Stick a fork in em

Kiltedpard · Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 293 Location: Bethlehem, PA

Was @ the Navy debacle. FYI our tax dollars have been well spent. Alumni hall is a beautiful facility. LU has a lot of nerve calling their's an arena. This is an arena!
Regarding our Hoopsters, with the exception of Gruner and Willen, (Possibly Benbow) it appears they have packed it in. We did not play defense, we did not get back on defense, we turned it over on really dumb passes, showed no spark, no enthuesiam, no passion, very lackadasical, overall it was a horrible showing.
I really hate to be critical because I'm sure these guys are busting their tails in practice, but, it was a Leone like performance.
I am really dissapointed in this season. I really thought we would improve during the year, but, I don't see it. And I really don't understand the whole second half of the PL league each and every year we do worse? Did I say, I am really dissapointed in this season?
I guess I just don't understand?????

Go Pards!

Long Time Fan · Joined: 23 May 2007 Posts: 30

Andy · Joined: 23 Feb 2007 Posts: 859

Xboreturns · Joined: 31 Aug 2007 Posts: 231

Alumni Hall was built in 1988 with $13 million tax payer dollars. The other $17 million was "private funds". However, if you look at the bronze plaque listing the donors, you will see that they are all companies that have/had major contracts with the DoD. The plaque is off to your left when you come in, near where the elevator is.

I should have also noted that the USO gave a half million in honor of Bob Hope.

Kiltedpard · Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 293 Location: Bethlehem, PA

And hoe does this reflect on Fran?[/quote]

A good question? An LU grad told me "Fran's the best at making chicken salad out of chicken s@#%." With scholarships, I would have thought we would be able to get more than chicken s@#&! What do the players and former players say? The players have to play. Are we not recruiting the players we need? Are we expecting too much too soon? Has the rest of the league figured us out? After they see us once they know how to stop us the second time around? IMO we should expect to win 3 out of 4 from the academies and not get our hats handed to us by 23 when we do lose! Embarassed

We turn the ball over too much, we don't shoot well (especially on the road) and now we don't defend. There is something missing. It's D1 Big Boy basketball and we are handing someone a $200,000 education. Is it generational? One senior = lack of leadership? Did you get the impression that I'm frustrated here?

carney2 · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 1174

sasquatch · Joined: 08 Aug 2008 Posts: 16

I think the collective expectations for scholarship freshmen is way to high. If you look at all of D1 very few freshmen as a percentage get minutes, most that do are at the 1,2 or 3 spot. Outstanding freshman bigs are usually fast tracking to the pros.

I can scan the ACC or SEC rosters and stat sheets and see that highly touted (read ranked) bigs are getting very little playtime. The sad fact is they do not have the footspeed or strength to compete against upper classmen in game situations. It takes the immersion efffect they get once away from home and owned by the bball and strength coaches to be able to compete. The ones that do succeed are usually prep products, held back twice in their k-12 years or just blessed physically.

I have a hard time laying all the blame on the 4-5 position given how many turnovers our guards are generating and the inconsistent jumpshooting from same. Live by the jumpshot die by it. Kari and Willen attack the basket well and we look much better when they do they just do not do it enough.

bison137 · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 206

Bells1 · Joined: 17 Feb 2009 Posts: 1

Since the input of a former player was solicited I will respond. Commenting on a public forum is not really my cup of tea. I will not disparage players or coaches. I'm sure that every effort is being made to turn things around. My belief is that it is true now as it was when I played - recruiting mistakes made at this level of basketball and academics are magnified. It is a mistake to bring players in solely based on height, hoping that they will develop into D-1 players. I am disappointed that effort is being questioned. Giving your best effort should never be a question. On the assistant coach issue - again I have no firsthand knowledge of the present situation but I do know the importance of having experienced, capable assistants. An assistant making a lateral move to a NEC school is troubling. Are economics an issue here? If so it would seem to be penny wise and pound foolish. We are handing out $200K scholarships largely based on the efforts and evaluations of the people in this position. Norm Gigon was an integral part of the program's success during his years on the Hill. He had a keen sense of the type player and person that would do well at Lafayette (probably news to some on here that he was involved with the basketball program). He was able to scout and recruit without being too involved in the day-to-day (although he served as a great confidant). Not sure if we have someone in that role today.

One last thing - Leave John Leone alone. He's a good man who ran into a bad string of circumstance. An undue amount of injuries due to the ridiculous rubber floor certainly hurt him as much as anything.

Andy · Joined: 23 Feb 2007 Posts: 859