The Zekester

['Cane-man]

I noticed on my tickets for today's game was the headshot of Zeke Moore. The kid quit the team before the game in which he was featured on the ticket. I remember that he was supposed to be the impact player of this year's recruiting class.

I still hold out some hope that some of the other guys will develop into contributing players (remember Jeriah Horne was part of last year's class). But as of now, hope is all I got.

 

[rusty-c]

I noticed on my tickets for today's game was the headshot of Zeke Moore. The kid quit the team before the game in which he was featured on the ticket. I remember that he was supposed to be the impact player of this year's recruiting class.

I still hold out some hope that some of the other guys will develop into contributing players (remember Jeriah Horne was part of last year's class). But as of now, hope is all I got.

Horne is really developing into a nice player.

 

[chito_and_leon]

I noticed on my tickets for today's game was the headshot of Zeke Moore. The kid quit the team before the game in which he was featured on the ticket. I remember that he was supposed to be the impact player of this year's recruiting class.

I still hold out some hope that some of the other guys will develop into contributing players (remember Jeriah Horne was part of last year's class). But as of now, hope is all I got.

It seems like Frank has a thing for taking transfers who were highly regarded in high school and basically invisible in their first year at another school. Do those guys ever live up to the hype?

Seems like we should focus on the guys who killed it in their time at smaller schools rather than hope guys who didn’t accomplish much elsewhere can develop.

 

[seniorgolfer]

I still hold out some hope that some of the other guys will develop into contributing players (remember
Jeriah Horne was part of last year's class). But as of now, hope is all I got.

Actually he (Horne) was a member of the 2017 class.....He red shirted at TU last season....The other
members of the 2017 class were Joiner, Jeffries, and Jackson.....Not a bad class at all.....
the 2018 class consisted of Moore, Falocun, Hewitt, Barnes, and the red shirt (jr.) Reggie Jones, a
transfer from Western Mich.....Not much production so far from the first four, with Moore having
dropped out.....

 

[tupatsfan]

Taplin regressing this season has KILLED us.

 

[lawpoke87]

Taplin regressing and getting very little production out of Joiner, Jackson or anyone from the 2018 class. We needed at least one (probably two) of those players to step up and be a solid contributor on this team.

 

[tupatsfan]

Taplin regressing and getting very little production out of Joiner, Jackson or anyone from the 2018 class. We needed at least one (probably two) of those players to step up and be a solid contributor on this team.

I’ve defended haith probably more than I should...but assuming this season tailspin’s (on paper it shouldn’t with a fairly easy schedule here’s on out)...who do we even replace the guy with?

 

[lawpoke87]

I’ve defended haith probably more than I should...but assuming this season tailspin’s (on paper it shouldn’t with a fairly easy schedule here’s on out)...who do we even replace the guy with?

I don't see a tailspin. We play well at home and should be favored in most if not all of the remaining home games. I see us as a bubble NIT team or the CBI unless the wheels just come off. I find an up and coming coach young from a lower level conference and hire him...ala...Chris Beard. For what we're paying Haith, we would have some nice options.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Is it Zeke or Zeus?

Release the Kraken

 

[hotterthanyourhusbandTU]

To answer your question, Steve Forbes (ETSU coach) would be a dream come true. However, we would need to snatch him quick before he blows up.

High level college basketball has become an “arms race”. I think he could get better and nastier recruits than Haith. He’s proven he knows how to get it done...and quickly.

I’m hoping the TU brass have his name in the forefront of all of their conversations.

 

[tupatsfan]

I don't see a tailspin. We play well at home and should be favored in most if not all of the remaining home games. I see us as a bubble NIT team or the CBI unless the wheels just come off. I find an up and coming coach young from a lower level conference and hire him...ala...Chris Beard. For what we're paying Haith, we would have some nice options.

I don’t think we will pay the next coach as much as haith. That’s my worry.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I don't see a tailspin. We play well at home and should be favored in most if not all of the remaining home games. I see us as a bubble NIT team or the CBI unless the wheels just come off. I find an up and coming coach young from a lower level conference and hire him...ala...Chris Beard. For what we're paying Haith, we would have some nice options.

Will the AAC allow teams to play in the CBI? I didn’t think we had that option.

