Friday Feedback
May 7, 2010 by Mike Casazza
Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which would like to try to answer a suddenly common and significant question:
jtmountaineer said:
So, Mike, the elephant-sized question in the room is whether Huggins will try to fill that extra scholarship or save it for next year. I’ll throw this out there for no other reason than pleasant speculation: Calipari is offered the Bulls job, takes it, and Doron Lamb decommits to UK.
West is a surprise, but good for him for getting his MBA. My only regret for him is that he didn’t get a Senior Night salute befitting someone with his quirky personality and sense of humor.
When Jonnie West decided to step away from basketball and focus on business school it left WVU with 12 scholarships for next season. The NCAA allows 13. It doesn’t require 13. So my first answer would be, on May 7, that the Mountaineers do nothing with the available scholarship.
There just aren’t many unsigned players out there and I doubt WVU adds someone just to add someone. Things like Calipari-Lamb aren’t so easy, either. The school needs to release the player and, in some cases, grant permission to transfer to specific schools … and there’s nothing that says a school has to release a player.
That said, you have three possibilities that may not have materialized yet.
1) WVU might get in on a junior college transfer. This is a little risky this late. Schools like to follow a juco player for a while and get to know him and assess whether he’ll be able to make it at the Division I level. WVU spent a lot of time with Casey Mitchell and not so much on Dee Proby. There’s a risk attached to all this and while Huggins has a way above-average track record with jucos, it wasn’t built by rushing things.
2) WVU might get into the larger market of Division I transfers. This is less risky, but still not certain. A lot of the players are there for a reason — ie, they didn’t fit with DI programs, coaches, competition, etc. Others are there because they believe or have proved they can cut it at a higher level against better competition. Many are the victims of coaching changes. So all these players have pluses or minuses attached to their transfers and you have to take some time to see who is who. This is a far more familiar environment for coaches who may be looking for a player for the future because they either saw, got to know or recruited the player in the past.
3) WVU may benefit from the “grant-in-aid” exception. Long story short, a high school player signing with a college inks one of two documents. The first is a National Letter-of-Intent. It’s binding. Rock solid. A player owes the school — not a coach — his services in the future in exchange for a scholarship and all the academic and athletic benefits. This is the most common route. Nowadays, though, a lot of kids are signing a “grant-in-aid agreement,” kids like WVU signee Darrious Curry. It’s a lot like a NLI, except, in short, the school owes the kid a scholarship and the kid owes the school nothing. It’s not binding.
And how does this pertain to WVU? It’s a tricky and convoluted story and it could grow to inolve a lot of different characters beyond even college and high school basketball, but let’s say WVU was recruiting a kid and was a finalist for his signature only to lose him to another school. Now say the school that won the kid’s services lost that coach to an NBA job or another college or some other profession. Suddenly you learn that player signed a grant-in-aid and not a NLI. That player, if he wants to be, is off the hook and can sign with anyone who can offer a scholarship.
Back to reality: It’s hard to track who signed GIAs and NLIs because GIAs are commonly — and inaccurately — reported as NLIs, but if there are some late coaching changes, it’s possible players WVU recruited and once liked might come available.
All of that said, my money’s on nothing happening.
Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, don’t take thy Lord’s name in vain … or with a Monte Carlo.
Michael said:
I am really mystified ( some of my friends say that is my default state of mind) about our tournament run not producing some immediate benefit relative to high profile recruits- read: Doron Lamb et al.
I do not understand how a 3 or 4 would not want to learn under Huggins given his track record & the fact that Ebanks is gone in 2010-11. I guess Tobias Harris was the most disappointing miss this year for me. I don’t get how he could select Tenn. over us. Oh callow youth!
Perhaps next year, we will translate our Final Four run into big time recruiting success.
General rule of thumb: A big season pays off in the recruiting year after the big season. Maybe WVU was a good team throughout the season, and I think the top-10 success from start to finish probably raised recruiting expectations, but the exposure and positivity from the Big East and NCAA tournament runs came after a lot of kids were signed/committed. Right after the Final Four, WVU went out and sold the run to the the sophomore and junior classes.
Homer said:
Byron Allen: crappy talk show host, worse recruit
Oh, that’s not fair … he was an acceptable recruit!
Karl said:
I guess what stands out to me here is what a step down their new schools are, hoops-wise. It’s not like they de-committed and went to Georgetown. Maybe they saw a better chance for immediate playing time. Maybe we’re lucky they left.
Maybe, too, they weren’t good enough to play at WVU? Maybe they thought they’d committ and look around and maybe WVU didn’t much like that?
