20-Win Seasons

[BillySee58]

We have now reached 20 wins for the 13th time in school history. Mccasland has 5 of them. Jones has 5 and Blakeley has the other 3.

This is also just the 8th time in school history that we have reached 20 in the regular season. 4 of those belong to Mccasland. 

He has certainly built a Hall of Fame resume.

[Wag Tag]

We really need to up grade our BB facilities! Thank you Mc! GMG 

[DeepGreen]

We need to upgrade what we pay Coach McCasland.  We have to hang on to him!

[GrandGreen]

5 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

We have now reached 20 wins for the 13th time in school history. Mccasland has 5 of them. Jones has 5 and Blakeley has the other 3.

This is also just the 8th time in school history that we have reached 20 in the regular season. 4 of those belong to Mccasland. 

He has certainly built a Hall of Fame resume.

A factor to remember is that teams play more games than they did decades ago.   Twenty wins was a much more meaningful stat.  For example, Blakeley's best 70's team went 22-4 with no post conference games. 

[BillySee58]

3 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

A factor to remember is that teams play more games than they did decades ago.   Twenty wins was a much more meaningful stat.  For example, Blakeley's best 70's team went 22-4 with no post conference games. 

Absolutely. Which is why I added the context of 20-win regular seasons as well. The last two season we have hit win number 20 by the 24th game and 25th game respectively.

[greenminer]

Looking forward to the day Grant signs a guy that can elevate this program into S16/T25 material.

[GrandGreen]

1 hour ago, BillySee58 said:

Absolutely. Which is why I added the context of 20-win regular seasons as well. The last two season we have hit win number 20 by the 24th game and 25th game respectively.

Yes, I didn't mean to diminish the accomplishment; this team and coaching staff are doing great things.  

 

[Matt from A700]

If he is loyal to North Texas for several more years, sprinkled in with a few more Tourney appearances/wins, Grant is setting himself up to have the court named after him if we ever get a new basketball arena. Only 10 wins away from tying Blakeley.

[greenminer]

 

[emmitt01]

17 hours ago, greenminer said:

Looking forward to the day Grant signs a guy that can elevate this program into S16/T25 material.

FAU is Top 25 and not a single player on their roster is “superior” to any of our players.  

[Glory to the Green]

4 hours ago, greenminer said:

 

Crazy to think that when he said this to the team I thought 15 wins seemed high. He’s a beast of a coach.  Love this video. 

[Danish43]

20 hours ago, Wag Tag said:

We really need to up grade our BB facilities! Thank you Mc! GMG 

As in how?

[Danish43]

9 hours ago, Matt from A700 said:

If he is loyal to North Texas for several more years, sprinkled in with a few more Tourney appearances/wins, Grant is setting himself up to have the court named after him if we ever get a new basketball arena. Only 10 wins away from tying Blakeley.

Why do we need a new basketball arena? We have a great one already. You compare our Arena to what UTSA, Rice, FIU has and it is a palace compared to what they have.

[greenminer]

12 minutes ago, Danish43 said:

Why do we need a new basketball arena? We have a great one already. You compare our Arena to what UTSA, Rice, FIU has and it is a palace compared to what they have.

Not everyone agrees and you know this.

[BillySee58]

1 hour ago, emmitt01 said:

FAU is Top 25 and not a single player on their roster is “superior” to any of our players.  

Wait, I’m confused by the wording here. It’s worded like you’re saying not a single player on their roster is superior to a single player on ours. Yes they have a single player who is superior to any of our players. Anyone who gets PT for them is superior to guys like Chrisdon Morgan or Rasheed Browne.

Obviously that’s not what you mean. What do you mean exactly? None of their players are superior to our top guys? None of their guys 1-13 are better than our corresponding guy at 1-13?

[Wag Tag]

3 hours ago, Danish43 said:

As in how?

First is they should have their on weight room and rehab facility at the coliseum!

[Greenrex]

3 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

Wait, I’m confused by the wording here. It’s worded like you’re saying not a single player on their roster is superior to a single player on ours. Yes they have a single player who is superior to any of our players. Anyone who gets PT for them is superior to guys like Chrisdon Morgan or Rasheed Browne.

Obviously that’s not what you mean. What do you mean exactly? None of their players are superior to our top guys? None of their guys 1-13 are better than our corresponding guy at 1-13?

I thought it was a reference to players being single, not married.

[GMG_Dallas]

3 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

Wait, I’m confused by the wording here. It’s worded like you’re saying not a single player on their roster is superior to a single player on ours. Yes they have a single player who is superior to any of our players. Anyone who gets PT for them is superior to guys like Chrisdon Morgan or Rasheed Browne.

Obviously that’s not what you mean. What do you mean exactly? None of their players are superior to our top guys? None of their guys 1-13 are better than our corresponding guy at 1-13?

I think you read too much into his comment. Somebody else implied Grant needed to recruit a high(er) profile talent to elevate the program to the next level. The way I read Emmitt01's post is simply that FAU does not have any individual player that is a higher profile talent than any of our guys that all of a sudden elevated them to being top 25. They don't have it and it's not necessary. Could help but not dire.

