SEC one, but that may or may not happen.

 

[TU_BLA]

We have the SEC/AAC scheduling alliance, which will add to a few teams. Per usual Cincy and Temple have tough schedules. WSU may be down a little from how they have traditionally schedule but will still be very good. Houston with an SEC game added should have a pretty strong ooc. Memphis' schedule is very tough as is UConn. Ours is probably middle of the pack in comparison, SMU probably a little weaker than us. USF and ECU have indicated their schedules will take steps forward but I wouldn't expect too much. Tulane is a bit of an unknown as is UCF.

Aresco has hinted that he was working on a deal with another conference similar to the SEC one, but that may or may not happen.

I would venture a guess that it might be the Pac-12. The Big 12 plays 2 challenge series, the Big Ten and ACC play each other. Pac-12 is the only "major" conference without such a challenge. The other that would fit well but not be quite the profile we would want for the AAC is the A-10. It would be one of those that had an RPI booster for a few teams.

 

[I.I.]

Oddly enough, Cincy may be the one that is down a little next year.

 

[TU4ever2]

I would venture a guess that it might be the Pac-12. The Big 12 plays 2 challenge series, the Big Ten and ACC play each other. Pac-12 is the only "major" conference without such a challenge. The other that would fit well but not be quite the profile we would want for the AAC is the A-10. It would be one of those that had an RPI booster for a few teams.

Not the A10, we turned it down and they just signed a deal with the MWC.

The PAC does seem the most likely. My understanding is the gravett games or whatever between the Big East and Big 10 are coming to a close. They also leave 6 teams out, similar to what our deal with the SEC is could be workable there.

The PAC would also likely be 6-8 teams with UCLA and Arizona left out, the other teams rotating. Not sure the PAC wants any part of the AAC right now though.

 

[TU4ever2]

Oddly enough, Cincy may be the one that is down a little next year.

Transition.

Even getting Cumberland back may still put them behind 3-5 other teams.

 

[nevadanatural]

I have no idea if we still have any contract games going on for next season and if history means anything we’re still a few months away from knowing our schedule. I suspect with last year’s seventh place finish our conference schedule will be on the weaker side as these things go. However, I think the conference overall will be even tougher than last year. With Sehic coming back, Ray Ona Embo returning from injury, and KJ Lawson coming in as a graduate transfer even Tulane could be very improved.

I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Jankovich put together an ECU type OOC schedule.

 

[seniorgolfer]

I don’t think we have ever been in a conference where one of the teams had as good a
recruiting year as Memphis. It helps the conference visibility but we still need to be able
to compete with them.

Yes....As Shakespeare would have said, "Ah, there's the rub"...Memphis has two giant
parts of the puzzle that we don't have....Deep pocket boosters who were willing to make
the buy out of Tubby and the hiring of Penny a reality, and an administration who was
cheering the process on....We don't have either....

Many really important components of a total sports program are determined way, way
down the hall from the coaches, and even the AD....

We do have some wonderful things going for us....A campus that actually looks like a
college campus should look, a wonderful town to live in, and facilities that are really
appropriate for our school and conference.....

Given our assets, I think that our small coaching staff (mostly Shea Seals) did a great
job of finishing our recruiting efforts for the 2019 season....I like our recruiting class..My
wish going forward is that we can recruit the quality of recruit that we got this year as
transfers when they are high school seniors.....It would be nice to have them for four
years.....

 

[I.I.]

I think Tulsa does have deep pocket boosters. I just don’t think they have honed in on the basketball program yet. Dr Gragg should be leading the effort to accomplish this but I have some concerns here. It may be a “which came first “. Memphis just bought themselves a top 20 program, Tulsa May have to recruit and win their way there to attract the boosters and money. Nolan was a prime example of how winning brought in the fans and boosters.

 

[TU_BLA]

The Don Rey is really as good as any building in the conference. Our problems with basketball have nothing to do with the quality of the facilities.

 

[aTUfan]

Winning cure many ills.

 

[TU_BLA]

Winning cure many ills.

Sometimes. The attendance at the home football game the week after we beat Notre Dame was pretty telling about the city of Tulsa not being a sports town. And that team was pretty good. The 2012 team was really good and we still struggled to get people at games. And the question is, yeah the won but they didn't beat anyone really good. Or you won last year but the opponents are bad. They're all just lame a$$ excuses to not go to a game and just sit at home or walk around the mall for several hours.

 

[seniorgolfer]

I think Tulsa does have deep pocket
boosters. I just don’t think they have honed in on the basketball program yet. Dr
Gragg should be leading the effort to accomplish this but I have some concerns
here.

