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Transfer Portal (NCAA Basketball)

Never happen, but I'd like to hear a "behind closed doors" discussion among Coach L and his staff (recruiters) about why it has always been, and remains, so very difficult for UM to recruit top guys. And, yes, I'm well aware we successfully recruited Durand Scott, Lonnie and Brown. Still, for the most part, we just can't and don't compete like a top half ACC program should.

Is it the lack of winning tradition, the poor fan support, the geographic location, a coach who doesn't wear suits from the Italian fashion houses, etc.,? To me, these are selling points but .... to recruits, apparently they are not. Yes, the storied "bags" may play a role but that doesn't explain the decades-long recruiting difficulties we've had. (Actually, some of the powers in the Northeast are convinced it was Miami "bags" that took Durand away from them.)
 
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hotshot said:
You'd think it wouldn't be hard but , we're sorta making it look like it is. I prefer to think Coach L is just holding out for quality!
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We don’t even see Miami listed on grad transfers list of options. Are they even making contact with the Blackshear’s, Juiston’s, etc out there. I mean Juiston visited Grand Canyon University, I’m sure he would have interest in coming here.
 
hotshot said:
Never happen, but I'd like to hear a "behind closed doors" discussion among Coach L and his staff (recruiters) about why it has always been, and remains, so very difficult for UM to recruit top guys. And, yes, I'm well aware we successfully recruited Durand Scott, Lonnie and Brown. Still, for the most part, we just can't and don't compete like a top half ACC program should.

Is it the lack of winning tradition, the poor fan support, the geographic location, a coach who doesn't wear suits from the Italian fashion houses, etc.,? To me, these are selling points but .... to recruits, apparently they are not. Yes, the storied "bags" may play a role but that doesn't explain the decades-long recruiting difficulties we've had. (Actually, some of the powers in the Northeast are convinced it was Miami "bags" that took Durand away from them.)
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I’m just not sure if Coach L or his staff is diligent enough when it comes to recruiting. After getting the likes of Huell, Brown, Walker, Newton, and the other high 4 and 5 star guys nearly everyone wanted, I just don’t understand how it is so hard finding full classes of top 100 guys. Seems like they are always scurrying for guys at the last minute.

They still have 2 schollies open and that is even after adding 3 players in the past month+.

I’m a huge fan of Coach L and his coaching and the stability he has brought to this program, it’s just a head scratcher with our woes in recruiting and having a full roster of quality ACC players on a yearly basis.
 
Bobbo, me too (big fan of Coach L). Actually, he's been the best recruiting HC we've ever had but ... that has to be put into context. I'm sure he'd agree it's always a tough struggle. Why, is the question?
 
hotshot said:
Bobbo, me too (big fan of Coach L). Actually, he's been the best recruiting HC we've ever had but ... that has to be put into context. I'm sure he'd agree it's always a tough struggle. Why, is the question?
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Exactly, we might not even be having this conversation right now if his 2 best recruiting finds had stayed here for the full 4 years in Lecomte and Palmer. That 2016-17 team would have been amazing with those 2 on the squad.
 
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Some really dumb comments in this thread. First of all, we've won exactly ONE outright conference title in our history, so we don't have a whole heck of a lot to sell as a program besides a nice campus and being located in a major metro area.

We are going to sign a top 25 class (about where we should) and these kids are all 3-4 year players, so we are going to start seeing depth being rebuilt as soon as this fall. Ya'll were loving Coach L when he signed 3-five star players in 2 seasons, but their early departures have created a lot of the roster holes we have right now. Can't have it both way.
 
AustinCane, I'd agree but ... look around the country at schools that DON'T have the advantage of being in the ACC (or some other top league), or being located in a tropical paradise, and also have never won diddly at the national level. You'd be surprised at how many schools with none of our advantages have somehow managed to produce NCAAT teams year after year. Which, you might say, means they out-recruit us somehow.

