NY Post : Posh article

“Everyone local knew how good he was,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “That’s why coaches don’t care about rankings.”

“I give Coach Willard his props, what he’s done,” Alexander’s father said. “But we’re from New York. Seton Hall is New Jersey. They’ve been lucky to get a lot of New York kids. But it’s time for a lot of New York kids to stay home.
 
LJSA wrote:
Everyone local knew how good he was,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “That’s why coaches don’t care about rankings.”

“I give Coach Willard his props, what he’s done,” Alexander’s father said. “But we’re from New York. Seton Hall is New Jersey. They’ve been lucky to get a lot of New York kids. But it’s time for a lot of New York kids to stay home.

Think I like Posh's Dad as much as Greg's Dad! Also love Williard's line "Everyone knew how good he was. That's why coaches don't care about rankings."
 
[quote="L J S A" post=407304]“Everyone local knew how good he was,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “That’s why coaches don’t care about rankings.”

“I give Coach Willard his props, what he’s done,” Alexander’s father said. “But we’re from New York. Seton Hall is New Jersey. They’ve been lucky to get a lot of New York kids. But it’s time for a lot of New York kids to stay home.[/quote]

Just my opinion, but some day in the not so distant future we are going to look back at Posh's recruitment and career at STJ as the turning point for this program's return to relevance.

He's not perfect as a player, but he WANTS to be here, he embraces the challenge of resurrecting the program, and he's not afraid of the bright lights of Broadway or working his ass off.

I, for one, am done with feeling any emotion about a highly ranked kid who puts us in his final 5 and then takes the easy path. I wish them luck, but I'm not investing an emotion or thought into them as a player if they aren't buying what CMA is selling.

This is why I really don't care where Cuffe goes. Sure, I'd love to have him here for a million different reasons, but I think we need guys who WANT to be here, not guys who settle for being here. Give me 13 kids who fit the Champangie, Posh, Wusu, Pinzon, Draore mold and this program is the BE version of West Virginia.

That works for me.
 
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[quote="SJUFAN2" post=407307][quote="L J S A" post=407304]“Everyone local knew how good he was,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “That’s why coaches don’t care about rankings.”

“I give Coach Willard his props, what he’s done,” Alexander’s father said. “But we’re from New York. Seton Hall is New Jersey. They’ve been lucky to get a lot of New York kids. But it’s time for a lot of New York kids to stay home.[/quote]

Just my opinion, but some day in the not so distant future we are going to look back at Posh's recruitment and career at STJ as the turning point for this program's return to relevance.

He's not perfect as a player, but he WANTS to be here, he embraces the challenge of resurrecting the program, and he's not afraid of the bright lights of Broadway or working his ass off.

I, for one, am done with feeling any emotion about a highly ranked kid who puts us in his final 5 and then takes the easy path. I wish them luck, but I'm not investing an emotion or thought into them as a player if they aren't buying what CMA is selling.

This is why I really don't care where Cuffe goes. Sure, I'd love to have him here for a million different reasons, but I think we need guys who WANT to be here, not guys who settle for being here. Give me 13 kids who fit the Champangie, Posh, Wusu, Pinzon, Draore mold and this program is the BE version of West Virginia.

That works for me.[/quote]

Great post!
 
[quote="SJUFAN2" post=407307]Give me 13 kids who fit the Champangie, Posh, Wusu, Pinzon, Draore mold and this program is the BE version of West Virginia.

That works for me.[/quote]

I absolutely love that. Hard-nosed kids, tough D, coach who would run through a brick wall for his players, tournament every year, and the occasional run that looks like it could be magical with some breaks and no bad breaks? Sign me up!
 
[quote="L J S A" post=407319][quote="SJUFAN2" post=407307]Give me 13 kids who fit the Champangie, Posh, Wusu, Pinzon, Draore mold and this program is the BE version of West Virginia.

