MBB: USA South Conference

[CaptJ]

I'm not so sure that CJ will get that 500th win this year.  He needs 9 more to get it.  CNU has 4 non-conference games left (5 if the postponed Frostburg St. game is made up).  Here is what we have –

Upcoming tournament – Westfield State (6-4 with a very inconsistent year so far) and the winner of York, NY (5-5 with some close losses to very good teams) vs. Eastern Conn (7-1).  I just don't see winning the tournament this year.  One win is my prediction, and it might be in the consolation game.  Two losses are also possible.

At Randolph Macon (8-0).  I think we know how embarrassing this one will be.

St. Mary's, MD (8-2).  Maybe we can get one here but I sincerely doubt it.

At Frostburg St. (6-2) if the game is made up.  A good team on the road?  I don't think so.

That is ONE win in the non-conference games.  Thank God we are a weak conference... that might be how CJ gets the wins he needs.  8-4 is not unrealistic, but it's not a done deal.  This team hasn't showed me anything yet so it might be a long season once conference play starts.  My prediction is that if we go 0-2 in the upcoming tourney, CJ will not get to 500 this season.  I want the Captains to win because they are my team, but even more than that I want CJ to get the 500th so that he might be tempted to RETIRE as the head basketball coach and bring in someone else who can do the job.  You know that if he doesn't get it this year his ego will bring him back again next year.

GO CAPTAINS!  Fire CJ the head basketball coach!

[CNU85]

wow - 500 wins in 26 years...almost averaging 20 wins a year for 26 years.......and people want him fired?

Also he's the AD for a school ranked #7 in the President's Cup for fall sports.

He gets 500 this year.

I think Captj is high on Rum! HAHA - still I love the guy - he speaks his mind and is a lot of fun.

Hey CaptJ - let's place a wager on the 500 wins this season.....

[CaptJ]

wow - 500 wins in 26 years...almost averaging 20 wins a year for 26 years.......and people want him fired?

yeah, well.  what have you done for me lately?  i told you before that i am upset that the program has not improved along with the school and the facilities.  he isnt the best coach in hampton roads, much less the conference.  from what ive read here he is making in-game mistakes also.  he did great things for the program but it is time to bring in someone a little hungrier.  maybe he is stretched too thin with his job as ad.  i just know that we should be much better every year.  mediocre in a weak conference is not good enough. 

you also point out the success of the other sports at cnu.  you are making my argument for me.  those programs have improved, mens bball has not.  keep him as ad, just get someone a little more hungry for mens bball.

sorry for lower case... i have a baby in one hand as i type.

[CaptJ]

Hey CaptJ - let's place a wager on the 500 wins this season.....

if we go 0-2 in the upcoming tourney, you are on.  get your paypal account set up.

[CaptJ]

OK, Ryan is in his crib now.  Now I can type with both hands, at least for a few moments. 

Hey 85, welcome back... don't know where you and narch have been... still don't know what has happened to him.  Hitting the rum also, maybe? 

Another thing that bothers me about CJ the coach is that we seem to be having a lot of players who don't improve during their time in the program.  Is B'game better now than he was as a freshman?  Was Davon Barton?  Theo?  Think about that before you fire from the hip when you respond.  About the only guy who I saw improve significantly over his time at CNU was Romeo.  Maybe Selden.

I hope I am wrong about the team this year but I just haven't been impressed.  Surely you've lost some of your enthusiasm.... 4-4, dude.  We would likely be 4-5 if we'd played at Frostburg State.  At any rate, I definitely hope that CJ gets the milestone win.  Maybe that would enable him to step down and do the right thing for the program.  I don't know as much about the assistants as you do so I am NOT going to assume that one of them would get the job.  Imagine a search for a new coach... we would get LOTS of very, very good coaches that would want that job.  How cool would it be to have someone hot to go to those living rooms in search of hot recruits who wasn't jammed up with AD responsibilities?  Someone with a fire in his belly instead of complacency.  Simply put, his time has come and gone.