Just a few that come to mind: Wichita State, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Butler, Creighton, Nevada, New Mexico State. None of these perennial NCAAT players comes from a prestigious league, all are located in the middle of nowhere ... you get my drift.
 
Let's stop expecting kids to stay 4 years when he is a 4 or 5 star talent. That is problem number 1. If a kids has a chance to make millions of dollars then he should leave school and make the money. The kid can always come back in the summer to finish his classes to get his degree.

Recruiting 4 or 5 star kids means they will probably leave early if they develop and play well in their time at your school. Bruce Brown started 56 of the 74 games he played for Detroit, which made the playoffs. I don't see why he needed another year at Miami. Lonnie Walker, a first round pick, played for another playoff team in San Antonio.

Coaches have to manage their rosters better and they have to anticipate a player leaving early (potentially testing the waters) if he averages more than 15 points per game. For example, if Chris Lykes averages over 16 points per game this season, I fully expect him to declare for the NBA draft to find out where he would get drafted. I am not saying he should leave school unless he gets a first round guarantee. Like it or not, that is the state of college basketball. To prepare for this, Coach L and his staff need to recruit 2 guards for the 2020 recruiting class.

I fully support Coach L and I do not want him to be fired. I would like for him and his staff to make a few changes. They do a great job of recruiting kids from the DMV, Philadelphia and the Northeast but a school in South Florida needs to have more than 1 kid on its roster. Coach L has been at Miami for 7 years along with Coach Caputo while Adam Fisher is in his 6th year. By now, they should have a good relationship with the coaches and staff of the NightRydas, Game Elite, E1T1 and Team Breakdown (Florida based travel basketball teams) to help with recruiting the kids from Florida.

Roster management and in-state recruiting are the two things keeping Miami from being a top 4 ACC team and going to the NCAA tournament every year.
 
I agree. Florida HS ball has improved greatly in this century. There was a time, not so long ago, when it was a disaster area. A player like Howard Porter, Mitch Richmond or Chris Corchiani could be not just the "Florida POY" but the Player of the Decade (or two).

In the early 90s, Ochiel Swaby averaged 47 ppg at North Miami HS. UM recruited him and he couldn't play. That was South Fl recruiting in a nutshell.

When I went to UM in the 60s, some Dade HSs didn't even have indoor basketball courts/gyms. Those schools' teams played their games at "regional" gyms (Edison HS had one, I remember).
 
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CTCANE said:
The FBI garbage killed recruiting for 2 years. That wasnt Coach L's fault.
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I would agree with you until I look at how Louisville handled their name being involved with the FBI case. Granted they fired the head coach and athletic director who were deeper involved than Miami. The new coach was able to retain players and add grad transfers then he made the NCAA tournament along with bringing in a Top Ten recruiting class. All with the FBI cloud still over the head of the program.

I fully support Coach L but that now seems like an excuse for failure than a reason for the decline.
 
Da_Lucky_One said:
I would agree with you until I look at how Louisville handled their name being involved with the FBI case. Granted they fired the head coach and athletic director who were deeper involved than Miami. The new coach was able to retain players and add grad transfers then he made the NCAA tournament along with bringing in a Top Ten recruiting class. All with the FBI cloud still over the head of the program.

I fully support Coach L but that now seems like an excuse for failure than a reason for the decline.
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We had one bad season when we had 7 players, including at least 1 (Mack) who wasnt even close to being ACC caliber. Not ready at this point to call it a decline.
 
Some of the basketball expectations are out of whack because unlike football, basketball has most often the past 20 years overprerformed what they are on paper. Everyone cites those classes with Brown and Walker.. Duke and UNC pull in classes like those every year, (better honestly) year after year, and have been for like the last 30 years. And yet, for most of the past 10-15 or so, we've hung in with those programs.
 
