No-look said:

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Coaches try to recruit kids that fit the system. With a new team we have to find our system. Lol

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I think at this point we are still trying to figure out what our system is.

We may know what we WANT our system to be, but still need to wait and see how the guys integrate into it and then assess how to adjust the system based on skill an style.

Good post 007. For SFA to resume being successful we must have a team attitude first...all playing for the one....and yes the defensive intensity must return this year. Players must buy in to the system and have the will to work and then use their natural talent, then the wins should come.

defense is how our team will be successful. You are not going "out-athlete or out-shoot" Zion Williams or Duke. But we can out hassle them.

We can be defensive minded all we want, and I want us to be, but scoring points was a complete debacle for us last year, especially down the stretch.

With Kevon being the only legitimate scoring player we have coming back, we have really got to figure out how to score.

I just don't think it is realistic to expect to hold teams sub-60 points each week.

Personally, I'm stoked about newcomers Kachelries, Hart, and McDaniel. We should have much better guard play in 2019-2020. I also look forward to Walker making improvements in his game.

Let's face it, 2018-2019 sucked and the sooner we can forget it, the better. The recruits that were brought in last year didn't pass muster. I hope Seraille can improve his game. Since he is undersized and hasn't proven he can make a 10-15 foot shot, he will need put some serious work in the gym. Athletically, he is superb, but that didn't help us one bit. I wants to see more shot blocking from him and better hands. Maybe he can develop a consistent shot . I hope he is not a quitter like Jock and Aaron.

Rev007 said:

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Personally, I'm stoked about newcomers Kachelries, Hart, and McDaniel. We should have much better guard play in 2019-2020. I also look forward to Walker making improvements in his game.

Let's face it, 2018-2019 sucked and the sooner we can forget it, the better. The recruits that were brought in last year didn't pass muster. I hope Seraille can improve his game. Since he is undersized and hasn't proven he can make a 10-15 foot shot, he will need put some serious work in the gym. Athletically, he is superb, but that didn't help us one bit. I wants to see more shot blocking from him and better hands. Maybe he can develop a consistent shot . I hope he is not a quitter like Jock and Aaron.

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I'd hesitate to call guys quitters. In Aaron's case, I have it on good authority that him and Karl did not quit, rather, were kicked off.

If a kid transfers for what he perceives to be a better opportunity, I won't hold it against him. Jock never seemed to fit in, I wish him the best.

Brad Underwood left for a better opportunity, yet very little of the "he's a quitter," rhetoric.
I've left multiple jobs for better opportunities, don't consider myself a quitter.

That being said, with our gathering of JUCO guys, it is much less likely they leave...as they simply do not have a ton of years left to play. I'd venture a guess that the bulk of the JUCO guys stay for the entirety.

MasterAxe said:

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We can be defensive minded all we want, and I want us to be, but scoring points was a complete debacle for us last year, especially down the stretch.

With Kevon being the only legitimate scoring player we have coming back, we have really got to figure out how to score.

I just don't think it is realistic to expect to hold teams sub-60 points each week.

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Agreed.

We got a lot of scoring off turnovers in 17/18 so if we have actual guards that can play D and turnover the ball we can get some easy buckets that way like we did before.

It's just semantics. When you leave a team that you committed to when things get a little tough,
I think quitting is appropriate. When you get kicked off a team which is sorely lacking players because of injuries, that's probably worse than quitting. Either way, it shows a lack of commitment and self discipline. We don't need that on our team.

Perhaps we need to dig a little deeper into the character of our recruits. I assume we are already doing a lot of that, but somehow, we let a couple slip through the cracks.

Karl was a head case destined not to succeed. He left his team up north to come here, but he still underperformed and brought a bad attitude with him.

* meant to say quitting is an appropriate term.

Rev007 said:

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It's just semantics. When you leave a team that you committed to when things get a little tough,
I think quitting is appropriate. When you get kicked off a team which is sorely lacking players because of injuries, that's probably worse than quitting. Either way, it shows a lack of commitment and self discipline. We don't need that on our team.

Perhaps we need to dig a little deeper into the character of our recruits. I assume we are already doing a lot of that, but somehow, we let a couple slip through the cracks.

Karl was a head case destined not to succeed. He left his team up north to come here, but he still underperformed and brought a bad attitude with him.

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Now this I totally agree with. Spot on with the character of kids.

I'd hope that when a player wants to transfer to SFA (Not a grad transfer, but undergrad) that the first question we ask is "Why?"

I want to know why they are leaving the prior school. I'd hope that our staff would reach out to the prior school and see what the circumstances were. Seems like we could save ourselves from any more "Karl Nicholas" issues if we vet the players. I'm OK with turning down a transfer if we feel like he is not a fit culturally.

https://m.chron.com/sports/highschool/article/Klein-Forest-Calvin-Solomon-KJ-McDaniel-SFA-13778190.php

From the Houston Chronicle...I have heard of both these kids, especially McDaniel who has been mentioned more than a few times on the Houston news, esp. the last couple of years. Interested in seeing if this duo pans out.