That works for me.[/quote]

I absolutely love that. Hard-nosed kids, tough D, coach who would run through a brick wall for his players, tournament every year, and the occasional run that looks like it could be magical with some breaks and no bad breaks? Sign me up![/quote]

Here's a question for you LJSA; do you think that if CMA continues to recruit the way he has since he arrived, more or less, that's it's a blueprint for making the NCAA tournament most years? Or are you making the assumption that his recruiting will improve, thus leading us to the tourney more often then not? I ask because in his 8 years at Ark, he had 8(I believe) different top 100 recruits on his rosters. Most kids played multiple years. During those 8 years, with 8 top 100 kids, he made the tournament 3 times. This is not meant as a criticism of CMA, but rather a fair question to ask at this juncture. I realize it should probably be in the "CMA Recruitment" thread, so mods feel free to move it as you see fit.
 
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[quote="Monte" post=407339][quote="L J S A" post=407319][quote="SJUFAN2" post=407307]Give me 13 kids who fit the Champangie, Posh, Wusu, Pinzon, Draore mold and this program is the BE version of West Virginia.

That works for me.[/quote]

I absolutely love that. Hard-nosed kids, tough D, coach who would run through a brick wall for his players, tournament every year, and the occasional run that looks like it could be magical with some breaks and no bad breaks? Sign me up![/quote]

Here's a question for you LJSA; do you think that if CMA continues to recruit the way he has since he arrived, more or less, that's it's a blueprint for making the NCAA tournament most years? Or are you making the assumption that his recruiting will improve, thus leading us to the tourney more often then not? I ask because in his 8 years at Ark, he had 8(I believe) different top 100 recruits on his rosters. Most kids played multiple years. During those 8 years, with 8 top 100 kids, he made the tournament 3 times. This is not meant as a criticism of CMA, but rather a fair question to ask at this juncture. I realize it should probably be in the "CMA Recruitment" thread, so mods feel free to move it as you see fit.[/quote]

If we're the BE version of W.Va., I think we make tournament most years. The Mountaineer part is what I was agreeing with. Huggins gets burly big men, so our recruiting would clearly have to improve in that aspect. I'm not super worried about CMA's recruiting, because I think Van will get the job done. I trust CMA will provide very good coaching once all the pieces are in place. A good relationship with OSL and LuHi is a good start to me.

I do hope that Van or DeMeo can crack New Jersey Catholic schools. If that happens we are in very good shape, I think.
 
There was no need to move my post to this thread. It made more sense exactly where it was. . .
 
[quote="L J S A" post=407341][quote="Monte" post=407339][quote="L J S A" post=407319][quote="SJUFAN2" post=407307]Give me 13 kids who fit the Champangie, Posh, Wusu, Pinzon, Draore mold and this program is the BE version of West Virginia.

That works for me.[/quote]

I absolutely love that. Hard-nosed kids, tough D, coach who would run through a brick wall for his players, tournament every year, and the occasional run that looks like it could be magical with some breaks and no bad breaks? Sign me up![/quote]

Here's a question for you LJSA; do you think that if CMA continues to recruit the way he has since he arrived, more or less, that's it's a blueprint for making the NCAA tournament most years? Or are you making the assumption that his recruiting will improve, thus leading us to the tourney more often then not? I ask because in his 8 years at Ark, he had 8(I believe) different top 100 recruits on his rosters. Most kids played multiple years. During those 8 years, with 8 top 100 kids, he made the tournament 3 times. This is not meant as a criticism of CMA, but rather a fair question to ask at this juncture. I realize it should probably be in the "CMA Recruitment" thread, so mods feel free to move it as you see fit.[/quote]

If we're the BE version of W.Va., I think we make tournament most years. The Mountaineer part is what I was agreeing with. Huggins gets burly big men, so our recruiting would clearly have to improve in that aspect. I'm not super worried about CMA's recruiting, because I think Van will get the job done. I trust CMA will provide very good coaching once all the pieces are in place. A good relationship with OSL and LuHi is a good start to me.

I do hope that Van or DeMeo can crack New Jersey Catholic schools. If that happens we are in very good shape, I think.[/quote]

Fair enough. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that CMA and the staff have established relationships wit some of the local powerhouse programs. And I love most of the kids that we've brought in or are bringing in. I just think that most of them are very good supplemental players, and unless we have more success with higher level talent, especially on the front line, we are not going to have much success in Big East play and in making the tournament consistently.
 
