The 2020-2021 Season Thread

BigSkyCatinMT · Post by **BigSkyCatinMT** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 12:54 pm

Just made an exhaustive list of current players that have more than 1 year of playing experience for Arizona.

1. Ira Lee.

SCCats · Post by **SCCats** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 1:08 pm

BigSkyCatinMT wrote:Just made an exhaustive list of current players that have more than 1 year of playing experience for Arizona.

1. Ira Lee.

That just leaves more room for one and dones!

It’s time to end this bad dream.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 1:16 pm

SCCats wrote:
BigSkyCatinMT wrote:Just made an exhaustive list of current players that have more than 1 year of playing experience for Arizona.

1. Ira Lee.
That just leaves more room for one and dones!

It’s time to end this bad dream.

The retort to that that is: "Okay, enjoy a team of all senior Dylan Smiths."

It's a stupid retort.

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 1:32 pm

It's times like these when Lute's tourney appearance streak seems that much more mythical. It's damn hard to maintain that level for so many years without a single crummy season.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 1:50 pm

Beachcat97 wrote:It's times like these when Lute's tourney appearance streak seems that much more mythical. It's damn hard to maintain that level for so many years without a single crummy season.

Lute adapted very well to the players he had. No way would Lute have Ayton defending the perimeter on hedge screens. He also didn't curse at them, he left that to KO.

Irish27 · Post by **Irish27** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:27 pm

Let's hope Sean can get a couple of these guys, https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketbal ... holarships" target="_blank

Frybry02 · Post by **Frybry02** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:49 pm

Choo, any idea what the plan is for Brandon Williams is? Is it internally already known that he will have to medically retire? If so, is their a timeline for that announcement? If not, Is the hope for medical clearance come early summer?

97cats · Post by **97cats** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 7:54 pm

97cats wrote:
BigSkyCatinMT wrote:Going after the 7'3" Purdue transfer.
Haarms would be a solid addition

yes - need

Arizona would be formidable with plenty of length, athleticism, experience, and size posting a front line of:

Brown
Koloko
Haarms
Lee

probably add another big body to that group if he can get Haarms

very important recruit at this stage

Irish27 · Post by **Irish27** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 8:03 pm

Irish27 · Post by **Irish27** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 8:18 pm

BigSkyCatinMT · Post by **BigSkyCatinMT** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 9:33 pm

At this point, maybe a one- time free transfer rule, or 2021 reclassifications is about all that's left. With a few foreign recruits. Any tall Samoans out there?

Are we recruiting prison yards yet?

Statfreak77 · Post by **Statfreak77** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 8:46 am

Losing a kid to a school that wasn't even in his top 7.

LOL

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 8:49 am

BigSkyCatinMT wrote:At this point, maybe a one- time free transfer rule, or 2021 reclassifications is about all that's left. With a few foreign recruits. Any tall Samoans out there?

Are we recruiting prison yards yet?

Arizona is going to be like ASU was 15(?) years ago when they had to advertise for students to try out for walk on positions.

Too bad the rec center is closed, Miller could be scouting out the pickup games.

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 8:52 am

Statfreak77 wrote:Losing a kid to a school that wasn't even in his top 7.

LOL

They must have offered a lot more $$$$

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:06 am

Statfreak77 wrote:Losing a kid to a school that wasn't even in his top 7.

LOL

7 schools lost out on a kid who had them listed as one of his top choices.

People really need to stop acting like recruiting is only difficult for Arizona.

zonagrad · Post by **zonagrad** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:46 pm

Chicat wrote:
Statfreak77 wrote:Losing a kid to a school that wasn't even in his top 7.

LOL
7 schools lost out on a kid who had them listed as one of his top choices.

People really need to stop acting like recruiting is only difficult for Arizona.

^^^^^^^^^^
Yes

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 6:02 pm

Chicat wrote:
Statfreak77 wrote:Losing a kid to a school that wasn't even in his top 7.

LOL
7 schools lost out on a kid who had them listed as one of his top choices.

People really need to stop acting like recruiting is only difficult for Arizona.

Yes, but Chi, you gotta admit it feels like it's gotten much harder recently. Compare this to five years ago.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 7:33 pm

Beachcat97 wrote:
Chicat wrote:
Statfreak77 wrote:Losing a kid to a school that wasn't even in his top 7.

