Re: 2018 Offseason Thread

by Geezaldinho Thu Mar 08, 2018 10:53 am

I seem to remember folks were clamoring for the Porter sons at the beginning of Terry’s tenure.

by Guest Thu Mar 08, 2018 11:07 am

I'm hoping the Porters develop and improve along with the rest of the players, the other players recognize their hard work and acknowledge their ability to contribute, and a better, more cohesive team results. This is D-1, not CYO. We can't afford to have two non-value-added players, even if their dad is paying their tuition ilo of a scholarship.

Tres Tinkle is playing for his dad, and is the leading scorer at OSU. The second leading scorer is the son of an assistant coach, and the fourth leading scorer is his brother. They seem to be making it work. Coach Porter needs to make his situation work for all involved with open, honest and fair evaluations based on performance and results.

So far, the departures discussed are not related to the Porter sons. Since Austin Stone and Joseph Smoyer are leaving to get playing time, I hope that bodes well for what we'll see from Hogland next year. And that another transfer big adds value. Because we can not succeed with only Diabate and Hogland as the bigs.

I know I have too many "hopes", and hope is not a plan. But a fan can hope. The coaches need the plan.

by DoubleDipper Thu Mar 08, 2018 11:32 am

Geezaldinho wrote:I seem to remember folks were clamoring for the Porter sons at the beginning of Terry’s tenure.

That's probably true, but as fans, we had no idea of the downside.

When it was announced that TP was taking over at UP, a highly respected coach told me that having a coach's son on a team could cause some "real team-building problems." When he learned there would be two sons, he said, "it's going to kill the chemistry, and it's going to be a difficult situation for the coach, entire staff, and the family."

I agree, 7587, the Porters must develop and improve, and prove they can contribute.

I'm quite confident in saying, TP is as hard, if not harder on his sons and himself, as he is on anyone...and that's the way it has to be!

by **PilotNut** Thu Mar 08, 2018 12:59 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:I'm quite confident in saying, TP is as hard, if not harder on his sons and himself, as he is on anyone...and that's the way it has to be!

And I think this is the key... I also have to hope that the other coaches monitor this topic closely to make sure there is no bias, whether intended or not.

We will need a captain next year--and we cannot under-estimate the role that Tyson played as leader this year. Who steps in to this role next year? Shaver? Franklin? McSwiggan? Is Clark captain material?

by MesaPilot1 Thu Mar 08, 2018 4:53 pm

DTLegend wrote:Just read an interesting tweet from Joe Lunardi of ESPN describing the keys to conference tourney wins.

1.keep your identity
2. Play with confidence
3. Stay loose
4. Leadership is a must
5.need a Batman and robin.

I found it interesting because I feel like these are the keys to a successful mid major program. It also raised some good questions moving forward like:

What is our identity? With such a young team, identity can be a challenge to establish. Now that we’re through two seasons with Porter at the helm I’m not quite sure what the intended identity of this team is.

How will our comfort and confidence as a team progress this offseason? It’s no secret Losing can take a toll on confidence and will the lackluster results over the past two years have lasting effects for the worse or can the team galvanize around exposure and experience at the D1 level?

Where is the leadership coming from moving forward and who will establish themselves as the “go-to” player?

These in my opinion are the biggest questions surrounding the program as a whole. There will be questions about individual players and how they develop but as a program this is what I’m curious about.

I like this DT Legend....and I am in agreement with Stonehouse about the Pilots need 5-6 players to stick around for years...

If DD is right hopefully Clark can stay healthy. The Pilots are in desperate need of more offense.

I was going to write a comprehensive list of what each player needs to work on but that's out of my Pay grade... like Pilotnut mentioned these guys need a leader ,..... and I believe continuity in the team roster...

It wouldnt hurt if the Pilots recruited a Big Man JC ala TJ Campell (a guard) .... Or maybe an IVY League grad transfer big man.

Instead of fretting that Shaver is going to transfer... I'm hoping he goes back to Phoenix and helps recruit a Big Man JC transfer from HS or Top notch AAU teams he played on... sometimes I am a glass half full guy!

by DoubleDipper Thu Mar 08, 2018 5:55 pm

MesaPilot1 wrote:Instead of fretting that Shaver is going to transfer... I'm hoping he goes back to Phoenix and helps recruit a Big Man JC transfer from HS or Top notch AAU teams he played on... sometimes I am a glass half full guy!