 

[tupatsfan]

Will the AAC allow teams to play in the CBI? I didn’t think we had that option.

Nope.

 

[hotterthanyourhusbandTU]

I have no desire to support TU in the CBI.

 

['Cane-man]

To answer your question, Steve Forbes (ETSU coach) would be a dream come true. However, we would need to snatch him quick before he blows up.

High level college basketball has become an “arms race”. I think he could get better and nastier recruits than Haith. He’s proven he knows how to get it done...and quickly.

I’m hoping the TU brass have his name in the forefront of all of their conversations.

My concern is they don't have a list at all. I have less confidence in Gragg than I do Haith or Montgomery...and I'm starting to wonder if Clancy may be a dud as well.

 

[Larry Lewis]

At least the new guy is better than the guy who peed on the bushes.

 

[Lumpuckeroo]

I don't see a tailspin. We play well at home and should be favored in most if not all of the remaining home games. I see us as a bubble NIT team or the CBI unless the wheels just come off. I find an up and coming coach young from a lower level conference and hire him...ala...Chris Beard. For what we're paying Haith, we would have some nice options.

Take away the home loss to Cincy and this team has done about as well as expected . Houston has signed the last two metro players of the year while all of our top metro players go elsewhere and that’s a shame we can’t land any local talent.

 

[Original TULSAFAN]

Take away the home loss to Cincy and this team has done about as well as expected . Houston has signed the last two metro players of the year while all of our top metro players go elsewhere and that’s a shame we can’t land any local talent.

The demise of any program
Lose the local guys
Tulsa has missed on so many in recent years

 

[seniorgolfer]

Taplin regressing this season has KILLED us.

Taplin regressing and getting very little production out of Joiner, Jackson or anyone from the 2018 class.
We needed at least one (probably two) of those players to step up and be a solid contributor on this
team.

Tap's fall off has been really huge, both in the magnitude of his demise, and the impact it has had on
our overall ability as a team....In fact, our guard play as a whole has been at a lower level than I can
remember in recent seasons...

Taplin's ability to take the ball at the top of the key with the shot clock at 10 or 12 seconds and make
a successful play off the drive, was very noticeably missing early on, but Haith stuck with that plan way
too long into the season, and it has cost us at least one game if not two....We have been terrible (or
worse) late in most games...

With our guard play very average at best, and our 'bigs' not really big enough and athletic enough to
compete fairly in defending the post and rebounding, you can see the origins of our inability to
compete with the upper echelons of our conference.....

With the loss of Jeffries after this season, we will need to recruit much better than we have since Haith
has been here to be competitive....Watching Cincy, Houston, and even some of the young players from
South Florida, you realize how far we have to go......

 

[lawpoke87]

The overall athletic ability of the squad is a huge concern next season imo. Jeffries is currently our only "plus" player. I don't see anyone in the wings to replace him. Horne will be our leading scorer and brings some valuable assets to the table next season. However, he isn't overly athletic...but he is a damn good basketball player. We need to surround him with some high level athletic talent.

 

[tupatsfan]

The overall athletic ability of the squad is a huge concern next season imo. Jeffries is currently our only "plus" player. I don't see anyone in the wings to replace him. Horne will be our leading scorer and brings some valuable assets to the table next season. However, he isn't overly athletic...but he is a damn good basketball player. We need to surround him with some high level athletic talent.

Is the kid from western Michigan athletic?

 

[lawpoke87]

Is the kid from western Michigan athletic?

I wouldn't consider him athletic. He has a nice handle for a kid his size. Needs to work on his outside game. Shot 38% from the field and 30% from three his sophomore year at Western Michigan. Looks like a nice role player next season unless he's made a jump during his redshirt year.

 

[ctt8410]

I wouldn't consider him athletic. He has a nice handle for a kid his size. Needs to work on his outside game. Shot 38% from the field and 30% from three his sophomore year at Western Michigan. Looks like a nice role player next season unless he's made a jump during his redshirt year.

Not athletic? Huh?

 

[lawpoke87]

He's 6'6"....I wouldn't consider him more athletic than most of the wings in the top half of the conference. There aren't very many 6'6" D1 players that can't make that move. Jeffries looks completely different driving the baseline for the jam. Don't get me wrong...he's playing D1 ball. He's obviously athletic. My comment was in relation to his piers in the AAC.

