Update Roster has been posted

[ALioninWinter]

Don't mistake my comments for unbridled optimism. I think Dunlap will give us a solid program but we've a ways to go before we can challenge the Zags. There's some building to be done first.

I do think Dunlap' s apparent team for the upcoming season will be better than last years team. Not saying much there. Right? I also think it has a good chance to be better than what fans thought we would have this coming season with Max as coach. Obviously, we will never learn If my second assertion will prove to be true, but it should lead to some good discussion once next season gets underway.

About Bill Grier in San Diego. I think he's a strong coach but he doesn't do near enough in recruiting. He typically has a couple of strong players, but never a team. I went to the season opening tournament last year at USD. It was easy to compare the vastly different coaching styles. LMU clearly had the best players. San Diego clearly had the better team. I was very impressed with how Bill Grier had molded his various parts into a very well oiled machine. For that team to win, every part of the machine had to nearly maximize performance for the team to succeed. It's a tribute to Grier's coaching prowess that the Torero's won as often as they did. Contrast that with an LMU team where we seldom saw more than one player a game maximize his performance. If Grier could recruit a few more quality players, the Torero's would be consistently challenging the league leaders rather than always trying to just knock on the door.

[longtimelionfan]

My comments above were not intended as a prediction for next year. I agree that Dunlap will need some time. But, I like the direction LMU is headed.

Speaking about next year, I think there are lots of questions for all the teams in the WCC. I agree with Winter's view that next year's Lions team will be better than this year's team and better than what would have been if no changes had been made. Will Dunlap's first team be the surprise of the WCC? I don't know. We'll see. And, that will be fun.

[thx4leavinjimlynam]

Yes, this will be a fun year.

As for the comment regarding LMU being inexperienced and not-Division I ready, I would disagree. The fact that Herman/Krajcovic/Spiers/Humphries have played internationally is just as valuable, if not more so, than Max grabbing kids from Prep schools (Deji, Godwin, Ireland, Levin, Payne, to name a few...). I thought it was a good move by Max, and I think going the international route will be just as good, if not a better move, by Dunlap.

And while the 12-man roster may skew "freshman-heavy" we are not inexperienced. I don't have international game breakdowns, but check out the ages of our players:
Seniors: Flint 24, Deji 24, Godwin 24
Junior: Mornar 21, Humphries 23
Sophomore: Siame 21, Payne 21, Hayes ?
Freshmen: Herman 20, Krajcovic 20, Spiers 19, Wyatt ?

Even if you go "low" and Wyatt is 18 and Hayes is 19, that would mean these 12 players would average over 21 years old...which is the age of a standard fourth-year senior.

Factor in the fact that, best I can determine:
five of these players (Deji, Humphries, Herman, Krajcovic, Spiers) have played in international tournaments for their country
Hayes has won state titles the past two years
Wyatt's team advanced to the Texas state tournament after winning their region
Payne won back-to-back NACA Division III National Championships at Kingdom prep in Georgia
Mornar's high school team went to the Michigan regional finals
Siame won the NACA Division III Championship while at Kingdom Christian Academy
Godwin's Findlay Prep team finished #1 in nation and undefeated

This all means these players have been in pressure situations.

I, too, would like to think we can make some noise this year. I won't be upset if we don't, but certainly looking forward to the season.

Go Lions!

[husky]

Oh Well. I was feeling better until someone mentioned Bill Grier's "coaching prowess". I just don't believe that during his tenure, he has beaten Gonzaga more than anyone else. In fact I can think of only twice including his first year at USD with Holland's legacy team, and then last year. If Duncan is at all comparable to Grier I fear we are in for more disappointment. The good news is we can apparently look forward to playing against Grier coached USD teams into the near future since they decided to reaffirm their commitment to marginal mediocrity. Understand they pay him north of $600K which is almost as much as a Hawthorne school superintendent pulls down.

[longtimelionfan]

I would not want Grier as LMU's coach. Dunlap's record and pedigree are much better. And, I agree with Winter that Grier's recruiting leaves much to be desired. But Grier is a good strategic coach. Before Dunlap's return to LMU, I'd rank Grier second to Few for strategic competence. Now, he drops down. USD should have beaten Gonzaga twice in the regular season last year. Gonzaga won the first game by 1 point on a 3 point desperation shot by Sam Dower, of all people, with, I believe, less than 2 seconds remaining. And, if you check the scores over the years the spread in Gonzaga's victories over USD are far closer than the talent difference. That was my point - smart strategic coaching can close talent gaps.

