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Post by brandon on Mar 20, 2023 21:01:45 GMT -6
Our basketball facilities are fine... Better than a lot of D1 facilities. They have done major renovation and more coming. The only facilities that need major upgrades is football. And as far as players are concerned, they just got a major upgrade. The players don't give a crap about how the fans prospective is, and I've asked many recruits and commits. Softball is better than most outside of the very top of the P5. Even baseball has it better than 70% of the country. We have a great workout facility for any mid major program. Flowers Hall is above par. Although not the biggest. Softball facilities rival a lot of P5. Start doing some research.... for our budget, (yes that needs to increase) we are way above average. Lots of the UNA long time fans like to tell us how things here are good enough and don’t need to change…. Guess I just need to “do more research” I didn't say we don't need to change... I'm saying we aren't the worst in our level. And I do know Ortiz isn't leaving because of facilities...
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Post by brandon on Mar 20, 2023 21:03:07 GMT -6
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Post by unafied on Mar 21, 2023 5:54:45 GMT -6
Man, I didn't even hear about this until logging on just now. I don't know if this is what the NCAA wanted college sports to become when they created the Portal, but damn, they have really made life tough for us little guys.
I won't pretend to know how we compare to most schools on facilities, but I don't think we are necessarily at the bottom. I also think it's important to remember that Flowers is only part of the equation. How's our weight room, locker room, etc.? From some of the pics and videos I've seen, they look nice enough. I do think if we eventually see ourselves in a conference like CUSA or the Sun Belt, we need to have facilities that wouldn't be at or near the bottom in those conferences.
The thing is, if a guy THINKS he is good enough to go play for a power conference team, or even a good team in a conference like the American, I'm not sure the best facilities in the nation would keep him around. How did Kennesaw State keep their starting group together for 3 or 4 years? Maybe we need to find out what they're doing and see if we can do it, as well.
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Post by una04 on Mar 21, 2023 8:11:32 GMT -6
I’m certainly not an expert. But, in my opinion UNA is way behind most in this area. Not alot was done during the transition years, and now we have mostly D2 level facilities that make it tough for our coaches to compete for players, and more importantly retain a player they discovered, recruited, and coached into an impact player. I don’t think there is a quick fix solution, this should have been part of the strategy of going D1 (see JSU), but we have to start somewhere at some point. Maybe they should concentrate on finding guys in the portal? I would think they may be less likely to transfer to a 3rd school. If you can get them early you still have 2 or 3 years to develop them. Our basketball facilities are fine... Better than a lot of D1 facilities. They have done major renovation and more coming. The only facilities that need major upgrades is football. And as far as players are concerned, they just got a major upgrade. The players don't give a crap about how the fans prospective is, and I've asked many recruits and commits. Softball is better than most outside of the very top of the P5. Even baseball has it better than 70% of the country. We have a great workout facility for any mid major program. Flowers Hall is above par. Although not the biggest. Softball facilities rival a lot of P5. Start doing some research.... for our budget, (yes that needs to increase) we are way above average. I agree with Brandon on the facilities, I saw this tweet the other day comparing FDU and Purdue after FDU beat them. The Basketball arena isn’t the reason these players keep transferring, it’s coaching, it’s NIL, it’s the administration and it’s they think they can have a better chance to be “seen” at a bigger school. I may be wrong but that’s my opinion 🤷♂️
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Post by unalions on Mar 21, 2023 8:59:29 GMT -6
We need a taller Ortiz type player with a little more consistency. I liked his game, but not sure he goes anywhere bigger than us? Aidan Kuhl has also entered the transfer portal. Agbaosi and Dawkins also entered the portal. Really not disappointed in last three, chances for us to improve our roster To me, this will be Pujol’s last season to prove himself. Right now, he can’t keep players on the roster and it’s a problem. Just think, our starters this past season could have been a senior-filled team Jamari Blackmon, Christian Agnew, Manny Littles, and Mervin James. But, we can’t keep folks on the team to stick it out. They all went to schools that had very mediocre teams. Roster management is key here. It’s the only way KSU did so well this year. They kept their best players and hit the portal hard.
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Post by brandon on Mar 21, 2023 9:13:01 GMT -6
We need a taller Ortiz type player with a little more consistency. I liked his game, but not sure he goes anywhere bigger than us? Aidan Kuhl has also entered the transfer portal. Agbaosi and Dawkins also entered the portal. Really not disappointed in last three, chances for us to improve our roster To me, this will be Pujol’s last season to prove himself. Right now, he can’t keep players on the roster and it’s a problem. Just think, our starters this past season could have been a senior-filled team Jamari Blackmon, Christian Agnew, Manny Littles, and Mervin James. But, we can’t keep folks on the team to stick it out. They all went to schools that had very mediocre teams. Roster management is key here. It’s the only way KSU did so well this year. They kept their best players and hit the portal hard. I love the talent we have, even compared to previous... I hope we don't lose anymore and they will grow in the program... One thing I think will help, the North Alabama area is lush with basketball talent, and Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee and Kentucky only have so many spots... If I was Coach, I would be concentrated on recruiting from Florence to Guntersville. Maybe they will be more inclined to stay. I would also sale that we want to be the perennial dominant basketball program in the ASUN, and that translates into ASUN Championships and NCAA tournament appearances. We need to make 20 wins a down year... I have a feeling, while we was in transition, he sold something like, "Come to UNA for a couple of years, we will develop and get you ready foe a bigger stage since we can't go anywhere else." Now we have to become the bigger stage. That also goes hand in hand with US, the fans. We need to help with the atmosphere. We need to show up to games, instead of complaining about how nobody shows up... I bet I talked to over 20 people who was talking about how many more Alabama fans was at the softball game than UNA fans, then I asked if they was there.... nope.
