Becky Burke named new UB WBB HC

[rma]

3 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

Could that be Drew Landers sitting on the floor? Any chance Sharkey stays?

That was my first thought, but it looks like Landers has facial hair in all of his pictures and has a slightly more receding hairline (Drew if you're reading this, mine is worse).

Could also be their DOBO Chris Logsdon? https://upstatespartans.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/staff/chris-logsdon/4

Don't think Sharkey is sticking around.

 

[121Merrimac]

The moment a couple bigs decided to look at other options, I felt Sharkey’s time was up.  
Best of luck to all of them. 
 

(dang, previously I thought her psychology degree would be a nice continuation, after FLJ)

[CTBullsfan]

I'll miss her, but I think leaving would be a good thing for Sharkey whether or not she goes with FLJ to SU. If she wants to be in the coaching biz you need to move around. I hope one day she comes back to UB as head coach after some other fabulous coach leaves us for something bigger. I really hope one day we're the bigger thing relative to more programs out there. 

[rma]

 

[rma]

She's aware of the timeframe at stake here. Talking about the brand of basketball that will be played here for the "next few years"

Seems to have talked to the team quite a bit already. Mystery coach appears to be "G"

Spectrum Question about portal: First priority was talking to players in the portal. No specifics on players.

Lenzi Question about what makes UB appealing: Small town kid from Scranton, PA. Familiar with the region in recruiting. Being able to take over a program with recent success. "Be somewhere and sustain something for the long term"

[John]

2 minutes ago, rma said:

She's aware of the timeframe at stake here. Talking about the brand of basketball that will be played here for the "next few years"

Seems to have talked to the team quite a bit already. Mystery coach appears to be "G"

Spectrum Question about portal: First priority was talking to players in the portal. No specifics on players.

Lenzi Question about what makes UB appealing: Small town kid from Scranton, PA. Familiar with the region in recruiting. Being able to take over a program with recent success. "Be somewhere and sustain something for the long term"

Looked like only about five or so current players in the crowd. Do we know who they are? I think a good first impression. Like any change in life Coach Burke said it will be different than the past  but the work ethic and love for the game is the same. Excited to see the next chapter in UB basketball. Let’s build new memories for both our programs. Go Bulls!!!

[TML1000]

Young was one of the 5...not sure on McEvans and Camp as they have not yet entered the portal to my knowledge but did not see them today. Possibly, some had class? 

[John]

18 minutes ago, TML1000 said:

Young was one of the 5...not sure on McEvans and Camp as they have not yet entered the portal to my knowledge but did not see them today. Possibly, some had class? 

Thanks for the updates. It looks like Coach Burke is full go on recruiting both freshman and looking at the portal. Go Bulls!!!

[UBinMD]

I was very impressed with her, she brings young energy, but she also has a good amount of experience already and has dealt with student athletes from a number of levels (NAIA, D2, D1) and has had success. She seems truly happy to be here and is definitely in full recruit mode. I really liked that she said "I may not have brought you here, but I want you here and you will be loved." As an athlete that just lost that figure, to hear that I would think would give them pause and think maybe it will be ok to stay and see what we can continue here, I really hope so anyway.

I wish her the best of luck and it feels like she won't be outworked by anybody she goes up against. Some of her bigger connections could lead to some great OOC games in the future.

[TML1000]

We just offered Re'Shawna Stone, the D2 POY from National champions Glennville State, who is in the portal.

[UBinMD]

19 minutes ago, TML1000 said:

We just offered Re'Shawna Stone, the D2 POY from National champions Glennville State, who is in the portal.

Cool, she could be a solid addition.

[rma]

Looks like Jazmine Young is staying per the WKBW article on Burke's hire.

[UBinMD]

1 hour ago, rma said:

Looks like Jazmine Young is staying per the WKBW article on Burke's hire.

That’s a good keep. Hopefully Camp too 

[UBinMD]

McEvans is in the portal now

[skrabukes]

1 hour ago, UBinMD said:

McEvans is in the portal now

This is brutal. Literally starting over like a brand new program.

[UBinMD]

1 minute ago, skrabukes said:

This is brutal. Literally starting over like a brand new program.

I guess she wasn’t excited about Coach Burke’s message. Hopefully Coach can fill the coffers with some talent that is willing to work in her system. I liked her message and if she can find the hard workers with talent, the dip may be less than we thought. 

[TML1000]

With the number of players in the portal, we will get some decent talent. The real hard yards will come in getting whomever comes in the gel into a team.

[skrabukes]

8 minutes ago, TML1000 said:

With the number of players in the portal, we will get some decent talent. The real hard yards will come in getting whomever comes in the gel into a team.