Grant's recruiting has clearly been great for the style he likes to play. I was watching highlights from the Purdue tourney win earlier today and it's amazing how we lost 3 key players from that run to graduation or transfer (Simmons, Reese, Hamlet) before the following season, followed up the run with a 25 win season, and now have lost another 3 (McBride, Bell, Murray) and yet have another 20+ win season. Only 1 key contributor from that run 2 seasons ago remains and the program hasn't skipped a beat. Really incredible work to re-tool and keep getting results despite what the recruiting rankings say about our guys.

[97and03]

10 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

I think you read too much into his comment. Somebody else implied Grant needed to recruit a high(er) profile talent to elevate the program to the next level. The way I read Emmitt01's post is simply that FAU does not have any individual player that is a higher profile talent than any of our guys that all of a sudden elevated them to being top 25. They don't have it and it's not necessary. Could help but not dire.

Grant's recruiting has clearly been great for the style he likes to play. I was watching highlights from the Purdue tourney win earlier today and it's amazing how we lost 3 key players from that run to graduation or transfer (Simmons, Reese, Hamlet) before the following season, followed up the run with a 25 win season, and now have lost another 3 (McBride, Bell, Murray) and yet have another 20+ win season. Only 1 key contributor from that run 2 seasons ago remains and the program hasn't skipped a beat. Really incredible work to re-tool and keep getting results despite what the recruiting rankings say about our guys.

We have played more guys than in previous seasons but offense can still be hard to come by and usually only six get meaningful minutes. I would love to have a high profile guy but would honestly prefer if we were legit 9-10 deep. 

[BillySee58]

38 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

I think you read too much into his comment. Somebody else implied Grant needed to recruit a high(er) profile talent to elevate the program to the next level. The way I read Emmitt01's post is simply that FAU does not have any individual player that is a higher profile talent than any of our guys that all of a sudden elevated them to being top 25. They don't have it and it's not necessary. Could help but not dire.

Grant's recruiting has clearly been great for the style he likes to play. I was watching highlights from the Purdue tourney win earlier today and it's amazing how we lost 3 key players from that run to graduation or transfer (Simmons, Reese, Hamlet) before the following season, followed up the run with a 25 win season, and now have lost another 3 (McBride, Bell, Murray) and yet have another 20+ win season. Only 1 key contributor from that run 2 seasons ago remains and the program hasn't skipped a beat. Really incredible work to re-tool and keep getting results despite what the recruiting rankings say about our guys.

I gotcha. I think they have a pretty clearly better group of shot makers. They shoot about 5% better from the floor, and they have more dynamic athletes. Michael Forrest was their leading scorer last year and he is not a starter or in their closing lineup. They have a really impressive talent pool on their team, even if they don’t have individuals who stand out as potential draft picks. 

But yeah, to greenminer’s point, getting an elite talent to go along with the gritty defensive focused player would propel us from a top 50-60 team to a potential top 25 team. And that’s what we have seen over the years with a lot of the Top 25 Mid Majors over the years.

Guys like Jameer Nelson and Delonte West at St Joe’s, Hayward at Butler, Korver ant Creighton, even Courtney Lee at WKU in their Sweet 16 run in 08. That’s typically how you see good Mid Majors make that jump to national prominence.

[GMG_Dallas]

7 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

I gotcha. I think they have a pretty clearly better group of shot makers. They shoot about 5% better from the floor, and they have more dynamic athletes. Michael Forrest was their leading scorer last year and he is not a starter or in their closing lineup. They have a really impressive talent pool on their team, even if they don’t have individuals who stand out as potential draft picks. 

But yeah, to greenminer’s point, getting an elite talent to go along with the gritty defensive focused player would propel us from a top 50-60 team to a potential top 25 team. And that’s what we have seen over the years with a lot of the Top 25 Mid Majors over the years.

Guys like Jameer Nelson and Delonte West at St Joe’s, Hayward at Butler, Korver ant Creighton, even Courtney Lee at WKU in their Sweet 16 run in 08. That’s typically how you see good Mid Majors make that jump to national prominence.

Yeah FAU has a good overall talent pool but they don't have a single elite talent like you pointed out the other mid-majors had during their runs. They don't have a talent like Jelly Walker who I would liken to Lee and the rest you listed (I'll add Fred VanFleet). Like you said, that's typically how good mid-majors make the jump but it's not always the case. FAU has been top 25 this season. They dropped after the UAB loss but are still getting plenty of votes. They'll be back top 25 in a couple weeks if they don't crap the bed and they'll have done it without one of those elite talents. There was no reason for the other poster to take a subtle shot at Grant's recruiting when he's done nothing but load up year after year. One contributing player remains from the upset over Purdue and we haven't skipped a beat.

[emmitt01]

8 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

I gotcha. I think they have a pretty clearly better group of shot makers. They shoot about 5% better from the floor, and they have more dynamic athletes. Michael Forrest was their leading scorer last year and he is not a starter or in their closing lineup. They have a really impressive talent pool on their team, even if they don’t have individuals who stand out as potential draft picks. 

