The Goat Pen

I like it. It's not like the SEC is a basketball power conference. He's got a good style that meshes. Besides the UK connections to Billy most were saying the same thing 19 years ago. Plus, Miller wasn't leaving Dayton for a rebuilding job and it would have taken many millions to pry Mack from here. It's a football school with a basketball program. Always will be. You get it right? Just opposite

eCat wrote:wtf were they thinking?

Perhaps Foley is a little gun-shy now that two HOF coaches have split (Urban and Billy). Maybe it's a case of less splash..and less likely they'll dash. People are still curious about the football hire..

It would be one thing to hire him pre-Donovan, but to bring this guy in to a program that was in the final four in 2014 and is a two time national champion in more or less the last decade? That's out of context to me.

I understand the reasons why Foley thinks he's their guy but one minute Foley is saying no need to hurry ,we can go well into June and the next minute he pulls the trigger - did he even test the waters or just go for the sure hire?

Caleb Swanigan decommits from MSU and is considering Cal with Rabb and Brown to play for Cuonzo Martin

Where are all the people saying Martin - with no little to no recruiting history - is cheating? How does he land (3) 5* recruits to California if Swanigan goes there (Swanigan may stay home and go to Purdue).

I'd love to know how he lands these kids - what his pitch to them to get them to leave home and go across the country to play for him.

One can only hope he's as successful as the coach we got from LA Tech.

Swanigan to California was short lived - it looks like he's going to Purdue - which means he probably wants to play closer to home

eCat wrote:Caleb Swanigan decommits from MSU and is considering Cal with Rabb and Brown to play for Cuonzo Martin

Where are all the people saying Martin - with no little to no recruiting history - is cheating? How does he land (3) 5* recruits to California if Swanigan goes there (Swanigan may stay home and go to Purdue).

I'd love to know how he lands these kids - what his pitch to them to get them to leave home and go across the country to play for him.

UC (the Cal UC) has no issues with paying players. They have a long history of it. Their football program under Tedford was pulling kids out of fucking NC, mostly because a shady ass hs coach in Greensboro was given a job out there and he paid the kids in NC (he also acted as a runner/street agent).

"I'd love to know how he lands these kids - what his pitch to them to get them to leave home and go across the country to play for him."

Have you ever been to Berkeley? I can think of worse places to spend a year or two...

Plus weed is legal...

Southern Cal I can see the draw but not the top half of California

these kids aren't interested in nature hikes

interesting - Bill Simmons out at ESPN

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/09/sport ... 85335&_r=2

dude was pulling in $5m a year

I can see them heading to Northern California. It's a great place to live. Much better than Lexington or Raleigh Durham. Or Kansas or even Gainesville.

eCat wrote:interesting - Bill Simmons out at ESPN

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/09/sport ... 85335&_r=2

dude was pulling in $5m a year

He'll be fine. My guess. He's already had multiple offers for much more $ than ESPN was willing to pay.

Does anyone watch ESPN anymore besides actual games and SportsCenter anyway? Besides the 30/30 stuff (that Simmons created)

DooKSucks wrote:

eCat wrote:Caleb Swanigan decommits from MSU and is considering Cal with Rabb and Brown to play for Cuonzo Martin

Where are all the people saying Martin - with no little to no recruiting history - is cheating? How does he land (3) 5* recruits to California if Swanigan goes there (Swanigan may stay home and go to Purdue).

I'd love to know how he lands these kids - what his pitch to them to get them to leave home and go across the country to play for him.

UC (the Cal UC) has no issues with paying players. They have a long history of it. Their football program under Tedford was pulling kids out of fucking NC, mostly because a shady ass hs coach in Greensboro was given a job out there and he paid the kids in NC (he also acted as a runner/street agent).

You're talking about Otis Yelverton, a Wilson native. He was the bag man for Keenan Allen and Zach Maynard.

eCat wrote:Caleb Swanigan decommits from MSU and is considering Cal with Rabb and Brown to play for Cuonzo Martin

Where are all the people saying Martin - with no little to no recruiting history - is cheating? How does he land (3) 5* recruits to California if Swanigan goes there (Swanigan may stay home and go to Purdue).

