No-look said:

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Question. Does transitioning from a D11 to D1, is there an adjustment to recruiting higher level players?

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Just look at what Drake did (Ben McCollum). Coach was D2 for Northwest Missouri State and won 4 National Champs with them. This is his resume:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_McCollum

Four of his current roster out of 15 are former NW Missouri St.

He makes 275k at Drake?

TallTexan said:

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He makes 275k at Drake?

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Thats what Im seeing.

Hope we can get that kind of deal. That's a great salary for this level.

MasterAxe2 said:

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This is also a warning shot to Colby Carthel to get his **** together.

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Your a joker..

MasterAxe2 said:

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This is also a warning shot to Colby Carthel to get his **** together.

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I think Carthel has made good adjustments. The only game (2024) that I REALLY question is McNeese. Watched it first hand.

After the McNeese game I felt like we looked like a competent outfit. If Carthel stumbles this year and slide to 6-6 or land about where we did in2024 , he's in trouble. That being said, I feel like his coaching style has shown that he's adaptable and will win. I want to see him string 2-3 highly competitive seasons together.

I created a new forum for everything related to the search in case it gets lost here. Lots of good stats thrown around.

It was time to move on. That being said some of the remarks on Facebook, regarding Keller are just uncalled for and classless. The man will leave SFA with over a 65% winning percentage. His style of defense was a key in our initial competitiveness in the WAC. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find the right players with shooting skills to compliment the defensive system. Best of luck to Coach K in his future endeavors.

BigJack85 said:

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It was time to move on. That being said some of the remarks on Facebook, regarding Keller are just uncalled for and classless. The man will leave SFA with over a 65% winning percentage. His style of defense was a key in our initial competitiveness in the WAC. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find the right players with shooting skills to compliment the defensive system. Best of luck to Coach K in his future endeavors.

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While i agree the defense was the key to Keller's success after the same kind of style of player that Underwood brought. Eventually it had to change espically with the college basketball more focusing on shooting over defense. (See the NBA). Keller should have adapted and changed the idea of SFA mens basketball. He brought alot of success but he was to hard headed to change.

The Tony Jasick era has begun.

It will be interesting to see any adjustments that the coaching staff make, as they are now free to experiment with different approaches.

Back to work.#AxeEm x #PressU pic.twitter.com/86qXzuBQnH

— SFA Men’s Basketball (@SFA_MBB) January 23, 2025

SCH890 said:

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BigJack85 said:

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It was time to move on. That being said some of the remarks on Facebook, regarding Keller are just uncalled for and classless. The man will leave SFA with over a 65% winning percentage. His style of defense was a key in our initial competitiveness in the WAC. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find the right players with shooting skills to compliment the defensive system. Best of luck to Coach K in his future endeavors.

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While i agree the defense was the key to Keller's success after the same kind of style of player that Underwood brought. Eventually it had to change espically with the college basketball more focusing on shooting over defense. (See the NBA). Keller should have adapted and changed the idea of SFA mens basketball. He brought alot of success but he was to hard headed to change.

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I agree wholeheartedly that the game has changed and Keller needed to make adjustments. Defense alone won't get it done.

jboy93 said:

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Hate to see Keller leave like this. He was very nice to me when I met them at the airport in Tyler after the Duke win. Not sure but was he on the last year of his current contract?
There just had to be something going on internally. We have had too many players over the last couple of years show up on the roster and then just poof, they disappear!?

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We must have done a buy out or something.
https://sfajacks.com/news/2020/11/3/mens-basketball-sfa-athletics-announces-contract-extension-for-kyle-keller-through-2025-26-season

Since this posting says we had him lock until 2025-2026

SCH890 said:

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jboy93 said:

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Hate to see Keller leave like this. He was very nice to me when I met them at the airport in Tyler after the Duke win. Not sure but was he on the last year of his current contract?
There just had to be something going on internally. We have had too many players over the last couple of years show up on the roster and then just poof, they disappear!?

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We must have done a buy out or something.
https://sfajacks.com/news/2020/11/3/mens-basketball-sfa-athletics-announces-contract-extension-for-kyle-keller-through-2025-26-season

Since this posting says we had him lock until 2025-2026

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Yes. I think his salary was approximately $345

BigJack85 said:

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SCH890 said:

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jboy93 said:

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Hate to see Keller leave like this. He was very nice to me when I met them at the airport in Tyler after the Duke win. Not sure but was he on the last year of his current contract?
There just had to be something going on internally. We have had too many players over the last couple of years show up on the roster and then just poof, they disappear!?

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We must have done a buy out or something.
https://sfajacks.com/news/2020/11/3/mens-basketball-sfa-athletics-announces-contract-extension-for-kyle-keller-through-2025-26-season

Since this posting says we had him lock until 2025-2026

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Yes. I think his salary was approximately $345

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IIRC, I think he was closer to 425k after the extension.

Key Data

Year
2023
Full Name
Kyle Keller E
Job Title
Head Coach Ft
Get Head Coach, Ft Salary Statistics

State
Texas
Employer
Stephen F Austin State University
Annual Wage
$426,440
Pay Plan

Found this at govsalaries.com
Not sure if accurate but maybe close.

Shows Bishop at a meager $138k!

Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh. Well I guess we know how much we are willing to spend.

Tom Brown $181682
West Texas A&M Coach

https://openpayrolls.com/rank/highest-paid-employees/west-texas-am-university

SCH890 said:

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Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh. Well I guess we know how much we are willing to spend.

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Middle of the pack, in the wac. Pun intended.

