Game Thread - Bonnie at RC - Sat 2/21 6pm ESPN+

[MrTbone]

Not sure where to put this, but one thing I love about JRobs game is that he is constantly moving without the ball, more so than anyone else on the team. He is very active. He has the physical tools and the drive to be very good, hoping to see him get there over his career

Totally agree, plus he actually rebounds.

 

[MrTbone]

to clarify, I meant that he lands 2 studs in the remaining years (he has until 2029!!!!), not necessarily this year, and not necessarily both in the same year.

So here is the timeline that I fear because it means more Moon, but honestly I'm not rooting against any AA led team(s) so...

Assumption #1 - I assume we are looking for a center and a tall, athletic shooting forward in the portal this offseason as our primary concerns.

This offseason, he lands Quinn + Bigs equivalents (solid players, not game-changers, but foundational upperclassmen with a couple years left), enough to keep the ship afloat next season, but like all players "learning" Moonball means you're good in year 2, not year 1. AA continues to develop his 3 ball and his finishing at the rim and looks poised for a year 3 run at A10 first or second team. So year 1 (next year) is - as mentioned - treading water. 17-14 season, we can again score and again struggle to defend anyone and again play sisters of the poor 13 times OOC.

The following offseason, with 2 years left on the contract and him being acutely aware of it, he then gets a scoring dynamo like King to play next to rising junior AA after Tyne and Thomas graduate (along with Tanner and Daughtry). This year's center transfer and wing transfer make Quinn/Bigs year 2 leaps, with the center becoming the 2nd stud player (basically Quinn/3rd team A10) and the guys like JRob, Harper and any other HS recruits are now in the system multi years and comfortable playing with one another, adding some size, shooting and athleticism, and improved defense as a whole. Our backcourt is lights out with AA and the portal scorer. That is a good season - let's say top 4 in A10 and 22 wins minimum with AA, Jordan King clone, Harper, JRob, A10 3rd team center starting and the best of the HS recruits and portal lands prove to have at least 2 impact guys.

At that point Hardt has to make the call on an extension or let Moon coach out the last year of his deal without a contract, which is basically telling him he's gone no matter what. AA is a rising senior at that point, maybe a couple other returnees like Harper and JRob have made statistical leaps and we have a glimmer of light that the season after a good one is not falling off a cliff.

Hardt fires up the 3 year extension, no doubt in my mind.

Dude, stop harshing my buzz.

 

[vt4700]

VT, I hesitate to trigger you but with what we have returning, I fully expect another complete garbage OOC, so I'm thinking a mirror of this season basically takes place.

OOC - 10 wins, all against bad teams, non-D1 teams and lower mid majors on down seasons. Moon showed this year he can't beat any OOC schedule for more than 10 wins, no matter how bad it is. Minimum 1 awful loss and 2 road losses.
Sweep a bottom feeder in A10 like SBU was this year. - 2 wins
Beat Fordham - 1 win
Beat Lasalle - 1 win
Upset someone decent at home - 1 win
Beat Duquesne - 1 win
1 random well played win.
get swept by VCU.
get killed by other top 3 teams.

I agree.

 

[Eight Legger]

Let's face it, Mooney has landed two transfer studs in 21 years: TJ Cline (who was dropped in his lap by John Averett) and Jordan King, who was a 13 ppg guy that no one could have expected to blow up the way he did.

Waiting for him to land another one without employing pure luck is just not rational.

 

[SpiderRick]

I wouldn't call him a stud, but Quinn did a fine job at center. I miss his aggressiveness in the paint.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

Cline and Quinn are the basis for what we may see Moon look for in the portal. Moon has been able to convince white guy centers to come to UR when the spot has been open (non-GG years of last 12), and has a track record of Cline, Grant, Quinn to point to as far as professional ambitions for that player. I'm sure he thought Beagle would be a little better, was probably hoping for more like Cline results from him, but his lack of any shooting from outside 8 feet hindered him. Even showing clips of UR running the elevator doors play to get Walz some 3 point attempts is a good recruiting tool.

