Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which has stepped off the ledge this morning. Somewhere in the middle of the first quarter, with the Cavaliers looking like something out of NBA Jam, a text came through.

Where the (heck) has this been all series?

Reply: First quarter hasn’t been the problem. They’ll blow it before the half.

About 30 minutes later Cleveland — the team, if not the town — had blown a 22-point lead. I stormed out of my media room. As I walked out with the scared dog following, I heard my phone chiming. “Screw it,” I thought and we walked. You can only get kicked in the stomach so many times. If you see the foot coming, why not move?

I, however, live in the vicinity of some NBA/LeBron/Cavs fans and the windows were open last night. I was watching something else and could hear cheers. Again and again. I eventually flipped back and got suckered into one more emotional go-round thinking it has to change one of these times. For a night it did.

Onto the Feedback and a Friday prediction. A year ago, it was written people would fall for Devin Ebanks. There was too much to like and, no, it wasn’t too bold to say so. Ultimately, it was vindicated. Today, I’ll say I think Dan Jennings is going to become a lot of people’s favorite player. Again, too much to like, though for a different reason.

“I’ve been in bad places in my life, and there were times I thought I’d be on the streets doing something bad,” he said. “Basketball has helped me though all my struggles in life and kept me focused. Without basketball, I’d be focused on the negative stuff. I’ve had turmoil, but I’ve been focused on a goal instead, and it’s helped me block out all the trials and tribulations.”

As always, comments appear as posted. In other words … oh, Lord, can we just give up now?

Country Roads said:

This coaching staff seems to have a way of targeting a kid they want, going after him, and landing a commit. Not every time, but more often than not. More than in the past, there seems to be a clear cut manner by which prospects are identified, ranked, and recruited, which in turn leads to a higher-quality product. I’m excited about how this class is starting to shape up.

The assistants have various schools and conferences and therefore regions in their background, so WVU has a lot of the country covered now. Really, they took a big-time QB out of Texas. That doesn’t happen at WVU. They have a very thorough system that targets, evaluates and ranks a lot of players. Through all the work they identify who they want and start from the top, all while making everyone below the top feel involved — see TBA and Geno Smith. They probably win — and lose — as much as they did before. Hard to say. What helps is this staff is very open to talk recruiting, which leads to informative reports on what they’re doing. That excites people.   

rekterx said:

Something, for the better, has changed with recruiting at WVU. I blame Bill Stewart.

That’s, um, fair.

Dave said:

“Maybe the Mountaineers didn’t get a guy they wanted … maybe they got the guy they wanted.”

IMO, this is exactly why Twitter is a problem. I guess that it drums up business, but the fact is that nobody knows that he is going to keep his commitment (he could be injured next year for all we know), or that he’s going to pan out.

This is a non-binding verbal “commitment,” correct? So what did he commit to? Nothing. Do you know how many girlfriends I told that I loved them compared to how many I married? OK, I’ll be honest, many of the reasons were due to me being a jerk. But still, this means *nothing* at this stage. BTW, I’ve only been married once and I plan to stay that way.

In a more appropriate context, how many recruits were overhyped last year and how many actually made a difference on the field? Kerns and a bunch of others were the “answer” at fullback and we completely broke down in the short yardage game because we didn’t have one … not one … guy to plow through the line.

I’m an internet junky and I love hearing positive things, but when it comes to recruiting, the system is completely overhyped and basically, worthless.

Don’t blame Twitter! I’m with you, though. The business of recruiting has made recruiting a business now. There’s some good to all of that, though. I promise. It’s up to the individual to digest the news.

P.I. Reed said:

I wanted that kid from Nola, Munchie Lageaux …. for obvious reasons

Morgantown will always have the munchies. And don’t give up yet. WVU wants and needs two QBs and Munch was on the list. I do think Johnson was at or near the top. With him and Geno in the fold for the near future, you wonder how the second QB sees himself fitting in.