Dave said:
Good luck to them both. I’m sad to see them both leave … Ebanks seems like he could have used another year to be more valued in the NBA and that seemed to ring true in other articles. But I guess he decided early to not attend class the second semester and had already made a decision. It seems like there was an odd relationship between Ebanks and Huggins. And who knows how much of a role the pending NBA contract issue is on these kids this particular year.
I am sad to hear that West is leaving too, but for different reasons. I don’t know what his role would be (minutes-wise) next year, but will remember a few of his sniper 3’s from his career.
But I wish them both well and hope that they come back for events, etc. It seems natural that West would, but I hope that Ebanks does too.
That’d be in reference to Ebanks and West. Let’s be fair about Devin’s not going to class. He gets a “pass” because he’s been training for the draft. It’s not like he was on campus and just didn’t go. I agree he could have taken and made the most of more time at WVU, but I also believe he can play and grow, beginning next year. More importantly, he was going to be in the NBA one day. Why not start next season? Throw in the labor strife and it makes more sense. Was he going to become a 20-10 guy in college? I understand his move and I probably even agree. As for West, the role probably doesn’t change next season, but the team is going to miss his presence. Great guy to have around in high times and low times.
oklahoma mountaineer said:
I will miss that jive turkey. For his comedic acting skills and for his random threes cold off the bench.
The loss of Ebanks will hurt the team more. But I won’t really miss him that much.
Spot on about West. Cam Payne was the same way. You need guys like that who keep it loose and have fun. WVU will be without both — as well as cut-ups Butler and WELLS — and suddenly one of WVU’s greatest challenges next season will be reinventing the great chemistry from this year for next year.
Karl said:
Is it me, or does the Times Square bomber look just like Mike Casazza in this photo:
No, it’s not just you. I’ve gotten a lot of that. I hope that makes you feel better. If not, this might. My wife’s friend works for an entity that dabbles in facial recognition software. One day, not long after she started, a co-worker said, “Hmmm, Mike looks a lot like (a notorious person.)” When told, my wife disagreed. So they put the faces in the system. It was a match.
wvmaniac said:
Oliver Luck is on the University Board of Governors, he would have to resign to be eligible, so until he leaves his post and it is reported he is not a serious candidate in my eyes.
Out of those candidates I think the best one is Whit Babcock, because he has experience here but isn’t fond of how things are run, and has experience in both a basketball and football school.
Mullens would be great for huggins as he is a basketball guy, but not for football. Schaus to me is only his last name….
Luck’s BOG position doesn’t prevent him from being a candidate. There’s nothing to say he can be one and not the other. He’s a candidate.
JP said:
One benefit of the committee that Clements has put together hopefully is to minimize Gov. Joe Manchin’s meddling. I’ve had quite enough of his cronyism.
Noted.
StraightOuttaNorthCentral said:
My money’s on one of the un-named darkhorses. If Luck has his name in there, the job’s his, but that’s a long shot.
I don’t think you can discount the appeal right now of a person who has athletic department experience. There are a lot of people behind the scenes who would feel a whole lot better about everything if someone was well-versed in some of the conference, TV, marketing, etc. things WVU and a host of other schools are about to be made to deal with because of conference ralignment.
roopoo said:
Couldn’t Luck be the unnamed Pro Sports executive?
Could be … but isn’t. It’s not the person I asked about, either. So I don’t know who it is, but I know who it isn’t.
NotSoFastMyFriend said:
If Mullens is hired, will people yell at him for bubble screens? Oh wait a tic, that’s MULLEN…
It’s the same people who email me and accuse me of copying from their message boards as content for my A.D. column — that happened — and the same people who do stuff like this.
Josh24601 said:
I watched the video of Cook’s interview. Bold prediction*: Cook will inherit the Alexander-McAfee Most Desired WVU Athlete Interviewee mantle. He’s a cool, funny kid.
*Please Jebus, allow Cook’s legs, shoulders, will, and temper to retain the requisite strength to remain relevant to the WVU beat.
Yeah, pretty sharp, loose kid who isn’t affected by cameras, notebooks and recorders. I’ll monitor this for you.
Josh24601 said:
Also the A-McMDWVUAI needs a better name, but there’s no doubt it should be named after Joe and Pat.
JoePa? No? We probably need to work on this one.
hershy112 said:
If you look at when The Product was here, we ran the spread that was run heavy and a 3-3-5 stack on defense which is also unorthodox. We played with undersized players at almost all positions, not just the skill positions, but they were quick and agile players. Even the lineman were undersized, but a little quicker. That was Tricket’s style. Johnny Dingle on the defensive line beat the offensive tackle from Oklahoma almost every play with his quickness. We were still very successful, but it just doesn’t translate as well to the pro level. I’m not saying our style is a gimmick, but I believe it has played into the low number of draft picks in relation to the level of success that we’ve had.
