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Post by roaringsince96 on Jan 19, 2022 20:12:30 GMT -6
I did not know that FGCU is ranked 24. Well that’s cool stuff. I am sure when we get finished with them….yep they will be one win better. Let’s us know we can be in that top 25 one day.
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Post by brandon on Jan 19, 2022 22:57:20 GMT -6
I did not know that FGCU is ranked 24. Well that’s cool stuff. I am sure when we get finished with them….yep they will be one win better. Let’s us know we can be in that top 25 one day. There is no reason any school in this conference cant get up there... The only reason it hasn't happened is lack of stability. I think that is changing, (for the most part.) The conference needs to push the schools to spend more money where it counts though... I'm mostly talking about UNA, Stetson and UCA mainly.
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Post by brandon on Jan 19, 2022 22:58:03 GMT -6
There is no freaking reason Stetson can't have scholarship football.....
Sorry, wrong thread...
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Post by unalions on Feb 12, 2022 20:04:24 GMT -6
Speaking of Stetson, their women just took down #22 FGCU down in Ft. Myers. I suspected it and actually watched the entire game. FGCU had beaten them by 37 a month or so back. Wow! It was so close. The Eagles had a terrible shooting night.
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Post by unalions on Mar 5, 2022 15:00:25 GMT -6
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Post by brandon on Mar 5, 2022 15:16:03 GMT -6
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Post by unafied on Mar 6, 2022 9:23:43 GMT -6
That just seems strange. It seems like they were showing improvement. What more can you ask for? We’re a one-bid league right now, so I’m not sure it’s fair to fire a guy because he hasn’t made it to the Dance in four years. Plus, they just signed him to a 2-year extension last year! If the standard at schools in our type of league is “make the tourney or you’re fired”, well, there won’t be a lot of job security out there. Makes you wonder if anybody at UNA is questioning Pujol’s performance this year.
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Post by roaringsince96 on Mar 6, 2022 14:43:17 GMT -6
Pujols has to be banking on our team making big strides for next year. Pujols had to know this team wasn’t built to compete in the ASUN this year. We would have been better if Youngblood would have been able to play. Losing 2 best players from last years team to the portal was tough. Mens basketball doesn’t have that transition hanging over them anymore. It’s a new day, hope we have our eye on big in the transfer portal.
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Post by unalions on Mar 7, 2022 18:02:57 GMT -6
It must be a gut-check for Pujol to see these ASUN tournament finalists and assess his own program's performance the past couple of seasons.
Bellarmine came in from D2 and went 10-3 in the conference in their first season. Sure, they have a seasoned coach and long-term team chemistry. But, they stumbled in the tournament and UNA took the opposite path to the finals. The Lions were 7-8 in the conference last season and got hot at the right time to make it a game with Liberty.
Now, the veteran Knights are in the finals after an 11-5 conference record. But, like other schools, they have key injuries, etc. It's pretty cool to see them come in and be so good immediately but it's disappointing at the same time. Yet, Pujol didn't have that advantage of stability. He was new and started with only two returning players.
Then, you have Jacksonville. They were 5-9 in the conference last season, fired their coach, and hired a young assistant from Florida. Now, they were 11-5 in the conference regular season, 21-9 overall and trying to get into March Madness in his first season. The Dolphins last made the tournament in 1986 when they were in the Sun Belt.
Can Pujol pull it together in season five to have veterans with chemistry return (like BU) and recruit to fill the holes needed to turn things around (like JU)? I hope so.
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Post by brandon on Mar 8, 2022 5:15:37 GMT -6
It must be a gut-check for Pujol to see these ASUN tournament finalists and assess his own program's performance the past couple of seasons. Bellarmine came in from D2 and went 10-3 in the conference in their first season. Sure, they have a seasoned coach and long-term team chemistry. But, they stumbled in the tournament and UNA took the opposite path to the finals. The Lions were 7-8 in the conference last season and got hot at the right time to make it a game with Liberty. Now, the veteran Knights are in the finals after an 11-5 conference record. But, like other schools, they have key injuries, etc. It's pretty cool to see them come in and be so good immediately but it's disappointing at the same time. Yet, Pujol didn't have that advantage of stability. He was new and started with only two returning players. Then, you have Jacksonville. They were 5-9 in the conference last season, fired their coach, and hired a young assistant from Florida. Now, they were 11-5 in the conference regular season, 21-9 overall and trying to get into March Madness in his first season. The Dolphins last made the tournament in 1986 when they were in the Sun Belt. Can Pujol pull it together in season five to have veterans with chemistry return (like BU) and recruit to fill the holes needed to turn things around (like JU)? I hope so. I'm writing off JU... I think we can all see what is going on there... If you can't, I'm sorry. Bellarmine on the other hand, their Basketball is their focus. They don't play football. And you can tell it's their focus because their other sports have been pretty bad. They have a program built to play methodical basketball and have guys that can actually shoot the ball. UNA on the other hand, (and let's not kid ourselves, JSU, until this year, KSU and others, took a while after their transitions to be good at anything.) But, UNA has had success, in multiple sports. Yes, I'm dissatisfied with men's basketball this year. But I'm really excited about Softball and apparently baseball this year. AND football is uncuffed with a new locker room being built. I'm really glad Bellarmine is good, I hope I'm wrong about JU. I'm glad KSU is getting better. The ASUN can get strong but they need everyone to step up after Liberty and JSU is gone.
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Post by unafied on Mar 8, 2022 7:18:37 GMT -6
Did anyone watch or at least see the end of the SoCon tournament last night? Chattanooga beat Furman on a buzzer beating 3-pointer. That entire tournament was exciting. I really hope the ASUN can rise close to that level one day, and despite some naysayers on other boards, I really do think it's possible.
I'm hopeful that our women's team is making gains to be a consistent challenger in this conference. I even think we somewhat exceeded expectations this year. Other than the tournament run that was basically out of the blue, the men have not won many games in 4 years that they weren't predicted to. Some of it has been bad luck. But at some point we HAVE to break through and show that the potential is there to build a consistent winner, or it's time to make a change at the top. I think Pujol deserves another year to show that progress, but I really do think we should move on if that doesn't happen next year.
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Post by unalions on Mar 8, 2022 8:57:04 GMT -6
I'm writing off JU... I think we can all see what is going on there... If you can't, I'm sorry. I have no clue what you’re referring to here.
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Post by brandon on Mar 8, 2022 10:21:48 GMT -6
I'm writing off JU... I think we can all see what is going on there... If you can't, I'm sorry. I have no clue what you’re referring to here. Coach will be gone as soon as a better or higher profile job becomes available. Hope I'm wrong.
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Post by unalions on Mar 8, 2022 11:29:41 GMT -6
I have no clue what you’re referring to here. Coach will be gone as soon as a better or higher profile job becomes available. Hope I'm wrong. Well, I mean, that’s how coaching works. But, it’s his first year as a head coach ever. I doubt someone will hire him away with just one year’s worth of a resume.
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Post by unafied on Mar 8, 2022 11:43:29 GMT -6
As much as losing a coach to a bigger school stinks, I’d love for us to be in that position lol. At least it means you’ve had some success. I’d say the only sport where we might legitimately have other teams eyeing our coach, at least at this time, is softball.
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