[Ralph Turner]

A serious question about CJ and CNU...

What is different about CJ now and the teams from 2000 and 2001?

I know that McMurry has continued to be competitive under Coach Ron Holmes.  They have not made the NCAA's since 2000-01, but the rest of the conference has gotten better.  McM has finished first or second in the ASC East every season except one year.

(Coach Holmes has fared better with quality assistant coaches.  When Vanlandingham (now assistant at Texas State) was his assistant '98,'99,'00,'01 and then again in '05, '06.  G Garza did not work well as an assistant in '07 and in '08, but he was a good one in Matt Garnett now in '09, '10 seasons.)

[CaptJ]

Ralph, I am glad you asked about the 00-01 team since that was the last CNU team that won a NCAA game.  Since that glorious year when we were led by All-American Antoine Sinclair, we have gone to the dance TWO times, and only once in the last 5 years.  Something is different at CNU.  Our legacy of being a dominant program on a national level is GONE. 

To understand why I feel that CJ has maxed out at CNU, you need to examine what has happened to the school.  Over the last 12 years we have seen an amazing transformation from a sleepy little commuter college to a university with modern facilities, a stunning performing arts center, and a top-notch assembly of professors. But more importantly, CNU has become a place where students LOVE to go to college.  The average SAT and GPA of today's CNU student is amazing.  Simply put, an average high school student has no chance of being accepted at CNU.  All this is not hyperbole, it is fact. 

The athletic facilities have also been upgraded in a major way.  I hope you have been able to see our Freeman Center.  It is truly amazing.  We added a competitive football program.  CNU is currently ranked seventh out of more than 440 NCAA Division III colleges and universities in the NACDA Director's Cup.  Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 14 sports -- seven women's and seven men's.  This is the highest that CNU has ever been ranked.  My point here is that the changes in the school this past decade have strengthened the overall athletic program, but the men's basketball program has gotten weaker.  Again, this is fact, not hyperbole.

I think that CJ has become complacent.  I think that he is overworked as both AD and head basketball coach.  I think that he is no longer willing to drive the long miles required for recruiting.  He is missing out on too many top-level players.  Some here have said he is making strategic mistakes during games.  Personally, I think he is not getting the best from his players.  We have had several freshman starters who made little if no improvement during their four years under CJ's tutelage.  Without question, he has done a great job as AD.  The school's athletic program as a whole is very strong.  But CJ the AD needs to fire his head basketball coach for poor performance. 

[CNU85]

Hmmm...as I sit here reading this, I suddenly recalled I said the same thing about CJ being overstretched as basketball coach and AD. Only, I did it in an email directly to CJ a few years ago. In that email I suggested that he pick one or the other - whichever gives him the passion and go for it. I suggested that CNU sports in 1985 is not the same as today and trying to do both at CNU requires superhero powers.

CJ is a smart guy. He'll do what's best for both hoops team and the University. Only he will do it on his timetable, not ours. He's earned the right to do that.

[CNU85]

Think about that before you fire from the hip when you respond. 

Dang. A little harsh. Not getting enough sleep? HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

[CaptJ]

Think about that before you fire from the hip when you respond. 

Dang. A little harsh. Not getting enough sleep? HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

OK, maybe a little true on both counts.  But now that you've had time to think about it, what do you have to say about my theory that our players aren't developing as well as perhaps they could under different leadership?  Do you recall when Davon and B'game were both freshmen and we were so excited about them being such a great foundation for building a team?  I ask you... are/were either of them better as seniors than they were as freshmen?  I don't think so.

[cnububba]

I'll happily play the devil's advocate with this one.   Blasingame could potentially finish with double-double average in points and rebounds and is already the all time shot blocker at CNU for his career.  But I'll measure his success in wins.  The year he was out due to illness the team went 10-16 and 6-6 in conference. Last year they were 18-9 and 10-2 in conference.  I don't think success is always measured in individual stats.  Having the big eraser on the back row has won a few extra games for CJ.  Blasingame is a great team player.  The only knock I have on him is I wish he'd be a little more selfish on the offensive end.   And he's ten times better than he was as a freshman—lol—easily. 