LOL
7 schools lost out on a kid who had them listed as one of his top choices.

People really need to stop acting like recruiting is only difficult for Arizona.
Yes, but Chi, you gotta admit it feels like it's gotten much harder recently. Compare this to five years ago.

Five years ago when we wanted Stephen Zimmerman, Ivan Rabb, and Chase Jeter, and for some reason Tyler Dorsey committed and then decommitted?

We ended up with Justin Simon, Allonzo Trier, Ray Smith, and Chance Comanche. And we were ecstatic about that class. The class that produced two wins total in the tourney in four years, one missed postseason altogether, and none of those kids playing through their senior year.

It’s always a crapshoot and it’s always difficult. We are spoiled because Sean Miller made it look easy and like he could snap his fingers and pull any five star recruit he wanted.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 7:53 pm

All of sudden out west you have a revived UCLA, Gonzaga, San Diego St, Oregon and Washington has made a resurgence. The road is tougher to those top kids and the graduate transfers. Like Chi says, recruiting is hard in college basketball.

Sounds to me like we get a couple of these Euro kids Choo has mentioned along with the two other freshman and it might be a pretty solid longer term class

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:11 pm

To Chi's point.

ByJoveByJingle · Post by **ByJoveByJingle** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:26 pm

ChooChooCat wrote:To Chi's point.

I’d tell you it’s hard to drop bag money while everybody is looking at you.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:36 am

ByJoveByJingle wrote:
ChooChooCat wrote:To Chi's point.

I’d tell you it’s hard to drop bag money while everybody is looking at you.

Who is dropping bag money and being looked at? I’m assuming you’re talking about the shoe companies and the Feds, but I would think the past 2+ years would have made you realize that the FBI has very little interest in how AAU programs get funded and where some of that money ends up.

ByJoveByJingle · Post by **ByJoveByJingle** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 5:40 am

Chicat wrote:
ByJoveByJingle wrote:
ChooChooCat wrote:To Chi's point.

I’d tell you it’s hard to drop bag money while everybody is looking at you.
Who is dropping bag money and being looked at? I’m assuming you’re talking about the shoe companies and the Feds, but I would think the past 2+ years would have made you realize that the FBI has very little interest in how AAU programs get funded and where some of that money ends up.

I was mostly being facetious. But you have to wonder if the dirty underbelly of the sport can continue in the same brazen way after at least some of their methodology has been exposed. It does make me wonder what happens in the typical Kansas 5* recruitment now. Are they (whoever they may be) still paying to get these players? If not, what’s going on? Suddenly everybody has come clean? Or is the money trail being concealed in different ways now? I get the FBI is not continuing to expend resources looking at this, but the NCAA definitely is.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:26 am

The NCAA has no jurisdiction over AAU programs or shoe companies. At most they can look into whether coaches are coordinating with agents and shoe reps to get these kids (or more often, their handlers/family) paid, but I doubt they have a ton of interest in even doing that. They want these kids going to blue blood programs and not just whatever school is closest to their family. If Duke can’t pull kids from Chicago, New York, Texas, etc and the quality of their team takes a hit, a lot of people won’t tune into the regular season. If people aren’t watching, ad revenue goes down and the 50 VP level execs at the NCAA won’t get their bonuses. No one wants that.

The NCAA will only step in when the behavior is egregious and threatens to show that amateurism is bullshit. Because if everyone is getting paid below the table the calls for the NCAA and the schools to outright pay these kids what they are truly worth get louder and louder and louder...

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:47 am

ChooChooCat wrote:To Chi's point.

No one is saying recruiting isn't hard. Even Lute said that was the one thing he doesn't miss about coaching.

Duke has the 11th, 21st, 24th, 29th, 37th, and 44th ranked players in the class all signed for 2020.

I don't think Duke is having recruiting problems.

Kansas also signed Tyon Grant-Foster, the #2 ranked JC player.

UNC 14th, 17th, 18th, 48th, 54th.

Arizona: 42nd, 118th (not signed) https://247sports.com/college/arizona/S ... l/Commits/" target="_blank

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:21 pm

This is why Sean's job was never in jeopardy this offseason.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:24 pm

What does that mean though in hiring another assistant for basketball Choo?