[LIONS90045]

husky - tongue in cheek indeed! Where have you been all this time?
Your analysis is keen though.
thx - I did not say new guys are not "D1 ready" - just that D1 is a big step up even for top HS or prep school players. I hope for he best but have to keep my expectations in check for next year.
Husky - I'm probably more hopeful than you for next season for the Lions.

[husky]

I admit to being sort of a skeptic by nature; especially when it comes to assignations of greatness. I mean, not with-standing an interim stint at Saint Johns, Mike has yet to debut as a titled D-1 coach. So before I nominate anyone for the hall of fame, I would like to see some results.
Actually, I am fervently hopeful.

I believe Dunlap did a very good job of assembling this roster, especially considering the lateness of the hour. I’m really looking forward to next season and will be relatively easy to please. If we play hard, win 10 or so games, and maybe avoids another last in the WCC, you won’t hear a gripe from me.

To reminisce: I remember our last “great” Div. II Championship coach out of Metro State, Charles Bradley; lots of hype. His 2 main recruits were an African scarecrow, Sylvester Kainga, and a midget, Haywood Eaddy. It would be generous to say Sylvester was crowding 120 lbs or that Haywood was approaching 5 feet. But looking back Kainga, still holds the LMU record for single game shots blocked and Haywood had more heart per inch than any player I have ever seen (unfortunately just far too few inches). Big hearts, few wins. I did not miss a game that year. We are in much better shape this year, and upon reflection, I think I will up my minimum expectation to at least 12 wins.

Re Coach Grier: Guess he looks good statistically in the "Morale Victory" category. A friend of mine form San Diego reported 2 years ago that Greir, concerned with the Torrero's poor second half performances, began practicing taking the court (physical re-entry) after halftime. So he obviously thinks way bigger than mere X's and O's and covers all facets of the game.

[thx4leavinjimlynam]

Husky, nice nugget re Grier. That is taking it to another level. That said, I'm surprised they signed him long term. They seem to definitely be middle of the pack on annual basis.

I think LMU will do fine this year. I too applaud the coaching staff for the recruits they have assembled. Who knows, maybe one more international recruit will accept the last scholarship. And we still have three scholarships for next year (Flint, Deji, Godwin graduating), with, I believe, only Twombly having accepted.

Lastly, in doing my "international games/high school title" research, I have a question for those of you closer to the program than I: Were Payne and Siame teammates at Kingdom Christian Prep in Georgia? I see from their bios that they both went there, but never remember any chatter in other posts about them having been teammates. Not that it matters, just curious. Thanks for any insight.

[ALioninWinter]

Evan and Patson were teammates for a short time. Evan played at Christian Prep an entire year. I'm not totally sure about Patson. He was at another prep school for most of that season, then suddenly appeared on the Christian Prep roster late in their season. Nino Jackson was also on that team. I'm not sure how a player suddenly goes from one program to another, but the whole prep school world is flakier than Kellog's. There are essentially no rules. Everyone does whatever they want. Academic rigor runs the gamut from respectable to non-existent. I don't know where Christian Prep fits.

I watched what was supposedly a national championship game 2(?)years ago which Christian Prep won handily. It was a joke of a game with very, very little talent evident. Evan did not play. I was told he was taking a test that day. Nino Jackson was head and shoulders the best player in the game but don't read too much into that because the competition was deplorable. Jackson pretty much had his way. No one could stop his dribbling and he loved to jack long 3s. The little bit he played at LMU was pretty much the same style of play -- quick, undisciplined, liked to shoot but wasn't a very good shooter.

Christian Prep's other primary contributor was a house of a guy who simply clogged up the middle. Zero mobility but the opponents were small and unskilled so there was no contest. Patson played in that game ---- and was singularly unimpressive. He did so little it was hard to gauge his skill level. Thinking positively, I attributed it to: 1)his having not spent much time with the team so he didn't quite know how to fit in; and/or 2) with the "house" clogging the middle and pulling in offensive rebounds from all of Jackson's errant threes, there wasn't much for him to do.

I am hoping against hope that Patson can play. He certainly has the size. He dwarfed Alex Osborn last year when they were standing together. He looks the part. He moved okay when I watched him warm up. He didn't have the clunky movements that you sometimes see with big guys who are just big, but not really very good. I've wondered about his level of desire. I watched him spend far too much warm up time shooting threes when I felt he should have been practicing his footwork under the basket. I also wasn't impressed with his wearing earbuds during games. But then I suppose I "don't understand the current generation." If Dunlap hasn't scared him off yet, maybe we will have ourselves a strong, hard working post player for a few years.

[longtimelionfan]

Recruiter,

Now that the roster has been posted can you give us a scouting report on our new international players: Krajovic, Herman, Humphries & Spiers? Thanks in advance.