TallTexan said:

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BigJack85 said:

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SCH890 said:

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jboy93 said:

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Hate to see Keller leave like this. He was very nice to me when I met them at the airport in Tyler after the Duke win. Not sure but was he on the last year of his current contract?
There just had to be something going on internally. We have had too many players over the last couple of years show up on the roster and then just poof, they disappear!?

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We must have done a buy out or something.
https://sfajacks.com/news/2020/11/3/mens-basketball-sfa-athletics-announces-contract-extension-for-kyle-keller-through-2025-26-season

Since this posting says we had him lock until 2025-2026

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Yes. I think his salary was approximately $345

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IIRC, I think he was closer to 425k after the extension.

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Open payroll says $389.

Congrats to both Illinois and West Virginia women as they both have become elite due to all that coaching experience at SFA. So sad we can't keep home grown talent like that. Neither coach had any interest from anyone but SFA and made themselves and our programs brilliant.

With transfer portals and the lower levels of funding affecting SFA and the ability to maintain high grade talent we will never see another period of long term success like we did for the time we did it. Sucks man but small fish get consumed far more often and easier than the larger ones. Blessing Jack Nation! For now SFA class of 1990 is a Cougar fanboy as he was also UH class of 1993. Go Cougars....please someone save SFA!

I too am a duel SFA and UH grad (I root for UH basketball (nice miracle W over Kansas last night)), but my heart has been and will always be 1,000% a Lumberjack! (I was never very good at math.)

BTW, huge upset coming - SFA over UH by 10 this Fall in football!!!!

SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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I too am a duel SFA and UH grad (I root for UH basketball (nice miracle W over Kansas last night)), but my heart has been and will always be 1,000% a Lumberjack! (I was never very good at math.)

BTW, huge upset coming - SFA over UH by 10 this Fall in football!!!!

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1000% Lumberjack. I don't have a backup squad to root for.

migata33 said:

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Congrats to both Illinois and West Virginia women as they both have become elite due to all that coaching experience at SFA. So sad we can't keep home grown talent like that. Neither coach had any interest from anyone but SFA and made themselves and our programs brilliant.

With transfer portals and the lower levels of funding affecting SFA and the ability to maintain high grade talent we will never see another period of long term success like we did for the time we did it. Sucks man but small fish get consumed far more often and easier than the larger ones. Blessing Jack Nation! For now SFA class of 1990 is a Cougar fanboy as he was also UH class of 1993. Go Cougars....please someone save SFA!

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When SFA Football beats UH this fall you have to shift your allegiance 100% to SFA.

SFASawmillGuy said:

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migata33 said:

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Congrats to both Illinois and West Virginia women as they both have become elite due to all that coaching experience at SFA. So sad we can't keep home grown talent like that. Neither coach had any interest from anyone but SFA and made themselves and our programs brilliant.

With transfer portals and the lower levels of funding affecting SFA and the ability to maintain high grade talent we will never see another period of long term success like we did for the time we did it. Sucks man but small fish get consumed far more often and easier than the larger ones. Blessing Jack Nation! For now SFA class of 1990 is a Cougar fanboy as he was also UH class of 1993. Go Cougars....please someone save SFA!

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When SFA Football beats UH this fall you have to shift your allegiance 100% to SFA.

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I plan to be there.

SFA basketball IS coming back. And strong next season .

It may take a couple years to win a SLC title but we will be back.

For sure, the transfer portal is going to affect SFA Basketball in a negative way. The ability to easily steal our future talent is undeniable. We need to recruit freshmen locally (in state) and out in the nether region. As a community. Let's show them love and support and keep them here for four years. As I recall, Walkup was the stone that was rejected and became the Chief Cornerstone. Jacob Parker loved hunting and fishing. Additionally, I think it is safe to recruit high quality juco transfers. Keller's best and only excellent recruiting class was Kensmil, Roti, Cam, and David. Why he couldn't replicate that success is on him and his recruiters.

Winning a title can be done in a year if things fall into place. 2018-2019 season was a bust. 7-11 in league play. In comes Kensmil and co and finish 28-3. We need immediate gratification. lol

Rev007 said:

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For sure, the transfer portal is going to affect SFA Basketball in a negative way. The ability to easily steal our future talent is undeniable. We need to recruit freshmen locally (in state) and out in the nether region. As a community. Let's show them love and support and keep them here for four years. As I recall, Walkup was the stone that was rejected and became the Chief Cornerstone. Jacob Parker loved hunting and fishing. Additionally, I think it is safe to recruit high quality juco transfers. Keller's best and only excellent recruiting class was Kensmil, Roti, Cam, and David. Why he couldn't replicate that success is on him and his recruiters.

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It's the downside to the transfer portal. Smaller colleges or schools with less history or fewer resources are potentially going to have a much, much harder time being competitive for longer stretches of time.

It's a different sport, but Carthel has really shown his value in the fact that we haven't really lost anyone important to the portal.

But for the most part any school that's not a blue blood with lots of money/rich alumni who care about sports are going to have a hard time holding onto good players. We probably won't see many multi year runs by schools like us because the second we make waves, bigger schools are gonna come calling right away.

The only way to prevent this would be to limit the transfer portal, like give players a limited number of free transfers before they have to sit a year. And by limit it would probably need to be 1 or 2.

But then again, the point of the portal is to allow players, or programs, the best chance to succeed in the sport. Cam Ward is the poster child of this. If he stayed at UIW he wouldn't be looking at the life changing event that's about to occur at the NFL draft. Likewise Sam Vidlak wouldn't have had the revitalization of his football career at SFA.

So the portal is a true double edged sword. It's great for players. Good for programs in that they can completely rebuild in a single season(like we did in football), but bad for programs in that too much success can lead what would have been years of success beforehand is now going to lead to one good year followed by the roster getting gutted and needing to start over(like Sam Houston has to do now).