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Post by unafied on Mar 21, 2023 9:28:41 GMT -6
We need a taller Ortiz type player with a little more consistency. I liked his game, but not sure he goes anywhere bigger than us? Aidan Kuhl has also entered the transfer portal. Agbaosi and Dawkins also entered the portal. Really not disappointed in last three, chances for us to improve our roster To me, this will be Pujol’s last season to prove himself. Right now, he can’t keep players on the roster and it’s a problem. Just think, our starters this past season could have been a senior-filled team Jamari Blackmon, Christian Agnew, Manny Littles, and Mervin James. But, we can’t keep folks on the team to stick it out. They all went to schools that had very mediocre teams.Roster management is key here. It’s the only way KSU did so well this year. They kept their best players and hit the portal hard. That's what bothers me the most about the starters that have left. Maybe the guys that left thought they'd get offers from bigger schools and it just never materialized, but why leave for schools that don't have any better of a chance of reaching the Dance? Is transferring to a Louisiana-Monroe really THAT much better of a situation than what you have in Florence? I don't know if it's Pujol, or the thought that the grass is greener, or what.
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Post by tuna85 on Mar 21, 2023 11:45:42 GMT -6
To me, this will be Pujol’s last season to prove himself. Right now, he can’t keep players on the roster and it’s a problem. Just think, our starters this past season could have been a senior-filled team Jamari Blackmon, Christian Agnew, Manny Littles, and Mervin James. But, we can’t keep folks on the team to stick it out. They all went to schools that had very mediocre teams.Roster management is key here. It’s the only way KSU did so well this year. They kept their best players and hit the portal hard. That's what bothers me the most about the starters that have left. Maybe the guys that left thought they'd get offers from bigger schools and it just never materialized, but why leave for schools that don't have any better of a chance of reaching the Dance? Is transferring to a Louisiana-Monroe really THAT much better of a situation than what you have in Florence? I don't know if it's Pujol, or the thought that the grass is greener, or what. There is probably something to be said for a recruit/current player and their concern that the coach may be on a hot seat. There is a lot to be said for stability if you are seeing positive growth in the program.
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Post by unalions on Mar 21, 2023 13:30:06 GMT -6
EKU plays Southern Utah in the CBI semis on ESPN2 at 6pm.
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Post by unafied on Mar 21, 2023 13:55:59 GMT -6
That's what bothers me the most about the starters that have left. Maybe the guys that left thought they'd get offers from bigger schools and it just never materialized, but why leave for schools that don't have any better of a chance of reaching the Dance? Is transferring to a Louisiana-Monroe really THAT much better of a situation than what you have in Florence? I don't know if it's Pujol, or the thought that the grass is greener, or what. There is probably something to be said for a recruit/current player and their concern that the coach may be on a hot seat. There is a lot to be said for stability if you are seeing positive growth in the program. Do the players think Pujol is on the hot seat? I have my doubts about his ability to win big, but I don't think he's in any danger of being fired this year.
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Post by brandon on Mar 21, 2023 14:05:35 GMT -6
There is probably something to be said for a recruit/current player and their concern that the coach may be on a hot seat. There is a lot to be said for stability if you are seeing positive growth in the program. Do the players think Pujol is on the hot seat? I have my doubts about his ability to win big, but I don't think he's in any danger of being fired this year. I can be as critical as anyone, but he did better this year than we have done since D2. So, in short, with our current basketball budget, I would say no... That being said, I think UNA can afford to put our budget at the highest in the ASUN. Currently Stetson is the highest at 2.1 million, we are at 1.3. That was okay during the transition, but now it's time to put out the money.
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Post by unalions on Mar 22, 2023 15:06:12 GMT -6
EKU playing in the CBI finals on ESPN2 right now. They have a real big man inside with Cozart at 6'7", 240.
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Post by roaringsince96 on Mar 23, 2023 6:44:36 GMT -6
EKU plays Southern Utah in the CBI semis on ESPN2 at 6pm. EKU is getting their investment back and then some. I was hoping they would knock off Charlotte too.
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Post by roaringsince96 on Mar 31, 2023 19:03:04 GMT -6
UAB came in 2nd in the NIT. How excited would we be to make it to the NIT and then make it to the NIT championship. Would you rather advance two rounds in the NIT or get smoked in the first round of the dance? Actually both options are pretty strong…
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Post by mtc13 on Mar 31, 2023 21:34:31 GMT -6
UAB came in 2nd in the NIT. How excited would we be to make it to the NIT and then make it to the NIT championship. Would you rather advance two rounds in the NIT or c smoked in the first round of the dance? Actually both options are pretty strong… NIT for sure. Especially if we get to play a home game.
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