 

[ctt8410]

He's 6'6"....I wouldn't consider him more athletic than most of the wings in the top half of the conference. There aren't very many 6'6" D1 players that can't make that move. Jeffries looks completely different driving the baseline for the jam. Don't get me wrong...he's playing D1 ball. He's obviously athletic. My comment was in relation to his piers in the AAC.

It's ok to admit when you don't know the answer.

 

[lawpoke87]

My comment came from watching a few of his games rather than one dunk. I stand by my opinion. Hopefully he's improved his explosiveness during his red shirt year. If you think that one clip shows a level of athleticism above the average AAC wing then fine. You might want to watch Jeffries or the wings from Houston, Cincy, etc....

His best game of his college career was against Cleveland St. Watch that game and let me know if you still think he's a plus athlete in the AAC.

 

[ctt8410]

My comment came from watching a few of his games rather than one dunk. I stand by my opinion. Hopefully he's improved his explosiveness during his red shirt year. If you think that one clip shows a level of athleticism above the average AAC wing then fine. You might want to watch Jeffries or the wings from Houston, Cincy, etc....

His best game of his college career was against Cleveland St. Watch that game and let me know if you still think he's a plus athlete in the AAC.

The dunk was just an easy clip I had readily available. I watched him play quite a bit. He's an above-average athlete and a good shooter with below average handles and some poor-decision making in games. He'll be a good player on next year's team, but it's a downgrade from Jeffries to Jones just like it was a downgrade from Etou to Horne.

On a lighter note, give your spacebar a rest, my man.

 

[lawpoke87]

The dunk was just an easy clip I had readily available. I watched him play quite a bit. He's an above-average athlete and a good shooter with below average handles and some poor-decision making in games. He'll be a good player on next year's team, but it's a downgrade from Jeffries to Jones just like it was a downgrade from Etou to Horne.

On a lighter note, give your spacebar a rest, my man.

He shot 38% from the field and 29.5% from three his sophomore season. Have you seen something since then to say he's an above average shooter? Guess we completely disagree on the kid. I thought he had a good handle for a wing but a below average shot based on his percentages his last season of play.

 

[ctt8410]

His form is good and he gets good elevation. Release is a little slow and he forces too many shots off the dribble. He's 73/212 (34.4%) in his college career and 90/118 (76.3%) from the line. Both of those numbers are a shade above average in today's game.

 

[Larry Lewis]

Not sure what happened to Jones' shot as a sophomore. He shot 40.4 percent from 3-point range as a freshman and 44.9 percent from the field while averaging 9.4 a game. Last year he averaged 10.1 a game. He did improve his free throw shooting, however, from 72.9 to 80.8.

Perhaps he was trying to do too much last season and not letting the shots come to him. Perhaps a coach messed with his shot, like what happened to Shea Seals after his freshman season. Who knows? Maybe whatever happened to Pat Birt's shot his season season happened to Jones. Perhaps too much weightlifting (us old timers were always told too much weightlifting would mess up our shot - said the same about the golf swing.) I really don't think that is it, but I chuckle when I think about guys like Tiger and Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.

Hopefully TU gets the freshman version of his shooting.

 

[astonmartin708]

His form is good and he gets good elevation. Release is a little slow and he forces too many shots off the dribble. He's 73/212 (34.4%) in his college career and 90/118 (76.3%) from the line. Both of those numbers are a shade above average in today's game.

To quote one of my professors when someone asked if we would have a study guide for his final.... "This will not save you". Basically saying that if you don't already have the attributes you need to excel.... this one thing won't be your saving grace. I don't think a Western Michigan castoff is quite what we need to make a jump to the next level.

The more I look at it, the more it looks like the whole team concept needs to be retooled. Starting with getting some actual bigs so we can play man defense. No more perpetual zones. Also, getting some guards who can both shoot and defend.

 

[lawpoke87]

Jones can help this team next year. However, he will be a significant downgrade from Jeffries. Excited about Horne. Think he can be at or near the top of the conference in scoring.

 

[URedskin54]

To answer your question, Steve Forbes (ETSU coach) would be a dream come true. However, we would need to snatch him quick before he blows up.

