RPI rankings

[wncapp78]

Congrats to the men for a good win today. Decided to take a look at the RPI basketball rankings. There are three former SoCon mates in the top 50 (Davidson, Chatt, Charleston). Ga State is 47 as top SB team. We are 341 out of 351 D1 schools. Our SOS is low. There are 5 winless teams ranked above us. All current SoCon teams are well ahead of us. I believe Jim Foxx is a good coach. I'm very impressed with him. I am glad we moved to Sunbelt. But we have only made it to the NCAA once in the last 35 years (twice in total). What is a reasonable expectation for progress in our program? I see schools like UNI and Montana, and even schools like Wofford and UNCA that we should have significant advantages over, that have developed consistent competitive programs. Where are we in our development?

[T-Dog]

I don't think we've really comprehended how bad the decision to hire Capel over McMahon was. That was a program-sinking decision made on a whim on a Monday afternoon after Buzz left the previous Friday.

Currently, we are in the midst of transitioning from the last of the Capel players to a team with all Fox guys. Next year, the only Capel guy will be Kobani who rarely plays. Next year, the lineup will be VERY young and possibly very exciting with a seasoned O'Boyle, Shabazz, Logan, Tyrell, Kinney, etc.

App has never made basketball a real priority monetarily until recently. Buzz took App to the tourney once and bolted. Same with Cremins. Fancher was hamstrung from the start with the old "five and eight" rule, the precursor to APR. He got good talent on the count, but had problems losing the worst games at the worst times. Despite the glass ceiling, Fancher was treated raw as he had a great team coming back in 2009-10 and a check was written to buy out his contract.

[EastHallApp]

While it's true we don't have much tradition over the long term, consider this: In the stretch from 1998-2010 (beginning with Buzz's 2nd year, and ending with his one-year return stint), App went 18-13 or better in eight of 13 seasons, including five seasons of more than 20 wins. That's a pretty decent amount of success over an extended time, under the guidance of two competent - but hardly spectacular - coaches.

The point I'm making is that App had established itself as a respectable basketball program that could at least occasionally be very good at the SoCon level... and then Capel happened, and we had to start over at square one. But if you're asking about reasonable expectations, that shows me that there's no reason we can't regularly contend for conference titles.

[Gonzo]

When I was at Appalachian (07-11) we had some solid squads and a great atmosphere. I'm not ready to say we've never been good and it doesn't seem that long ago to me.

Clearly the Capel hire was the atom bomb and the radioactive waste is still lingering. My question is: how long do we give Fox before we start expecting better than what we've seen so far this season? I think he's a terrific guy and he knows his stuff on the hard wood. But how many years of bottom 10 RPI will you give him before his charm takes a back seat to the fact that we still suck. It's early but I thought we would be more competitive this year. Certainly better than 300-something.

[bigCasu]

Fox got a 5 year contract for a reason. The situation was so incredibly dire that a 4 year contract wouldn't be enough. If we are sitting here and Fox has a 4 year deal, I would understand quicker rush to judgment. As others have mentioned, next year, we'll be younger than we are this year.

We need to get to 8-12 in conference play. That puts us in the bottom half, but likely in the tournament. The kids need to play games to get better. Unfortunately, we're going to lose more games this year, but patience is key.


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[Appsolutely]

Fox inherited a Cleveland steamer. I think it may take 3 recruiting classes to right the ship. Patience is key.

[Rekdiver]

By the by.....have y'all seen how well Devonte Graham is playing at Kansas? Sure woulda been nice to have him.

[wncapp78]

Thanks for the comments and input. Its helpful. Ive been following our team since Press Maravich so I've seen some very good teams. Unfortunately ETSU, Chatt and Marshall were really good then too and we never crossed the finish line. Ive been patient literally for 40 years! I guess I'm envious that teams like Wofford have managed to do what we cant. We all want to win, and win with good character kids. I Think Foxx will make sure our kids meet the character test. But it seems the finish line gets further away not closer. I watched us lose the last 2 years to a very poor Furman team. I worry about the lost student base over all the bad years.

[app97]

Thanks for the comments and input. Its helpful. Ive been following our team since Press Maravich so I've seen some very good teams. Unfortunately ETSU, Chatt and Marshall were really good then too and we never crossed the finish line. Ive been patient literally for 40 years! I guess I'm envious that teams like Wofford have managed to do what we cant. We all want to win, and win with good character kids. I Think Foxx will make sure our kids meet the character test. But it seems the finish line gets further away not closer. I watched us lose the last 2 years to a very poor Furman team. I worry about the lost student base over all the bad years.

That "very poor Furman team" ended up knocking off Chattanooga and Mercer in last year's Socon tourney and almost beat Wofford in the finals. They haven't gotten it done with wins and losses yet, but they have shown potential with the new coach.

[NavyApp]

I love basketball and I love App, but being honest our "basketball program" is broken. I am not referring to the coaching but the infrastructure as a whole. To be competitive, which I think is what we all want, you need talent it is just that simple. So when the staff brings in recruits for official visits what do they see? An empty Holmes and a not exciting environment to play in, so we are never going to get those guys that 'Nooga, Davidson, Georgia State get if no one ever goes to the home games.

So how do we fix it? Seems easy enough right? Just more excitement in the program amongst the fan base and the recruits will come and the games will be won. If it wereonly so simple. I hate saying this but Buzz brought excitement to our program and brand recognition. Fancher built on that as very technically sound coach so we won games because of what those two built. The Capel hire was never a great fit, neither brand recognition or the ability to coach up the talent he had which has led to our current situation. Coach Fox is doing all he can to plug all the holes on a sinking ship but it's a lost cause as it is currently constructed.

We all know the following our football team has and how the faithful show up and rock the ROCK, even travel to most of the road games. Our football team has national brand recognition, we recruit well, we hire great coaches who coach well and the team in turn wins. That's what needs to happen if we ever want to field a serious basketball team, schools of our budget size pull it off so can we. As the App faithful we have to put the same love and heart into all of our programs as we do with football. I know basketball falls into the snowy season and it makes it hard to travel up the mountain. And I don't expect all Alums to show up for every home game but if your in our beautiful second home for whatever reason why not take in a basketball game. And the current students need to step it up BIG TIME! Sitting in your apartments and dorms complaining about the bad basketball team is going to do nothing. Show up. Take friends. Go have fun. Make noise!

WE have to do our part to support everyone that wears Black and Gold to instill that same pride that BOOMS out of Kidd Brewer. Today I Give My All To Appalachian State applies to all of us!