Txjack said:

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https://m.chron.com/sports/highschool/article/Klein-Forest-Calvin-Solomon-KJ-McDaniel-SFA-13778190.php

From the Houston Chronicle...I have heard of both these kids, especially McDaniel who has been mentioned more than a few times on the Houston news, esp. the last couple of years. Interested in seeing if this duo pans out.

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I think they will be fine. Solid background and came from good coaching. Both should have a great career at SFA. Both seem coachable and not afraid of hard work. They have the tools for the trade if they chose to develope it.

https://m.chron.com/sports/highschool/article/Q-A-Klein-Forest-s-Calvin-Solomon-K-J-13707657.php

Speaking of coaching/background, this was also from the Houston Chronicle a few weeks ago...
Klein Forest BB has gone 95-11 the last 3 years (6A)

The most exciting thing about this class is that Solomon and McDaniel have been playing together since 7th grade. That kind of knowledge is difficult to find. Pinkney and Walkup has a lot of that Mojo. Has positive potential

Side note Karl has entered the transfer portal. I'm curious what Aaron does and what others do that are not returning next year end up doing.

CertifiedAxeman98 said:

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Side note Karl has entered the transfer portal. I'm curious what Aaron does and what others do that are not returning next year end up doing.

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Nicholas. Seems he wanted to come back which is why he waited this long to enter the transfer portal. He will get an opportunity somewhere. Hopefully, he has learned and is ready to humble himself.

I would have taken Karl over one of the JUCO guys, but if Keller didnt think he had earned a spot back or, did something bad enough to merit completely losing a spot. Then I guess we have to go with that.
Feel for the guy, but hope he can learn from this and come out stronger on the other side. Serious talent there.

Karl needs to go (and will).

cboothe09 said:

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I would have taken Karl over one of the JUCO guys, but if Keller didnt think he had earned a spot back or, did something bad enough to merit completely losing a spot. Then I guess we have to go with that.
Feel for the guy, but hope he can learn from this and come out stronger on the other side. Serious talent there.

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Even though I have not seen any of the Juco guys play, I disagree. Nicholas has great talent, but he was selfish both on and off the court. I hope he learned, and wish him well.

I believe that Karl was poisoning the attitude of our team.

Former Jack averaging 27 points a game in the Albanian basketball league.

purplitis72 said:

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I believe that Karl was poisoning the attitude of our team.

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And he was not a lone wolf in doing so.

I know we aren't supposed to look too much into player's tweets, but...

I'm pretty sure that John wasn't in that circle of players that rebelled against the coach. He needs to do what's best for him, but if he leaves I'm sure going to miss him.

John was the catalyst for a few of our comebacks last year. If he has to hang it up, I'm gonna miss him on the court.

With the PG's that are coming in and John's injury history it would not surprise me. When you do the math we have 2 too many on scholarship at this point in time. With the assumption that Kevon will finish out his career with SFA that means there is only room for 2 more. Bain was a starter last year and seemed to be a hustler (needs to cut back on the fouls) and is also a senior so I would assume he is coming back as well.

It is odd to say that SFA may only have 3 scholarship players coming back from last year.

Multi-level response to John's tweet based solely on reckless speculation (which we all excel at).

He might just be questioning his place on the team. It's like the veteran QB who as given his heart and soul to a team...only to have them draft the hotshot QB in the 1st round. Much like the pro's, college athletics is a business. There is always someone waiting to take your spot, even if you have not necessarily done anything wrong.

By all accounts, John has given every ounce of effort and energy that he has to SFA. But, the reality is, we signed some kids that are probably better than him. He may know that.

With his injury history and our signings, he may just be looking for a little guidance.

Seems to me that he is the kind of character we want on the team. The guy who has overcome a lack of skill (in some areas) to become a decent player, doing it with guts and grit.

Hope he finds what he is looking for.

OR...he and his girlfriend broke up and he's going through the inevitable "post breakup issues."

I wonder if there is a way to legally establish a scholarship fund for players who had to abandon their athletic scholarships because of injuries.

purplitis72 said:

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Former Jack averaging 27 points a game in the Albanian basketball league.

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When Floyd was on it rained.

You need at least one player like that on your team to bring you back.

purplitis72 said:

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I wonder if there is a way to legally establish a scholarship fund for players who had to abandon their athletic scholarships because of injuries.

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Great question. I do know that schools will often times honor a scholarship for a player who suffers a career ending injury. I remember reading about MaKenzie Milton, the UCF QB, who shattered his leg, that UCF would honor his.

I also read that some schools may pull the scholarship but subsidize with the "catastrophic injury" insurance that they carry.

Then again, with the NCAA today and how some schools operate, they may just say "Tough ***** Get lost."