Rick’s Targets

[Rocket]

That's actually why I chose it

Just don't use the name "Mohammed" because that name is now a trigger word and you will be labeled a racist.
Luckily, in America, "Jesus is Just Alright with Me" as the Doobie Brothers sang.

 

[Rocket]

Funny how when Anderson was coach some people never posted

Now people that you thought were dead are posting again!
If I see a post from my old friend Northshore, God rest his soul, I'm going to freak out!!!!!!

 

[Redmen88]

Again I like Clayton, but the plan here seems to be to raid Mid majors for entire roster.

Have you ever thought that some players that went to mid majors actually continued to get better and are now better than players that used to be or were “projected” to be better.

 

[TonyinFairfield]

Because as great as he is he is a basketball coach. He is not a nuclear physicist. I can follow along. He is going to build his roster through the portal. Sorry if I spoiled the ending but that is the plan. He is not going to emerge in October with a secret team. There are no Norm Roberts mystery recruit walking through the door. He is not cloning people. Cloned Chris Mullin and Walter Berry are not walking through that door.

I would not want a nuclear physicist as my coach.

 

[stjohnnie75]

Have you ever thought that some players that went to mid majors actually continued to get better and are now better than players that used to be or were “projected” to be better.

Some isn’t the issue. But adding 8–10 mid majors might be asking a lot. Time will tell and I’m not concerned at this moment.

 

[Larry Wright]

Have you ever thought that some players that went to mid majors actually continued to get better and are now better than players that used to be or were “projected” to be better.

Sure like Clayton but not 11 that we need

 

[fan5577]

I bumped into someone very much in the know this past week. He told me that we’re in on players who haven’t officially hit the portal yet. He gave it a 4-6 week time line till the roster is ready. The 2024 class is being prioritized.

He also was very disappointing in what happened this season. There’s a lot of stuff that we don’t know about that was hand delivered to Pitino prior to him accepting the job here. He didn’t give me any details.

Biggest thing is patience and trust the staff. We’re rebuilding a roster. I cannot emphasize that enough.

Lot of generalizations I know and I apologize. But we’re out there and very much in play for top 2024 talent

We did get "leaks" and "bits and pieces" but it seems that it was even worse than we imagined. This is why we can't judge who should stay or go based on what we saw on the court or our attachments as fans to certain players. Fans always over rate their own players. A hall of fame coach with the inside information on what went down and his ability to scout players should be given a hell of a lot of leeway to put his team together.

 

[Notanalum]

My sister’s husband’s cousin’s dentist told me some other stuff that might or might not have happened that totally or maybe doesn’t disagree with everything you may or may not have heard.a

Not sure why my post warrants a response like that. I posted based on a conversation I had. You got an issue w it ignore it.

 

[Redmen88]

Sure like Clayton but not 11 that we need

There are over 1000 kids in the portal. I think RP can find 11 to his liking. Bottom line is we will probably win our first game in the tournament in decades. I don’t care if we sign mid major, power 5 or Division 2 players. Just put a good product out on the floor and I fully expect a likeable and winning team next year. What’s not to like?

 

[dee]

Another MAAC kid that Pitino is very familiar with. Ranked as the 6th best available transfer by Bart Torvik and 214th by Evan Miya. Pretty big gap there but both agree his offense is WAY ahead of his defense.

Verifying Browser...

I think Gardner left because Storr left and they wanted to play together

 

[dee]

Posh has an opening, his buddy does not.

I really hope Posh returns

 

[SJUWillRockNYC]

I think Gardner left because Storr left and they wanted to play together

If that's the case, then he could follow Storr to whatever school he goes to like a good little puppy.
Now if that school recruits Gardner is a different story.

 

[Sherman Sheridan & Grant]

And some posted too much.

Why post when your program is mediocre, boring and un-exciting???
When SJU and Coach Pitino step up the quality of recruiting and the quality of play, fans will flock to games and to posting.

 

[paultzman]

Visiting tomorrow

 

[bamafan]

Can he shoot the 3?

 

[Boo Harvey]

I think Gardner left because Storr left and they wanted to play together

That theory will be put to rest when they don’t end up playing together

 

[MugCostanza]

 

[Boo Harvey]

Why post when your program is mediocre, boring and un-exciting???
When SJU and Coach Pitino step up the quality of recruiting and the quality of play, fans will flock to games and to posting.

Sherman always posts a lot of optimistic stuff when we hire a new coach

 

[njfan]

ok im all for team rick and trust in the process. but if it wasnt pitino and its april 8th and we have only 3 players under scholarship, people would be having a heart attack. however rick inherited an out of tune car that just came out of a car crash. Its gonna take all the parts to be scrapped and start from scratch. If it takes more then a coyple of weeks for a car to be put back together, imagine an NCAA mens basketball team. So not worries one bit

 

[MJDinkins]

Here's a piece on Luis, and I also like what Frank Martin has to say about the portal:

RJ Luis enters the transfer portal after agreeing to NIL deal

Freshman guard RJ Luis entered the transfer portal at roughly 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. He’s the fifth Massachusetts men’s basketball player to do so this offseason. Luis was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team after averaging 11.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 45.5 percent...

dailycollegian.com

"I love the guys we signed in the fall, I still believe in freshmen,” Martin said. “But in the spring, you have to be prepared to just play the replacement game.”

Martin says coaches used to know who would stay and who would leave as the season unfolds. Coaches often agreed to part ways with unhappy players at the end of the year, so they had an idea of what the team would look like next season heading into March. “Now we got no idea because no one tells us because there’s all kinds of stuff going on behind closed doors.”

Martin continued, “and like I say, even the guys that are happy and successful transfer right now. It has nothing to do with anything other than they’re being convinced by other people that there’s a better deal out there. And that is so disappointing, because as adults, we should know better, that there’s usually not a better deal out there.”

The entire process has since changed, as NIL, immediate eligibility and the transfer portal brought uncertainty.

“Now it’s a guessing game,” Martin said. “We get out of bed every day we might get a phone call, say, ‘Hey, I’ve been talking to my people’ — I don’t even know who ‘my people’ are anymore — ‘and I think I’m going to explore my options.’ We’re being held hostage.

“There are coaches out there … [who] call me asking me for advice that players come in and say, ‘Hey, the best NIL deal I got on this campus is, whatever the number is, I’m going to put my name [in the portal] to see what better deals for me out there.’ Are you kidding me? Like really? It has nothing to do with unhappiness or lack of success, it’s just that we’ve created that moment. So as coaches it’s hard to predict our rosters.”

However, for Martin as the leader of this UMass team, it’s not personal, as he said, “I’m too old to get my feelings hurt anymore. If I’m not sexy enough for somebody, let them find who’s sexy. If UMass isn’t good enough for them, let them find who’s good enough for them.”

Even when the season was still underway Martin was often on the recruiting trail. Now with the season officially over, recruiting consumes his days and energy. During media availability Martin constantly received texts and checked his phone, something he doesn’t usually do. The tension and alertness were visibly palpable.

After signing four freshmen, Martin looks to fill out the three remaining scholarship spots with players who lead and communicate.

“The four guys we signed them the spring, all four of them, you walk into the gym, you don’t know who they are because they dunk, you know who they are because you hear their voice.”

As Martin emphasized, for those players and whoever he gets from the transfer portal it will be vital that they buy into the culture he’s working towards, with truth and transparency at the center of it.

“I’ve got a saying that I use with the players a lot, ‘the season reveals the truth.’ The offseason is phony. You find out the truth in the season. Players really find out about each other, players find out about me, I find out about players. Because now you’re together six days a week and you’re together through adversity, good times, bad times.”