Davon's numbers did drop his senior year, but he was coming back from his "second" ACL injury (same knee), and man I'd love to have the kid's leadership this year with this team.  It's kind of hard to knock Davon's lack of improvement when he finished 6th all time in scoring and 2nd all time in assists.  Same as with Blasingame, a great team player and a great kid.   Leadership wise, no comparison between his freshman and senior years.  Hands down MUCH better, MUCH more mature!

Last year they were one crappy ref'd game away from the NCAA tournament (Barton and Blasingame were both the victim's of foul trouble)—sorry tough to let that one go.  If you want to pick a year the team underachieved I'd say it was Barton's and Blasingame's sophomore year when they potentially had all the pieces to go far.   But yea, I think both kids improved and grew in the program.  And though I've been disappointed thus far, I still think this team will contend for the conference championship. 

[CaptJ]

B'game –
05/06     8.5 pts, 9.2 reb, .606FG%
06/07     10.6 pts, 10.2 reb, .605FG%
08/09     11.7 pts, 9.9 reb, .605FG%
09/10     8.8 pts, 10.9 reb, .638FG%

Barton -
05/06     13.4 pts, 3.6 reb, 190 assists, .449FG%
06/07     16.5 pts, 3.1 reb, 217 assists, .474FG%
07/08     17.9 pts, 5.0 reb, 187 assists, .507FG%
08/09     12.5 pts, 4.0 reb, 176 assists, .432FG%

Admittedly, both guys made SOME progress, especially from their 1st year to their 2nd.  But I still think that they could have been even better under a different coach.  Each guy's senior year was/is a disappointment from a points standpoint.  I know Barton was recovering from an injury.  I just have this feeling that each of them were essentially the same guy from a matchup perspective all four years of their careers.  And don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of both of these guys.  They played their hearts out for the Captains.  This is a discussion about CJ, not them.  I still think he is not very good at developing his players.  His strength USED TO BE recruiting.  We had some great players over the years.  But something is wrong, and if anything, recruiting should be easier for him now than it was back in the 90's when we were playing in Ratcliffe Gym.  If you guys think that CJ IS good at developing his players, say so and I will drop the issue.

[CaptJ]

Where, oh where, is narch?  Has anyone heard from him?

[CNU85]

Captj,

You make some good points. However, go back and read some of your own posts. Recruiting is not easier at CNU. It shouldn't be either. A nice facility is good, but as you pointed out the increased academic standards is making it difficult to recruit. Give CJ the same recruiting and academic requirements as that school across the water and we land Ton Ton and a few others who now wear National Championship rings. Trible refuses to allow exceptions for athletes. I posted last year some time an article in the Daily Press about this. The head coach at Warwick High said it was easier to get one of his players into UVA than it was CNU. The reason, UVA allows exceptions to academic standards to get players in and on a scholarship as long as the minimum NCAA standards are met.

Take the coach from across the water and put him at CNU and I bet he doesn't survive 3 years. It's a different environment. Heck, I remember my son getting mail from that school offering him (trying to remember exact figures) $9,500-$12,000 in scholarship if he had a high school GPA of 2.5 or higher. And he wasn't being recruited for sports!!!  I gave that mail to CJ and said, "this is what you're up against".  Trible will never "go there".

Our church hosts an annual dinner for CNU athletes with a GA of 3.0 or higher. Back in the day (early 2000's) the basketball team was never represented. It is now.

All I'm trying to point out is that it is much harder to recruit today than it was pre-Trible years. I'm not sure dropping in a new coach who previously only had to recruit on talent and not a combination of talent and academics is necessarily the cure-all.

[SU97]

Only at CNU.....would they ask the AD to fire himself.