Can we please find some good big men

[diehardapp18]

@moose can you please give me an update on some of the guys we are targeting. Last year all our commitments were from guards and wings and so far for 2016 our only commit is from a guard. Obviously having as many quality players as possible is good but we simply aren't getting anywhere until we have more of a post presence. Last year we had a big that could score in Spagnola and holy crap it made a huge difference. This year we have big guys that aren't awful rebounders but on offense we have no bigs that can score. I mean, ROnshad Shabazz is gonna be the best player we have ever had but he won't be able to dominate as much as he can when teams can just lock down the perimeter because we have no one inside that can score.

[hapapp]

Actually, I think we have two guard commits for 2016.

[diehardapp18]

Actually, I think we have two guard commits for 2016.

Oh boy oh boy GUARDS GUARDS GUARDS a roster of 20 guards is what's gonna make us competitive again

[firemoose]

So far this year we've offered 10+ guys 6' 7" or bigger. And all but one of them have signed/committed elsewhere. We've brought in 4 for visits in the past couple of weeks/games. As hap said we have two guards committed/signed for this class. From all I'm seeing we're only looking for bigger guys right now. But as has often been said we can offer as many as we want. Getting them to commit is a whole different story. No doubts at all that our staff is trying as hard as they can to overcome every handicap that App has in getting players to come here but we'll just have to hope and pray we can find what we need, and can get them to actually want to come here.

[asu66]

Actually, I think we have two guard commits for 2016.

Oh boy oh boy GUARDS GUARDS GUARDS a roster of 20 guards is what's gonna make us competitive again

I think Fox and his staff would like to have former Gastonia Ashbrook standout
Isaiah Whaley. He's a 6-9, 200 PF. There are two problems with signing Whaley. He's now enrolled at the Evelyn Mack Academy in Charlotte. That's an independent/charter school for students with special needs. Whaley may or may not qualify. If he does qualify, then he has a smorgasboard of programs that would kill to get his signature. Along with ASU, there are schools from the ACC, SEC, C-USA, AAC, CAA, Southern, Big East, Mountain West, MEAC and others in the running. I'd say he's a long shot at best for us.

Huskie3 may know what's up with Whaley these days. He taught and coached in Gaston.k12 schools like forever.

[EastHallApp]

Actually, I think we have two guard commits for 2016.

Oh boy oh boy GUARDS GUARDS GUARDS a roster of 20 guards is what's gonna make us competitive again

Understand your point about needing more size, but guards are the most important players in college hoops, and while we've got some talent there we certainly aren't so set that we don't need to add more.

[diehardapp18]

So far this year we've offered 10+ guys 6' 7" or bigger. And all but one of them have signed/committed elsewhere. We've brought in 4 for visits in the past couple of weeks/games. As hap said we have two guards committed/signed for this class. From all I'm seeing we're only looking for bigger guys right now. But as has often been said we can offer as many as we want. Getting them to commit is a whole different story. No doubts at all that our staff is trying as hard as they can to overcome every handicap that App has in getting players to come here but we'll just have to hope and pray we can find what we need, and can get them to actually want to come here.

Alright thanks for ensuring me that they are at least trying to find good bigs. I have no idea how we got Shabazz to commit

e: Do we have hopes at all for Jake Wilson? The Lenoir-Rhyne transfer

[firemoose]

Alright thanks for ensuring me that they are at least trying to find good bigs. I have no idea how we got Shabazz to commit

e: Do we have hopes at all for Jake Wilson? The Lenoir-Rhyne transfer

Just based on the roster he's already put on more than 25 lbs from when he transferred. We'll see after a full off season with S & C what he comes out at. From his film he can shoot. He was very thin coming out of HS but if he can bulk up...well you can't make 7' 1" height. You either have it or you don't.

[diehardapp18]

Alright thanks for ensuring me that they are at least trying to find good bigs. I have no idea how we got Shabazz to commit

e: Do we have hopes at all for Jake Wilson? The Lenoir-Rhyne transfer

Just based on the roster he's already put on more than 25 lbs from when he transferred. We'll see after a full off season with S & C what he comes out at. From his film he can shoot. He was very thin coming out of HS but if he can bulk up...well you can't make 7' 1" height. You either have it or you don't.

Sweet, a big that can stretch the floor would be huge. Makes getting to and finishing at the rim much easier for Shabazz. That dude can be ab absolute legend here

[hapapp]

I'm not putting too much faith in a D2 transfer providing any kind of immediate impact.

We are kind of in an odd place going forward. No doubt there are some talented young guys like Shabazz and Logan who will be stalwarts next year. On the other hand, we are the second most veteran team in the league and we lose almost 50% of our offense. In many ways, the development of guys like Johnson and Holley spell how well we do in the immediate future.

We need to improve both in our ability to be more consistent on offense (last in the league in FG%) and more importantly on defense (last in the league in almost every defensive category) if we are to see growth as a program. The two 2016 recruits do seem to have good offensive skills. But we have to be able to prevent the easy buckets we give up to our opponents every outing.

Next year, this will be Coach Fox's team with almost the entire roster made up of his players. It will be time to show some progress. Being a successful assistant doesn't automatically make one a good head coach. No doubt these first two years have been a learning experience for him as well. His personality and demeanor seem well suited for the job. His ability to recruit the players to fit his system is the key to his success.

[asu66]

That's a pretty complete assessment of our basketball program. Our offense and defense have been liabilities all season. With our losses to graduation, Logan, Shabazz, Kinney, O'Boyle, Johnson, Holley and Babic will have to carry the load. We know Babic is never going to be a big scoring threat, so that leaves Goesling and the transfers--Hinton and Wilson plus the freshmen to contribute if and where they can. Then there's Kobani who's barely been off the bench this season. Hard to see a role for him as a senior.

It'll be Fox Year 3 of 5 working for an AD who didn't hire him and still playing to crowds averaging barely 1,000. He's got to make some noise.