doublea1971
GCF Top Poster
UGLY, UGLY, UGLY play right now. We show zero discipline, and our guards are leaving it to Nathan Nelson to handle the ball. We may get beat by 40 tonight the way this looks right now.
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*** USC MBB (4-10/6-12) vs. #12/13 Arkansas (11-4/19-5) Game Thread ***
- Thread starter kingofnerf
- Start date
doublea1971
GCF Top Poster
Just hit the -30 mark. Still 4 minutes to go. This is terrible ball.
We don’t belong in the same court with these guys. Arkansas better in every way.
doublea1971
GCF Top Poster
They’re gonna hang 100 on us tonight.
No defense.
Doesn't look like a Frank Martin team.
We're good against opponents like UGA who run playground-type games, but not anybody else.
Doesn't look like a Frank Martin team.
We're good against opponents like UGA who run playground-type games, but not anybody else.
If I were the coach, Moss would never see the floor. Minaya would play less than 10 minutes per game. Hannibal would play as much as he could stand. I would play Couisnard, Lawson, and Bryant and play Minott and Leveque at center. I'd play McCreary and Benson at PF. Woods would play under 10 minutes/game.
Minott, Leveque, Couisnard, Lawson, Hannibal, Bryant, McCreary, Benson would play the most. I'd sub in Minaya and Woods a little. Could not do worse than Frank is doing.
I think Benson wasn't quite ready for D1 hoops. I think he was going to redshirt had Covid not happened. That explains only playing in those couple of games when half the team was out with Covid.
This season is mercifully about to end. Saturday at KY and then one game in the SECT and its over. I don't expect USC to win either of those games. So, it doesn't make much difference who plays if you're going to lose anyway.
If I understand correctly, nobody loses any eligibility this season. So technically, everyone can have this season over again next year. However, we have 3 signees and one commitment we have to make room for. Hopefully, Woods will move on. I'd like to see Moss transfer. I'd like to see Minaya leave. He's been here 4 years. Hopefully ready to graduate. That leaves one scholarship we need to open. If Lawson leaves, that will open up the scholarship. But I don't think he can play in the NBA right now, so I don't know what he will do. I'm assuming the scholarship limit will be 13, but that might not be true. I don't wish any of the players a bad future, just the opposite. But some changes are going to have to be made if next year is to be better than this one.
I expect Frank to return next season. If he does not, then all bets are off as far as who will be on the team next year.
If Minott stays, I expect him to be the primary center next season,. I think he's better than Leveque, with the potential to be a real low post presence for the team.
I hope Frank returns next season. I do think he needs a couple of players to take leaps forward and play like SEC superstars. The offensive woes of this team allow opposing teams to get too comfortable
@Gary , the scholarship limit is likely to stay at 13. I think Title IX plays a big part in keeping that the same. Seniors that decide to exercise their free year of eligibility can still have a scholarship, but they won't count against the 13 limit. The only player that affects is Woods. So, even if he comes back, his scholarship opens up.
For underclassmen, it's not quite as simple. I believe that those players who choose to use the free year will still count towards the scholarship limit their final year, so that will affect recruiting big time. That could be a nightmare for a school like us where it takes time to develop your players. It would be difficult to recruit if you had a few players on the fence about using the free year.
For underclassmen, it's not quite as simple. I believe that those players who choose to use the free year will still count towards the scholarship limit their final year, so that will affect recruiting big time. That could be a nightmare for a school like us where it takes time to develop your players. It would be difficult to recruit if you had a few players on the fence about using the free year.
My concern with Frank is that he seems to be battling burn-out right now.
That inner fire he has always had seems to be gone.
I could see him going in the tank emotionally next season after a few early losses and then some conference losses.
The school needs to either get behind him to prevent damage from a recruiting standpoint or let him go for the same reason.
That inner fire he has always had seems to be gone.
I could see him going in the tank emotionally next season after a few early losses and then some conference losses.
The school needs to either get behind him to prevent damage from a recruiting standpoint or let him go for the same reason.
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Since we have 4 new guys scheduled to come in next year, and with Woods as the only senior, that leads me to believe that Frank was expecting some guys to leave the program. Probably expecting Lawson to turn pro. And expecting a couple of guys to transfer. But unless he has had players tell him they will transfer, I don't see how he could expect them to leave. I don't think Frank would tell a player to transfer, unless there was some kind of problem with them, which there does not appear to be. I'm puzzled as to why we would recruit 4 new guys unless Frank knew there would be room for them. So, that leads me to believe a couple of guys told Frank they were leaving after this year months ago.
Yeah, it will be good for a program like ours to have 5th/6th year seniors, but it has to be a nightmare for recruiting from a coaches perspective. Overall, I think we're going to see a big increase in grad transfers the next couple of years. I imagine coaches will be more willing to encourage players to explore other options to make the numbers work. However, if a guy like Keyshawn wants use his free year here, you bring him back, no hesitation and numbers be damned. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over all of college basketball the next couple of years.
He looks tired. And, he doesn't appear to have any answers as to how to fix this team. He can't do anything to get Couisnard and Minaya out of their shooting slumps.
I don't believe Tanner is going to fire Frank after this season. Covid being the biggest reason. It has been reported that Tanner won't add any years to Franks contract right now. Tanner might tell Frank he has to win games to keep his job and that next year, they will have to at least make the NIT, or he's gone. Frank said he has never judged himself on how many games he wins. It seems he thinks of himself as some kind of social worker/ psychologist. But social workers don't make $3m+ per year. Frank was hired to WIN basketball games. USC could hire a guy to lose games for a lot less money.
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doublea1971
GCF Top Poster
I went back to look up Benson and found an interesting quote when he signed, which I initially missed.
Benson’s HS coach at Rodgeview, Yerrick Stoneman said this...
”There is a lot of potential with him,” Stoneman said. “He is young in the game of basketball and there is a great opportunity ahead of him. And once he gets into a strength and conditioning program and nutrition program, I think he will develop even more and his productivity will continue togrow.”(https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-mens-basketball/article236368413.html)
What that tells me is that Benson needed literal seasoning (more than one season) to get game ready. Frank, apparently knew this when he signed him. Coach Martin was shoring up depth at the PF/Center positions with Benson and Iriel. Iriel left the team, and Benson was not yet ready (apparently a part of Frank’s plan).
Minott on the other hand, comes ready made for the program, and looks to be the future at Center, alongside Frink. He was simply out of shape and not ready to play when he arrived. He’s unafraid of playing “back to the basket” at his position, and has good offensive and defensive presence for us. It’s hard to push around a 6’ 9” 280 pound guy. Which is to our advantage.
All of the above to say, Benson may stick around, if my assumptions above are correct. I expect Moss and Anderson to leave, however.
My other sneaking suspicion is that one of either McCreary or Leveque will go as well. I’m most worried about Leveque, as he’s the guy with the most potential, but the steepest curve to be valuable to us. If McCreary can cut down on the fouls (which used to also plague Maik and Silva), McCreary has the best overall game for us presently. Though again, Leveque has better footwork and better capacity for rebounding/hands. He’s just not got the “mean spirit” needed for the SEC.
Thats my two cents on the potential state of the team in the post-season.
I heard an interview in the preseason (maybe with Carey Rich?) and he said the plan was to have Benson redshirt and try to play Iriel if he could learn the defense fast enough. That goes hand in hand with the article you linked and also makes me think he will stick around.
I would agree that Moss and Anderson are the most likely to transfer out. I think Moss would be an excellent player at a mid-major school. I hope that Leveque and McCreary stay. Under Martin, bigs tend to have the biggest jumps in their Jr and Sr seasons.