Not a comment about Posh, but a note on the coverage. At a time when resources are thin, I am glad the Post continues to see merit in covering local college basketball. Zach may not be everyone's favorite (I like him), but he does keep us on everyone's radar through print and on social media. This is a good thing.
 
I’m only posting this to bust Monte’s chops because I texted him this already lol -

One thing about CMA and Arkansas Monte which we should also keep in mind...he inherited a mess at Arkansas....the 2009 & 2010 teams finished under 500 and the 2011 team finished 18-13 with no postseason appearance. Not only did CMA finish above 500 in years 1 & 2 at Arkansas, he had them in the postseason by year 3 (NIT) and won 22 games. By year 4 he won 27 games and advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA...he lost his 3 top scorers the next year (two left early for the NBA) and finished 16-16 but the following year he won 26 games and again was in the NCAA and the next year as well. I'm guessing if Portis and Qualls hadn't left early they probably makes the NCAA 4 fours in a row. When you look at what he stepped into, I say not a bad track record for a guy who wasn't a good recruiter.
 
[quote="NYCRedmen" post=407354]I’m only posting this to bust Monte’s chops because I texted him this already lol -

One thing about CMA and Arkansas Monte which we should also keep in mind...he inherited a mess at Arkansas....the 2009 & 2010 teams finished under 500 and the 2011 team finished 18-13 with no postseason appearance. Not only did CMA finish above 500 in years 1 & 2 at Arkansas, he had them in the postseason by year 3 (NIT) and won 22 games. By year 4 he won 27 games and advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA...he lost his 3 top scorers the next year (two left early for the NBA) and finished 16-16 but the following year he won 26 games and again was in the NCAA and the next year as well. I'm guessing if Portis and Qualls hadn't left early they probably makes the NCAA 4 fours in a row. When you look at what he stepped into, I say not a bad track record for a guy who wasn't a good recruiter.[/quote]

I'll give you this much, you're a very good chop buster ;) He had 4 top 100 recruits on his 1st 3 teams, so not surprising he did well right off the bat. At least one was a carry over from Pelphrey. If he recruits at anywhere near that level here, we'll be just fine.If he doesn't, we won't.
 
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[quote="NYCRedmen" post=407354]I’m only posting this to bust Monte’s chops because I texted him this already lol -

Conference play will tell us a lot about what we have.
 
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[quote="Monte" post=407352]I just think that most of them are very good supplemental players, and unless we have more success with higher level talent, especially on the front line, we are not going to have much success in Big East play and in making the tournament consistently.[/quote]

I think Pinzon and Traore are going to be a lot better than advertised. Pinzon probably earlier. Heard second-hand info that Stanley is good as well.

I also think five guys currently on the roster will not be here next year, so the young guys will get thrown into the fire early. Not sure how ideal that is, but I like who is coming in, regardless of number of stars next to their names.
 
[quote="L J S A" post=407364][quote="Monte" post=407352]I just think that most of them are very good supplemental players, and unless we have more success with higher level talent, especially on the front line, we are not going to have much success in Big East play and in making the tournament consistently.[/quote]

I think Pinzon and Traore are going to be a lot better than advertised. Pinzon probably earlier. Heard second-hand info that Stanley is good as well.

I also think five guys currently on the roster will not be here next year, so the young guys will get thrown into the fire early. Not sure how ideal that is, but I like who is coming in, regardless of number of stars next to their names.[/quote]

I don't care much for stars, since almost every kid ranked in top 150 is 4 stars, and everyone below is 3 stars. Besides, it's not an exact science. However, mathematically, a higher % of kids in top 100 will be successful at this level then kids in top 200. And top 200 kids more than top 300. And so on. So I'm also not about to dismiss rankings completely, Don't know whether Pinzon, Traore and Stanley will be better, worse or the same as ranked/projected. We usually only hear nice things about the kids that we have yet to see play at this level. Some exceed expectations, some don't. We'll see what happens when they get here.
 
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