I’d say that’s pretty much the gist of it. And really, what’s a college coach’s primary objective? To recruit players to win at the college level. Not to recruit kids who play in the NFL. One makes the other easier, I’m sure, but sometimes they’re separate.
Spot the Ball said:
if we can be the Duke of college football, i’ll take it. i don’t see the NBA (admittedly i don’t follow it closely) littered with former Duke players given the type of success that school has had in basketball. and i recognize we’re talking about being drafted vs. having some level of success in the pros which are obviously different.
only concern would be how lack of players drafted translates into recruiting interest in the WVU program. not sure if guys look at that like they do in basketball. if they do, that’ll be tough for WVU. because let’s face it we are not a football destination like a Duke is in hoops.
Whoa … the Duke of college football? Fair analogy and you raise a second good point. A lot of high school kids pick their schools in part because of who and what they see on Sundays, not just Saturdays. There’s not much better advertising than watching a Sunday night game and hearing, “Anthony Becht, West Virginia University.” (Wow, it took me a while to come up with one.)
Karl said:
I’m worried about our offense this season. Unless one of the underclassmen steps in and wows us, this WR group could be WVU’s worst in years. Jack Sanders is good when he gets in the open field, but he’s just a screen pass catcher, too small and not fast enough to burn good secondaries for a long reception. Who else do we have there? A couple of converted QBs in Starks and White, and another small RB in the Poet.
Even if Eu Smith is as good as Stew says — in his few appearances last year, his performances ranged from so-so to awful — he won’t have many targets to throw to. This means teams can once again stack the box and focus on shutting down our pint-sized RB corps. Smith doesn’t seem to be much of a run threat, so that won’t loosen things up much.
I do think our defense will be tough this season. When you play a complicated “gimmick” defense, as it was referred to above, experience is huge, and we’ve got plenty of that. And when Finau gets here, look out! (tongue firmly in cheek)
All in all, my expectation is for a season in line with last — 9-4 at best, 7-5 at worst.
What would concern me is that for years opposing defenses have conspired to stop WVU’s running game and did so with some receiving threats available to make them pay for that tactic. For the most part, and of late under Stewart, the idea of spreading the ball around has kept defenses from locking down receivers and committing completely to stop the run. But next season, it’s no secret there are question marks around the offensive line and the receivers and there’s no doubt Devine and the rest of the running backs will be a strength. From the very start, will opponents go to the USF gameplan and make WVU beat them with the pass? The challenge for Eu and the receivers is pretty clear.
oklahoma mountaineers said:
Little off subject, but does anyone have a history on the attendance at WVU spring games? I saw that the WVU web site was making a big deal out of 21K for Friday night’s game…..is that larger than years past or only in the Stew era?
PS: Am I living in the past, or was it great to see a White under center again?????…..even if he will be playing the slot in the fall.
Two things struck me: 1) It was an enormous number 2) It was an exact number (21,029). The attendance is always an even number that’s more an approximation than anything else. WVU hasn’t tracked the number of people through the gates in the past, but, apparently, did so this time. Also, I’ve been told it’s the largest ever for a spring game.
Foul Shot said:
If the soccer coach wants to leave for PSU and bigger $$, more power to him.
Surely there are other soccer coaches out there who will want to come to WVU.
Last time I was in Mo-town, it looked like the soccer facilities were pretty darn nice.
Certainly this would be a great opportunity for a new coach coming in.
Certainly and for all those reasons … and it’s a great opportunity for the coach already here. I keep hearing he wants to stay because the team can be very good the next two seasons.
StraightOuttaNorthCentral said:
Hey, let’s look on the potential bright side here: maybe the Big Prime Number will realize that it might not be a good idea to kill the Big East. Where will they get all their coaches from if the Big East is weakened or destroyed?
Somewhere, Jim Delany scratches his temple …
Jeff in Akron said:
I don’t know about whether Ebanks and Miller have a relationship or not. I do find it odd that Miller would refer to the term “Urban Myth”, and West Virginia in the same breath. Obviously, Miller has never talked to Nehlen about all the trees in West Virginia.
Obviously.
Dave said:
Jeff … “rural myth”?
That’s more like it.
SheikYbuti said:
Sounds like a simple myth-understanding to me.
Enjoy the weekend!