Bill said:

Ummmmm. We didn’t finish #6 in the nation last year, last time I checked. Apparently the “Bee” needs to get its facts straight (not that I mind the positive publicity!)  

Yeah, I saw that, too, but come on. It’s the Silsbee Bee. How cool is that? 

Sam said:

A few months ago, I warned that Kentucky was getting involved with a corrupt coach in Calipari, and some Kentucky fan stopped by here to say that “I was jealous” that Kentucky got him. Of course, that was nonsense. I just didn’t realize I’d be proven correct (again) so quickly.

I wonder how guilty Calipari is and at the same time, how he can’t be guilty. And for the record, here’s the exchange from the April 3 Feedback:

Sam Wilkinson said:

As a UMass grad, I’d like to point out that Calipari is a filthy cheat, a fact that will catch up with him at some point. You’d think a program as highly regarded as Kentucky would take that into account, but desperation is an ugly thing.  

uk said:

Sam Wilkinson–jealousy is pretty ugly too.  

Moving on!

overtheSEC said:

I’m not completely opposed to raising the rim but it reminds me of the failed attempts to “Tiger proof” golf courses. When he started bombing drives everyone thought “we need to make the courses longer.” Of course “Tiger proofing” only helped Tiger as he was able to play long par 4s with a driver and an 8 iron while everyone else had to approach the green with 5 and 6 irons. True “Tiger proofing” would mean shortening everything and making it more narrow.
Could higher rims also have the opposite of their intended effect? While they wouldn’t be playing above the rim, the big men would still be the go to guys for the higher percentage shot and a 3 point shot may be so difficult that only 1 or 2 guys per team could make more than 30%. It’s sure fun to speculate though.
It seems like changing the court and equipiment ignores the fact that the way the refs call the game has completely changed over time. Consistently calling three seconds, moving screens, and traveling would have just as drastic an effect as equipiment and court changes.  

Good analogy. There was Tiger proofing before Tiger. The NCAA outlawed dunking because of Lew Alcindor. Actually, it was in 1976, before the future Kareem Abdul Jabbar ever even arrived at UCLA. I think Ed Bilik’s point, though, is the game changes, but the court never does. Raising the rim is a way to add to the game and accommodate the developing player. As it is now, the bigs are go-to guys for high-percentage shots and, in truth, the average team only has one or two players who rightfully should be shooting 3s. Lifting the rim doesn’t change much and mostly challenges players to be better. And perhaps this is an article for another day, but Bilik — who is great — went on in detail about a new direction in officiating and how there can be no gray area and no matter of interpretation in calls. If it’s a carry, it’s a carry. If it’s over the back, it’s over the back. There’s no use denying officiating is a big problem. It’s time to address it.

rekterx said:

It will stay at 10 feet.  

‘Twill.

Jeff said:

I can understand the desires to “update” the game a bit, and raising the rim would be the easiest option and would have the least financial impact.
However, I’m afraid this would have a HUGE negative impact in recruiting and the ability to evaluate players. You would no longer be able to evaluate shooters, big-men, etc. as well unless high schools and the AAU circuit followed suit and raised their rims. One thing is for certain, you would see a lot more freshmen redshirting than you do today.  

Agreed about the changes … and to that, the NBA would probably have to go first and high school/AAU would have to comply. I tend to think evaluation would be easier now. The top of the crop would be more exclusive. I sense people are making the one-foot increase seem bigger than it really is.

Mack said:

According to Casazza, the rules of basketball may change, but blogs will endure.  

Indeed. 

buddhaeer said:

you sayin we got runnin backs to run the ball and we got receivers to receive the ball so we recruitin quarterbacks to throw the ball? D**N! you is a f’in genius. i’m glad your on are side.

take me home cuntry roads!

