Reverend_Goose

2 hours ago, Jeseph said:

You're really going to use this as another opportunity to stir the pot between the two of you as well? Let it go..

Dude...that was more of a gripe toward the athletic communications department at UB. They have a history of pulling this BS because they don't understand what the hell journalism is. They also get sensitive over opinions.

On 1/5/2020 at 6:51 PM, Kevin said:

Censored by UB's media department for being too negative. 

😬😬😬

Everyone just keep in mind that this is the guy who freaked the fuck out three games into Oats' first season.

He'll be sucking up to the Whitesell era a year or two from now when they're back in tourney form. Maybe even this year. Like clockwork.

On 4/21/2019 at 1:23 PM, 961819 said:

We always struggle getting the stereotypical bigs, this would definitely be a different looking offense 

It wasn't necessarily that we were struggling to get them, Oats and Hodgson just preferred to recruit non-traditional forwards that were athletic and could shoot the three-ball. Looks like Whitesell has a slightly different philosophy in that regard. I'm excited nonetheless about having some bruisers down low again

39 minutes ago, rma said:

Well we did home and homes with UConn (2010-2013) and Temple (2018-19).  MBB hasn't been a one way street (UC neutral in the Cayman Islands "Fyre Fest" Classic, home and home vs Temple, one off away against Tulsa), and only once away in women's basketball (UCF a few years ago away, USF neutral in NCAA).

I don't want to derail your point because it is pretty true, but I do want to point out that the UC neutral was mostly luck. When you sign up for that abomination of a tourney, nowhere in the contracts does it guarantee you play any certain teams (UC in this example) or state what the other teams in the tourney are.

Also, I was told the UCF home-and-home in WBB was mostly due to Coach Jack's relationship with UCF's coach, Katie Abrahamson-Henderson--who spent a few years as Jack's Associate HC at Indiana. Sometimes it's just pure luck and past relationships that get you these deals; like Oats getting a second Syracuse matchup from Boeheim while attending the final four last year. 

I'm late to this thread, but wanted to give my thoughts on some of the things you've all said.

On 1/17/2019 at 9:13 PM, Kevin said:

I personally think he loves it here. He makes sure to say that. My biggest point is this: anyone can recruit with a big conference/name. His job becomes so much harder in the P5 not to mention one key factor - will Power 5 teams agree with the aggressive route of growing through JUCO? It's very faux pas and only fits a certain mold.

I'm not sure what you mean by JUCO recruiting being faux pas? There's nothing embarrassing about it despite its outdated and inaccurate stigma--one of which is being challenged heavily with each passing year. Oats and several other current coaches have proven that there are ton of talented, high-character kids in these ranks that either a) needed a year or two to develop more, b) were severely under-recruited, or c) didn't quite have the grades in their first recruitment. 

Power 5 teams aren't going to care as long as you win and don't have players getting arrested or things like the Louisville sex scandal of 2015. Texas Tech is the leading example right now of a Power 5 team infusing top JUCO talent and having success with it. They have one of the best defenses in the nation this year and are in good shape for the future. 

On 1/17/2019 at 9:36 PM, DooleyBull06 said:

And next year we anticipate a drop off bc how can we replace these 5 seniors. 

I think it's fair to say there will be a slight drop off, but it's not as big as we all might initially think. The JUCO guys that are coming in really fit the mold of the last two years of the Oats tenure; Durey Caldwell is going to draw a ton of Jeremy Harris comparisons and Andre Allen is the newest installment in the Kadiri/McRae/Fagan saga. James Rojas is looking like to be an absolute steal of a recruit. 

Add in the senior transfers, who are flying completely under the radar, as well as the current freshmen and Jordan, and I think we'll be in really great shape. Jordan coming back is going to be huge not only for next year's record, but for Segu's development. 

On 1/17/2019 at 9:44 PM, rma said:

We still need to give him a raise.  $600k is only $50k more than Saul Phillips.  I think the key to keeping him is ~$900k-$1m a year, and some form of progress on a rec facility so that the triple gym is SAs only.  It really doesn't make much sense to have the student recreation facility on the far side of campus.  In the UB2020 plan it was the plan to build it where the Commons currently is.  But if there's nothing besides a decade old plan, it isn't getting built in the near future.

Oats' resume already warrants a 1-1.2 million a year salary and that's going to be extremely tough for UB to do. Their best bet is to extend him with as close of a number as they can get to that. If UB can get it up to 750k and raises for the assistants, the chances of retaining him are much higher--especially if his contract is loaded with incentives like in years previous.

As for the standalone practice facility. I've heard through the grapevine that UB is much closer to the building a student rec center than we think. Oats may already be in the know of what's coming down the pipe, which in return should increase odds of retaining him. UB is definitely trying and they're in much better shape to approach this sort of conversation than five years ago.

On 1/18/2019 at 9:24 AM, BullsFan14 said:

I agree that basketball needs its own practice facility. Is the Ed Wright gym something that Oats wants?

Thankfully, Oats seems incredibly understanding of the university's situation in terms of facilities. I don't think quality of the facility is a pressing matter....yet. If the triple gym was SAs only; it would be a huge benefit for both basketball teams when it comes to their development. Having to work around the rec schedules is a tough task when you've got 30ish different athletes on different class schedules. 

13 hours ago, skrabukes said:

Oh, I'm sorry. Yay! Congratulations KJ! You're wonderful!

I hope that you enjoyed the $200k of scholarship from UB and if somehow, some way you get drafted, on draft day, it will be "KJ Osborn from Miami". 

Are we that lame that we are happy for him? If we are, I need to deeply reconsider my purchase of tickets and amount of donations in the future. 

The dude did what was asked of him. He got his degree and played some pretty damn good football on the way. Check yourself. 

1 hour ago, ubxcretired said:

They're college students - not a bunch of old folks like us.  9 PM is when you start to think about going out.  Noon is an early morning start.

Yep, 9pm pre-game, go out at 11, come home drunk as balls at 4.

I have been told the staff backed off on recruiting him after his official visit

8 hours ago, admin said:

Ok, which one of you clowns donated a $1? I guess it's better than nothing.

I plead the fifth

Danny White is our one true god.