I'd love to know how he lands these kids - what his pitch to them to get them to leave home and go across the country to play for him.

First off, Rabb is from Oakland so that shouldn't be hard to figure out. Secondly, the Brown kid probably wanted to go where his friend was going. That shouldn't be hard to figure out. Martin's pitch is probably the same as Cal and every other coach: come here and I'll get you into the NBA.

bluetick wrote:

eCat wrote:wtf were they thinking?

Perhaps Foley is a little gun-shy now that two HOF coaches have split (Urban and Billy). Maybe it's a case of less splash..and less likely they'll dash. People are still curious about the football hire..

http://www.gatorzone.com/mobile/news/30594

White sounds like a quality hire. That's the kind of guy who could do really well at a big school.

LAS VEGAS, NV, May 5, 2015 — Las Vegas will finally be home to a professional basketball team- the Las Vegas Dealers. The Dealers are a professional developmental team, owned by LV Basketball Enterprises, Inc., that will compete against European teams affiliated with the EuroLeague.

“College is not for every young man that is trying to use basketball to provide a better situation for their families,” says owner Cerruti Brown. “Our innovative model targets the McDonald’s All-Americans who are projected first round prospects by NBA scouts and general managers. This concept allows for the highly touted player to bypass college and immediately become a paid professional. We are able to offer competitive salaries averaging around $700k to the highly touted McDonald’s All-Americans who are typically “one and done” players and $400k for college underclassmen. The Dealers niche will be based on giving basketball players a different option than what is presently offered in America. Before this, underclassmen had to either play college ball or go overseas. Venturing to Europe will not be a necessity when a U.S. based organization will play top European teams.”

At press time, offers are in the works for the 2015 McDonald’s All-Americans.

Fans are invited to join the team’s online family by following the club Twitter @LV_DEALERS. Presently fans also have an opportunity to vote on the team’s logo at www.lvdbasket.com (the official site of the Las Vegas Dealers). Voting will commence on the 6th of May 2015 and run through the end of the month. Management is in negotiations with multiple Las Vegas venues to call home for its 40 game home schedule. The inaugural 2015-16 season begins October with the season ending in March.

“We are ecstatic to bring high-level, professional basketball to the Las Vegas community,” Brown said. “The media spotlight and American viewership will help build our unique brand. We are excited that several companies have reached out to us in regards to becoming our official apparel sponsor. The response has been overwhelming.”

Ray Allen explains why he chose uConn over Kentucky...

From KSR....

Allen was down to UConn and Kentucky in his recruitment when he picked the Huskies over life in Lexington. A video of why he came to that decision surfaced on the internet late last week and his explanation of Rick Pitino sounds pretty accurate.

“Pitino, he’s so high on a pedestal,” Allen said, when discussing why he passed on UK in 1992. “He does everything and talks about himself. It’s “I” before his players or the team. He’s always talking about himself and what he has.”

Allen visited Kentucky for Big Blue Madness with Derron Sheffer, who also chose UConn, and they were ignored by Pitino while eating at Pitino’s restaurant during their visit.

“He had a restaurant… Jamal Mashburn was taking me around on my visit and I went in there and Rick Pitino, he sat with his friends on the other side of the bar. Me and Derron joke about it; we said if it were Coach Calhoun, he would be sitting down at the table and getting our food for us because he really wanted us.”

Sounds about right.

Shortly before Allen committed to UConn, the Hartford-Courant wrote, “He told me Coach Pitino wasn’t as involved with his players as much. Pitino hasn’t called him and has only talked to his mother once — during the home visit. [Calhoun] has done a better job.”

For what it’s worth, Allen’s father wanted him to go to Kentucky.

crotch wrote: For what it’s worth, Allen’s father wanted him to go to Kentucky.

Well, the pay was better there.