It may be a “which came first “. Memphis just bought themselves a top 20 program,
Tulsa May have to recruit and win their way there to attract the boosters and money.

You some times wonder....Gragg doesn't seem to have any sense of urgency when
it comes to that critical 3rd BB assistant that we so badly need if indeed we are
going to recruit our way to where Memphis just bought their way up to....

Haith's extension, if it has really been granted, may be a mine field of conditions and
caveats....If so, it will make that hiring all the much harder....From the time factor
involved, I'm afraid we will end up with a third or fourth choice....NO GOOD!! Gragg,
if he has any pull with our 'deep pocket boosters' at all, could have done something
to give a potential talented assistant some financial stability for say three years..Not
a peep!

 

[I.I.]

Gragg,
if he has any pull with our 'deep pocket boosters' at all,

I sometimes wonder if he knows who the deep pocket boosters might be. Bubba used to continually "ask" potential new donors to jump on board for the athletic programs. Some may be OSU or OU donors as well, but it doesn't mean that you don't contact them and ask.

Beat Memphis............in EVERY sport..........

 

[Tulsafanzz]

Sometimes. The attendance at the home football game the week after we beat Notre Dame was pretty telling about the city of Tulsa not being a sports town. And that team was pretty good. The 2012 team was really good and we still struggled to get people at games. And the question is, yeah the won but they didn't beat anyone really good. Or you won last year but the opponents are bad. They're all just lame a$$ excuses to not go to a game and just sit at home or walk around the mall for several hours.

BLA, you & others have referenced the poor attendance after the Notre Dame win countless times on here. I was at the Notre Dame game & was also disappointed with our poor attendance (19K) the next week at home vs Rice.

However, there are a couple of factors that contributed to that lack of instant enthusiasm & support. We had an off season the year before (5-7 in 2009) & we had a poor 2010 home schedule, so there wasn’t a lot of preseason buzz & season tickets sales weren’t great. Then we lost our opener at ECU, we’re blown out week 3 at OSU & lost week 5 at SMU. We had a 4-3 record going into Notre Dame & Notre Dame was 4-4 before our game.

So, even though it was a great road victory, many bandwagon fans viewed the win as Notre Dame being down more than TU being very good. The rest of the season did prove both TU & Notre Dame were good. Both teams went undefeated the rest of the way, including bowl wins. However, the factors listed above prevented our hoped for attendance bump after that big win.

 

[TU_BLA]

Sometimes. The attendance at the home football game the week after we beat Notre Dame was pretty telling about the city of Tulsa not being a sports town. And that team was pretty good. The 2012 team was really good and we still struggled to get people at games. And the question is, yeah the won but they didn't beat anyone really good. Or you won last year but the opponents are bad. They're all just lame a$$ excuses to not go to a game and just sit at home or walk around the mall for several hours.

BLA, you & others have referenced the poor attendance after the Notre Dame win countless times on here. I was at the Notre Dame game & was also disappointed with our poor attendance (19K) the next week at home vs Rice.

However, there are a couple of factors that contributed to that lack of instant enthusiasm & support. We had an off season the year before (5-7 in 2009) & we had a poor 2010 home schedule, so there wasn’t a lot of preseason buzz & season tickets sales weren’t great. Then we lost our opener at ECU, we’re blown out week 3 at OSU & lost week 5 at SMU. We had a 4-3 record going into Notre Dame & Notre Dame was 4-4 before our game.

So, even though it was a great road victory, many bandwagon fans viewed the win as Notre Dame being down more than TU being very good. The rest of the season did prove both TU & Notre Dame were good. Both teams went undefeated the rest of the way, including bowl wins. However, the factors listed above prevented our hoped for attendance bump after that big win.

Garbage excuses and the same ones that everyone has spouted off before. Poor schedule, team not great, bad game times. Whatever. What’s the excuse this year? Great schedule. Great non con schedule, great conference schedule. We can not control our conference schedule. Fact is no one showed and simply proves that Tulsa as a sports city is lazy. What’s the excuse for not going to Oilers games when the team is the best they’ve been since the team that won the CHL in the 90s. No one goes to Roughnecks games and that team is the best they’ve been since they’ve come back. People only go to Drillers games when they get free tickets. NCAA tourney games- no one went. Why would the NCAA come back after that crap showing? People here would rather sit on their a$$ at home or go to the mall. Damn mall is always full. And don’t go talking about ticket prices. You can always get tickets for cheap if you want.

