One step forward, two steps back

[LanderPoke]

Ugly loss to joser

 

[Vancopoke]

Realization setting in that we will not see the Big Dance anytime soon, if ever again. College athletics for the smaller schools is beyond repair.

 

[stymeman]

My thoughts exactly, win at a place we never win at, lose at a shet hole arena where we usually beat em...sigh... Fresno isn't any easier

 

[Bryoming]

The fact of the matter is the talent level on this team is pretty poor. These guys play hard and are coached well, but we only have 2 MWC caliber players on the roster right now (Agbim and Nesbitt). I think Wills and Magasou can get there, but it's going to take a hell of a transfer class and a few years of good recruiting/retention to get this team where it needs to be.

 

[LawPoke]

I get the lack of talent, but I also am not fully sold on Wicks' rotations and use of players.

 

[LanderPoke]

I get the lack of talent, but I also am not fully sold on Wicks' rotations and use of players.

He needs to play Scottie. Period. I don’t care about all the ReAsOns wicks has to sit him. He’s a great player and always gives it his all 100% of the time

 

[TheRealUW]

He needs to play Scottie. Period. I don’t care about all the ReAsOns wicks has to sit him. He’s a great player and always gives it his all 100% of the time

At this point, it can't hurt anything to try it and see what happens.

But he has to be one of the most inconsistent college basketball players I've ever seen in my life. He can have a game where he looks like an NBA lottery pick and the very next week look like he wouldn't even start for most high school teams.

He does play hard, but depending on the officiating staff, that can get him into foul trouble very quickly.

 

[Bryoming]

He needs to play Scottie. Period. I don’t care about all the ReAsOns wicks has to sit him. He’s a great player and always gives it his all 100% of the time

Wicks is a big culture guy, and Scottie appears that he can be a hot head. He's also still not the most well conditioned player on the team, so playing long minutes isn't something he's been able to do much yet.

 

[LawPoke]

He needs to play Scottie. Period. I don’t care about all the ReAsOns wicks has to sit him. He’s a great player and always gives it his all 100% of the time

Exactly who I was thinking about.

That said, this is largely a lost year. Linder screwed us to the wall and now we have to take our lumps. I trust that Wicks will find his team and we will win. I just wondered what others thought.

 

[TheRealUW]

Exactly who I was thinking about.

That said, this is largely a lost year. Linder screwed us to the wall and now we have to take our lumps. I trust that Wicks will find his team and we will win. I just wondered what others thought.

Personally, I think Wicks has an uphill battle ahead of him.

He is all about grit, effort, and hard work. In the ‘before times’, when a coach had 4-5 years with a group of players, he could instill those values into the team. Coaches had time to develop an identity for the team. You could build a culture and have the older guys demand it from the younger players coming in.

That’s all gone in the ‘after times’. Now, you have to find a minimum of 5-6 good basketball players each and every year to have any chance of success. That’s difficult to do because the obviously good ones now go to schools that will pay them gobs of money. So Wicks basically has to try to hit on 5-6 players in every recruiting class that were overlooked - not an easy task. And then even if he does manage to do that and we begin to win, other schools with more money will come calling at the end of the year (or maybe in middle of the season) and Wicks and Wyoming get to start all over again the next year.

 

[bladerunnr]

Personally, I think Wicks has an uphill battle ahead of him.

He is all about grit, effort, and hard work. In the ‘before times’, when a coach had 4-5 years with a group of players, he could instill those values into the team. Coaches had time to develop an identity for the team. You could build a culture and have the older guys demand it from the younger players coming in.

That’s all gone in the ‘after times’. Now, you have to find a minimum of 5-6 good basketball players each and every year to have any chance of success. That’s difficult to do because the obviously good ones now go to schools that will pay them gobs of money. So Wicks basically has to try to hit on 5-6 players in every recruiting class that were overlooked - not an easy task. And then even if he does manage to do that and we begin to win, other schools with more money will come calling at the end of the year (or maybe in middle of the season) and Wicks and Wyoming get to start all over again the next year.

Exactly. Why do you think Linder left to take an assistant job? NIL is going to be the death of college sports. But the death is going to come quickly for small schools without adequate NIL funds. It's a shame. Part of the enjoyment of college sports is watching a player develop from freshman to senior. That's history now.