I haven't spoken to Marcus since the PU game, but talked to Kramer today, and he'll definitely be scouring Arizona for a 4 or 5 in the near future...

by SoCalPilot Sat Mar 10, 2018 1:35 pm

The end of the season was difficult to watch, but I see hope in the future. This program is two seasons away from legitimate NIT contention. We just need Coach Porter to understand our situation. We need to stop putting recruiting efforts into big, slow guys--Smoyer, Stone, even Van Der Mars. Thomas was effective in the WCC, but just couldn't cut it at higher levels of competition. We must stop wasting scholarships on big men who are projects. There are plenty of athletic guys in the 6-5 to 6-7 range that we should be going after. Diabate has the ability to be a successful big man but, in general, we need to get smaller and more athletic. Our strength is the guards and we should be playing with three or four of them on the court at all times. And we should be pressing and playing up-tempo. The following collection of players is talented, Terry just needs to deploy them properly:
McSwiggan
Clark
Shaver
Porter
Porter
Walker
Jackson
I say, loosen the reins and let these guys run.

by NoPoNeighbor Tue Mar 13, 2018 11:25 pm

Pepperdine joins the WCC high-profile-coaching-hire-arms-race:
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2018/03/lorenzo_romar_returning_to_pep.html

Romar and Bone in Malibu goes the Waves two former Pac12 head coaches on their bench.

In San Diego, Lamont Smith resigned and that job remains open. With the exception of Kyle Smith at USF, the other "other seven" WCC schools have opted for big-name hires in recent years. (Ironically, Smith has had the greatest degree of immediate success among the recent hires.) Apparently this emphasis on coaching "upgrades" (and, presumably, willingness to spend more on coaching salaries) is not enough to assuage Mark Few, who is maintaining his premise that the WCC is harming Gonzaga and the schools are not sufficiently dedicated to basketball success.

LMU: Mike Dunlap, former NBA head coach
PU: Lorenzo Romar, former Washington head coach
Santa Clara: Herb Sendek, former NC State and Arizona State head coach
Pacific: Damon Stoudamire, former NBA star and assistant coach
Portland: Terry Porter, former NBA star and head coach

by Dean Murdoch Wed Mar 14, 2018 8:49 am

In terms of percentage of minutes played lost, here's how the 10 WCC teams stack up...

St Mary's 56.7% (Landale, Naar, Hermanson, Neal)
Santa Clara 44.0% (Caruso, Ndumanya, Healy, Pugh)
Gonzaga 29.4% (Melson, Williams)
Portland 22.1% (Hartwich, Tyson)
Pepperdine 19.3% (Udenyi, Atewe)
San Diego 14.4% (Neubauer)
San Francisco 11.8% (Foster)
Loyola Marymount 11.7% (Haney)
Pacific 9.7% (Okonkwo)
BYU 0.0%

I didn't realize BYU had zero seniors. They also get Gavin Baxter off his two-year mission (was a 4-star recruit by ESPN in 2016) and maybe Nick Emery back from whatever kept him out this year. They could take a step up next year.

by **PilotNut** Wed Mar 14, 2018 9:36 am

Dean Murdoch wrote:Portland 22.1% (Hartwich, Tyson)

How much of that was Hartwich? His minutes dwindled as the season wore on thanks to foul troubles...

by Dean Murdoch Wed Mar 14, 2018 9:54 am

Hartwich - 64.6% of the team's minutes this year (only 43.5% in last five games, though)
Tyson - 45.9%

by **PilotNut** Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:04 am

Dean Murdoch wrote:Hartwich - 64.6% of the team's minutes this year (only 43.5% in last five games, though)
Tyson - 45.9%

I'm not following the math here... confused

by Guest Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:10 am

PilotNut wrote:
Dean Murdoch wrote:Hartwich - 64.6% of the team's minutes this year (only 43.5% in last five games, though)
Tyson - 45.9%

I'm not following the math here...

I think that is the percentage of total available minutes each played, i.e. what percent of the time they were on the floor.

by Guest Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:14 am

PilotNut wrote:
Dean Murdoch wrote:Portland 22.1% (Hartwich, Tyson)

How much of that was Hartwich? His minutes dwindled as the season wore on thanks to foul troubles...

Hartwich was 13.1%, Tyson was 9%.

by Dean Murdoch Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:15 am

Hartwich played 826 minutes this year. Pilots as a team played 1290 minutes. 826/1290 = 64.0%

The discrepancy between that 64.0% and Kenpom's 64.6% (where I got the numbers from) comes from Kenpom not counting games against non-D1 teams.

(up7587 probably answered it better than I did. I was going off percent of team's minutes played, he explained it in terms of percent of TOTAL minutes played)

by Guest Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:49 am

Philipp ended up #23 in blocks per game at 2.28. But his blocks to personal fouls ratio was poor at 0.65. By comparison, Okonkwo at UOP had 2.50 BPG, and a 1.04 blocks/fouls ratio.