That's a big part of the problem. It's starting from scratch, new players, new system, new everything. Not that others aren't immune to this problem as well, but it really is brutal, as both teams will be doing this (not a new system on the men's side, but nearly all new personnel)

[DooleyBull06]

1 hour ago, skrabukes said:

That's a big part of the problem. It's starting from scratch, new players, new system, new everything. 

Top me this is perfectly fine. When a new boss takes over a company usually they gut the company. Bring in their own people with no one to undermine them. Relating that to basketball…she comes in with a blank canvas to paint her own Monet. 

Did that make sense lol?

Anyways, the rebuild is going to take time. But with a blank canvas she can bring in her type of players to run her system. Which might actually quicken the rebuild process. 

[UBinMD]

48 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

Top me this is perfectly fine. When a new boss takes over a company usually they gut the company. Bring in their own people with no one to undermine them. Relating that to basketball…she comes in with a blank canvas to paint her own Monet. 

Did that make sense lol?

Anyways, the rebuild is going to take time. But with a blank canvas she can bring in her type of players to run her system. Which might actually quicken the rebuild process. 

I'm not giving up on this upcoming season. It's not like the MAC is a juggernaut conference. If we get the right players in place and they can get in some good work in during the OOC schedule, they could gel into a good MAC team, get to the tournament and figure out how to win 3 games. I like her passion and I think her team will play hard and scrap. That's what you need in the tournament. I'll reserve judgement until I see her roster, if she can bring one of the Portal Players back to the fold.

Here is my dream scenario - Fair returns for her senior season to become the greatest WBB player of all time and Lexi McNabb honors her commitment and comes in as the Georgia Wooley 2.0.

Likely, No; Impossible; Not Yet  🤣

[skrabukes]

5 hours ago, UBinMD said:

I'm not giving up on this upcoming season. It's not like the MAC is a juggernaut conference. If we get the right players in place and they can get in some good work in during the OOC schedule, they could gel into a good MAC team, get to the tournament and figure out how to win 3 games. I like her passion and I think her team will play hard and scrap. That's what you need in the tournament. I'll reserve judgement until I see her roster, if she can bring one of the Portal Players back to the fold.

Here is my dream scenario - Fair returns for her senior season to become the greatest WBB player of all time and Lexi McNabb honors her commitment and comes in as the Georgia Wooley 2.0.

Likely, No; Impossible; Not Yet  🤣

Keep dreaming on that last point. 

We shall see. Just like with the men, it's wait and see as to what the roster will look like before assessing. I'm always hopeful. As she said in her speech, it won't look like it did before. I enjoyed what I was watching before, however. 

[DooleyBull06]

I think it’s unfair to place the expectation of winning in her first season upon her. This roster is gutted. We need to give the new coach time. It’s gonna take a few years but that’s the realization. And obviously yes, the sooner she wins the better. And the last thing we can do is compare her to FLJ. Unlike Whitesell who inherited a ready roster, she isn’t. She is putting her stamp on from the jump. She is the opposite of what Whitesell’s hire was.

[CTBullsfan]

Just because they're in the portal doesn't necessarily mean they're gone. Some might want to evaluate their options. I wouldn't put Fair in the category - she's either going to wind up a Syracuse or somewhere else, but I'm not so sure about someone like Loren Christie. I haven't heard about Gaba going into the portal or may be I just missed it. 

As I was trying to figure out what Gaba was doing I saw this in TBN. 
https://buffalonews.com/sports/college/ub-womens-basketball-coach-becky-burke-i-want-to-make-sure-i-do-this-from/article_f3a1f702-b775-11ec-a679-fbb9d5046bef.html
 

Quote

 

Burke now has a few immediate tasks at UB. She has to build relationships with current players, and re-recruit players from this year’s roster who are in the transfer portal and who have not committed to a new program. Among the attendees at Burke’s introduction Friday was UB forward Loren Christie, who entered the transfer portal last week.

Burke also told reporters that she’s been in touch with Dyaisha Fair, a junior guard who was fourth in the nation in scoring (23.4 points per game) this season, and who entered the transfer portal March 28.

Burke also has to assemble a coaching staff – her assistant at USC Upstate, Candyce Wheeler, was in attendance Friday at Alumni Arena – comb through the transfer portal to find potential players, and recruit incoming freshmen. She also has to reach out to UB’s lone commit, Lexi McNabb, a guard from Arizona who signed a National Letter of Intent in November.

 

 

[CTBullsfan]

Just reading her resume... it says she was HC at Charleston before USC Upstate. Would going from CAA to Big South be a step down or just lateral? I don't know all about Womens basketball conferences. 

[Steve86]

13 minutes ago, CTBullsfan said:

Just reading her resume... it says she was HC at Charleston before USC Upstate. Would going from CAA to Big South be a step down or just lateral? I don't know all about Womens basketball conferences. 

She was at the University of Charleston (DII) not Charleston Southern which is in the CAA.