 

[tupatsfan]

Anyone remember the title game we hosted v ECU? Wasn’t the attendance horrible for that too? TU fans are predictable and pathetic when it comes to wanting to come to games. If it’s not mid 70s, clear, not windy, and they don’t have to walk more than a quarter mile to their seat then they will show up. It’s insulting how lazy it gets.

 

['Cane-man]

Anyone remember the title game we hosted v ECU? Wasn’t the attendance horrible for that too? TU fans are predictable and pathetic when it comes to wanting to come to games. If it’s not mid 70s, clear, not windy, and they don’t have to walk more than a quarter mile to their seat then they will show up. It’s insulting how lazy it gets.

The attendance was a little over 21K. It was disappointing considering we had two sellouts that year (N. Mex and UCF). It would be an enormous crowd by today's standards.

 

[Tulsafanzz]

BLA, BLA, BLA

 

[aTUfan]

Anyone remember the title game we hosted v ECU? Wasn’t the attendance horrible for that too? TU fans are predictable and pathetic when it comes to wanting to come to games. If it’s not mid 70s, clear, not windy, and they don’t have to walk more than a quarter mile to their seat then they will show up. It’s insulting how lazy it gets.

I was there. It was disapointing.

 

[Tulsafanzz]

Garbage excuses and the same ones that everyone has spouted off before. Poor schedule, team not great, bad game times. Whatever. What’s the excuse this year? Great schedule. Great non con schedule, great conference schedule. We can not control our conference schedule. Fact is no one showed and simply proves that Tulsa as a sports city is lazy. What’s the excuse for not going to Oilers games when the team is the best they’ve been since the team that won the CHL in the 90s. No one goes to Roughnecks games and that team is the best they’ve been since they’ve come back. People only go to Drillers games when they get free tickets. NCAA tourney games- no one went. Why would the NCAA come back after that crap showing? People here would rather sit on their a$$ at home or go to the mall. Damn mall is always full. And don’t go talking about ticket prices. You can always get tickets for cheap if you want.

BLA, the only garbage I read was your comments. You have your opinion, I have mine.

As a Tulsa sports fan for nearly 50 years, I’ve seen a lot & been disappointed a lot. I had season tickets to the Oklahoma Outlaws of the USFL . I attended a press conference where plans were announced for the 65,000 seat Oklahoma Dome. A few days later our stupid mayor, Terry Young, poured cold water on the whole project by saying the City of Tulsa wouldn’t help in any way & that Skelly Stadium was big enough. (If Bill LaFortune would’ve been mayor then, we’d have a domed stadium now). The Outlaws owners went from excited to “Phoenix here we come” a couple months later. I’ve seen the city really get behind TU basketball during the Nolan & Self era (regular sellouts). The same at times with TU football (1991 - over 31K per game). I’ve attended several great PGAs & US Opens at Southern Hills. Tulsa has had & still has sports fans. Tons of them travel to Norman, Stillwater & Fayetteville each fall. The Thunder gets a lot of Tulsa fans.

The bottom line is TU has a very small alumni base in Tulsa. TU needs non-alumni, bandwagon fans to get good attendance. Only a very good (Top 25) program will bring out big #s. Give the City of Tulsa OU or even OSU football, Thunder basketball, any NFL team or a consistent top 25 college basketball or football program & Tulsa would instantly be a “great sports town”.

 

[TU4ever2]

I was there. It was disapointing.

Ticket prices were also minimum 45$ per conference control if I remember right. Season ticket holders got first pick no idea how many showed up for that but I think that would be the most likely. The casual walk up fan is probably not paying double price to see ECU (no knock on them).

 

[TU4ever2]

Garbage excuses and the same ones that everyone has spouted off before. Poor schedule, team not great, bad game times. Whatever. What’s the excuse this year? Great schedule. Great non con schedule, great conference schedule. We can not control our conference schedule. Fact is no one showed and simply proves that Tulsa as a sports city is lazy. What’s the excuse for not going to Oilers games when the team is the best they’ve been since the team that won the CHL in the 90s. No one goes to Roughnecks games and that team is the best they’ve been since they’ve come back. People only go to Drillers games when they get free tickets. NCAA tourney games- no one went. Why would the NCAA come back after that crap showing? People here would rather sit on their a$$ at home or go to the mall. Damn mall is always full. And don’t go talking about ticket prices. You can always get tickets for cheap if you want.

If more play in "first four" games are added Tulsa is the front runner just so you know.

There are lots of reasons Tulsa struggles as a university to pull good attendance. Small alumni, inconsistency in performance, poor marketing and public relations, and poor scheduling are just some of them.

Fix a few of them and our attendance will improve.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Ticket prices were also minimum 45$ per conference control if I remember right.

The minimum was $15 for that game.