D'Marques was 20th in 3P FG % at 47%.
The team overall was 43rd best at 38.3%. I remember commentators calling us a 3P team on some early broadcasts. But the team was 212th in Total 3P Attempts.

Marcus was 75th in FT % at 85.8%.
Despite Marcus, the team ended up tied for 296th in team FT %, at 67.8%.

And we were 277th in Points Per Game at 69.4.

These stats were from the ESPN web site.

by DoubleDipper Wed Mar 14, 2018 3:16 pm

Geezaldinho wrote:I seem to remember folks were clamoring for the Porter sons at the beginning of Terry’s tenure.

Didn't go to Las Vegas this year, but I've talked to a number of Pilots fans who did, and their consensus was the "pouting Porters" were an obvious source of discord amongst their teammates.

I'm told the "missed shots were one thing, but the lack of team chemistry was obvious to all."

Not sure the team chemistry problem should be placed upon the Porters alone, but it sounds as if any perceived or real problem won't go away without TP stepping up and making changes!

by wrv Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:21 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:
Geezaldinho wrote:I seem to remember folks were clamoring for the Porter sons at the beginning of Terry’s tenure.
Didn't go to Las Vegas this year, but I've talked to a number of Pilots fans who did, and their consensus was the "pouting Porters" were an obvious source of discord amongst their teammates.

I'm told the "missed shots were one thing, but the lack of team chemistry was obvious to all."

Not sure the team chemistry problem should be placed upon the Porters alone, but it sounds as if any perceived or real problem won't go away without TP stepping up and making changes!

For Pilot fans a disturbing post. What changes you think TP should step up and make is unclear to me.

Does change entail ridding the team of his sons, or disciplining his sons?

During the season there was a stretch when it appeared that Franklin was being played more than the quality of his play suggested, but that changed. I thought TP, other than the transition from Franklin's initially playing too much, managed his sons playing time consistent with what they had earned.

Despite comments to the contrary on this board, the team played hard in victory and defeat, though at times not well.

by Guest Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:00 pm

I always had the impression Terry Porter was a good teammate throughout his long career. I hope that was true, and that he can install some lessons in his young sons and his other players about what it takes. This team needs to mature together as individuals and as a team. If they can't do that, we are in deep trouble.

by Sound Voltex Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:26 pm

Austin Stone transfer official from Verbal Commits:

Portland F Austin Stone (JR) is leaving the program.

https://twitter.com/VerbalCommits/status/974014680921399296

by NoPoNeighbor Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:57 pm

wrv wrote:During the season there was a stretch when it appeared that Franklin was being played more than the quality of his play suggested, but that changed. I thought TP, other than the transition from Franklin's initially playing too much, managed his sons playing time consistent with what they had earned.

Despite comments to the contrary on this board, the team played hard in victory and defeat, though at times not well.

I completely agree. Franklin played a lot of minutes, and when he started performing poorly for several games in a row his minutes were reduced and he was removed from the starting lineup. A fair and smart adjustment.

I, for one, did make a comment or two during the season about the team not playing as hard as they could have. Overall, though, I agree that they played hard and did not give up even as the long season of losing wore on. In particular, I think the defensive effort and execution improved as the season went on (though I'm not sure if stats would back that up or not). Credit to the players and the coaches for fighting through the disappointments.

by NoPoNeighbor Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:59 pm

Sound Voltex wrote:Austin Stone transfer official from Verbal Commits:

Portland F Austin Stone (JR) is leaving the program.

https://twitter.com/VerbalCommits/status/974014680921399296

A bit of a recruiting swing-and-a-miss on that one.

by DoubleDipper Mon Mar 19, 2018 1:00 pm

This is NOT directed at TP, but here's an interesting article about the general lack of success of former NBA All-Stars as D1 coaches. The list only includes active coaches, not former D1 coaches like Larry Steele, and Michael Holton....

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/bad-history-nba-stars-college-coaches/story?id=53851531

by Guest Mon Mar 19, 2018 1:40 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:This is NOT directed at TP, but here's an interesting article about the general lack of success of former NBA All-Stars as D1 coaches. The list only includes active coaches, not former D1 coaches like Larry Steele, and Michael Holton....

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/bad-history-nba-stars-college-coaches/story?id=53851531

In other words, coaching college is hard.

by ExpatPilot Tue Mar 20, 2018 11:41 am

DoubleDipper wrote:This is NOT directed at TP, but here's an interesting article about the general lack of success of former NBA All-Stars as D1 coaches. The list only includes active coaches, not former D1 coaches like Larry Steele, and Michael Holton....

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/bad-history-nba-stars-college-coaches/story?id=53851531

This gives me an idea and it would be easily testable. Thanks for sharing this.