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I Support Coach Frank Haith

That reminds me of pretty much everything we already know lawpoke

I’ve known Trey since he was in grade school. He’s a great kid and a pure shooter. However, he’s currently a 6’1” shooting guard with average athletic ability. The obvious question is whether he will be able to get his shot against more athletic 6’5” guards. He will always be good as a spot up shooter but may be limited offensively. We shall see. The plus side is you can’t have too many shooters. The down side is we’re looking at a 5’11” and 6’1” backcourt with neither being a “plus” athlete. However, both can score.

That said...we need to recruit some “plus” athletes out of high school. Haith hasn’t been good at that.
 
I’ve known Trey since he was in grade school. He’s a great kid and a pure shooter. However, he’s currently a 6’1” shooting guard with average athletic ability. The obvious question is whether he will be able to get his shot against more athletic 6’5” guards. He will always be good as a spot up shooter but may be limited offensively. We shall see. The plus side is you can’t have too many shooters. The down side is we’re looking at a 5’11” and 6’1” backcourt with neither being a “plus” athlete. However, both can score.

That said...we need to recruit some “plus” athletes out of high school. Haith hasn’t been good at that.
Phipps hits a couple of wide open threes and then the opponent will be in his jock strap. He would need to work off screens and picks to get his shot off. He will do just fine shooting when getting some help , but he's going to beat anyone off the dribble by himself. The Thompson kid will have no problem , however bigger fish are after him .
 
Last year we had Taplin-Henderson-Jeffries-Etou-Igbanu and missed the NIT. Lack of talent is not the problem.
 
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Last year we had Taplin-Henderson-Jeffries-Etou-Igbanu and missed the NIT. Lack of talent is not the problem.

I don’t think we are long enough. We struggle against long guards. Our offense used to be pretty, but now it looks like the Wojciks are drawing plays up. I really like it when Horne brings the ball up.
 
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Hill will make a difference. And Joiner with another year will be good. Worried more about rebounding and inside scoring. I don’t see it yet.
 
I like the offense. Much better than Woj years. Our problem is putting the ball in the basket.
 
I guess I never considered Phipps a “game-changing” signee. To me, it was a nice story to sign a small local kid who could shoot.

If you watch the BTW games, he won’t strike you as a player that will be impactful on a D1 (AAC) roster.

But, he’ll work hard and probably set a good example within our program.

When Jeffries graduates, we will have arguably the least athletic team in TU history and the most un-athletic team in the AAC...who can’t shoot.
 
When my son was really little, the league he was in required the coaches to line up the players with the strongest first to the weakest and that was the matchup for the game — man to man was required. I remember week in and out our strongest player was usually the equivalent of the other side’s 3rd or 4th best player.

Very difficult!

Had to change what you would normally run on both ends just to try and give the team a chance.

This is the same situation that Haith has made for himself. And it sucks.
 
Last year we had Taplin-Henderson-Jeffries-Etou-Igbanu and missed the NIT. Lack of talent is not the problem.
Etou was a big time player
Henderson could get really hot

We are worse w those 2 gone... plus, the league is getting better talent from top to bottom and getting better coaches.
 
I guess I never considered Phipps a “game-changing” signee. To me, it was a nice story to sign a small local kid who could shoot.

If you watch the BTW games, he won’t strike you as a player that will be impactful on a D1 (AAC) roster.

But, he’ll work hard and probably set a good example within our program.

When Jeffries graduates, we will have arguably the least athletic team in TU history and the most un-athletic team in the AAC...who can’t shoot.

Hill is a game changer. Phipps will gain the strength and weight to be a good D-1 player. Give him two years to grow and get stronger. You can't teach his great shooting and attitude toward basketball.

But really good bigs will be the make or break for the program next year. An instant starter at the 4 who can lead the team in boards and blocks would be helpful. I suspect the only way we get one is JUCO or Grad.
If they are not good enough to start, don't sign them. If you can't sign one, then maybe coaching is not a good occupation for you......at least at the AAC level.............
 
I’ve known Trey since he was in grade school. He’s a great kid and a pure shooter. However, he’s currently a 6’1” shooting guard with average athletic ability. The obvious question is whether he will be able to get his shot against more athletic 6’5” guards. He will always be good as a spot up shooter but may be limited offensively. We shall see. The plus side is you can’t have too many shooters. The down side is we’re looking at a 5’11” and 6’1” backcourt with neither being a “plus” athlete. However, both can score.

That said...we need to recruit some “plus” athletes out of high school. Haith hasn’t been good at that.

He looks pretty youthful. Is there a chance he could still grow a few inches?
 
Last year we had Taplin-Henderson-Jeffries-Etou-Igbanu and missed the NIT. Lack of talent is not the problem.

I disagree, each of those players has major holes in their game that kept them from being at better schools.

This team reminds me of the Reggie Shields/Marcell Gordon teams of the '80s, just not enough talent on the roster to rise above the middle of the pack. The difference then to now is Tulsa just isn't the destination school it once was for upcoming coaching talent and there is no such thing as local, JUCO or international "sleepers" available with the coverage by the talent sites (like rivals and others).

Times are a changing and I'm afraid Tulsa has missed the bus to the next stop...
 
Maybe. His dad is 6’3-6’4”. His mom isn’t very tall. Never know though.
Phipps is a smaller version of his dad...a great shooter and that’s something TU needs . However, his son is never going to beat a D- 1 defender consistently off the dribble without help . He can help TU big time on the outside by becoming a zone buster,s
 
I haven’t seen much except a few high school highlights, but just from the fan’s eye test, athletically he seems to be a locker room guy that helps in the classroom to boost the overall team GPA who has a game or two shooting against lesser competition early in the year. He resides in that gray area between walk-on and role player. Not my choice but I get why Haith would pick a local shooter he can get just for PR reasons if nothing else. What I don’t get is that if he has the grades, why isn’t he a preferred walk on to save the spot?
 
I haven’t seen much except a few high school highlights, but just from the fan’s eye test, athletically he seems to be a locker room guy that helps in the classroom to boost the overall team GPA who has a game or two shooting against lesser competition early in the year. He resides in that gray area between walk-on and role player. Not my choice but I get why Haith would pick a local shooter he can get just for PR reasons if nothing else. What I don’t get is that if he has the grades, why isn’t he a preferred walk on to save the spot?
Players want to get their college paid by the university and feel wanted by the coach . Being offered to "Walk on" by the coach is telling a kid that maybe we think you can develop enough to play for us but right now we don't want to take the risk with a scholarship .
 
Players want to get their college paid by the university and feel wanted by the coach . Being offered to "Walk on" by the coach is telling a kid that maybe we think you can develop enough to play for us but right now we don't want to take the risk with a scholarship .
Huffy says “hey, if the shoe fits ...”.

Coach Todd Graham in Chapter 2 of his seminal opus “How I Coached at All Three of My Dream Jobs” opines: “You cant win without finding ways to get the best talent on campus. You cant get the best talent on campus without dealing with players who face academic hurdles. At smaller schools, academic problems are particularly acute. You’ve got to find ways to get as many players on campus and help them, but also not hurt the bottom line of your GPA. Where possible, if a player qualifies for an academic scholarship, you can tell him he is best helping the team by “walking on” and leaving a scholarship spot open for someone else who doesn’t have the grades. Then you can turn around and tell your academically trouble player that you are only recruiting one scholarship player that year at that position. This is how players like Trey Watts and Brennan Marion, both talented players, make a great program greater in their own unique way based on vastly different family backgrounds.
 
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