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CTCANE said:
We had one bad season when we had 7 players, including at least 1 (Mack) who wasnt even close to being ACC caliber. Not ready at this point to call it a decline.
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Nor am I but Coach L needs to get 13 scholarship players and compete for the ACC regular season along with the ACC tournament then make the NCAA tournament. Those are the standards he has set for the basketball program. If he does not do that then some people will say it is a decline.

Given that the football team, women's basketball, baseball team earned a berth in the post season along with members of the men's tennis, women's tennis along with track and field, the perception of Miami just being a football school is quickly changing and making the post season is no longer going to be an expectation, next season, it is a requirement.

Once you raise the standard, you cannot lower it. It must be maintained or improved to retain job security.

Again, I fully support Coach L but he needs to win next season as that is the standard he has set for the basketball program.
 
Food for thought, in the last 10 to 15 years, Duke, Carolina and Miami have combined for 1 NBA All-Star (Kyrie Irving). In the last 15 years, those same three programs have zero NBA MVPs.

So why is Duke and Carolina considered a "blue blood" or a better route to the NBA when actually, Miami is in an NBA City. I know, technically, Miami is in Coral Gables but most players don't live in the city, they stay in the suburbs but you see my point.
 
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Da_Lucky_One said:
I agree with you 100% but he has advanced from the G-League Combine to the NBA Combine. I have seen the same mock drafts and you are correct but we will not know anything for sure until May 30th.

Hernandez coming back would make the Brooks scholarship make more sense honestly. Especially the sit one to play one but I still don't like it.
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Give me a break. He is getting invited because he sat for a year, and people want a chance to evaluate him.

I wish him all the best, but this is a BAD situation for him, he has zero momentum, and a few measurements are not going to change that. College kids have about 40-50 draft slots (not counting the international players), and I just think that most teams would take a draft-and-stash over a kid that everyone knows they can negotiate with as a "free agent", since he will not be drafted.

Honestly, let's think about what the kid would have to do to be drafted.

Grow 6 inches. Add 50 pounds. Go 50-for-50 in 3-point shooting in a workout.

Seriously.

Otherwise, there are about 200 other guys in his size range who rely on physicality, which will be hard to measure without playing a bunch of 5-on-5. Which will not happen pre-draft. He might do well in the rookie camps or the G-League, but he is not going to go from UFA to drafted simply from the Combine.

This isn't the NFL. He can't run a 4.22 40-yard-dash.
 
bobbo31 said:
I’m just not sure if Coach L or his staff is diligent enough when it comes to recruiting. After getting the likes of Huell, Brown, Walker, Newton, and the other high 4 and 5 star guys nearly everyone wanted, I just don’t understand how it is so hard finding full classes of top 100 guys. Seems like they are always scurrying for guys at the last minute.

They still have 2 schollies open and that is even after adding 3 players in the past month+.

I’m a huge fan of Coach L and his coaching and the stability he has brought to this program, it’s just a head scratcher with our woes in recruiting and having a full roster of quality ACC players on a yearly basis.
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So you think Miami should get a full class of top 100 players? That's lacking self awareness and being delusional
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Give me a break. He is getting invited because he sat for a year, and people want a chance to evaluate him.

I wish him all the best, but this is a BAD situation for him, he has zero momentum, and a few measurements are not going to change that. College kids have about 40-50 draft slots (not counting the international players), and I just think that most teams would take a draft-and-stash over a kid that everyone knows they can negotiate with as a "free agent", since he will not be drafted.

Honestly, let's think about what the kid would have to do to be drafted.

Grow 6 inches. Add 50 pounds. Go 50-for-50 in 3-point shooting in a workout.

Seriously.

Otherwise, there are about 200 other guys in his size range who rely on physicality, which will be hard to measure without playing a bunch of 5-on-5. Which will not happen pre-draft. He might do well in the rookie camps or the G-League, but he is not going to go from UFA to drafted simply from the Combine.

This isn't the NFL. He can't run a 4.22 40-yard-dash.
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But you want him back right.... rip him but wish he stayed. Awesome fans
 
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