But yeah, to greenminer’s point, getting an elite talent to go along with the gritty defensive focused player would propel us from a top 50-60 team to a potential top 25 team. And that’s what we have seen over the years with a lot of the Top 25 Mid Majors over the years.

Guys like Jameer Nelson and Delonte West at St Joe’s, Hayward at Butler, Korver ant Creighton, even Courtney Lee at WKU in their Sweet 16 run in 08. That’s typically how you see good Mid Majors make that jump to national prominence.

FAU was ranked THIS year, and we were toe to toe with them in both games we played (and should have beaten them at our house if not for the worst officiating I have seen in years).  
 

You mentioned Courtney Lee at WKU.  What if I told you he was rated lower than Tylor Perry coming out of high school?   

https://247sports.com/Player/Tylor-Perry-46042160/

https://247sports.com/Player/Courtney-Lee-67740/high-school-119217/

I think we get so wrapped up in ratings and wishing for that “big splash” signing that we forget basketball is about far more than taking a talented individual and plugging them into an established system.  

[drex]

As I have said before, FAU will not make it through the C-USA tournament this year...they will not survive on a neutral court.  Their share of luck will run out in Frisco.

[greenminer]

6 hours ago, emmitt01 said:

FAU was ranked THIS year, and we were toe to toe with them in both games we played (and should have beaten them at our house if not for the worst officiating I have seen in years).  
 

You mentioned Courtney Lee at WKU.  What if I told you he was rated lower than Tylor Perry coming out of high school?   

https://247sports.com/Player/Tylor-Perry-46042160/

https://247sports.com/Player/Courtney-Lee-67740/high-school-119217/

I think we get so wrapped up in ratings and wishing for that “big splash” signing that we forget basketball is about far more than taking a talented individual and plugging them into an established system.  

My original post was about elevating us from where we currently are to be a power in the T25/S16.  I believe we are not there, neither is FAU.

One of the biggest mysteries (among a couple) of the Grant era, as great as it is, is how he is not parlaying all of this incredible success into a new level of recruiting.  Isn't that what's supposed to happen...naturally?  Or is this where we will be perpetually, coaching system guys waaay up, and hope at some point, for one season, we get lucky to pop a T25 ranking?  I don't believe so.  I believe if Grant were coaching at, say, Baylor, he would have better recruits than what he currently brings to Denton.  Is it unreasonable to expect that we can grow our bbal brand to be on-par with the Baylors/Houstons of the world?

I'm so happy we got that win over Purdue, but I am of the belief that it was supposed to help elevate us to point where a Round 1 win can happen more than once every 5 years.

What about any "system" guys that are closer to Kentucky talent than Idaho talent?
What about Mid Major T25 regulars...they have systems, too right?

Yes, we are this close to T25.  And our talent levels are on par with anyone in tour league.

Billy is right, you typically see these Mid Majors with sustained success, success that includes multipe S16+ runs in the NCAA, with a high-profile guy.  That's what I was posting about.  Let's get that guy.

I think you're making a great observation, it just isn't the same path that I was trying to go down.
 

Edited February 11, 2023 by greenminer

[GMG_Dallas]

3 hours ago, greenminer said:

My original post was about elevating us from where we currently are to be a power in the T25/S16.  I believe we are not there, neither is FAU.

One of the biggest mysteries (among a couple) of the Grant era, as great as it is, is how he is not parlaying all of this incredible success into a new level of recruiting.  Isn't that what's supposed to happen...naturally?  Or is this where we will be perpetually, coaching system guys waaay up, and hope at some point, for one season, we get lucky to pop a T25 ranking?  I don't believe so.  I believe if Grant were coaching at, say, Baylor, he would have better recruits than what he currently brings to Denton.  Is it unreasonable to expect that we can grow our bbal brand to be on-par with the Baylors/Houstons of the world?

I'm so happy we got that win over Purdue, but I am of the belief that it was supposed to help elevate us to point where a Round 1 win can happen more than once every 5 years.

What about any "system" guys that are closer to Kentucky talent than Idaho talent?
What about Mid Major T25 regulars...they have systems, too right?

Yes, we are this close to T25.  And our talent levels are on par with anyone in tour league.

Billy is right, you typically see these Mid Majors with sustained success, success that includes multipe S16+ runs in the NCAA, with a high-profile guy.  That's what I was posting about.  Let's get that guy.

I think you're making a great observation, it just isn't the same path that I was trying to go down.
 

None of the players Billy listed were top rated recruits outside of maybe Jameer Nelson. West was overshadowed by a classmate, Hayward was a 2 star recruit who grew 8 inches around his senior year, Courtney Lee had 2 total offers and was rated lower than Matthew Stone, Fred VanVleet was a 2 star recruit with just a few offers, and I don't believe Kyle Korver was some top recruit either. I hate to say all those coaches got lucky because they didn't, they scouted their systems and coached the guys up. Most of those guys were averaging single digits as freshmen. They were not the Kentucky level recruit hitting the ground running. They were coached up.

Edited February 11, 2023 by GMG_Dallas