But if there are 2 areas that Moon might be able to find guys, it's center and (small) guard. Selling someone on playing in a backcourt with AA shouldn't be hard, and an easy path is right up Moon's alley. Hopefully, he finds guys that are well rounded at least somewhat, like Quinn and King were. While not defensive stars, they at least were passable and Quinn's size alone helped.

 

[97spiderfan]

to clarify, I meant that he lands 2 studs in the remaining years (he has until 2029!!!!), not necessarily this year, and not necessarily both in the same year.

So here is the timeline that I fear because it means more Moon, but honestly I'm not rooting against any AA led team(s) so...

Assumption #1 - I assume we are looking for a center and a tall, athletic shooting forward in the portal this offseason as our primary concerns.

This offseason, he lands Quinn + Bigs equivalents (solid players, not game-changers, but foundational upperclassmen with a couple years left), enough to keep the ship afloat next season, but like all players "learning" Moonball means you're good in year 2, not year 1. AA continues to develop his 3 ball and his finishing at the rim and looks poised for a year 3 run at A10 first or second team. So year 1 (next year) is - as mentioned - treading water. 17-14 season, we can again score and again struggle to defend anyone and again play sisters of the poor 13 times OOC.

The following offseason, with 2 years left on the contract and him being acutely aware of it, he then gets a scoring dynamo like King to play next to rising junior AA after Tyne and Thomas graduate (along with Tanner and Daughtry). This year's center transfer and wing transfer make Quinn/Bigs year 2 leaps, with the center becoming the 2nd stud player (basically Quinn/3rd team A10) and the guys like JRob, Harper and any other HS recruits are now in the system multi years and comfortable playing with one another, adding some size, shooting and athleticism, and improved defense as a whole. Our backcourt is lights out with AA and the portal scorer. That is a good season - let's say top 4 in A10 and 22 wins minimum with AA, Jordan King clone, Harper, JRob, A10 3rd team center starting and the best of the HS recruits and portal lands prove to have at least 2 impact guys.

At that point Hardt has to make the call on an extension or let Moon coach out the last year of his deal without a contract, which is basically telling him he's gone no matter what. AA is a rising senior at that point, maybe a couple other returnees like Harper and JRob have made statistical leaps and we have a glimmer of light that the season after a good one is not falling off a cliff.

Hardt fires up the 3 year extension, no doubt in my mind.

Nightmare fuel right here.

 

[sman]

every time Mooney gets short on his contract, he turns things around enough for the extension.
expect next year to look like this year, but with a couple of promising pieces.
then it comes together in 2028.

 

[Spiderguy]

every time Mooney gets short on his contract, he turns things around enough for the extension.
expect next year to look like this year, but with a couple of promising pieces.
then it comes together in 2028.

The dynamics are a bit different and challenging now with more emphasis upon NIL and portal. If we don’t get a legitimate plug and play 5 next season, it’s going to be another tough year. And that was expected with the loss of 2 centers and 2 guards. How much confidence do we have in Mooney to fill in the roster given the money and supposed limits as well as his history?

 

[sman]

we take 5 seniors (Walz, Beagle, AP, Lopez and Johnston) off the NIL payroll.
seems safe to assume the 3 incoming freshmen get substantially less NIL than those seniors.
also safe to assume the redshirt freshmen don't get raises over this years NIL.

and safe to assume nobody except AA has earned any increase. in fact, could easily argue some guys underperformed expectations and could project to get less NIL.
if we are really going to increase our spend to be competitive with top A10 teams, then there's a ton of NIL money to distribute. we may not be a preferred transfer destination based on our last 2 seasons, but money talks.

 

[MrTbone]

every time Mooney gets short on his contract, he turns things around enough for the extension.
expect next year to look like this year, but with a couple of promising pieces.
then it comes together in 2028.

Why can’t he just do it consistently?

 

[*23*]

Why can’t he just do it consistently?

He got complacent when he got the 10 year contract. Human nature. The top hoops coaches (not Mooney) are built different and hate to lose one game let alone down years. Mooney is not built like that.