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:25 pm

azcat49 wrote:What does that mean though in hiring another assistant for basketball Choo?

Nothing can be official until the freeze is over, which I believe is in June.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:30 pm

So they lift the freeze, post the job, fill it and then probably put a salary freeze and another hiring freeze in.

gronk4heisman · Post by **gronk4heisman** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:54 pm

I'm sure Larry Scott is still cashing them checks.

DrWildcat · Post by **DrWildcat** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 1:21 pm

gronk4heisman wrote:I'm sure Larry Scott is still cashing them checks.

He is taking a 20% pay cut, I believe I saw that his senior staff is taking a 10% cut. But obviously we all agree that he should just be completely cut.

zonagrad · Post by **zonagrad** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 2:50 pm

We need an assistant coach more than we need the handful of “associate athletic directors” or “marketing specialists.” Hire Terry so we can get this ship right and stop fucking rowing in circles. An A.D. worth a shit would get an exemption and take charge. Shit. Is Ced Dempsey available on a retainer? Heeke is such a disappointment.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 8:17 pm

zonagrad wrote:We need an assistant coach more than we need the handful of “associate athletic directors” or “marketing specialists.” Hire Terry so we can get this ship right and stop fucking rowing in circles. An A.D. worth a shit would get an exemption and take charge. Shit. Is Ced Dempsey available on a retainer? Heeke is such a disappointment.

An exemption to what?

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:20 pm

Longhorned wrote:
zonagrad wrote:We need an assistant coach more than we need the handful of “associate athletic directors” or “marketing specialists.” Hire Terry so we can get this ship right and stop fucking rowing in circles. An A.D. worth a shit would get an exemption and take charge. Shit. Is Ced Dempsey available on a retainer? Heeke is such a disappointment.
An exemption to what?

Hiring freeze

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 10:37 pm

Athletics can’t get an exemption to a hiring freeze for the same reason they’re subject to it. I think Heeke has done an awful job, but you can’t hire a new assistant coach when current staff are about to get furloughed and have their salaries frozen. This is one of those times when the reality hits that this is a public institution. Even if your sport is a net generator, it isn’t a net generator when it stops generating net.

zonagrad · Post by **zonagrad** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 2:35 am

Longhorned wrote:Athletics can’t get an exemption to a hiring freeze for the same reason they’re subject to it. I think Heeke has done an awful job, but you can’t hire a new assistant coach when current staff are about to get furloughed and have their salaries frozen. This is one of those times when the reality hits that this is a public institution. Even if your sport is a net generator, it isn’t a net generator when it stops generating net.

The argument is that as a revenue producing program, an assistant basketball coach position is more important than 99% of the other jobs in the athletic department.

DrWildcat · Post by **DrWildcat** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 6:14 am

zonagrad wrote:
Longhorned wrote:Athletics can’t get an exemption to a hiring freeze for the same reason they’re subject to it. I think Heeke has done an awful job, but you can’t hire a new assistant coach when current staff are about to get furloughed and have their salaries frozen. This is one of those times when the reality hits that this is a public institution. Even if your sport is a net generator, it isn’t a net generator when it stops generating net.
The argument is that as a revenue producing program, an assistant basketball coach position is more important than 99% of the other jobs in the athletic department.

The argument is that hiring someone cost money, money that the department obviously doesn't have. Hiring an assistant coach, even in basketball, isn't going to generate additional revenue.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 6:36 am

Pretty sure the primary role of an academic institution is to educate students.

Just can't imagine the collective rolling of eyes of faculty if athletics gets an exemption for a hire while they are being furloughed.

ByJoveByJingle · Post by **ByJoveByJingle** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 7:06 am

Merkin wrote:Pretty sure the primary role of an academic institution is to educate students.

Just can't imagine the collective rolling of eyes of faculty if athletics gets an exemption for a hire while they are being furloughed.

How about hiring him and then furloughing him at the same time? Give him the ol’ double whammy and make his head spin. It’ll be a good reintroduction to the program.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 10:54 am

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 11:10 am

UAEebs86 wrote:

Makes you wish there was a public database where anonymous scouts could post things like...