I’m assuming this has to do with Jeff Mullen’s new quarterback vision and I’m also assuming — hoping? — it’s facetious.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

How badly does Bob Hertzel dislike Rich Rodriguez; not sure that this will get a lot of comment, but…….look at an exerpt of today’s column as posted on The Times West Virginian website on last year:

“To say “Stewart got a big bag of Meineke Bowl out of this group”, whatever that means, is just wrong as Slaton, Schmitt and Reynaud were already gone to the NFL … three losses that even the walk-on-water coach who had developed them could not have overcome.”

WOW!!!!…..I read a lot of venom after the Product’s sellout, but we are 18 months down the road and every column has this tenor, but not this direct. I hope WVU does well this year and also, in the vein of a psycho ex girlfriend, I hope Michigan wins no more than 5 games, but doesn’t this need too stop.  

Eh, it wasn’t all that bad. And is it really that off base? Sure, the monkey hit us over the head a long time ago, but P-Rod is sometimes topical. To me, this seemed like more of a defense of Stewart and the perception against a distant and somewhat misinformed attack. I sat next to the man for seven years and it’s crazy how much I owe him, but it fascinates me to see what’s happened to Hertz since P-Rod split. It’s like the once anti-Hertz public did a total 180 on him, probably because he had The Product pegged long ago at a time when many people just didn’t want to see or hear it. What used to anger people now delights them.

 oklahoma mountaineer said:

Nice to see that he continues to make his team better……

Completely off topic….in Morgantown this week visiting family and heard from a friend that Joe Mazulla is off the team. Now that school’s out, has there been any public statements on how Huggs and Co. resolve the fact that we have more more players than scholarships.

Joe is still on the team and rehabilitating his shoulder as he remains indefinitely suspended. For now, he doesn’t figure into the scholarship squeeze, though I suppose it’s still possible. The injury and his incident remain issues that are yet unresolved. I believe one of the two scholarships is freed up and another is a little fuzzy. Best advice? Just be patient. It should wrap up soon. The new recruits arrive next weekend. 

Wellington Smith said:

Hey, where’s the beef? I look like Ariza too!

A little bit, yes. But Ebanks could pass for Ariza in LA.But Ariza could pass for Ebanks in Morgantown.

Mack said:

Who cares? If someone goes on a message board and makes a recruit feel like he’s “not wanted” then I say good riddance. How about the fact that the college is clearing a space on the football team and allowing him to go there for free? Doesn’t that by itself show that the player is wanted?

Yeah, this whole Vander Blue thing seems completely absurd … and yet I can’t help but indulge. I see wanting to be wanted, but I, too, see tuition, room, board and the realization of a dream as the sign of greater affection. On the surface, it looks selfish and like a dot-com induced hissy fit. Beneath the surface, it’s a sign of the day. There are more ways to influence people positively and negatively. Now people need to learn to live and deal with it. If a kid thinks the message boards are rough, wait till Bo Ryan calls him back to the bench after he blows a few defensive assignments and/or screen-and-rolls. Wait until he’s getting trapped on the sideline on the road against Michigan State. Wait until he’s ready to shoot two free throws down by one with 0.5 second remaining. Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise, if not now than in in the future?

Country Roads said:

I hope this serves a lesson to those who post negative comments about recruits on WVU message boards. I don’t see it on this blog, but it’s fairly common on some of the other sites I frequent for posters to bash recruits at the first sign that WVU has been slighted. That being said, does anyone have access to the Pitt forum? I’m tempted to head over there someday and, ahem, discuss some of their potential recruits . . . .

Well, this isn’t a message board, but I’m glad we stay above the fray. And yes, the message boards matter. For one, it’s an easy way for prospects to check a fan base. Recruits do it. They do. In many ways, it’s also a barometer for a player’s status. I know there are a number of WVU student-athletes who read the message boards and are frequently shocked and angered by what they find. It’s an unfiltered and anonymous world. I know what you’re thinking: Don’t read the boards. Fine, but that still doesn’t make the attacks right and it really robs the student-athletes of the full experience. Why shouldn’t they be allowed to keep up like everyone else?

Josh said:

you would be the only one on the Pitt message board

Enjoy the weekend!