High level college basketball has become an “arms race”. I think he could get better and nastier recruits than Haith. He’s proven he knows how to get it done...and quickly.

I’m hoping the TU brass have his name in the forefront of all of their conversations.

We will go on a bit of a run against the bottom of the conference and do enough to save Haith's job for one more year. Given our financial situation we don't have to win that many and I'm afraid we'll miss out on this one.

 

[Original TULSAFAN]

I don't get the financial situation..
For cripe's sake... what the hell is preventing Frank from busting his ass and landing talent to compete in the 5th best conference in the country? Tulsa is a great city. Milder weather. Nice campus. Great town.

Some of you make it sound that TU is on verge of total financial collapse. If so... why is anyone even bothering with Tulsa sports? Just kill the whole damn university.

Of course, I don't buy the financial woe is me song and dance. And I don't f'ing care. Winners find ways to win.

Frank is too "ho hum" IMO.

 

[URedskin54]

I don't get the financial situation..
For cripe's sake... what the hell is preventing Frank from busting his ass and landing talent to compete in the 5th best conference in the country? Tulsa is a great city. Milder weather. Nice campus. Great town.

Some of you make it sound that TU is on verge of total financial collapse. If so... why is anyone even bothering with Tulsa sports? Just kill the whole damn university.

Of course, I don't buy the financial woe is me song and dance. And I don't f'ing care. Winners find ways to win.

Frank is too "ho hum" IMO.

Your generous gift to the athletic department will be much appreciated

 

[hotterthanyourhusbandTU]

We will go on a bit of a run against the bottom of the conference and do enough to save Haith's job for one more year. Given our financial situation we don't have to win that many and I'm afraid we'll miss out on this one.

Somewhat agree. Regardless of the run, he’ll retain his job this year.

When we let go of Haith after next year, not sure if Forbes will still be at ETSU. I know he signed a new deal, but that typically doesn’t matter.

Hoping he gets upset in his conference tourney.

 

[goldenhurricane2]

I don't get the financial situation..
For cripe's sake... what the hell is preventing Frank from busting his ass and landing talent to compete in the 5th best conference in the country? Tulsa is a great city. Milder weather. Nice campus. Great town.

Some of you make it sound that TU is on verge of total financial collapse. If so... why is anyone even bothering with Tulsa sports? Just kill the whole damn university.

Of course, I don't buy the financial woe is me song and dance. And I don't f'ing care. Winners find ways to win.

Frank is too "ho hum" IMO.

If you don’t understand TUs financial situation, you’re more ignorant than originally thought.

 

[seniorgolfer]

His form is good and he gets good elevation. Release is a little slow and he forces too many shots
off the dribble. He's 73/212 (34.4%) in his college career and 90/118 (76.3%) from the line. Both
of those numbers are a shade above average in today's game.

Sounds a lot like Barnes....Form looks good, release looks good....Certainly not bashful about
shooting, but the ball does not go in the basket......

This coaching staff (some assistant coaching changes over the past three years) has made the
mistake of taking non-shooting guards (Barnes, Jackson, Wheeler), while somehow expecting
to compete in the AAC.....Good luck with that.....Moore could shoot, but played neither zone nor
man-to-man.....Ole, mostly.....Many of these were default pickups after our first two choices for
the position went elsewhere.....

After English left, this staff has shown little grit in competing for players that can help you win...
The changes needed for us to really compete in this conference are pretty enormous, and
possibly can't be accomplished without a complete house cleaning....The 2018 recruiting
class is a prime example of that...Very little game input, and one has left already....

Given the situation, and what looks to be the future, Haith&Co. should be out scratching and
clawing to get some winning players.....Maybe they are, but it seems way too quiet on the
"Western front" when it comes to recruiting this year.....Usually, when a staff is really working,
we hear about it.....Again, it's way, way too quiet.....Sadly...

 

[red dirt]

Look at the staff. Who on there looks like their work ethic is at a high level? The problem is our assistants look like they take an ambien before every game and they are more concerned with looking in to the stands all the time behind the bench.

 

[TulsaFan2000]

Based on Zeke’s Instagram it looks like he is at Southern Illinois now.