“Chance Comanche??? Is this a joke? I wouldn’t draft him if he was the only guy available who hadn’t run a train on my mother.”

zonagrad · Post by **zonagrad** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 1:03 pm

Merkin wrote:Pretty sure the primary role of an academic institution is to educate students.

Just can't imagine the collective rolling of eyes of faculty if athletics gets an exemption for a hire while they are being furloughed.

Public universities are bloated with bureaucracy on countless levels. At least the basketball program can point to a balance sheet and say, “We brought in $24 million last year.” Take away the ability hire a key assistant and that $24 million could erode quickly. Football and basketball carry the financial water for the entire athletic department. I can’t imagine the head tennis coach complaining it’s not fair he can’t hire a new assistant when the men’s basketball program can. They know who keeps the lights on. Mike Candrea frequently said the best way to support the softball program was to buy football tickets.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 1:10 pm

zonagrad wrote:Public universities are bloated with bureaucracy on countless levels.

No argument there. I work for one. The only thing administrators do is protect the jobs of other administrators.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 1:45 pm

About this:

zonagrad wrote:
Public universities are bloated with bureaucracy on countless levels. At least the basketball program can point to a balance sheet and say, “We brought in $24 million last year.” Take away the ability hire a key assistant and that $24 million could erode quickly. Football and basketball carry the financial water for the entire athletic department.

For example, President Robbins created a new position with a new salary: A Vice President of the Arts. In turn, this Vice President of the Arts appointed an Associate Vice President of Strategic Initiatives in the Arts. That nonsense not only needs to stop. It needs to be corrected, especially since Robbins cut off the tuition revenue to pay for this bloating administration.

About this:

zonagrad wrote:
I can’t imagine the head tennis coach complaining it’s not fair he can’t hire a new assistant when the men’s basketball program can.

I don't know the head tennis coach but I know other coaches, and they wouldn't complain about that. But while they're taking pay cuts during a hiring frieze in which basketball is running at a deficit while not generating revenue, you'd better believe they'd resent a new hire for an assistant coach in basketball.

Thing are really grim right now at the U of A. And nobody wants to stand out as getting something.

84Cat · Post by **84Cat** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 3:12 pm

Postmaster · Post by **Postmaster** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 4:12 pm

Merkin wrote:
zonagrad wrote:Public universities are bloated with bureaucracy on countless levels.
No argument there. I work for one. The only thing administrators do is protect the jobs of other administrators.

Can they get rid of one of the two Diversity Chiefs?
That’s $140 k right there.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 4:17 pm

Postmaster wrote:
Merkin wrote:
zonagrad wrote:Public universities are bloated with bureaucracy on countless levels.
No argument there. I work for one. The only thing administrators do is protect the jobs of other administrators.
Can they get rid of one of the two Diversity Chiefs?
That’s $140 k right there.

I don't work for the UA, but saw that the Diversity Chief here at Cal Poly just retired today.

With no one on campus, who do they have to administer?

I work for ITS, and finally the campus brought in a CIO from private industry to reduce the bloat. We have more administrators now in the OCIO than we have ever had, and just a huge degree of separation from the programmers to the CIO now.

Me -> lead -> director -> manager -> assistant CIO -> CIO.

We are only a mid size campus too, NAU size.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 4:54 pm

Postmaster wrote:
Merkin wrote:
zonagrad wrote:Public universities are bloated with bureaucracy on countless levels.
No argument there. I work for one. The only thing administrators do is protect the jobs of other administrators.
Can they get rid of one of the two Diversity Chiefs?
That’s $140 k right there.

There are literally diversity task forces within units, whose recommendations get ignored.

zonagrad · Post by **zonagrad** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 5:54 pm

I’m just nodding my head laughing. My father was a department head at Arizona 40 years ago. He foretold all of this bureaucratic growth.

A good friend took a job last year as Program Director in the Sociology Dept. What is that? It’s not a faculty position. I mean, he’s a good guy and I don’t begrudge him taking the job. As I’m sure all the bureaucrats are good people. But at the end of the day, those jobs aren’t necessary.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 6:01 pm

Read they promoted David Miller to assistant coach.

Login • Register